November 2008
Dear Villagers!
One Child's Village has witnessed much activity so far this year that we felt it was time for some updates. Here is a sneak peak at some of our fundraising efforts, educational and promotional events, and accomplishments of 2008 to date. Also included are highlights from Todd Lorentz's visit to Kenya in June and Phase II of construction at the Mercy Children Centre school in Bumala.
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FUNDRAISING & FUN
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Febraury 2008: Ottawa Fundraiser Welcomes New Friends of One Child’s Village.
A special mention goes to the 20 generous donors who attended the Silent Auction fundraiser held in Gatineau, Quebec. Over $1350 was raised and has already been applied to uniforms, gas cooking stoves for the Bumala school, text books, scribblers and other supplies for the children.
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| March 2008: "Rhythm of the People" at Festival Place Draws Huge Crowds |
Memeza Choir from Soweto, South Africa |
The "Rhythm of the People" Concert and Silent Auction was held at Festival Place in Sherwood Park, Edmonton and assembled through the amazing organising talents of Gordon Sinclair, Scott Andrews and Kirby at Ramparts. Lark Clark hosted this evening of outstanding musical talents with media support from Monica Miller and CKUA radio, Mike Sadava and the Edmonton Journal, Dimensions Graphic Studio, and of course, our host, Festival Place in Sherwood Park. The wide range of top performers made the night entertaining and memorable. The evening included dazzling performances by Tacoy Ryde, Lionel and Ron Rault, La Bomba Quartet, Christian Mena, Stewart McDougall, and our special guests all the way from Soweto, South Africa: Holly Wright and Memeza Africa Choir. Thanks again to all the volunteers that helped make the silent auction a success as well as all of the new supporters to One Child’s Village!
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May 2008: The 2nd Annual Supper and Silent Auction a Roaring Success!
Another night of success! On May 3rd One Child’s Village held its 2nd Annual Supper and Silent Auction at the spacious ACCA Centre. Thanks again this year to Kasim and his staff at Padmanadi’s Vegetarian Restaurant (10626-97 Street, Edmonton) for providing another fabulous vegetarian meal. Also thanks to Mike Tully for taking care of sound and lighting, Ana Fassman for her entertaining and enlightening readings, and the riveting performances by artists Bill Mitchell and Isocan Africa for their lively African dance and music, Wunmi Idowu and the Woezo Dance group, and Aurora for her spectacular belly dance performance. The volunteers and supporters did a wonderful job this year and special thanks to our donors who continue to believe in the work that we are doing. |
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EDUCATIONAL & PROMOTIONAL EVENTS
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August 2008: Heritage Days
Over the August long weekend, One Child’s Village was fortunate enough to participate in one of Edmonton’s favourite multi-cultural events known as Heritage Days. Many thanks to the Kenya Community of Edmonton for their generous invitation to include us in their tent this year. It was a very rich and rewarding experience for all of our volunteer staff who oversaw the table. It was a wonderful opportunity to bring our work to a larger Edmonton audience and our volunteers put together a colourful and dynamic display of photos, artefacts and tapestries. The public was very engaged with our display resulting in several donations and many more new volunteers!
November 2008: Global Visions Film Festival
On November 8th and 9th, we held a display at the Global Visions Film Festival at the Metro Theatre where we showcased unique images of the children in Bumala and Kawangware as well as some very interesting artefacts from Kenya. Thanks to all who joined us!
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December 2008: Scona High's 'Spread the Word' Campaign
One school helps out another! In early November, Scona Composite High School launched a fundraising campaign for One Child's Village. See their energetic rally on CTV News! The campaign wraps up with a final event and presentation to One Child's Village on December 19th. Stay tuned for updates in our Christmas newsletter. |
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ACHIEVEMENTS & NEXT STEPS
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Achievements This Past Year
As promised, your money went straight to supporting the most critical needs of the orphans.
