1. Mfera Rural Library and Adult Literacy – I am working with the library committee to fix the library’s structure. The roof is made of thatch and leaks very badly when it rains. With the current funding situation, we can only afford to replace half the
roof with iron sheets. The library also lacks bookshelves and books due to last year’s theft. Once the roof is fixed and the books go back into the library, we will be starting an adult literacy program to teach the adults how to read and write. All this is possible through the motivated volunteers of the community.*Estimated amount to complete project: $250.00 (35,000 mk)
Here are your options to help:
a. Donate money towards the purchase of building materials or office supplies + chalk board
b. Donate office supplies for adult literacy class: pencils, pens, notebooks, paper, chalk, etc
c. Donate books, especially children’s books or dictionaries
2. Mfera Green Eagles Football Team – We’re talking soccer here. There is a local men’s soccer team that I’m working with to include HIV/AIDS awareness into their activities. They are the high risk group of becoming infected with HIV. There is a youth radio program on Thursdays that talk about HIV/AIDS. We listen and discuss the issues of sex, HIV/AIDS, condoms, etc. I am also trying to motivate and encourage all members to get tested to know their status. The problem is that they don’t want to know for fear of being positive. We are also trying to raise funds for various expenses like equipment and travel. As you may have concluded with all my travel horrors, transportation is a nightmare here. I am trying to get them jerseys from a website back at home called passback.com. Think about this: people live on less than 140 mk ($1) a day, and a quality soccer ball costs about 3000 mk (little over $20.00).
Here are your options to help:
a. Donate money to start their savings account or purchase equipment
b. Donate equipment: soccer balls, cleats, socks, net, equipment bags, anything!
3. Mfera Guardian Shelter Construction Project – This is the biggest and most expensive project I am working on. I live at a rural health center, meaning we are surrounded by villages and farm land. If I wanted to go to the boma (=district center) on public transport it would take about 1.5 hours one way (bicycle taxi, minibus, bicycle taxi) and costs about almost 200 mk. The boma is also where the district hospital is, with 1 actual doctor. For everyone else in the district, they are seen at their “local” health centers. My health center services more than 27,000 people from 70 different villages. The village furthest away almost 20 km. We are trying to build a guardian shelter because many pregnant women come to the health center sometime during their third trimester to wait for labor. If they wait till labor comes, it’s too late to get to the health center in time. These women usually comes during their 8th month with a guardian (mother, sister, in-law, neighbor, friend, whoever) to help with the cooking and help when the baby finally comes. Our health center does not have a facility for these people. During the day, they sit outside next to the pit latrines and my house. They also cook on a 3 stone fire on the ground next to the pit latrines. They are not allowed to hang out at the health center as the health center gets congested with outpatients during the day. At night, they sleep on the ground in the maternity wing as we only have 5 beds for postnatal mothers. The problem with this project is finding funding. I tried one grant but was denied because they don’t fund that much money. *Most expensive project: about $4600.00 (644,000 mk) for building materials and feeding the builders.
Here is your option to help:
a. Donate money, money, money! Any amount will help!
4. Mfera Primary School Safe Water Club – A big health problem in my community is diarrhea. Especially during the rainy season (now) because we are in a cholera zone. When it starts raining, the seasonal rivers fill up and people become lazy. They don’t want to walk all the way to the bore holes to fetch water. Kids also swim in very dirty and contaminated waters. We are at a 0 elevation and get the runoffs of the rain from Thyolo and Blantyre. By the time the water gets to our rivers, it looks like clay. This doesn’t bother the villagers at all. They bathe, play, wash clothes, and even collect drinking water in the river. We are hoping to teach the kids how to decrease diarrhea and encourage them to always use safe treated water. *Cheapest project to fund: maybe $50.00.
Here is your option to help:
a. Donate money for materials: cups, Waterguard (water treatment), storage buckets
b. Donate materials for the club members: toys, games, art stuff, etc.
c. Donate ideas for activities the club can do
5. Lumanda and Alindiyani – 2 malnourish kids that live next to my house. They are living with a single mom (recently
divorced) in a mud hut and thatched roof with no pit latrine, bath, or kitchen. Lumanda is the older brother who is 5 years and Alindiyani is the younger sister who is 3 years old. This family has absolutely nothing and the mother has no way of properly taking care of her children. These 2 kids often go to bed hungry even though Alindiyani is on a supplemental feeding program with the health center. Alindiyani does not ever share food and cries at night because she is hungry. I have given them bread, dried fish, fruits, biscuits, corn, and even bought the little girl a used dress and her brother a used pair of shorts. I also have their mother do my laundry (thought I can hand wash my own clothes) so that I can pay her. I don’t like to do handouts because then people will think I have a lot of money (which they already think so but which I don’t have). However, on my meager volunteer living allowance, I’m not much help.Here are your options to help:
a. Donate old used clothes or shoes for the children or mother
b. Donate money to help feed the children or as startup for an income generating activity
c. Any other way you think can help!
6. Dogs A and B – I kn
ow this is a little sad because there are children that are starving but here I am asking for help to take care of stray dogs. But if you know me, you know how much I LOVE dogs. There are tons of dogs running around in the villages. However, these are called village dogs (untamed, undomesticated, and scared of people, possibly with rabies). No one feeds these dogs and they roam around looking for anything to eat. They are so scrawny that their heads are bigger than their bodies; you can count all the ribs they have and even their hip bones. So I’ve basically “adopted” two dogs. A is a tri-color female mutt and B is a black with a few white spots (kind of like my Wop and Ally). My friend Kristen calls them ugly, but I think they’re only “ugly” because they’re starving plus I think they’re adorable. I don’t do anything with them except feed them my leftovers. Now they sleep on my front porch or on my back steps. I call them A and B because I do not want to become attached to them. Fleas/ticks are a very big problem for these dogs.Here are your options to help:
a. Donate money to help feed them (and feed me!) or to buy flea/tick meds
b. Donate flea/tick meds (I only brought enough for 1 dose each)
7. Kelly – I take all non-perishable foods like beef jerky, chocolate, candy, Spam, drink powders, Jelly Belly, Ramen, canned items, cheese, etc =0)
I am coming home April 22nd and will be in California through the first week of May. If you have material donations, please make time to meet with me or send it to my parent’s house. Please specify which project you would like to donate to. If not, I will choose. Here are a few ways you can contact me:
You can mail donations (material or monetary) to my parent’s house where I can pick it up when I’m home:
Kelly Nguyen
4613 42nd Ave
Sacramento, CA 95824
You can also mail these donations to Malawi. Use "flat rate" boxes from the post offices, they're the cheapest and you have no weight limit. Please do not send cash and also on the customs declarations form don’t put anything of value (these boxes tend to get opened):
Kelly Nguyen
c/o Catherine Levy, Peace Corps
PO Box E652
Post Dot Net
Blantyre, Malawi – AFRICA
OR, you can simply email sillykellynguyen@gmail.com, facebook, or call me (on skype is cheap) 265-550-2166.
Thank you so much!!! You guys are the best! Can’t wait to see you!
