Next Update…Live from Kenya!
I (Matt) leave for Africa on Saturday, 7/24. I can’t believe it’s finally here! The anticipation and excitement are still present, but now fear is joining the party. I have an idea of what to expect, but I have no idea of how it will impact me.
You have the opportunity to find out, first-hand, on Saturday, 7/31, at 8 AM. We will be doing another live video call with the village of Gambella that morning. This time, however, I will be on the other side of the world, standing with the villagers of Gambella, and talking with you, at the fire station in Algonquin! How cool is that?!?!
Here are the details:
Who:
Me and the people of Gambella in Africa, and you and our neighborhood in Algonquin. Everyone is invited, so invite your friends and neighbors.
What:
Live Skype video call between Algonquin and Gambella. Light breakfast will be served.
Where:
Algonquin/LITH Main Fire Station
1020 W. Algonquin Rd.
Lake in the Hills, IL 60156
When:
Saturday, July 31 - 8:00 AM
Why: Because you have given generously, and I want to show you, live and from the scene, the impact that your money has made. Your donations are giving this village a fighting chance to escape from extreme poverty—I want you to see it first-hand.
Garage Sale for Gambella
We are having a neighborhood garage sale for Gambella! All proceeds will go to the summer projects that we are funding in Gambella.
If you have an interest in donating items, please contact Mary via email (marylossau@yahoo.com).
Date/Time: Thurs and Fri, 7/15 - 7/16; 8am - 3pm(ish)
Location: 321 Lincoln St, Algonquin, IL
I’m Going to Gambella!
This summer, I (Matt) will be traveling to Kenya, to volunteer in our dear village of Gambella. I’ll be going with about a dozen other volunteers and GHNI staff. We’re trying to raise $3,300 before I leave, so that we can work on the following projects while I’m there (you can donate by clicking on the ChipIn Widget on the top-left of this page):
- Using the money that we raised last fall, I will be helping Wubshet to purchase goats for our small animal loan program, and distribute them to the neediest families in the village.
- We will be building a storehouse—now that Gambella is growing more and more crops, they need a safe place to keep all that food, until they can eat it or sell it (depending on the crop).
- If we’re able to raise all $3,300, we will have enough money to build a clean water tank and latrine by the clinic building (if you recall from the video call, these are the last requirements that must be in place before the government gives the approval to use the clinic).
The reality of all this, has smacked me right between the eyes. I’m very aware of both sides of the impact of our efforts. On the upside, the money that we raise makes a very real and significant impact! On the downside, if we don’t raise the money for these projects, they won’t happen! There’s a lot of potential joy (or potential heartache) wrapped up in this partnership. Our efforts matter—they truly matter. We can change a village—our dear village!
Goats, Widows, and Crops
I continue to be moved, every time I remember our video call with the village of Gambella. It was simply incredible seeing the smiles on their faces, as we cheered for their progress in the areas of education and farming—that was hope and pride that we saw on their faces!
Many of you were involved in our fund raising efforts at the end of last year. We raised money to start a small animal loan program, to begin replacing the animals that were stolen by the armed bandits that attacked the village last July. One of the local GHNI workers (Habiba), along with Duran (who is a local TCD trainer), are conducting a door-to-door survey now, to determine who has the greatest needs. The cost of goats has also recently shot up in that area of the world. Wubshet and Habiba are wanting to use our money wisely, so they will wait until the results of the survey are in, and will re-evaluate purchasing the animals at that time. This is one of the many benefits of having local GHNI workers engaged with Gambella—we can be sure they have the best information available, and can make the best decisions possible.
Jeff Power, the US Mobilization Director for GHNI, has posted a couple of new blog entries about Gambella recently. He met with some of the women who became widows in the attack last year, and his account of that meeting is heart wrenching. He also wrote a blog entry about the amazing onion crop that Gambella just harvested.
I also had the privilege of writing a guest blog post for the GHNI website. It is called “10,000 Mile Neighbors”, and you will find it on the GHNI website (just scroll down a bit until you see it).
Live Video Conference from Gambella
On March 13th, we actually get to meet (for the first time) some of the people from Gambella that we are working with, via a live, 2-way video conference-and we would love to have you join us! In addition to the live video conference, we will have some activities that will teach us about life in Gambella, demonstrate some of the ways Gambella has already benefited from our partnership, and discuss ways you can get involved if you are interested.
Please join us at the main Algonquin-LITH Fire Station
1020 W. Algonquin Rd.
Lake in the Hills, IL 60156
Saturday, March 13th 8:30 pm until 10:00 pm (late start due to time difference with Kenya)
We will provide light refreshments (a Kenyan dish or two)
Please RSVP to Matt by phone (847-989-5002)
Or email (mlossau@gmail.com)
Awesome Update!
We received the following update, from a friend who recently visited Gambella. It sounds like things are really progressing in Gambella!
“We had an encouraging trip to Gambella today. Seems the security is much better now, the school is back to normal, and they are actually finishing school kitchen facilities and toilets financed by WFP. Also the teachers’ dorms are close to finished (just small details remaining), and the farm project is doing much better now than some months ago. According to Habiba they will soon harvest onions for an estimated value of 50-60,000 KES (almost $1000 USD). Seems they are still struggling a bit to get the drip system to work fully. They had planted a lot of tomatoes, trying to use the drip irrigation pipes to water them, but some of the pipes were disconnected and many of the plants didn’t look very healthy… We’ll keep working on it.
“Wubshet and Habiba want to strengthen the village TCD committees (school, water, farming etc) so that Gambellans will be better suited to improve their own conditions and benefit more from the development efforts. Today they brought the council for Gambella to the GHNI office in Isiolo, to discuss with them how to improve the way they govern their resources. It was a very productive meeting according to Wubshet. Myself I did not understand much (language!), but I think this is a good approach from Wubshet and Habiba’s side to help Gambella to self-sustainability.”
Gambella Update
We wanted to get an update out to everyone, to let you know where things stand with Gambella.
The money that we raised (over $2500, WOW!!!) has been wired to the Gambella project account, and is all ready for purchasing animals once the conditions are right. 
However, the night raids have been continuing. Thankfully, there have not been any more human deaths since the attack in July, although animals are still being stolen.
According to Habiba (one of the TCD workers in Gambella—pictured at right), the local government is getting more and more involved, so hopefully things will return to normal soon, so that we can purchase the animals to get the animal loan system in place.
I have been reminded that things in Africa do not happen as quickly as we Americans are accustomed to. In fact, there is even a saying in Africa, that conveys this very message—TIA (This is Africa)—the phrase is a way to remind you that things will happen at the pace they happen, not necessarily the pace we would like them to happen.
We Did It!
Thanks to your generosity, we did it! We exceeded our goal of $1800. Our total as of this afternoon was $1920!
We were expecting our ChipIn widget to allow donations up until midnight CST, but apparently it ended early this afternoon. We know there are still some people who have expressed a desire to contribute to Gambella, so even though we are at the end of our first official “push” to help Gambella, we will leave a ChipIn widget on our site through the end of the year, so that anyone wishing to contribute may do so.
Thank you again for all of your generosity and support! We have been thrilled with the response, and we can’t wait to share pictures of your donations “in action!”
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Another Great Day!
Well, it’s been another great day for our partnership with Gambella! Thanks to your generosity, it seems that we may have set our goal a bit low. If you—or someone you know—are still considering giving $10 to help Gambella, please do so. We would love to blow away our goal, and help even more people in Gambella! Even if the thermometer goes past 100%, you can still contribute—just click on the ChipIn button. Thank you!!!
