In Africa you're a free-range chicken, and everywhere else you're in a cage.
Meaning there is more danger, but also more freedom. And in the case of this volunteering placement, there is more chaos, but more opportunity to really make a difference.
In Peru, I was slotted into an already established system. Granted it was a system that needed an overhaul, but that wasn't going to be achieved by me in 2 weeks, so I used the time to learn, observe, and give them another pair of hands.
This placement, however, with the Local Aid Organization (actually their official name) is much more...entrepreneurial. As Cate said, we're living and working in a slum (more on that later), and many years ago two women from this community started reaching out to people in the community with HIV/AIDS. Josephine, a social worker, and Elosy, a teacher, both eventually quit their jobs to do this full time. It's a grass-roots effort on their part and in my opinion the best kind of aid since it comes from people within the community who are familiar with its people and challenges.
Their outreach has come in many forms:
- Counseling women with AIDS
- Home visits to make sure the women are ok, have food, and are taking their medication
- Working on starting a clinic in their office so people can receive treatment without having to pay to get to the hospital
- They started a school for orphans, kids with HIV, and other kids that have fallen through the government's school system since there aren't enough schools and the fees are expensive.
- Started a bead making program where they sell necklaces the women have made to give the women some income and to help pay the rent on their office ($75/month).
- Running workshops on business management and providing care for HIV+ children.
So, I've spent the last few days going on home visits (by 'home' I mean 10x10 tin-roofed shacks that house families of 5), teaching health and hygiene to the kids at the school (hard to tell them to brush their teeth twice a day when they don't have toothpaste!), and talking to Josephine and Elosy about what their priorities are and what they need.
I was planning on emailing my friends who have worked in development and with non-profits, but realized I should send this out to everyone because the more minds we have working on this the better! What the women have already accomplished is amazing, so we're just trying to figure out ways to sustain what they are doing and implement their priority programs. So if you have any ideas, please post them on here or email me at: krista.buckley@gmail.com!
Bead Program:
They'd like to have a way to sell these necklaces. Most of the local places charge a large percentage that makes it impractical to use that avenue. If anyone can think of specific groups that are already selling crafts made by women in Africa please let me know.
Other Income-generating schemes:
Their aim is to make these woman as self-sustaining as possible, so they are always looking for new incoming-generating plans like the bead program, especially since so many other groups are making necklaces also. I know it's hard from there to imagine what enterprises might be possible for this women, but throw your ideas out there! Some other things the women do are knitting sweaters for school uniforms, selling fish or groceries, etc.
Sponsoring a child:
We'd like to set up a website, either an independent one or through an established charity that already links donors up with children so their school fees can be paid. There are only 2 government schools for the well over 100,000 people in this slum, and they charge $63 a term which many people can't afford. So there are many 'informal schools' like the Glad Kids School that have sprung up to fill the gap. Glad Kids, which currently has 70 kids enrolled from ages 3-14, only charges $15/term but many kids can't pay their fees. We'd like to have the fees paid so that the teachers can receive a little stipend because it's hard to retain teachers very long on a volunteer basis. If you know of any website designers that would make a website for free for an NGO/charity let me know! Or of a good established one that might be taking on more students to sponsor!
Porridge Program Donations:
Many of the kids who go home for lunch don't actually get any food, because there isn't any. So they are trying to set up a feeding program so they can give the kids porridge once a day (I tried it last night...frankly I think I'd rather go hungry, but the kids seem to love it!). Someone in the community has donated the corn meal for the first term, another lady has given them an extra pot to cook it in, and I'm planning on buying the coals for cooking it and the bowls to serve it in tomorrow for the first month (it's about $100 to feed 70 kids lunch for a month). If you're at all interested in helping with that you can donate on our website: cateandkrista.com. I know most of you have already supported us a LOT, so no pressure, I just thought it would be a very direct way you could literally help feed a child if you were interested and I'll try to post some pictures when the program starts next week.
Sister School:
Ideally, for a sustainable way to support the school and the porridge program, I'd love to set it up with an elementary school in the US. The school is like an expanded version of the tin-roofed shacks with three classrooms and an office. They don't have running water or a kitchen to cook in (current plan is to cook porridge outside). So those are two improvements they'd like to eventually make happen, but they also struggle with daily issues of some kids not having any shoes, not being able to afford books, etc. Setting them up with sister school could ensure donations of old books, equipment, etc from US schools and also start a cross cultural understanding- so the kids in the slum in Kenya can see that there is another way to live and the kids in America can see how lucky they really are! Lots of schools already have this set up, but I thought I'd throw it out there to see if any of you guys knew of a school that might be interested.
Ok, I'm going to go now because I've somehow found the most expensive internet cafe in Africa, but we'll fill you in our adventures (and misadventures) we haven't posted about yet soon. :)
Much love!
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