Direct Change Blog

Update from Benin

2007-06-18T09:48:17-07:00

The following is an update is from Direct Change's partner Victory Way which runs the Victory Children program in Sudan.

The Victory Children program supports orphans and vulnerable children in school, through providing them with school fees, school supplies, uniforms, and follow-up visits, as well as the creation of a study center for weekly tutoring sessions and a nutritious meal.

Academic

The school year is ending, so the academic part of Victory Way's orphan program is less active. Nonetheless, we have provided fees for the identification cards required for students taking the state exams (the CP to pass into from primary into secondary school, the BEPC to pass from the first to the second cycle of secondary school, and the BAC to pass out of secondary school.)

We are starting to plan the summer vacation activities, including computer classes and study sessions. We are refurbishing the building in the back of the NGO's office (formerly a storage shed) as a library. We have taken unused shelves from the abandoned flower shop at the front of the property to serve as bookshelves, and will be filling them with books from a variety of sources - the French Cultural Center, donations from Europe, and schoolbooks bought with our own funds. We are also looking for educational games and other materials to supply the study center.

Tairou, who lives with his 19-year-old brother, is second in his class and has just finished taking the exams that will let him pass into secondary school.

Social

On May 30th, two electricians, a mechanic, and a chauffeur presented themselves at the NGO with a case of a child in need. The mechanic lived beside a poor farming family, who had an eleven-year-old daughter who had fallen out of a tree a month ago and broken her wrist. For want of money, the mother had not taken the girl to the hospital, the wound had become infected and gangrenous, and now the neighbor had serious fears for the girl's life if she continued untreated. He had accordingly gotten together three of his friends, collected all the money they could spare, and, because they had heard of Victory Way's work with orphans and vulnerable children in their town, searched out the NGO to see if it could help the girl. The Program Coordinator went with the four men to verify their story. Everything was as they had said - the girl's arm was infected to the elbow, and because of the stink from the wound, the family was shunning her.

The Victory Way team had the girl taken to the hospital immediately. Happily, she will not lose her arm and is currently recovering in the hospital, with her mother looking after her. Her father has abandoned the family. She has been admitted to Victory Way's list of orphans and vulnerable children, and there will be regular check-ups after she returns home to ensure that there is no further instance of parental neglect.

Future Goals / Comments

In the upcoming month Victory Way will focus on summer programs, on updating the lists of children and providing them with identity cards, and the development of the study center.

The staff of Victory Way would like to express its gratitude to all those who have donated money through Direct Change.

Amidou and Julia, both in secondary school and learning computer skills on the secretary's computer.

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Pre-natal Care Now Provided at Duk Clinic

2007-06-15T07:53:05-07:00

The following is an update is from Direct Change's partner The American Care for Sudan Foundation (ACSF), which manages and built the Duk Lost Boys Clinic.

We are pleased to report that thanks to the work of volunteers and supporters around the world, the Duk Lost Boys clinic is now close to fully operational. The Medical Staff has moved into the building although there are plumbing connections yet to be completed (a few missing parts have been a little difficult to get in such a remote area).

The most exciting news is that a pre-natal program is up and running with 7 women receiving care in the first such program to be offered in the entire region of Duk Sudan. The Clinic is now treating 15 to 20 patients per day.

The rainy season will soon take over the landscape and vehicle access will be shut down until November. The airstrip once used by the UN to bring emergency food to Duk Payuel has been restored by Duk County and will enable monthly medicine supplies to be delivered.

ACSF's Task Force has been developing specifications to buy two heavy-duty diesel powered vehicles for the Clinic to use in the 5 months of dry season. It will require an oversize pick up truck and oversize van for passenger travel or ambulance service.

In order to support the medical care provided in Sudan, the ACSF Task Force has been modified to include a sub-committee for Medical Operations. We now have two Doctors, a Nurse Practitioner a Social Medicine Specialist, Medical Marketing Specialist, a Missionary Medical Project Specialist, and a "Lost Boy" serving on the Committee. They have already been active advising the Clinic in patient treatment, communications, and medicine procurement. We have also been fortunate to have the Cornell Medical School establish a Medical Student organization to consult for the Clinic and a student intern who will be working with the Task Force on a summer assignment.

While the donations to date have enabled us to complete and start the operations of the clinic, costs including the flying in of supplies during the rainy season ($3,500 a month), support for the vehicles ($100,000) as well as the costs for the medical staff and supplies requires additional support.

