As many of you know, I am currently studying at the London School of Economics in the Master's of Public Administration program, focusing on International Development. I have never in my life encountered such a breadth of interesting, talented, intimidatingly intelligent people with such fascinating and diverse life experiences, all of which they bring to bear on the program. I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of it! They're also charitable and extremely generous - the program's Student Association, MPASA, has a Philanthropy wing, and each year the entire program votes on a charity to raise funds for. This year, they chose us at The Small Things!
Souraya
Joachim
Leo
Through the efforts of our two fearless second year leaders, Souraya and Leo, as well as our newly elected leader for next year, Joachim, as well as the amazing participation from the class, we managed to raise over $5,500! This was achieved through a number of creative avenues - from pub quizzes to bake sales to scavenger hunts to candygrams to hoodies to gambling! Here are a few highlights of the year's events.
Blackjack and "Pin the Tail on the Beaver (LSE's Mascot) at
Games and Poker Night
Jo (front) and Merce (back), two of our departing second years, showing off the charades slips at Games and Poker night
One team crammed into a London phone box
during the Scavenger Hunt
Another team rocking out in an intersection for the Scavenger Hunt
Ebenezer Ndogo, one of the preemies
being helped by the one-to-one care
After talking to the group and the board, we've decided to use $2,000 of the money raised to complete Light Up the Night! That means that thanks to the students of the LSE MPA, we will be able to put solar lighting in the hospital maternity ward as well as the orphanage, making things much safer for the 30 orphanage kids as well as for hundreds of laboring mothers each year. The rest of the money will be divided between various other projects - part will go towards paying for a new mama's salary for the next three years in conjunction with Western Union and Millie and Mikarla, part will go towards the new cooker and dryer for the orphanage, and part will stay in reserve for unforeseen expenses, like paying for one-to-one care for premature infants.
Pray, who was badly burned
in the fire that inspired Light
Up the Night
We at The Small Things are all incredibly grateful - but I want to personally thank each and every one of my incredible classmates for their participation in this huge gift to the kids of Nkoaranga orphanage. I want to thank you for choosing us, despite the complications of being a US registered nonprofit operating in the UK. I want to thank you for spreading the word to friends and family - Team Least Squares from the Pub Quiz (Tolu “T-Statistic”, Faisal “F-Statistic”, Sarah “Stata Star”, Joachim “Joint Hypothesis”, and Hayk "Histogram Hero") were particularly wonderful ambassadors. I want to thank the people who baked and helped us harass random passerbys for the bake sale - especially Molly, Kyla, Josephine, Liz, Merce and Josepha. And of course, none of this would have been possibly without the incredible leadership of Leo, Souraya and Jo, and the hard work of the rest of the Philanthropy team.
Andrea, one of the kids headed to
school in January
Most importantly, I want to thank you all for coming out to our events and making them such a pleasure. It will be up to the class to decide which nonprofit they choose to support next year - while we would be incredibly grateful to be chosen again, it would also be fair for people to choose another of the many deserving nominated charities. But please know that you've made a huge difference for us this year, and the projects you've sponsored will affect mothers and children in need for many years to come.
Just one of many outlets and
switches moved out of the
reach of little fingers
We've come an amazing way in the last few months. Between Kristina's event for Light Up the Night and your generous donations, we're now at almost $7,500 of $9,500 total needed to finish the project by installing solar lighting in the orphanage and hospital maternity wards, an effort that WILL save lives. Check out the difference this project has already made - the orphanage rewiring is now FINISHED. No more electrical outlets in the reach of little fingers, no more dead lights in the baby room from the fire years ago, no more random holes in the wall with wires sticking out - hooray!
We still have a few more hurdles before the finish line, but we are getting closer every day. We also have received news that our gorgeous boy Andrea may be getting sponsored for school next year... keep your fingers crossed! In the meantime, please consider donating to Light Up the Night or towards Pendo, Andrea, Abdulli and David's school costs, or taking one of them on for long-term sponsorship (a quarter sponsorship is just $19 per month and can change their lives).
Mama Cantate describing the fire that sparked Project Light Up the Night
Can you imagine cooking for 30 kids
on this??
