 Peter Kithene,
Founder of Mama Maria Kenya
2007 Annual Community Party
Julius Fentra,
college fund recipient
ELAND Maasai Project,
Community Resource Center
|
Highlights of 2007
Dear friends,
Village Volunteers has experienced a year of tremendous growth.
The combined number of village programs we work with in Kenya and
Ghana increased from 8 to 13, and we added wonderful villages in
Nepal to our consortium of rural village programs.
In this fourth year of operation, we saw the number of volunteers
travling to our partner villages triple, bringing with it explosive
growth in program services and many exciting developments both here
at home and around the world. There are too many highlights to include
them all, but I’ll try to recap some of the most exciting ones below.
Village Volunteers at Home and on the Net
Great strides have been made in our infrastructure (and website)
to support our village programs and our volunteers.
| » |
Our Sustainable
Village Library has tripled in size and continues to grow
and develop as a “wikipedia” for development projects
that gives access to education and appropriate templates for
both volunteers and villagers around the world. You can access
the Sustainable Village Library from our home page.
|
| » |
The Village
Volunteers Blog has been implemented with stories and photos
from volunteers, proving itself a great tool for community sharing
and networking.
|
| » |
The Village
Volunteers Forum was launched this year - thanks to the
journalistic skill and enthusiasm of our past In-Country Coordinator
for Kenya, Mark (Junior) Gaya - to offer opportunities for discussing
issues and sharing development ideas. Check it out and join
the conversation!
|
| » |
A new Sustainability
Policy guides us in our goal to become a “carbon neutral”
organization. VV funded four tree nurseries, using bio-intensive
farming techniques, and will purchase eight trees to offset
the carbon from international flights on behalf of each volunteer.
|
Press and Awards: The World Takes Notice
| » |
The CNN
Heroes Medical Marvel Award went to Peter Kithene, Founder
of Mama Maria Kenya. Mama Maria Kenya has been a VV partner
since 2003, and we couldn’t be more proud of Peter. Watch
the video of his story and the founding of Mama Maria Kenya.
|
| » |
CNN International selected Village Volunteers in October to
be featured and recommended on their website in their “Be
the Change” section. In 2008, our volunteers’ videos,
stories and photos will be featured so be sure to check it out.
|
| » |
NPR Podcasts: Philadelphia NPR News Director, Windsor Johnston,
volunteered at three of our partner villages this fall and created
pod casts that will air in February 2008 in the Philadelphia
region. The podcasts will be posted on our website, so stay
tuned.
|
| » |
Our Village Volunteers annual community party in November
brought almost 185 past volunteers to Seattle to swap stories
and reconnect with old friends. Alumni from as far away as Montreal,
New York, British Columbia, California, Colorado and Chicago
enjoyed getting together and seeing Mark Gaya (and his wife,
Lydia), as well as the incomparable Joshua Machinga from Common
Ground Program and Daniel Rateng from Mama na Dada Africa in
Kenya.
|
Collaborative Projects: New Shoots
We are particularly excited about the new programs created by past
alumni who were inspired by their work in partner villages, as well
as new opportunities founded with other programs working in the
region.
| » |
Trees for Transmara
and Feed Villages
are two new programs started by enthusiastic VV volunteers as
a result of their experiences in Kenya. You can
donate to both of these programs through our website. Check
them out!
|
| » |
A new school and clinic is in the works for Namunyak Maasai
Welfare thanks to a new collaboration between Village Volunteers,
Architects without Borders (Seattle chapter), and Jonty Craig,
a young architect from the UK/Australia who spent three months
in Kenya helping to design projects. To donate to the building
of the school for Namunyak Maasai Welfare,
visit our Donate page. Architects without Borders has helped
with the designs for the Mama Maria Kenya Clinic as well as
the Rabuor Village Training Center.
|
| » |
The Village Volunteers Action Club at the University of Washington
(Bothell Campus) ran a fundraiser for the Ceramic Water Filter
Project in Kiminini, Kenya. The Club, thanks to Professor Martha
Groom and her “Sustainable Development in Africa” course, hopes
to fund a building, a kiln, tools and training for women to
create the filters. Potters for Peace has signed on to train
the Kimimini women, and the club hopes to make filters available
to needy families for just $10 each. To donate to this great
project by sponsoring a water filter, click
here.
|
Funding for Sustainability and Education
Thanks to our tremendous growth this year, Village volunteers was
able to grant funds for projects for our partner village programs.
