Project Description

Mama Tina’s Resource Center seeks to meet the needs of impoverished children who have been orphaned or abandoned because of a variety of uncontrollable circumstances in Kisumu, Kenya. Mama Tina provides basic needs (food, shelter, education and health care) to these children. With these basic needs met these children will have an opportunity to become successful members and leaders of society.

Current projects that we are working on include:

• Providing housing & education to orphans (currently provided for 45+ children).

• Providing at least 1 meal a day to over 100 people in the surrounding area.

• Helping young women who have been subject to abuse.

We are currently trying to expand by building wells to provide clean water for more people. It costs around $10,000 to build. Clean water reduces the chances of people contracting diseases such as cholera, malaria and dysentery.

We have many fundraisers we are currently undertaking and welcome any additional ideas. All proceeds from the current fundraisers will go directly to building these wells.
We will be holding a Mother’s Day Flower sale where we will be selling potted tulips along with a mixture of other assorted flowers. If you would like more information please feel free to contact us.

Our current needs include:

• More funds to build wells

• Expanding orphanage to include more children

• Providing multiple meals to people in the community

• Increasing our volunteer base

• Creating separate housing for male & female residents at Mama Tina’s

• Adding a medical facility

Project Description

Helping AIDS orphans in Kenya! Friends of Kakamega is a non-profit, Quaker organization that is based in Freeport, Maine. Its purpose is to support and nurture the AIDS orphanage in Kakamega, Kenya, which was started by the Quaker women there. Each year a group of 10 Americans (they are not all Quakers) travels to Kakamega to run a summer camp for the 40 children who live at the orphanage, and another 60 who come for a meal every day. This year the trip's focus is going to be helping and healing the children. The highly disputed Kenyan elections at the end of December 2007 led to severe violence between tribes/political parties. The town of Kakamega has been involved in this violence, and buildings have been burned and people have been prosecuted and killed. The orphans have been exposed to the kind of violence that children should never see. This summer our trip will try to help them cope with whatever level of trauma they have dealt with. I went on the 3 week trip in 2005, and I am going again this summer.

Project Description

The Mission of Africa Dream Project is to construct the first full International Baccalaureate high school in the area, collaborate with top universities around the world, and equip Kibera's next generation of leaders to transform the slum into a healthy, vibrant community. By empowering its future leaders with a world-class education AND empowering its current residents with micro-enterprise programs, we plan to Kibera transform into a health, vibrant community.

Project Description

Ascending Africa's highest mountain to provide medical supplies for Tanzania!

In the summer of 2008, I will be journeying to Kenya on a study abroad program through Michigan State University. After this program, I'm going to Tanzania to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain at 19,340 feet. I am doing this not only for personal reasons; I am climbing to benefit the people of East Africa.

My project, Kilimanjaro: Climbing to Cure (KCC), seeks to find sponsors and raise $14,000 to send a 40-foot container shipment of medical supplies to support the Gonja Lutheran Hospital. The hospital, a rural medical facility in northern Tanzania near Kilimanjaro, is in dire need of renovation and basic medical supplies. It supports a catchment area of 124,000 people, yet has a mere forty beds and employs only two doctors. None of the money raised will fund my personal costs; all donations go directly towards shipping the medical supplies.

The container shipment may include many types of medical supplies and equipment such as portable x-ray machines, ultrasound machines, operating tables and lamps, surgical kits, autoclaves, caps, gowns, gloves, needles, midwife kits, and palliative care kits, among other things.

Project Description

Dear Friends, Since I’ve come home from my trip to Africa, I’ve really had the chance to feel the huge difference between the life we live here in the United States and the average life that is lived in Kenya, or Africa in general. Each morning, we’d get in our little white buses that drove across the country and took us through destitute little towns, but there was something that stood out to me every single time we’d pass through. There was a great number of people walking miles to their job, shoeless. There were tons of kids running around piles of rubbish and rocks without anything to cover their feet. I remember immediately thinking about the laundry basket of flip-flops I have. Or the really handy shoe organizer my mom bought me that hangs in my closet and is crammed full with tennis shoes and flats. And then, I remember thinking how I never wear at least half of those shoes that appear to be taking over my closet. So instead of receiving gifts for my birthday, on top of everything I got for graduation, I figure I’ll do things differently. If you were planning on giving me a gift, or even if you weren’t, dig through your closet or run to the store and give me a pair of shoes instead. The only qualifications are that they have to be shoes you can imagine walking for at least 5 miles in without falling apart or getting blisters. So flip flops and tennis shoes work great. Even gently used shoes from the depths of your closet are what I want for my birthday. Also, bring shoes of all sizes. If your 3-year old brother can’t fit into his Spiderman shoes anymore, please don’t hesitate to hand them over! This shoe drive will be going on until the end of August, when I’ll ship them off to a few different people I’ve connected with in Kenya, who will then distribute them for free to those who have no shoes. This would be more than a great birthday present for me, a good chance for you to free up some closet space, but mostly it would make a long walk a lot less difficult for people in Kenya. Please help me kick off this Summer Shoe Drive by dropping off my ‘present’ in a bag at my house, or call me and I can swing by and pick it up. My cell phone number is [personal information edited out by DS staff]. Thank you. Love, Sarah

Project Description

Dear Friends,

Since I’ve come home from my trip to Africa, I’ve really had the chance to feel the huge difference between the life we live here in the United States and the average life that is lived in Kenya, or Africa in general. Each morning, we’d get in our little white buses that drove across the country and took us through destitute little towns, but there was something that stood out to me every single time we’d pass through. There was a great number of people walking miles to their job, shoeless. There were tons of kids running around piles of rubbish and rocks without anything to cover their feet. I remember immediately thinking about the laundry basket of flip-flops I have. Or the really handy shoe organizer my mom bought me that hangs in my closet and is crammed full with tennis shoes and flats. And then, I remember thinking how I never wear at least half of those shoes that appear to be taking over my closet.

