So the time is finally approaching. Sorry for the delay since my last blog post; as to be expected when working with third world countries, there have been some minor speed bumps along the way. Communication is always in issue as internet and phone service are hard to come by, so phone and email conversations are never consistent. Also, we chose for this project to work with contractors and architects within Nairobi and Meru (as opposed to Denver, the general U.S.) in keeping with the ultimate goal of teaching the community of Meru the concept of self-sufficiency. We decided it was time that we really push to pass the work/knowledge on so that for future projects, the process is already familiar and the people of Meru can make it their own initiative to develop similar communities without the need of third parties from the modern world. However, in doing so, there were again communication issues regarding the budget we had initially decided on, as well we the overall design of the cottages. In my prior blog I made mention to the originally decided upon budget of $20,000/cottage, however we received an estimate back from the first contractor which quoted $90,000, which is obviously unnecessarily expensive. After many conversations and emails we finally found another contractor, and just 3 weeks ago we were given an estimate of $28,000/cottage, all in (not exactly what we estimated but $62,000 closer). This includes furniture, labor, materials, landscaping etc. This was great news and could not have come at a better time. Had we waited any longer, we would have had to postpone the project (which meant my family would not have been able to participate in the construction process). It is so crucial not to rush projects like this and to make sure that every dollar is being spent wisely. As much of a bummer as it would have been for my family not to be able to participate in the building process, they were all very supportive and understanding as to the complexities of planning projects in third world countries. I was thinking about my Ryan and how they have project managers who are on-site everyday managing all of the project details and helping to remedy any issues throughout the process, on buildings that have similar structures to what they have done in the past. So I do have to give the people of IPI and AI a lot of credit for all that they have done to put this project together as smoothly as they have, especially with a design that has not been done before.
All of that being said, the cottage project is finally coming together and is moving forward in the right direction. The date has been set; my family and I are planning to head over to Kenya during the first week of June and are dated to stay for two weeks. We will spend the 3/4 of the trip in Meru, Kenya, where we will be helping construct the cottages outlined in the blue prints below. The cottages will be primarily constructed using “eco-blocks” (http://www.eco-block.com/) which is an environmentally friendly block, that is supposed to be energy efficient and more water/mold/bacteria resistant than other types of building materials.
There are three phases to the building of the cottages. The first is the laying of the foundation; this phase tends to take the longest as you have to lay the individual layers and then wait 24-48hrs for them to dry and then lay the next layers. The second phase includes building out the walls; this phase takes equally as long as laying the foundation since you have to allow enough lag time in between "lays" in order for the walls to dry and stabilize. The final phase is the finishing phase, which includes laying the flooring and setting the roofing. The latter phase is the one which my family and I will be helping with. This phase is one that can be done as quickly as the labor can be completed, so having all eight of us (Mom, Dad, Mo, Mike, Leah, Colin, Mara (his recent fiancé), and myself) working together along with other people in the community will really allow for this phase to move quickly.
Everyone is getting so excited for this trip. All the shots have been gotten and all the tickets have been booked. Now the true countdown begins. This is one of those bittersweet feelings, where the planning phase starts winding down and you just have to wait and see how well things come together. One thing I learned from my initial trip to Africa is that so much of the experience is just being there and you can't focus too much on the original plan, since that will never be the way the trip actually works out. We are outlining the day-to-day itinerary now and I will make sure to upload that as soon as it is finalized (or as much as it can be).

Introduction and Update

Hi all!

First and foremost, I want to thank you all again for donating to this amazing project. This will change more lives than you can imagine and it bring us one step closer towards improving our world. With that said, I promised to keep you all updated on the progress and I decided a blog would be the best way to do that.

Before I give you the update, here is a little refresher on the project for those of you who may still be a little foggy...

