November 2004 Newsletter

PDF Version for off-line viewing is available here.

Rulers instead of spoons. That's what our volunteers saw more than 600 hungry children using to eat porridge on a visit to the local community school. For most of these children, the soy porridge provided by the World Food Program is their only meal each day. Thanks to the generosity of donors and volunteers who responded to a need, hundreds of new spoons were provided to the children. Now they can use their rulers for math!

Click on image for larger view New Spoons!

Click on image for larger view Children lined up for their only meal of the day

Volunteer Expeditions Serve Hundreds of Children in Zambia

Our 2004 international volunteer program resulted in unparalleled success. Whether it was through simple acts, such as providing spoons, or significant undertakings like our corn harvest and farming projects, building a one room school for 700 village children, teaching sewing, crocheting, health & hygiene, building raised gardens or simply playing with the orphans, our determined volunteers used their talents and time to the fullest. With over sixty volunteers traveling to Zambia throughout the summer, not a day went by without great progress.

Click on image for larger view Clay	Click on image for larger view Elena
Click on image for larger view Keri
Volunteers Clay Haglund, Keri Madsen and Elena Drake with kids from the Children's Village

Children's Village and Farm Project

Work at our Children's Village in Zambia continues to progress. Volunteers in Zambia spent a considerable amount of their time working at the Children's Village farm. We were excited to harvest nine acres of corn and prepare for the next season of planting. Successful farming at the Children's Village is crucial as it is the main source of food for the adults and children who live and work there.

Expedition team members worked side by side with our Zambian volunteers to build and plant 12 raised gardens which will provide table vegetables for the residents year round. The children living at our Children's Village have each been given their own portion of the garden to care for and tend. Each morning before school they enjoy stopping by their individual square to nurture and care for their vegetables, watering and weeding their own small plot.

Click on image for larger view Raised gardens

Click on image for larger view Expedition members preparing the corn for grinding

Twelve of our volunteers this summer lived at the Children's Village and were able to not only create strong bonds of friendship with the children, but also provide crucial tutoring support. The daily teaching time with each child resulted in great gains academically. One young resident, Nankamba, a 14-year-old girl who has only completed the third grade, has increased her reading by at least two levels because of the help she received this summer. She is feeling more confident in school and continues to work hard.

Community and Government Schools

When they weren't working on the farm, volunteers could likely be found at one of the local schools. Each day groups visited the schools and engaged in games, art projects and musical activities with the children. They were able to successfully teach an HIV/AIDS prevention class at the local government school. Those who are teachers by profession spent time teaching academic subjects at the community school, and soon discovered it to be quite different than their own classrooms. Teaching a class of 60-70 children, sitting on rocks and writing in the dirt at the community school was a different, yet highly rewarding experience.

Click on image for larger view Volunteer Keri Madsen teaches grade five

Click on image for larger view Volunteers Hannah, Dianna, Maren, & Abi teaching math

In a building project, expedition volunteers worked with the locals at Chongwe Village to construct a one-room school which will benefit more than 700 children. As a joint effort, villagers and volunteers labored side by side to create this necessary place of learning. We are excited to report that the school is nearing completion and will be ready to receive students once it is finished.

Click on image for larger view Two of the village children who will attend the school

'Sewing' Seeds of Hope

Volunteers spent hours teaching crocheting, quilting, hand embroidery and sewing simple clothes. They conducted sewing workshops for women at the Children's Village farm, in the city of Lusaka and at Chongwe Village. We simply couldn't keep up with the demand for yarn and crochet hooks! Our volunteers used their talents repairing sewing machines and teaching on the new treadle machine, which was purchased through generous donations. The women attending the workshops were eager to learn and quick to understand. They will use these newly acquired skills to support the orphans they are caring for and to become more self-sufficient. These learned skills are invaluable tools to women who are seeking to provide support and generate income to feed their families.

Click on image for larger view Volunteers Doris and Julie teach sewing to village women

Click on image for larger view Learning to tie quilts

Medical Care

In addition to teaching basic health, hygiene and HIV/AIDS prevention workshops, volunteers specializing in health care conducted medical screenings for the children in Chongwe Village. Families started lining up early in the morning and worried mothers brought sick and malnourished children for evaluation. After three long days, the volunteers had screened and treated hundreds of children. Others helped to feed premature babies in the hospital, which they soon found was no small task as the babies were fed formula from a cup.

Click on image for larger view Village medical screenings

Click on image for larger view Ingunn & Darci use a cup to feed preemies

Volunteer 2004-A Success!

We are grateful to all those who volunteered for us in 2004! Our volunteers ranged in age from 13 to 67! The strengths of so many coupled with such diverse talents resulted in not only completed projects, but also with lives being enhanced and global friendships formed. We look forward to another year of dedicated volunteers as we strive to fulfill our goals, one child at a time.

We are now accepting applications for expeditions to Zambia (May and July 2005) and Ethiopia (April 2005 ). Space is limited, so if you are interested, please visit:

www.motherswithoutborders.org/volunteer.php

This is a great opportunity for both families and individuals!

We Need Your Help

The work is exciting and moving forward! We want to reach more children, and we need your help to do it.

• Please consider becoming a monthly donor (www.motherswithoutborders.org/donation.php). For as little as $25 a month you can feed a child, $30 provides blankets, charcoal for cooking and soap for children living in Child Headed Households, $50 rescues a child in Northern Uganda from abduction into the army of the rebel forces by placing them safely in a boarding school in Southern Uganda, $75 provides tools, seeds and training for a family garden that will feed a family caring for orphans, $100 provides a micro-loan for a widow or older orphan to start a business. We would be pleased to add you to our monthly donors, we accept credit cards for your convenience and remember, all donations are tax deductible to the extent provided by law.

• Become a Member. Membership dues help us continue this vital work and also send a message of hope to the thousands of children we serve. Memberships are a powerful tool for us in our lobbying efforts with local and international governments in sending a message that there are thousands of people concerned about this issue of orphaned and vulnerable children. As our memberships grow, so does our ability to influence policy regarding vulnerable children in international settings (USAID, UN, World Aids Policy Group, etc.) Help us make the voices of these children heard. You can download a membership form at www.motherswithoutborders.org/membership.php

• Donate:

  • Warehouse and office space located anywhere between Salt Lake City and Provo

  • LCD Projector for presentations

  • Ink, stamps, office supplies

    We are also looking for:

    1. a 75 - 90 horsepower boat motor (preferably Yamaha)

    2. One dozen life jackets (above 180 lbs.)

    The motor and life jackets are to support a health care initiative being conducted by one of our partner organizations, Project Concern International. This Child Survival project's main objective is to improve the health and nutrition of children under 5 by improving the quality of health services in isolated, rural communities in the northern province of Zambia. They are also focusing on prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV/AIDS. The project works with 10 health centers in the Nchelenge District in Northern Zambia. Two of these health centers are on islands, which greatly limits access. Our colleagues must rely on infrequent and unscheduled trips to the two islands. As a result, it is nearly impossible to schedule community meetings or training events or to provide regular support services, which the other 8 clinics are benefiting from.

• Remember the Children. As you talk to your friends, family, and co-workers encourage them to get involved. Together, we can make a difference, one child at a time.

Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter! If you would like more information on Mothers Without Borders, please visit our web site at www.motherswithoutborders.org

Mothers Without Borders
125 E. Main St. Suite 402
American Fork, UT 84003
801-796-5535