World Action for Humanity

A New Boys Dormitory at House of Hope

wah — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:24:49 +0000

Last December, The Netherlands’ Embassy in Kampala announced a grant award of $11,000 to build a boys dormitory at House of Hope. Congrats to House of Hope for securing its first local grant award for a much needed larger and safer environment for over 45 boys at the project. We look forward to seeing the new building this spring.

News from Boona-Baana/Green Door Home in Tanzania

wah — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:24:07 +0000

Congrats to the Boona-Baana Center for celebrating 10 years of helping Tanzanian children in need. Brooke and Marco send the following news from Dar es Salaam:

At the Green Door Home, a new school year started at the beginning of January and the children are really growing up. We thank everyone involved in this process, from the very first volunteers back in 2002 to the most recent one in December 2011.

Boona-Baana is now involved with its community by providing a safe haven for lost children. There have been several cases of children lost and spending nights at police stations or even in the streets, and lost children are now brought to the Center in a safe, friendly home until their families are found.

Many thanks to all Boona-Baana supporters – they are always looking for volunteers! Contact boonabaana_center@yahoo.com for more information.

Welcome to Ronald Amanya – House of Hope’s First Partnerships & Fundraising Manager

wah — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:21:49 +0000

With commitment from World Action’s Board Members, House of Hope was able to hire its first full-time fundraiser. Ronald Amanya is a recent graduate of Makewere University in Kampala, one of the oldest and most prestigious Universities in Africa. While attending University on an awarded scholarship, Ronald volunteered as a teacher during summers at House of Hope and he has a very special place in his heart for the students.

Ronald will be based in Kampala and focus on building new partnerships and relationships with funders, NGOs and government social services in the capital, allowing Jenifer and her team to focus on school operations in Nakatete Village. We are thrilled to have Ronald on board, and congratulate him on their first local grant awarded from The Netherlands. Welcome Ronald!

Zoe Wakoff Joins the Board of World Action

wah — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:18:43 +0000

We are very pleased to introduce Zoe Wakoff as our newest board member. Zoe is a dedicated supporter of House of Hope, first volunteering at the project in early 2009. She became committed to helping House of Hope find a sustainable solution to meet its food costs, and as a result, single-handedly raised over $10,000 to allow House of Hope to purchase the working farm next door to the project. Zoe is currently a senior at State University of New York, Geneseo, majoring in psychology, and we are thrilled to have her on the board. Also a very special thank you to Justin Garland for his two years of dedication to the board – you will be missed Justin and good luck with grad school!

Join ‘Full Bellies Support Full Minds’ Campaign!

wah — Fri, 20 May 2011 03:47:24 +0000

For the next three weeks World Action will be fundraising to ensure that every student at House of Hope receives three nutritious meals per day. Our goal is to sign up 25 new monthly donors at $25 a month, which will help us meet nearly half of House of Hope’s monthly food costs. During the campaign, you’ll be hearing directly from the Founder of House of Hope, as well as its students…learn more here and join us here!

Farmland Purchased!

wah — Sun, 15 May 2011 23:08:56 +0000

We are happy to share the wonderful news that thanks to the very determined and dedicated work of volunteer Zoe Wakoff, House of Hope has purchased land for the farm and is making progress towards getting the land up and running!

The primary goal of the Farm Project is to enable House of Hope to grow its own food and provide its children with three healthy meals a day. House of Hope also aims to sell excess crops to help cover the salaries of its staff. The purchase of land is a huge step, and Jenifer and her team look forward to planting their first crop this spring for harvest fall 2011.

A big huge thanks to Zoe and all the donors that supported this important project! Congratulations!

House of Hope’s new borehole provides children and community with fresh water

wah — Sun, 15 May 2011 23:00:39 +0000

House of Hope has a new borehole (water well) to provide fresh water. House of Hope is located in a region of Uganda that has faced severe drought in recent years, and the children and staff have been reliant on limited water from rain catchments and water holes miles away.

Thanks to a generous donation and the commitment of several volunteers, House of Hope dug a new borehole that will provide water for the entire community. The borehole will prevent sickness by providing access to clean water for drinking and cooking, and will also help House of Hope grow food through the dry season. Quite an accomplishment!