We've also got some great projects coming up this summer, including a pilot business micro-grants and training program for families either already caring for orphaned children or single parents in danger of having to surrender a child to the orphanage system. We also will be hiring a new mama and replanting the garden for the coming year. We ALSO just had a few large unforeseen expenses - replacing the completely dead orphanage dryer that is often the only thing that keeps our kids' beautiful butts clothed (especially in the rainy season!) as well as repairing the stove, which had disintegrated almost completely - to the point that the mamas often cooked on a fire outside instead. We're also replenishing our stock of chewable vitamins, liquid vitamins, and formula to keep the kids adequately nourished. On top of all of that, we've got some great volunteers coming over the summer, including medical students and a Swahili major who will be working with us to create cross-cultural children's books that we hope to distribute to other local orphanages as well.
And as a reminder of why we do this all, take a look at the beautiful face of my happy, healthy little girl Zi, who just a year and a half ago was riddled with worms and couldn't even crawl because she was so weak. Better medical care, better food, access to formula and vitamins, better support for the mamas so they have more attention for the children, better volunteer support, better infrastructure - happier, healthier kids. Just 18 days till I have the privilege of being with them again!
First year medical student Priya spent a chunk of last summer in Tanzania at the orphanage and hospital. Bear in mind that during this time, we had only just started our projects with the kids. Since then, with your help, we've installed water filters, rewired the orphanage, fixed all the washing machines (and are buying a new dryer in the next few weeks), hired one new mama (with another to come this summer), redone the playground, and are so close to reaching our goal in order to install solar lighting in the orphanage and hospital - not to mention started three amazing kids in school already and are more than halfway towards getting full sponsorship for four more! Take a look at the Nkoaranga of last summer through medical student Priya's eyes:
Last summer I travelled to Tanzania with a group called MedOutreach.
Our university (The University of Western Ontario, Canada) sends
medical, dental and nursing students through MedOutreach every year on
a medical mission. We spend most of our time working in clinics in Arusha with Dr. Mhando and at the Nkoaranga Hospital with
the doctors there. As a first year medical student, I had an incredible eye
opening experience while working in the Nkoaranga Hospital. I saw
intense piki piki (motorcycle) accidents with such severe road rash
and mangled bodies, I scrubbed in on crazy abdominal surgeries and
helped deliver beautiful babies. It was such a shocking experience,
seeing end stage diseases, complications of HIV, cerebral malaria, so
many retained products of conception from young women aborting their
pregnancies (done unsafely because abortion is illegal in Tanzania). I saw many cases that I would have never seen working in
North America, I had a lot to learn from the doctors and nurses in
Tanzania, who with so little technology and equipment were able to
save lives and help cure disease.
As much as I learned from the medical experience in Nkoaranga, my
most favorite memory and the thing that is bringing me back to
Tanzania this summer is the beautiful children at the Nkoaranga
orphanage. Each day after finishing work at the hospital, we would
run up the hill to visit with these kids. When we first arrived, we
saw that there were kids, toddlers, and even babies all about
unsupervised. Some were half dressed, some looked quite unclean, some
couldn’t walk, but they all were so beautiful and needed love. When
you stopped to pick one of them up and give them a hug or a big kiss,
how their faces would light up and how they would laugh and giggle.
These children had a way of making a long day at the hospital, seeing
sick patients suffering from incurable diseases, seem like nothing.
Whether you had showered that morning or ate proper meals, whether you
had electricity or whether you had talked to your family at home, none
of that mattered. These children showed me love and happiness like I
have never seen before.
Although these children did not live in the
best of conditions, sometimes lacking clean water, balanced diets, and clean clothes,
they still had so much life in them. The way they danced and sang
made it seem like they had not a worry in the world. These were the
strongest people I have ever met in my life. Each child had their own
personality and style and as time went by I grew attached to them.
When it was time to leave, I did not even know how to say good-bye. I
did not know how to say thank you for all they had taught me. They
showed me an appreciation for life I will never forget. They showed
me love as I have never seen before. I am truly blessed to have met
these children and it has been my mission since I have been back in
Canada to fundraise for these children and to be their voice. I hope
to put my fundraising efforts towards The Small Things Projects and I
cannot wait to return this summer and see their gorgeous smiles, see
how they have grown and see the many improvements The Small Things
have made for these beautiful children of Nkoaranga orphanage.
We can't wait to work with Priya this summer as she returns to Nkoaranga, and we hope she'll be thrilled with the progress made so far! One of the things she mentions is the most crucial - the constant need for more hands and more attention. The volunteer house is full for the summer - but if anyone is interested in volunteering in the fall or winter, please get in touch. To volunteer directly with the orphanage with the assistance of The Small Things, we require you to have fairly extensive experience living and travelling in the developing world. Alternatively, we can direct you to some wonderful volunteer agencies in the area!