Below are examples of projects directly funded by Village Volunteers,
as well as those facilitated through our organization.
| » |
Making briquettes fuel that burn for 8 hours was the purpose
of a workshop held at Common Ground Program. Village Volunteers
sponsored the ten day training and event in June of 2007. All
partner village programs in Kenya were invited, as well as representatives
from several villages in Uganda. About 50 people were trained
to make fuel out of weeds and waste paper, thereby reducing
the demand for scarce firewood. Kenyan Isaiah conducted this
workshop and will do more next year.
|
| » |
Training in bio-intensive farming methods at four villages
in Kenya by Common Ground’s Joshua Machinga. These trainings
will be conducted in each village for a week starting in January
2008. Return visits to each site will be scheduled throughout
the year. In addition, four tree nurseries will be started using
the bio-intensive farming methods.
|
| » |
New playgrounds, desks built at local schools, and a library
for village programs in Ghana.
|
| » |
Medical education was funded for Julius Fentra, VV's first
college fund recipient, through partnership with Angel Covers.
He continues to make everyone proud through his excellent grades
and gratitude for the opportunity. Julius' goal is to help provide
medical care for the underserved communities near Mt. Elgon
in Kenya.
|
| » |
A micro-credit program was funded for women weavers to make
scarves through SMVS, our partner village program in India.
In Kenya, two women’s cooperatives received micro-credit
funding from VV to start or enhance their small enterprises.
|
| » |
A library resource center was built in Kimuka for ELAND Maasai
Project thanks to a generous donation from one of our volunteers.
The opening will take place in January 2008.
|
| » |
A bicycle repair business was funded for a youth cooperative
in 2007, thanks to our fellowship with the Cottonwood Foundation.
|
| » |
Orphan care: 75 students were sponsored this year. Alumni
volunteers often chose to sponsor children after their heartfelt
experiences in the villages. If you would like to sponsor a
child
visit our Donate page.
|
| » |
Schoolbooks, a new kitchen, a rainwater cistern, and furnishings
for the new girls dormitory were provided to Pathfinder Academy
at Common Ground Program through the Pangea Foundation.
|
| » |
Shining Star, a school near Mama Maria Kenya, received funding
for desks, benches, and the construction of new classrooms.
|
| » |
Donations for bicycles, breeding goats, clinic equipment,
mosquito nets, trees, and books were made through our Donate
page from people from around the world.
|
| » |
Various fundraisers were held to support Micro-Credit for
women’s groups including my favorite local (Seattle) annual
Thanksgiving morning event through Wassa Dance and Lara Mcintosh.
|
Finally, we can also never discount the benefit of the hospitality
fees of volunteers that help to support the social needs programs
run by our partner organizations. Besides establishing a hospitality
industry that creates jobs, and contributes to the village program,
once volunteers return home, they continue to raise funds to support
the programs that touched their lives.
The coming together of volunteers and their communities and the
communities abroad show us the tremendous generosity in the world.
Medical and school supplies, soccer equipment, and a myriad of other
useful items are collected and delivered to villages abroad by our
wonderful volunteers.
In 2007, as in years past, our wonderful volunteers have contributed
untold benefits to villages with their ready smiles and compassion
and their contributions as teachers andhelpers. The value of volunteers
in rural communities is not only their assistance but most importantly
the message that they came from a long distance to offer a hand
in friendship.
*****
Despite all the great success and growth this year, I recap our
2007 with a heavy heart for the people and programs we support in
Kenya. The political violence that erupted in late December forced
us to withdraw all our volunteers from that country and prevents
us from sending any in the first quarter of this year.
The conflict has had disastrous consequences for the people of Kenya.
Food and medical supplies are scarce and prices for everything including
fuel has tripled, creating a great burden.
Each of our village programs is taking on the burden as relief organizations
and need our help. Joshua Machinga wrote: “Pathfinder Academy is
now accommodating over 70 boarding students mainly from areas hit
by the skirmishes. Some of the kids are too young but we are struggling
to help them cope with the situation... We have changed one of the
classrooms into a boarding room for boys and we’ll be preparing
more pit latrines and bathrooms to accommodate the growing number
of children.”
Village Volunteers is committed to supporting these villages in
any way we can, and right now we are limited to wiring money. If
you can, please consider a
direct donation to help our partner villages as they struggle
through this difficult time. You can specify the village programs,
or simply have your donation divided among the villages with the
most burden. Undeniably, the sense of hope, optimism, and resiliency
of the Kenyan people will move them towards peace and reconciliation.
On behalf of the people of Kenya and all our partner programs, we
thank you. We invite you to join us in making 2008 a year of continued
progress towards a sustainable future for rural communities.
Best wishes,
Shana Greene
Founder and Executive Director
|
|
|