World Action welcomes Adam Rabinovitch to the team

wah — Sun, 15 May 2011 22:59:45 +0000

Adam Rabinovitch recently joined us as our new Development Manager. Adam is volunteering in this position as he launches his new career in global social enterprise and non-profit management. He brings to the position a wealth of experience in client relations and business development with a background in the international private health care field. Adam is passionate about working with international communities to reduce poverty, promote health services, and ensure the availability of clean and sustainable water and sanitation resources. The Board of Directors thanks Adam for his continued support and leadership.

World Action forms new partnership with Nourish International!

wah — Sun, 15 May 2011 22:58:31 +0000

Nourish strives to eradicate poverty by engaging students and empowering communities. This summer, Nourish students from the University of Tennessee Knoxville and the University of Georgia chapters will be spending eight weeks volunteering at House of Hope. The students have been fundraising to build a new classroom for students and will help to get the new farmland at House of Hope up and running. Stay tuned as we hope to be receiving some on-the-ground updates this summer.

Update from Boona Baana

wah — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 19:52:27 +0000

Linus continues to excel and even though I would just love to see him head off for law school he has his heart set on going into the film industry and with the usual Linus-like determination and confidence he is learning absolutely everything he can about film production. Linus continues to be an active member of the Tanzanian Junior Youth council and a few months ago he and one other youth were chosen to represent Tanzania at the Rwandan Children’s Forum in Kigali . Luckily we already had a passport for Linus because we had a only a few days’ notice. It was Linus’ first trip outside of Tanzania and I am sure, not his last. Linus’ generous school sponsor of many years had hoped to host him in Australia for the holidays but we were unable to get the visa for him. It was a reminder to me that not everyone in the world has the freedom to travel that some of us have.

We have also had one of our little birds return to the nest. Many of you may remember Issakwisa who has always had such a tough time with recurring ear infections and hearing loss. About a year ago the adoptive mom and dad of Malinga very generously offered to host Issakwisa in their home in Canada and to sponsor some much needed surgeries and hearing aids. Issakwisa ended up spending an entire year in Canada where he charmed the entire country (and I am only half exagerrating!). For those of you who know Issakwisa you know what I am talking about—his smile, his good nature and that amazing Usher/Michael Jackson like ability to dance coupled with his startling football (soccer) skills always means that he is Mr Popular and apparently the people of Canada feel the same way. Issakwisa (who now prefers to be called Isaack) is now back in Tanzania . We are so delighted to have him back but the poor guy is still suffering some reverse culture shock and it has been challenging to find a school which will fit his needs and strengths.

For those of you who follow Amina’s progress let me just say that we are VERY PROUD of her. She passed her national exams to go to secondary school which is a true accomplishment in Tanzania . A year or two ago I would not have thought this possible because Amina struggled in school and showed very little initiative to do better. But then something happened about a year ago (I don’t know what) but she suddenly realized it was time to buckle down and think about her future. She became more determined, more committed and, as a result, more confident. This latest achievement is bound to make her even more confident in her ability to succeed in life. As a result of her achievement she was offered a place at the Mbweni Government Secondary School but she has decided (and we fully agree with her decision) that she would be better off in a private school where classes are smaller, the teachers are better and corporal punishment is not widely practiced. So she will start Form One this month at the Sinza Tower Secondary School . Her goal is still to finish O Levels and enter a teacher’s college to study to become a nursery or primary school teacher.

We have also seen a complete turn around in Mandara in the past year. Not only has he grown into a handsome young man (who is, by all accounts, adored by his female classmates) but, like Amina, he has also become a very good student intent on doing as well as he can in school. Mandara has expressed an interest in one day seeking a profession in the medical field. His best subjects are math and science so I think he is headed down the right path.

Isaak is interning at a hair salon every weekend and is specializing in making dreadlocks (a very popular hairstyle here!). He claims to enjoy his internship and his mentors say that he is doing well. Perhaps Isaak has found his vocation!

Samwel and Eliza are both in primary school and have a few more years left to go. I am hoping that they will follow the older kids’ lead by getting serious about their studies and future (sooner rather than later). Warmest regards to all! Brooke (& Marco and all the Boona Baana gang)W

In January, we received an update from Boona Baana’s Green Door Home, one of World Action for Humanity’s projects. Read on to learn about some of the young lives being directly impacted by your support of World Action.

Linus

Amina

Isaak