First daughter, Magnolia Zinashi,
chowing down with Ababi (dad)
This wonderful family is currently in the process of adopting a second daughter (this one with some special needs) from Ethiopia. Instead of taking out a standard loan or asking for unrestricted donations, they came up with a very cool and innovative concept - the "Give it Forward" loan. They ask people to donate towards their adoption costs - however, each month, they pay back an installment of those costs (usually $200), plus 10% interest, plus a 10% matching donation from an anonymous donor. These payments go to charities voted on by Finding Magnolia's readers - and this month, they chose us! Thank you so much to everyone who voted for us - we love this entire concept and the idea that each donation to this wonderfully family is effectively doubled, as it helps them with their adoption now, and then has a second impact as a donation to a charity as they pay it back. What a cool idea!
We have decided to put their $240 donation towards Project Education - we are now more than half of the way to the total amount we will need to raise to get all four wonderful kids enrolled next year! In case you need a reminder, these are the fantastic kids we are working to get into The Foundation For Tomorrow's amazing program, which puts them in high quality Tanzanian boarding schools, with fantastic extracurriculars, emotional and academic support, and care and transport over school breaks. This donation will help with the two years of up-front tuition required to enroll each child - however, we are still looking for long term sponsors for most of these beautiful kids. A quarter sponsorship is just $19 per month! Take a look at our beautiful kiddos, and then check out the Project Education page for more details on them and the program.
Andrea, our sweet silly boy - one quarter sponsored
Abdulli, our sensitive little man - not yet sponsored
Pendo, our loving girl - fully sponsored
And David, our little firecracker - one quarter sponsored
Mosey on over to the Project Education page to find out more about the program and how to get involved and help give these wonderful kids the future that they deserve. Thank you again to Finding Magnolia and everyone else who has helped us come so far!
Ok, so I know a big company isn't usually an angel... but in this case, Western Union's "World of Betters" competition allowed us to throw our name in the hat with an idea about what we would do with $1,000 to make the world a better place. And then many of you wonderful people voted for us on their site - and we won! We picked up $1,000 towards funding a year's salary for a new mama, who we're hoping to hire this summer. A good chunk of the rest of the money is coming from our wonderful friends Millie and Mikarla, two Australian volunteers who partnered with us to re-do the playground. We couldn't be more grateful for their help with both projects!
Cantate dancing with the toddlers
For those who haven't been there personally, please trust us when we say that hiring new staff is possibly the MOST valuable thing we can do for the orphanage. The mamas work incredibly hard, but as it stands, there are often only two on duty at any given time - meaning that one is cooking, cleaning, and washing all the clothes, while another is watching the kids. Given that there are currently four babies under a year and another six under two years, think about how much time and attention the older kids get under the current system! This isn't the fault of the mamas, and they work hard to counteract it through group play, singing, dancing, and more - but it's just not always possible to engage that many children directly with only two adults. And, of course, if a child is sick and needs to be brought down the hill to the hospital or the water or cooker or washing machines are down, one mama will have to spend their entire shift working on that problem rather than being with the kids.
Mama Linda with sleepy Ester
That said, things are getting better. Mama Linda has already made a big splash with the kids, and almost certainly saved little Peace's life during the month she spent with him giving one-to-one care. We're hoping to find someone just as wonderful as her to fill the second spot we'll have open this summer! Luckily for us, although difficult for the community, there are almost always very talented people left without jobs, even once they've attained credentials such as the child-care certificate required to work at the orphanage. We're looking forward to finding just the right fit for our kids.
Mama Andrew with Shujah
We have also been lucky to have a number of wonderful volunteers come forward through the site, in addition to those who are out there through great volunteer organizations. However, volunteers are always a bit of a mixed bag, because unless they live on the property (as we do when we go), they often choose to be there during a very limited time-frame, usually 9am-4pm, which are in fact the easiest hours of the day! That can supplement, but never replace, the importance of having enough mamas hired to take care of the kids in every hour of the day and night.
Now, just for fun, a few videos: Mama Cantate feeding the kids with mangoes (which are 'tam,' tasty), trying not to let them get their hands all sticky - a losing battle - and Mama Farajah singing and dancing the "Train to Moshi" song before bed with the kids (and no, I have no clue why Zawadi looks so serious!)
Thanks to everyone who voted for us, to Western Union, and to Millie and Mikarla!