Goal: Construct four cottages in order to help with the self-sustainability of the Amani Community Home. The idea behind the cottages, is that currently there is no where for members of the Kenyan community or people traveling from outside Kenya to stay when they come to visit the home. The only rooms available are those inside the home, and offering those up would take away a room from the children. So....providing guests with the ability to stay at a near by cottage, for a small fee, will allow the guest a longer stay, provide more rooms for the children, as well as bring money into the home for those items such as milk, butter, building materials etc. that are outside the self-sufficiency of the home. I went ahead at attached the letter I sent out initially with all of the information about International Peace Initiiatves and Alpine Initiatives and what they stand for, for those who are interested.

Another big part of this project will be trying to incorporate as many members of the community to help in this process as possible. There are two reasons for this; first, there is a mentality there that when projects like this go on, members of the community see foreign people helping and are under the impression that they are taking their jobs. They are unaware that they are volunteering and hence feel animosity towards them. Obviously, this is not what we want. So to eliminate this problem we will be hiring many members of the community to help with the construction/design/planning of these cottages. Also, there is the saying "give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he'll eat for the rest of his life." It is imperative that we teach the Kenyan people what we are doing and how we are doing it. Teaching Africa to operate on its own is the only way it will be able to stand on its own. As of now they live day to day in fear of when outside funds with cease to arrive, and we have to change that mentality.


So here's the update:

Since I sent out the letter, I was asked to become an official member of Alpine Initiatives (www.alpineinitiatives.org). It is an incredible group of people who were brought together by their love for skiing and their passion for social development. They have a lot of talented people working for them who will be huge assets to this project. As for the project, all of the funds have been received and the planning/design process is starting. The land on which the cottages will be build has been purchased and is in the process of being fenced off (the location of the land was crucial being that it was so close to the property of the community home, so this purchase was huge). I have copied images below so you can all see. Once designs have been put in place, I will post pictures of those as well.

My family and I are planning to travel to Kenya this summer (last 2 weeks of June) to help with the construction of the cottages. Any and all are WELCOME! (We are also going to try to sneak in a safari while we are there, if that adds any incentive). I will post with more details of the trip as they are finalized.

Imagine traveling across oceans to another continent and finding children parentless and living in the most heart-rending conditions you have ever seen, or ever thought possible anywhere in the world. What would you do? What if you met a team of people working hard to provide a home for such kids, with big hearts, yet who have so very little – what would you do?

Dear friends and family,
In August of 2007, during my sophomore year at Villanova University I decided I wanted to travel to Kenya. I knew I wanted to volunteer with children and I was looking for an organization that was hands-on and would allow me to become submerged in the culture. That is when I came across International Peace Initiatives (IPI: ipeacei.org). IPI is a non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO) that “is dedicated to supporting and funding initiatives that mitigate the effects of poverty, disease, discrimination and violence.”

IPI was founded by a woman named Dr. Karambu Ringera. Dr. Ringera grew up in a traditional Kenyan household, where women are subservient and discouraged from freethinking. At a young age she realized that educating women in third world countries is essential for their success, so she chose to start with herself. Through her own dedication and perseverance, Karambu managed to achieve a bachelor’s degree from the University of Nairobi as well as a Ph.D. from the University of Denver. Upon her return to Kenya, after her completion of school, she was a rarity in Kenyan society and was confronted by many women who were seeking help and support for themselves as well as their children. Dr. Karambu was in the midst of completing her doctorate at the time, and did not have the means to help these women, but from that day on (2002) she made it her lifelong goal to be an advocate for these women.

IPI works to benefit primarily marginalized HIV positive women and their children. As of 2009 the number of children orphaned due to AIDS in Kenya had reached 1.2 million and that number continues to rise rapidly. Instead of placing these children in centralized overcrowded orphanages, IPI works to bring children into “Amani” homes (meaning “peace” in Swahili), which are community homes of peace for orphans and vulnerable children. Here they are allowed to stay within their community and attend their local schools. Staying local allows for these children to maintain their network of support with relatives and friends. Most orphanages in Kenya do not take siblings. So in addition to loosing their parents, children are forced to be separated from their brothers and sisters. Ipi believes It is crucial for these kids to feel a sense of family and belonging in the homes, which is why they strive to keep siblings together. IPI places a ceiling on the number of children allowed to live in each home as each home is meant to offer the children life-skills, education, love and support, which cannot be done when 100 children are living all together.

