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Able and Willing
PO Box 4303, Frederick, MD 21705-4303 |
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| http://AbleAndWilling.org | 301-685-3282 |
| Volume 7, Issue 1 |
Newsletter |
Spring 2007 |
A Word From Puma
Board Business
2007
Project Plan Highlights
Complete MYRT School in 2007
Finish Kipopo School By 2010!
Beyond 2010!
Report on MYRT School
Interview with Mike Tidwell
(interview)
***Puma's Kitchen: AWIEF Benefit Dinner***
Kipopo Project 2010 Site Plan
Interview with Jacob Toll
(interview)
Fellows For Filanthropy: AWIEF Gets a Boost
AWIEF Finances
Make a Donation!
Calendar
Time flies! When I started working on our school in the Congo, I was 32 years old. I felt young and full of energy. I never thought of time as a limiting factor. It seemed that time was always there, waiting for me. When I return this fall, I will be 45.
Although I have gained experience working by trials and errors, I have received thanks and support from many people. When I sit alone in the silence of night, looking deep inside me, all I am and all I see is an ordinary man. As I become older, I realize that in life it is necessary to be aware of time. The board and I have decided to set ambitious goals for the work in the Congo.
Our goal is to finish completely the work at MYRT School and start and complete the next school in Kipopo, a village 20 miles from MYRT School, by 2010.
There is an old Luba Katanga saying, “Makena kufinpa lulu i bungi mu bumo”. Literally, “Termites building a hill are many working as one.” As you are reading this now, all the blessing and praise belong to you. For without you, nothing could be done. Please continue to help us in this struggle of making better the life of those in need of a hand. Together we can be the change we want to see. Alone, I am bound to fail. I thank you so much for every thing.
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Mbuyu “Puma” Wa Mbuyu President & Co-founder |
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Shannon Murphy is an outpatient
physical therapist with a personal interest in global development and
grassroots advocacy. Shannon is an amateur photographer. She is also ONE
campaign volunteer, which is committed to bringing awareness about Darfur. |
Norris L. Tweah is from Liberia. He has degrees in Communications Art, and International Development and Administration. He has worked on various nongovernmental projects in Africa, and gained extensive experience in international development. |
Our primary goal this year will be to finish MYRT School. By the end of this year, MYRT School will have capacity for 1000 students in grades 1 – 12, including a technical school with three fully equipped workshops and an upgraded computer lab.
With the help of the MYRT board of directors, AWIEF has identified seven major tasks that will finally complete MYRT School. The tasks fall into two categories:1) increase capacity; and 2) upgrade facilities.
Last year, two building projects were left unfinished because of the expense of an auto accident that injured three teachers. One building, with three classrooms and two shops, needs to be finished on the inside.
Another task is to build 100 desks (each desk is for two students), of which 80 will be for the new classrooms and 20 will replace old desks. The new workshops will also be equipped with new tools, some of which will be brought in the luggage of the AWIEF project team.
The septic system for a new eight stall toilet facility was also left unfinished in 2006.
Electrical facilities for the computer lab, workshops, and offices will be improved by adding extra diesel generators, new electrical service panels, wiring, lighting, and outlets.
Five of the existing classrooms will get new windows for improved lighting and ventilation.
Equipment in the computer lab will be repaired and upgraded.
Puma drew the plans and materials list and got current prices from Lubumbashi. Jim priced the computer equipment and shop tools. The total cost to finish MYRT School will be $35,244.
The school year 2006-2007 will end on Jul. 9 and the new school year will start on Sept. 3.
The school enrollment continues to grow,
primarily due to the increased enrollment in the
technical school that was extended through
grade 10.
Dropouts have declined but continue to be a concern.
The school financial position continues to improve. Not only are the school staff members paid on time (uncommon in DRC) but the school has saved money for construction expenses.
Tuition is still $5/month. Of the 637 enrolled students, 440 students paid in cash, 155 students had parents in the Work-for-Tuition Program, 28 students were orphans whose tuition was waived, and 14 students had tuition waived because their parents were school staff members.
A teacher has been sentenced to serve three years in prison and fined $ 1000.00 for having inappropriate sexual relationship with a female student.
The incident was first reported to the MYRT school board of directors. Based on the rules of conduct that the board had previously established, it fired the teacher and expelled the student for not reporting the incident.