My mother is having a tough mother's day - I am in graduate school in London, and my brother (and only sibling) is on a semester abroad in Australia - she is literally a quarter and half of the way around the world from us, respectively. I miss her, and I'm sorry not to be there - but at the end of the day, she's instilled in my brother and me both the confidence to travel, to explore, to let our life path find us, and I am so grateful to her for that gift. Mine found me in a beautiful little girl named Zawadi, and I can't wait until the day we have our first mother's day together.
Me and my girl Zi
Unfortunately, for most of our incredible kids, there are no adoptive mothers waiting in the wings. So instead it's up to all of us, the community of care that is The Small Things, to think on this day especially of what their mothers would have wanted them to have. Education. Opportunity. Safety. Health. Love.
We are doing our best, and with your help we have achieved amazing things in the past year. We've started three kids in high quality Tanzanian boarding schools with the help of their sponsors, everyone who donated to their up-front costs, and The Foundation For Tomorrow - and in January, we hope to have found full sponsorship for the next four. With your help, we will give them education to take advantage of all the opportunities life has to offer - and with Tanzania's rapid growth (over 6% per year) and more companies investing heavily in the continent, their future is looking bright.
Mama Pendo with a group of former Nkoaranga orphanage
kids, now all thriving at school with TFFT
As for safety, we are more than 80% of the way to our goal for Light Up the Night, which has already rewired the orphanage, will be installing solar lighting in the orphanage this summer, and, if we can raise that last 20%, will fund solar lighting for the hospital maternity ward as well. We have raised sufficient funds to fulfill our commitments to the orphanage to keep them fully stocked with formula for all children up to six months as well as chewable and liquid vitamins - which the kids LOVE and ask for daily as their candy! We've also had success with our one-to-one 24/7 preemie care program, which has helped our (previously) little Peace to grow into a beautiful, chubby prince, and is currently funding care for little Ebenezer to catch up to his healthy new buddy Neema.
Frankie with Dainess and Pray
Mama Neema
Mama Pendo with Farajah
Last but absolutely not least, these children need love to thrive. There are two parts to our responsibility here - encouraging and modelling ongoing commitment and engagement from volunteers, and supporting the incredible mamas who stay with these kids day in and day out for their first five years. We do that through ongoing salary support and funding new hires - one in January, the wonderful Mama Linda, and we are hoping for a second this summer. These kids may have had the bad luck to lose their mothers - but they have the mamas, and they have us, and we have their mothers' memories to guide and inspire us.
Thank you from each of the Nkoaranga kids -
and their twenty-plus siblings!
Please consider donating to support any or all of these projects through the How to Help page - we can't do it without you! To those who have helped us come so far already, thank you - and you should feel some pride today, because in a way, everyone who has helped these projects has become part of our mothering effort. Happy Mother's Day to you, too!
(PS: Shameless plug - if you aren't already signed up to our mailing list, check out our spring newsletter here and/or sign up in the sidebar!)
I have always loved the serenity prayer, whether or not one connects it with religion or God - I think it's a really beautiful and powerful way to think about life, especially the difficult and raw parts that this type of work exposes you to.
"Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."
Serenity
I never fully got the chance to honor and memorialize Rehema, a beautiful little angel who was with us for just a few short days. I am sorry I never got the chance to meet her, though Jasmine, Dora and Anna have given us a glimpse of her days at the orphanage, and assure us she was taken care of and loved. It appears her mother was unable to get to the hospital and gave birth in unsanitary conditions, then passed away - leaving little Rehema, already premature, with infections she was not strong enough to fight. Her name meant compassion, and I hope we gave her that at least. We will remember you, little girl, and strive to be compassionate to honor your memory.
Courage
We couldn't help Rehema - but there are parts of her story that echo things we can help. Her birth was unsafe - we have made huge strides with Light Up the Night, and are over 80% of the way towards our goal. That means we've already raised enough to rewire and install solar lighting in the orphanage. Now we are just over $2000 away from being able to install solar lighting in the maternity wards as well. This is crucial - electricity is out several nights a week, and the incredibly hardworking hospital midwives cannot do their job properly if they can't monitor the laboring mothers and summon more help from the doctors when necessary.
I also am thrilled to deliver an update on our beautiful boy Peace. As you may remember, he struggled badly to gain weight during his first month - he remained just two kilos. However, thanks to your donations, we were able to fund 24/7 care for him during his second month, and he more than doubled in weight! He's kept up that progress since then - take a look at him below with baby Shujah, who was not premature and is several months older than him. Same size! And Shujah is NOT a small baby! We're so proud of how beautifully they are both growing, and were thrilled to hear from Jasmine and co. that they would never have guessed on their recent visit that he had been so premature if they hadn't already known.
