NextAid's Blog
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Updates from NextAid's Africa Projects
- Posted on 10.01.08
Dear NextAid Supporter,
I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself and thank you for your ongoing support of NextAid. As a grassroots organization, we truly rely on the involvement and generosity of donors like you who are committed to making positive change for children in Africa. Exciting progress is being made! Please take a few minutes to read our latest highlights.
I am happy to announce that I have recently relocated to South Africa to serve as the Program Director and point person for NextAid’s Africa initiatives. Having a base in Johannesburg will greatly improve our capacity to support our partner organizations and form new project partnerships. This means that we are taking a major step towards increasing the number of children we are able to impact. Personally, I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to return. In 2006, I spent a year volunteering as project manager onsite at the sustainable community center and children’s residential village that NextAid is building in rural South Africa. The experience impacted me in ways I never could have imagined. After spending the last year in Vermont working on my Master’s in International Sustainable Development at SIT Graduate Institute, I am excited to get back into the field.
We continue to make steady progress on the center in Dennilton, South Africa. We have completed 11 structures to date! The local building team is finding success in building with “earth bricks,” hand-pressed bricks made onsite. The benefits of using locally available materials and labor are numerous. We are creating jobs in a community with record unemployment and minimizing our ecological impact by reducing need for transportation of materials. Recently completed projects include a construction workshop and tool shed, a brickyard facility, a shadehouse for growing seedlings, and a garden tool shed. The earth bricks have been laid and the roof is about to go up on our newest four-bedroom children’s home. We have also taken steps to increase security by installing a solar powered electric fence around the entire 9 acre property. This has the added benefit of keeping out neighboring cows, goats and pigs so our organic gardens and recently planted fruit trees will be safe. The Youth With A Vision Center is already serving as a community gathering place with ongoing programs in HIV/AIDS education and support, youth enrichment activities such as dance, music, drama, as well as sports and recreation. About sixty kids come to the center at least three times a week to receive a nutritious hot meal as part of our “Soup Kitchen” program. We have seen an increase in need for this service as skyrocketing food prices have really affected already impoverished communities.
The first half of 2008 was met with sadness as we watched the politically charged violence unfold in Kenya. NextAid was able to send emergency relief funds to support our partner organization through these tough times. Donations were used to buy school uniforms and food for the children. They also enabled us to sponsor a Peace and Reconciliation seminar for the community to dialogue about the violence. The Kawangware Street Children and Youth Project is a locally created and managed organization started by former street kids to provide positive opportunities to get kids off the streets in their community- a slum bordering Nairobi. The youth’s primary income generating business is making silkscreened gift bags out of recycled paper for sale to safari companies and tourist shops. NextAid is pleased to have solidified our partnership with this inspiring group of youths. Plans are in the works for Kawangware to be our first project supported by NextAid’s newest program initiative that will partner with and fund small-scale youth-led sustainable development projects benefiting AIDS orphans. We are in the early design phase for constructing a new business workshop and multipurpose program facility for them. We are fortunate to be working jointly with a newly launched Los Angeles funding organization, Go Campaign, who have committed to raising funds for Kawangware and matching dollar for dollar all contributions NextAid is able to raise. More information on the launch of their new site and fundraising page coming soon!
We’ve come a long way since 2004, but still have a long way to go to reach our goals. Our current fundraising priority is to raise $10,000 ASAP to drill and install a borehole water supply at the Dennilton center. Access to clean water is essential to the ongoing sustainability and health of this children’s village. Local volunteers from Youth With A Vision have spent countless hours of labor planting vegetable gardens to provide nutrition for the children who will be supported by the center. However, their efforts are thwarted during the dry season when the water catchment tanks run out. I am asking for your personal assistance in helping us meet this need. Your tax-deductible contribution will make a direct and lasting impact on a community for years to come. To make a donation online go to: http://www.nextaid.org/donation.htm. We also welcome checks payable to: "NextAid - A Project of Hope for Africa" and sent to:
NextAid
3666 Westwood Blvd. #202
Los Angeles, CA 90034
I would also like to mention a few non-monetary ways in which you can further the NextAid cause:
1) Send us leads or introduce us to your personal network of businesses, friends, or organized groups who may be interested in our Adopt-A-Project program. Individuals or groups are invited to raise funds or sponsor the construction of our remaining buildings to complete the center in South Africa. Available structures include 7 children’s homes, the day care center, as well as the library and computer lab in the main center. 3D house designs for the remaining “adoptable” structures coming soon! www.nextaid.og/adoptaproject.htm
2) In-kind donations of new or used laptop computers and digital photo cameras are greatly in need to further the communication technology and education components for our projects in South Africa and Kenya.
3) Tell your friends and colleagues about NextAid. We are building a movement of conscious supporters and need as many new recruits as possible. www.nextaid.org/dosomething.htm
If you have any questions about the work NextAid is doing please do not hesitate to get in touch. I hope you will consider making a donation to support water security for Dennilton and continue to demonstrate your commitment to improve the lives of children in Africa.
Best regards,
Wendy
Related causes: Youth
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Awesome work Wendy. Thanks for the update on all the progress on-site. This is exactly the type of info we need to garner more support. Stay safe.
-Mulchmeister