The family of the student pressed charges against the teacher. The monetary fine is to be used to pay for medical tests on the student.
The community at first had a mixed reaction because such rules in Congo are often arbitrarily enforced or justice is bought. The majority have come to respect the discipline and the precedent it sets. The student’s family also pleaded to the board to readmit the student. The request was denied, but the student will be allowed to transfer to a different school.
Mike Tidwell, founder and director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN), and an acclaimed author and filmmaker, is the guest speaker at Puma’s Kitchen event on May 20.
Tidwell is a former Peace Corp volunteer. He served in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly known as Zaire) from 1984 to1987.
According to Tidwell, his experience in the DRC and other developing countries compelled him to become an advocate against global warming .
He says, “Africa is populated by a billion people and produces less than 3 percent of greenhouse gases, whereas the United States with 5 percent of world population produces 25 percent of greenhouse gases. The resulting impact of climate change perpetrated by developed countries will be felt the most by people in developing countries, especially in Africa. These people are utterly innocent. There is something morally wrong with that.”
One of the most important jobs that any groups doing development works can do, according to Tidwell, is to raise awareness about global warming and climate change. He says, “It is important to talk to the local population about their own experiences with shifting weather patterns, and record it. Make them aware of its impact on their lives, so that they know they have a stake in it. That way they can be involved with expressing their demands and know about their rights.”
He adds, “There is a prevalent 20th century notion of “problem - solution,” where we, the people in the developed coutries, are the solution with our modern ideas and technologies. But in fact, it is us that are unleashing the climate changing agents. It is us that are the cultural and social problems. It would be morally wrong if we don’t start changing our ways.”
Tidwell’s experience in the DRC is compiled in the book The Ponds of Kalambayi. He is also the author of Bayou Farewell: The Rich Life and Tragic Death of Louisiana’s Cajun Coast, and The Ravaging Tide: Strange Weather, Future Katrinas, and the Coming Death of America’s Coastal Cities. His most recent documentary film - “We Are All Smith Islanders” - vividly depicts the dangers of Global warming in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
In 2003, Tidwell received the Audubon Naturalist Society’s prestigious “Conservation Award.” CCAN is a grassroots nonprofit organization. It is dedicated to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C
See our Press Release and interview with Mike Tidwell
Get printable poster in PDF format.
Jacob Toll is one of the five cofounders
of the Philadelphia-based
The Five Together Foundation,
which recently donated $ 20,000 to
AWIEF.
According to Toll, The Five Together is a newly founded family foundation that first convened in the Summer 2006. The foundation has a broad mission statement, and has dedicated its resources to disaster relief efforts in New Orleans and Mississippi, New York Coalition for the Homeless, supportive housing in Philadelphia, and other philanthropic efforts. Toll says, “I and my siblings grew up surrounded by nonprofit activities. Our father raised us to be down-to-earth and socially conscious. So our foundation is a reflection of those values.”
With a substantial donation to AWIEF, Toll says the foundation has embarked on its first international effort. “I became interested in Congo after I read King Leopold’s Ghost. I realized that it (DRC) does not get as much attention.”
Toll came across AWIEF’s name in a nonprofit database, and was impressed by its overall mission and accomplishments. He says, “What I liked the most about AWIEF is its effort to empower local population rather than just giving money. It is very involved in resolving the problems at their roots. Programs such as Work-for-Tuition makes people feel that they have some investment in their education and community.”
The Five Together Foundation plans to continue its efforts in the U.S., according to Toll. As for its international effort, he says, “It all depends on AWIEF’s success. We want to see how much of an impact our donation makes, and would continue accordingly.”
Jacob Toll, 26, is attending graduate school at NYU for social work. He is currently working as a counselor in a Bronx, NY school. He is also involved in the Maine-based Seeds of Peace organization that brings together youth from “warring countries” such as Palestine and Israel, etc., to foster understanding and dialogue. The other co-founders of The Five Together are: Joshua Goldfien, Laurie Franz, Robert Toll, and Debbie Gruelle.
Fellows from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Science and Technology Policy Fellowship(STPF), and the Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program, who call themselves "Fellows For Filanthropy" (FFF), have decided to give AWIEF a boost.
Winnie Lau, the founder of FFF, said, "We are excited to help raise money for your organization". The group offered to help by planning Happy Hour benefits in Washington, D.C. and using their listservs to spread the word about AWIEF events. (See details of May 17 Happy Hour event.)