IPI also offers support for those women who are living with HIV/AIDS and unable to “live” in society, in all sense of the word. Women in Kenya who are living with HIV/AIDS are cast out of society and looked down upon. They are unable to get jobs and hence do not have the means to care for their children. Many women feel that there is no way out and see death as the only option. IPI has established a jewelry project that supports women living with HIV/AIDS and helps keep their children in school as well as help support the home. Through these programs women are able to maintain a steady income as well as build relationships with women who are living in situations similar to their own.

Many of the orphanages that have been built in Africa were built by outside sources and rely on constant donor funding to sustain themselves. They live in fear of the day when the funds will cease to arrive. It is this method and the lack of income generating projects in many African orphanages that essentially leads to their end. In Meru, many orphanages have closed once the donors left. Between 2005-2010, about 7 programs have closed down in Meru alone. Furthermore, relying on outside funding creates a dependency mentality for both the administrators and those supported by these projects. A principle characteristic that makes IPI so distinguished is their goal to be self-sufficient and self-sustaining. IPI is one of the only NGOs in all of Kenya that is determined to create sustainability within five (5) years of starting the Children’s Home (2009). Meaning, that through wise use and management of environmental resources, the Amani community homes will rely solely on themselves alone for survival. As of now the majority of the food eaten at the home is produced from their organic gardens (“shambas”) as well as through their animal husbandry projects (poultry, rabbit and goat breeding that helps provide protein for the children) and all other needs are met by the success of the home.

I realized quickly, while in Kenya, that so much of my experience there would be what I would be able to do with that knowledge once I returned to the states. After a year of pondering, I have determined a plan. As of now there are two homes that have been built under IPI, each home currently has twenty kids and has the capacity to house yet another twenty each. They cannot house another twenty kids per home, without a solid plan for maintaining a steady flow of income on the ground. In July I am planning on traveling back to Kenya to purchase land (valued at 1.6 million Kenyan shillings, around $20,000) on which to build a series of cottages that will enable IPI to generate enough income to provide homes to as many as forty more children. The strategy of IPI is to build a Guest House to host visitors who volunteer with IPI. Other visitors both local and international will use the Guest House for a fee and the funds thus raised will support the home. Once the 2-acre piece of land is purchased, the aim is to build 4 cottages on the property. Each cottage will have 3 rooms all self-contained: one single room, one double room and one room that will hold 4 people; totaling a maximum of 8 people per cottage. With 4 cottages, we can house 32 guests at a time. If there are two groups of 15 members each staying for at least 2 weeks, every quarter, the money we raise will be able to run the Amani Children’s Home at Kithoka (Region) throughout the year, with the help of the organic gardens and the animals they keep. Once the land has been purchased, I hope to then continue to raise the money for the cottages, which are estimated at $20,000 to construct as well.

In conclusion, I want to say to you that although this may seem like any other fundraiser or charity, it is not. It is a chance to donate toward a sustainability project designed for the betterment of our world. The best gift anyone can give a project in Africa today is sustainability. If Africa is to stand on its feet, we need more projects that help people take charge of their lives.
Dr. Karambu has asked me to help raise the money needed to purchase the land as well as the materials needed to build one of the four cottages. A generous donor has already agreed to match every dollar contributed, therefore every dollar given will be two dollars received. That being said, any donations that can be made towards this cause, no matter the size, would be tremendously appreciated.
I have partnered with Alpine Initiatives, the organization responsible for building the kitchen and the dinning hall at the Kithoka Amani Community Home, as well as the organic gardens. They have agreed to sponsor me in this fundraising process and have allowed me to use their tax exemption status through which all donations shall be made.