- Another Opportunity to SERVE! Help Nathan with his Eagle Project and in doing so help these children of Majengo receive a Christmas!!
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- Nathan's Goals
1- Provide each child at Majengo with a Christmas gift. Each child should receive an article of clothing, underwear and a toy or game. 2- Provide supplies to Majengo Orphanage School. School Supplies include a battery operated CD player, CD's in English, books and musical instruments.
Due to the stigma of HIV/AIDS, countless women in Africa have been thrown out of their homes, lacking any kind of assistance, sick and unable to hold a job or look after their children. Most children are struggling to get enough to eat, and millions are orphans without anyone to care for them. In the small village of Mto wa Mbu, Tanzania, a few farmers got together in 2008, opening a small facility for 52 young children, in the mud-floored, dark and leaky foyer of someone's home. They originally called it HURUMA. They had one teacher and several women who volunteered to cook the donated rice and occasional vegetables, feeding the children one meal a day. One small, dingy room was made available for 10 of the most vulnerable children who had no one to turn to; it had two beds, sleeping five children to a bed. The other children made their way back to relatives or neighbors to sleep overnight. Prior to this minimal set-up, many simply had nowhere to go and were literally sleeping on the streets, scrounging and begging for food. Conditions were so deplorable that Huruma was refused official status by the government of Tanzania to become an orphanage.
This was the unspeakable state of squalor these children were living in as of March of 2008, when Lynn Connell of Toronto, Canada, visited Mto wa Mbu. She had been working in Tanzania for two years with a local NGO, volunteering at an orphanage on the busy safari route, when she discovered that the director of that orphanage was corrupt, personally profiting from the horrific conditions of those children. She was devastated. Fortunately, before she left for good, Charles Luoga of ICA Tanzania clued her into the embryo of the Huruma orphanage.
Lynn took it upon herself, without prior committed resources, but with a fierce determination to raise these children out of the hopeless situation they were in, to take personal and immediate responsibility to ensure these kids would have a future, one that not only included the basic necessities of food, clothing, shelter and medical care, but also the less tangible needs such as education, love, security, hope, opportunity and a basic sense of human dignity. These kids had no reason to aspire to any of this prior to Lynn’s involvement.
A partially built home down the road was found to house the orphanage. Lynn went home, filled with enthusiasm and vigor, and raised $20,000 by making speeches and begging family and friends for assistance. One year later, Matt McKissock and Ian Ashbaugh of Warren, PA got involved and raised the remaining money required to finish the project, mostly by asking family and friends, including Matt’s mom Diana McKissock, and friend Jamie Bees, who visited the orphanage together this year. Bunk beds, desks, dining tables and benches were built and all supplies were bought - everything needed to cook for 40 kids in our brand new, freshly built outdoor kitchen. We renamed the orphanage MAJENGO - which means ‘building up’ in Swahili.
By March 2009, the orphanage was ready to go! The children moved in just as Matt and Ian arrived to visit. Currently (as of May 2010), the Majengo Orphanage is assisting 50 children between the ages of 3 and 9. 28 of the children live in the orphanage, while the rest live with neighbors or family, spending most of their days at our pre-school, arriving at 8 in the morning and leaving around 5 at night. Those of age to attend primary school are provided with the textbooks and materials they need; the younger children are taught in the orphanage pre-school. The Warren Majengo Foundation was set up to ensure that all of the children, whether live-in or not, receive three nutritious meals per day, education and care, as well as any medicines they require. Currently, the budget for this endeavor is a mere $650 per child, for the entire year. Incredibly, at less than $2 per child daily, we can provide everything these children need.
The vision for the Warren Majengo Foundation is that we will be able to take care of our kids until they’re ready to take care of themselves as adults – whatever that entails. More than that though, they will grow up with the security of knowing that this is the case, and the sense of self worth that comes with knowing that they are valued in this world.
Unlike donating money to a large, distant foundation, and hoping that it makes its way to a good cause without undue waste or corruption, with Majengo we can see where the money’s going and we can see the results – in fact, anyone is welcomed (and even encouraged) to visit the orphanage for themselves. Accounting and legal fees, promotional events, and so on are borne by individuals, rather than the organization itself or its donors. This ensures that 100% of your donation will go toward helping these children. Contributions are tax-deductible – and every dollar is appreciated.
Visit givewithyourheart.blogspot.com for more information and for ways to help.