The FFF decision came after several of their members attended a presentation given by Puma and Jim at the U.S. Department of State (DoS).
Dr. Christina McCain is one of the AAAS fellows at the DoS. Last Dec., she heard a presentation made by AWIEF members (Puma, Jim, and Ameena) to the D.C. chapter of the Society for International Development. Impressed with the AWIEF programs, she decided to invite them to speak to some of her colleagues at the DoS. The meeting was arranged for Mar. 28.
Attendees expressed particular interest in how financial independence was built into AWIEF's plan, how the Congolese village acquired a sense of ownership, and how democratic practices were introduced through an elected board of directors. Among those attending were Madeline Seidenstricker, the Desk Officer for Democratic Republic of Congo at DoS, and Andrew Reynolds, the Deputy Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State.
Thank you Winnie, Christina, and all of the kind AAAS, STPF, and PMF fellows.
Disclaimer: Fellows for Filanthropy is not affiliated with AAAS or the PMF Program. All FFF activities are the sole responsibilities of the individual fellows involved.
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AWIEF has set a target to raise $150,000 in 2007 to support the accelerated construction pace of the new school in Kipopo village.
Although the target is more than three times the amount raised ($44,000) in 2006, the board feels that this is a reasonably ambitious goal. Thanks in part to a generous donation from The Five Together Foundation (see interview of Jacob Toll above), including early donations and donor pledges, we are nearly quarter of the way to reaching our goal.
Expanding our fundraising events and applying for our first grants will help us to attain our goal.
Fundraising Events
AWIEF has increased our benefit dinner plans in Frederick (see above flyer for the dinner), and is planning more fundraising events in the D.C. area, such as the events planned by our new friends in FFF (see above article “Fellows For Filanthropy”).
First Grant Applications
Until now, AWIEF has been funded entirely through contributions from our friends. On Mar. 29, AWIEF submitted an application for Self Help Funds for $10,000 to the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa. Three personnel from the Kinshasa Embassy, who visited MYRT School in Aug. 2006 had encouraged us to apply. Because of the shifting political landscape in DRC in the past, Puma has turned down offers of assistance from the government agencies. It now seems that the landscape has stabilized a bit and that funding from this source would have minimal risk.
We plan on submitting our first application to grant making foundations. Helen Crowley, a new friend of AWIEF from the D.C. area, has volunteered to help find grant making foundations. She has ample experience in fundraising and grant research. Kay Schultz, Tina Thuermer, and Jane Anderson, have also volunteered to help edit our grant applications.
Income & Expense (Jan. ‘07– Mar. ‘07)
Income
Donations*
$27,720.00
Expense
Administration
$128.60
Fundraising
0.00
Program Services $7,962.83
Total Expenses
$8,091.43
Net Income
$19,628.57
Pledges* $5,845.00
* 2007 donations and pledges total $33,565, nearly a quarter of the way to our goal of $150K.
Your Help is Needed
Despite our outreach to new friends and sources of funds, we still need the continued support of our loyal friends, without whom we could not succeed. Remember that individuals, not corporations or foundations, account for over 83% of all charitable donations in the U.S.
Employer Matching Programs
Does your employer have a gift matching program? This is an excellent way for employees to leverage their donations.
Donations in Kind
The team will be taking computer parts and construction tools in their luggage. If you would like to donate items, please call Jim Carpenter at 301- 685-3282 or email:
With MYRT School supporting itself, AWIEF plans to continue building schools and duplicate our success in other villages, employing low-cost and bio-friendly methods of construction.
Your invaluable support makes it possible!
Two ways to donate. Either way, you can make a gift donation in the name of a friend and we'll send them an acknowledgment.
| Donate online via Network for Good |
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| Donate via mail: use this printable form |
Able & Willing International Education Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and all contributions are tax deductible. For a copy of the current financial statement of AWIEF, please write to: AWIEF, P.O.Box 4303, Frederick, MD 21705 Call: (301) 685 - 3282
April 15: Presentation:
Unitarian Universalist Church
Hagerstown, MD
May 20: Puma's Kitchen
4 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Way Station, Inc.
230 W. Patrick Street
Frederick, MD
June 1: Walkersville Middle School
Walkersville, MD
Please visit our web site calendar page for updated information and new events.
