Several months ago we were told about an opportunity we would have to petition for $15,000 from a club who raises money to support organizations like ours. Last month we did just that. We gave a presentation that seemed like a slam dunk, and in reference to the other presentations that were given that day, we were sure that we would qualify. For some reasons, political or otherwise, we were informed yesterday that we would not be issued the money. Despite our field work, intensive research and the several year track record that we have, we were told that we were not going to be granted the money because they would prefer to partner with an organization that has "a little more experience."
Anyone is welcome to make a judgement about our capacity… but no organization starts off ten years old and I was reminded of a favorite childhood quote. Its not about the size of the dog in the fight... or the age or whatever... it is about the amount of fight in the dog. In the very moment we were being turned down I could still see the utter success of this project flash in front of my mind. I knew as long as we kept fighting for it we would be fully capable of achieving success without their money.
You see, we have an incredible project planned for this August in Western Kenya. We have ten extremely well trained, prepared teammates who have cumulatively put in thousands of hours this year to prepare each of their own aspects within this project. We have been researching, planning and preparing day and night like a physicist on the edge of a break through.
We have been in constant communication with the community leaders and already have one of our teammates, Mikel, who is on the ground RIGHT NOW, in Western Kenya meeting with leaders, interfacing directly with the community, promoting our upcoming initiatives and workshops, fine tuning our project initiatives and setting the scene for an extremely successful project. We have teammates who are in charge of our youth development programs, teammates who are prepping to set up our computer ed facility, teammates who are organizing our community library and others who are preparing for community sanitation workshops. We have yet others who are preparing agriculture workshops and still other preparing for our leadership trainings... and even further we have others who have been working tirelessly to prepare for our business development workshops and ultimately, a pinnacle of this project our micro-credit program, which will be able to give these capable rural citizens the resources and tools to help them make their dreams come true. This has been a massive preparation with tremendous amounts of sacrifice from our 10 traveling teammates and our dozens of support volunteer staff.
The story goes on. This August we will be building off of a project we started last year. You see, before our team hit the ground, amongst other things, there was no school for community members to send their young capable children to where they could learn to read and write - we didn't have plans or funds to build a school.
So we decided to do what we could do. We bought a couple bags of cement, mixed it with the sand and water from the lake and made these huge concrete blocks. One by one… and we built a small, one room community center. Before the construction was even completed, the magic began to happen. Again, we went there because we were interested in community sanitation, health education, computer training and business development… not to build a school. With this simple building, the community itself created their own primary school.
An unemployed teacher stepped up and said, now that you have build a building, we are going to run a school... so we stepped back… and run the school they did... Florence, our new teacher, got parents and children together and started to go to work. We supported them in buying some very basic school curriculum resources and school supplies. We committed to pay her a very modest salary and we also committed to the salary of a community center manager. That is how we left it... as the months rolled on through 2009 and into 2010... the members of matoso community continued to prove their capabilities… our school was building momentum without us! Because the community wanted it - Because the community owned it.
Every time we called, we heard the good news that there were more and more children enrolled and what was even more impressive... more and more teachers were working for the school. We never increased what we were sending out for salaries.. not one cent… and they took what we sent, in addition to their well managed school fees, spread it all out and paid themselves subsistence salaries so that they could continue to teach the children. The community was so proud of what they had accomplished themselves.
Then our beloved manager, William, who had done so much to ensure the success of the center fell sick with Malaria and passed away. We were concerned that that would be the end of the growth and development... We were wrong. This school was not about the Manager… it was about the community. And the community would not let it fail. One of the teachers was appointed by the others to take over as manager and the growth continued.
Now let me tell you the more serious side of the story - the ONLY part of the story that really matters, right now. The school was started because we made blocks and built a building... As the school grew, VERY quickly, the classes were all moved outside, as there was not enough room for everyone in our small center. It turns out that we had done enough to excite and mobilize the community towards education that they were not going to be limited by the confines of walls or roofs.
The children continued to learn and the parents were so happy. Then the government rolled up. Apparently, it is illegal for a school to operate outside. They have now told us that unless we have enough classrooms for the respective classes, we will not be allowed to continue our education program. This school has not only been able to bring reading and writing and primary education to hundreds of very impressionable children in rural Kenya, but it has also brought in an excitement for learning in general and, more importantly, has served as an icon for the community to realize how much they can accomplish themselves regarding their own growth and development if they believe, commit and organize themselves... just from building blocks!.. we would hate to see that hope and vision shut down.
Now, here's where you come in... the $15,000 dollars we were hoping to get was going to cover the cost of building this new school. Without this money we will still carry out other aspects of our projects, but it will be impossible for us to build. Without a miracle, we will have to show up and tell our 200 SCHAP students that school will not start again in September. We have the people, we have the plan, we have the place and we have the tools… we even have the plane tickets! Right now we are only lacking the funds to build more blocks and help make the dream of this one community come true… the dream of having the freedom to take the education of their children into their own hands.
And we don't need the money for someone to help build it either… our team will work side by side with the community to build the school together. We've made blocks before, we can make them again. We just need to buy the cement, so that we can make more blocks, buy a little wood and tin to make a roof.
Realistically, in order to build and support this school we would need to raise about $20 thousand dollars in the next 20 days. We will need to make 2,000 blocks. We realize, that if we can get this message out to enough people and if each of you can sponsor one, or two blocks… or as many as possible, we WILL be able to keep education alive in Matoso. Just $10 per block. Can you help? Will you be a part of the miracle? Please pass along our plea. Please, help us empower the capable.
watch the video here... www.blocks.schap.info