Shujah (left) and Peace (right)
Wisdom
Asimwe cuddling baby Ebeni
a few weeks ago
Little man giving a sly
smile yesterday
Because this intervention worked so well with Peace, we have been able to help out another gorgeous boy who has been struggling, little Ebenezer Ndogo. He has been lucky to have some of the school kids home for a break from boarding school, giving him lots of extra loving - but we were still worried about his lack of weight gain, vomiting and diarrhea. So in concert with Mama Pendo, we decided to fund four weeks of one-to-one care for him as well - and the results already seem to be showing. Friend of The Small Things Steffi was at the orphanage this weekend, and sent along these pictures of Ebenezer Ndogo already smiling, and looking healthier by the day. We're thrilled that it's helping!
Hope
Beautiful girl Neema Ndogo
Luckily, sometimes we are blessed with babies who are healthy and happy from day one. That seems to be the case with beautiful Neema (who will have to be Neema Ndogo since we already have a Neema, now Neema Kubwa!) who came in over the weekend. She's only a few weeks old, but already looks wise beyond her years, with a beautiful, thoughtful little face. Neema means hope, and she is ours - we hope that soon all our beautiful babies will thrive as she seems to be doing already. We hope that they'll all get as big, and beautiful, and sweet, and funny as our Neema Kubwa, two and a half and with dimples that can slay you from a mile away. I personally can't wait to meet both of our new arrivals, to see how Peace has grown, to try to catch the running toddlers that I held on their first days in the orphanage, just a few days or hours old. It makes everything worth it.
Maureen, who I met on her first day, comforting baby Peace.
Keep paying it forward, little girl.
It has been a long time coming, but finally on April 29th my gala dinner and silent auction for "Light Up The Night" (details) took place at at The Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort & Spa in Victoria, BC.
"Light Up The Night" The evening proved to be a huge success; and thanks to the generosity of all who attended, and made a donation in lieu of attending we were able to raise $608.00 for food which includes: bananas, pineapples, rice, oil for cooking, meat, fish, chicken, toothbrushes, and underwear. This will help to stock the pantry and provide them with a surplus to use in times of need. Thank you to those who purchased 3 containers of baby formula. This will help with our new baby Ebeni who is very weak and struggling right now. I feel fortunate to be able to return in less than 2 weeks to assess the needs of this little one and help where I can.
$1100.00 was raised for education and an additional $7292.00 for the electrical work and solar panels for the orphanage. With the $60 already donated, that brings us to a grand total so far of $7352!
Thank you to everyone in my local community that contributed to the silent auction tables. Thank you to The Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort & Spa in Victoria for sponsoring my event, and taking a chance on a girl with a crazy fundraising idea! I can't even begin to thank the members of my team at work who have provided the funds for David's first year of education; and I feel blessed to be a part of sponsoring this amazing kid.
Many people are wondering where "The Mosiac Ladies" ended up. Well, the beautiful quilt that was made by my amazingly talented mother was auctioned off with all funds going towards "Light Up The Night". It will be a lovely house warming gift from one sister to another. Don't worry if you missed out on this beautiful piece of fabric art, there will be a chance to bid on another one...more details to follow.
"The Mosiac Ladies"
I can not even begin to express my thanks and gratitude to my family as I have planned this fundraiser, whilst working on my degree. Their support has been more than I could have ever asked for. From the very beginning my mom has been hands on assisting where she could. Thanks to my dad for taking some wonderful and memorable photos of the event.Thanks to my sister and brother in law who out bid many people and took home 8 silent auction items; the record for the evening! Without them this night would not have been possible. Last but not least a tremendous thanks to my boss at work for giving me the time off so I could return to Nkoaranga, and spend 7 more weeks with the children and mamas; I can't wait!
My family ~ my cheerleaders!
I wish that I had the words to express how thankful I am for everyone that attended the evening and made it possible, but there are no words to express what I feel and how grateful I am for all of you. I think that Mother Teresa says it best, "We ourselves know that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop. We can do no great things, only small things with great love." That's what we are all about at The Small Things as we work to enhance the children and mama's lives at Nkoaranga, one small thing at a time.
My brother in law, my beautiful sister and niece.
My "oldest" sponsors, my grandparents
Neela, Sandra (my mom), and Deborah. Deborah made 50 pairs of pants and shorts for the children this summer.
My work team and some of David's new sponsors
To contribute to "Light Up the Night" and help us reach our goal, click below!
