“EDUCATION IS THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON WHICH YOU CAN USE TO CHANGE THE WORLD” NELSON MANDELA
Welcome old friends and new as we humbly ask you to be part of an effort to change the world in the small village of Songwe, Zambia. Education is crucial to prepare future leaders and citizens for meaningful self government because it opens the door to find new ways to achieve a better life. Educated people learn to create solutions to simple and complex problems and that knowledge is invariably shared to educate others. Education first benefits the individual, then their communities and ultimately small changes become global changes. Your tax-deductible donations will help educate children in the impoverished village of Songwe while simultaneously bringing great joy and hope to the community.
For the twentieth consecutive year, we will be heading off for another visit to our beloved village of Songwe to bring supplies addressing basic and educational needs. Randy and I will travel with Wade Hartwell and Brenda and David Kerstine arriving in Songwe Village on July 14th. We are very excited to begin work on many important projects.
NEW THIS YEAR
Brenda and David, who joined our team in 2017, had a busy year adding needed and quality changes to enhance the work and efficacy of our mission; the most significant accomplishment being the creation of a 501 (c)(3) foundation! This is a Big Deal and could be a true game changer as all donations are now tax deductible within the guidelines of the current tax code. Brenda and David also put together a power point presentation explaining the enormous benefits of the foundation and the importance of it receiving federal charitable organization status. You will find it in an attachment to this letter.
FACEBOOK PAGES
Help Songwe and Travel Within Reach
On our website and Facebook pages, you can see pictures of previous trips: the curious and enthusiastic children, the school, the clinic, living conditions and some of our many accomplishments and/or ongoing projects.
GUESTS
Marty and Nancy Simpson, my cousins, will be arriving on July 18th bringing many suitcases full of soccer uniforms that will thrill the kids. They have been faithful donors supporting the school and donating shoes for many years.
My kids, Sam with wife Steph and Shelby with husband Trey, and grandchildren, Logan, Ethan and Lucila will be arriving on July 24th. This will be an amazing opportunity for them but my greatest hope is that the experience will inspire one, or all of them, to continue the work of the foundation.
PROJECTS
Our pre-school, for 4-6 year old children, continues to help approximately sixty students get an early education. This has proven to be quite successful as our first graders continue to score higher than children in other communities due to the advantage of attending preschool. Unfortunately, preschool isn’t available in other villages.
This year we would like to purchase new school uniforms, which are currently mandatory, if we receive enough donations. Most of the uniforms worn by students are old and very raggedy.
Your donations support many of our on-going projects: the pre-school, books, school supplies, teachers’ aids, sports equipment, sanitary pads (which encourage girls to stay in school), the salary for the custodian who cleans the outhouses and many other items too numerous to mention.
After painting two classrooms and the clinic last year, inside and out, our goal this year will be painting more classrooms.
Songwe school only goes through 9th grade. We ae looking for sponsors who would be willing to finance a student through high school or college. Many children and young adults in this region fully grasp the extreme privilege of receiving an education. Funds to provide such a dream would never be wasted and could lead to amazing opportunities as the domino effect would translate into cumulative education for others.
DONATIONS
Donations can be made by using “Donate” button on the Help Songwe Facebook page or this DONATE link.
All donations are appreciated and bring hope to those who have so little. As always, all donations will go to the benefit of the village. Please consider sharing your blessings.
Knowing what donations we can count on greatly helps our team with pre-trip buying and planning. Randy and I will be leaving on July 12th so, if possible, we would appreciate donations arriving here by July 1st.
With sincere gratitude,
Barbara and Randy