How your money was spent in 2007/2008:
- 5-classroom school with administration and storage offices
- construction of the kitchen so kids would have one meal a day
- large 4 stall latrine
- 2 cows and a dozen laying hens
- water well
- 160 new school uniforms
- 260 pairs of running shoes
- desks for 130 students
- text books and school supplies
- sports equipment and even a bicycle for the school
It has been an amazing year with enormous progress. You can help us make another productive year come true! |
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Godliver (left) and friends who attend
Mercy Children Centre school.
Frame for new 3-classroom addition
currently under construction.
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Second Phase of Construction
In early September 2008 the second phase of construction began! By the time you read this newsletter, we will be nearing the completion of a large meeting hall at the school in Bumala which will double as a 3-classroom facility for the children. Prices for construction have gone up dramatically since building the main school last fall, but Charles has worked tirelessly to negotiate fair prices on almost everything.
Plans for 2008/2009 include:
- completion of the large meeting hall/classrooms
- library expansion
- 2 additional acres of land for future food production and expansion
- a separate permanent kitchen
- desks, uniforms, textbooks, and school supplies for the new orphans joining the school
We are also putting together a plan to create several volunteer guest housing complexes on site so that many of our volunteers and well-wishers can stay right at the school and participate in programs such as teaching, gardening, construction, or community outreach to the orphan’s homes. Stay tuned to our website or watch for updates on future newsletters.
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Home | About Us | Projects | Events | Donate | Volunteer | Contact Us
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Your Money at Work!
Our supporters have stepped forward with generous donations which have gone to putting shoes on all 260 of our children at both the Kawangware slum and Bumala school sites. Likewise, we applied funding toward the construction of a water well at the school in Bumala. You can see here as the teachers give Todd a lesson in properly drawing water from the new well. The 3-foot diameter well was dug by hand over several weeks to a depth of 100 feet!
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| "The school library is as you can see it there with books that we bought. We give great thanks to the donors for their generous contribution. Also, the computers that One Child's Village gave to Bumala are really doing very well as we do recharge them and take them to kids for learning. They are very happy as some of them have never touched such a thing."
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– Charles Ouma Oduor,
Director of Mercy Children Centre
(September 15, 2008)
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We wish to take this opportunity to thank Chris Aanderson and Westworld Computers in Edmonton for the computer donations and technical support they graciously offered Mercy Children Centre in Bumala! |
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| Todd’s Travels to Kenya
In June 2008, Todd made another trip to Kenya to document all the successes we have had over the year. You can read about his travels on our blog. It was nearly 2 weeks of filming, photographing, and long discussions with Charles, Pius, and the teachers. As a result of the successful fundraisers and generous donations from our supporters, Todd was able to see the new school built last fall and make plans for new additions and projects for this year. You can see tons of video footage from this trip on our new YouTube channel. If you subscribe to the channel, you will receive an update when new video is uploaded.
The Beatrice Project
While in Kenya, Todd also implemented a new support project for the grandmothers of HIV/AIDS orphans on behalf of associates in the United States.
Called The Beatrice Project, Todd spent an entire day chronicling the lives of 10 grandmothers who care for orphans from our Bumala school.
Providing each with a gift of 1000 Kenyan Shillings (about $20 Canadian), he documented the hardships they endure and difference that such a gift makes in their lives.
Be sure to watch this 1-hour heart-warming film on the lives of these courageous women. |
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Please Donate
Please consider making a donation to One Child’s Village to keep our projects growing. Our work is progressing as never before and it is through your generous gifts that we can bring a smile to an orphan's face. You can send a cheque or money order by mail, or consider making a donation through our secure credit card service. Gifts can be arranged on a one time basis or set up to withdraw monthly semi-annually, or annually, and you can even dedicate your gift in honour of a loved one. |
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On behalf of One Child's Village,
Todd Lorentz & Cristelle Audet
Founding Directors
One Child's Village.org
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