So instead of receiving gifts for my birthday, on top of everything I got for graduation, I figure I’ll do things differently. If you were planning on giving me a gift, or even if you weren’t, dig through your closet or run to the store and give me a pair of shoes instead. The only qualifications are that they have to be shoes you can imagine walking for at least 5 miles in without falling apart or getting blisters. So flip flops and tennis shoes work great. Even gently used shoes from the depths of your closet are what I want for my birthday. Also, bring shoes of all sizes. If your 3-year old brother can’t fit into his Spiderman shoes anymore, please don’t hesitate to hand them over!

This shoe drive will be going on until the end of August, when I’ll ship them off to a few different people I’ve connected with in Kenya, who will then distribute them for free to those who have no shoes. This would be more than a great birthday present for me, a good chance for you to free up some closet space, but mostly it would make a long walk a lot less difficult for people in Kenya.

Please help me kick off this Summer Shoe Drive by dropping off my ‘present’ in a bag at my house, or call me and I can swing by and pick it up.
My cell phone number is (573)-424-7980. Thank you.

Love,
Sarah

Project Description

SPAN is a partnership between college students in the United States and community leaders in East Africa. Disillusioned by exorbitant prices and the impersonal nature of most volunteer programs, SPAN works to connect reputable community organizations with potential volunteers. Volunteers are welcome to directly contact the organizations advertised on SPAN or take advantage of the inexpensive placement services our organization offers. SPAN is working every day to obtain grants and frequent flyer mile donations in the hope that one day volunteering can be possible for everyone. Most importantly, SPAN is a resource and support system for potential volunteers. To find out about our volunteer opportunities, find us at: http://www.studentprojectafricanetwork.org/Profiles.html

Project Description

Bring Clean Water to Kenya. Dig Wells, Save Lives. The Problem:

1. More than 1 in 6 people in the world remain without access to safe drinking water.
2. In developing countries, about 80% of illnesses are linked to poor water and sanitation conditions.
3. 1 out of every 4 deaths under the age of 5 worldwide is due to a water-related disease.

There are lots of things that are not "right" with our world. Whether it is poverty, hunger, poor health, lack of education, or some other form of suffering, each wrong has devastating effects on billions of people's lives in the developing world. When you investigate the root cause of these ills, so many of the issues facing the world's poor can be traced to a lack of access to clean water. Simply bringing clean water can make a huge impact on a number of key issues in sub-Saharan Africa. It seems basic. It seems simple. And truth be told, the solution is. However, without public support and a concerted call to action, little may change. We believe that we all must act. We must give generously to organizations "in the field" bringing clean water to real people. We also believe it is essential to get involved in educating others, raising awareness and pressuring governments to act. No matter what issue you may be passionate about, it is likely a solution begins with water.

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Our Proposal: We feel called to action in response to crisis of water scarcity throughout the world. We have heard first-hand from the Africa Brotherhood Church in Kenya and The Sharing Way (our partners in the field) about the devastating effect the lack of clean drinking water is having in communities they serve. We have begun TheWaterProject.org and are working to raise money to dig wells and construct rain-water collection and filtration systems in many Kenyan communities. Each project constructed will provide clean drinking water and bring poverty and hunger relief to upwards of 1,500 people – not for one day, not for one week, but for years and years to come. We believe these essential, life-changing projects will help enable the ABC to demonstrate what love is all about. We believe these water projects will relieve suffering, open doors to education and economic development, and most importantly bring real hope. We're asking you to seriously consider how you might be a part of this work with us. Visit TheWaterProject.org to learn more.

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How You Can Help: Your donation will be used entirely towards the construction of a well in Kenya. Even a one time gift of $20 will bring water to a child in Kenya for more than 15 years! Your gift will change their life for good. Once the project goal is met, you’ll be able to track the progress of the water project on our site. Join Today! Get Involved. Give Water… Save a Life!

Project Description

The project raised funds to help 2000 adults and children get fresh water daily in the village of Shimba Hills, Kenya by building a well which costs $15,300. The goal is to aid these people who walk 20 kilometers daily in a dangerous path littered by elephants, crocodiles and other wild game to obtain fresh water. The project is an emergency program implemented by the Mkundi Outstation of Shimba Hills.

The project came to my attention from a friend of my family who recently visited this part of the world. She took up this and several other projects as a personal mission and enlisted her colleagues’ assistance. She is a prominent attorney in the Nassau County Bar Association.

It was not difficult for me to want to help this cause. Shimba Hills is in Kenya. It is an area where 1.2 million children are orphaned due to AIDS. Four out of five people go missing each week to practice of human sacrifices. Food aid sent from the United States does not get distributed well and often spoils before it can be a source of nutrition. The still water from rains that often substitutes for lack of fresh water is infested with malaria and other tropical diseases makes the situation worse.

The water project is run by the local pastor of Mkundi Outstation of Shimba Hills who will ensure that all humans regardless or race, cultural background or tribe benefit from fresh water everyday.

To date we have raised over $16,000 and the monies have been delivered to the Mkundi Outstation. We are all now more optimistic for these people.