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Providing A Hope For More Children

2007-06-13T09:54:26-07:00

The following is an update on the AHOPE HIV Orphans' Care & Support Program. This program supports the work of AHOPE Ethiopia, which is supported by Direct Change's partner AHOPE for Children. The program provides a home and full care to HIV+ children in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

In the continuing effort to support more children, AHOPE Ethiopia now has four rental compounds. While donations raised through Direct Change currently pay for the ongoing support of children in this program, we are working with AHOPE to develop a fundraising plan to support the building of a single AHOPE Children's village to both allow for an increased number of children and services.

A house not far from the two AHOPE orphanages has been rented to provide office space and counseling rooms for the Community Outreach Program. The first nine children have been enrolled in the outreach program that assists what is left of their families to keep them at home rather than abandon them to institutions. The goal is to enroll 100 children by the end of the year. The building will also provide a temporary home for the Children's Community Library. The Volunteer House, also newly rented, and very convenient to both AHOPE orphanages, will be ready for the first lodgers in mid-June.

AHOPE now has an in-house pediatrician three days a week. Barlow Clinic continues to oversee the prescription and administration of the anti-retro-viral medications, but our new pediatrician and our full-time nurse now provide day-to-day medical oversight.

THANK YOU wonderful donors and sponsors! You make all this good news possible.

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Ethiopian Education Program Expands

2007-06-13T05:03:06-07:00

The following update is from Direct Change’s partner Adoption Advocates International (AAI), which runs this program in Ethiopia.

The Orphan Student Education Fund supports the educational efforts of orphan children across Ethiopia. As the need for assistance is so great, the sponsorship program continues to expand. Originally, the fund sponsored children residing in the city of Nazret, located approximately an hour outside the capital of Addis Ababa. Recently, however, the education fund has added sponsorship students in the cities of Mukatore and Sheshamone. A total of 190 children receive monthly sponsorship support.

The children enrolled in the sponsorship program continue to work diligently at their studies, and we are delighted to profile three of these hardworking students below.

Lema, 14-years-old

Lema (second from right in picture with siblings) comes from a large, close-knit family. He is currently living in a housing compound with his grandmother, 14-year-old aunt, sister, and four brothers. This 8-person family shares one small room, with two sleeping mattresses, and hanging laundry as a room divider. The walls are decorated with many quotes and pictures cut from magazines, and Lema particularly enjoys the clippings of soccer players displayed near the entrance.

Upon meeting Lema, his smile will immediately warm you. He is friendly, talkative, and very thankful for the sponsorship he receives through AAI. Prior to his enrollment in the sponsorship program, Lema was working full time to help support his family. Now, he is able to attend school full-time at Abiyoot Firee Elementary school where he is currently in grade six.

Lema’s family is exceptionally close and supportive of one another, especially the brothers. The older siblings are attempting to complete their schooling while simultaneously working to help support the family. Their obvious love and devotion for the younger siblings is evident.

Emebet, 14-years-old

Emebet explains that both her parents died of a sickness six years ago. Since this time, she has been on her own. Although she has a 16-year-old sister who works and resides in Addis Ababa, the transportation expenses are prohibitively high for the girls to visit one another. Therefore, Emebet has not seen her sister since she departed for Addis to begin employment as a maid.

Emebet is currently sharing a rented room in a compound (pictured to the right) that houses 20 tenants. She explains that the sponsorship program pays for her rent and food so that she is able to maintain school enrollment. Emebet attends Abiyoot Firee Elementary School along with classmate Lema. Her school instructs students in grades one thru seven. Emebet is in grade four, and reports that her favorite subject is math. She is particularly fond of a garden project at the school, and proudly displayed the plants she has assisted to grow.

Behailu, 12-years-old

Behailu is a friendly and intelligent boy who currently resides with two sisters and a brother. His 18-year-old sister, the head of the household, works full time in a motel, while additionally taking night classes to finish her high school diploma.

Behailu’s 15-year-old brother recently interrupted his schooling to seek full-time employment, as the family was greatly struggling financially.

Behailu attends the Burka-Boka School, which provides instruction to students in grades one thru eight. Burka-Boka consists of a seventeen classroom compound and playfield, educating more than 2,380 students each year. Behailu receives instruction in three languages including Oromo, Amharic, and English. With a big smile, Behailu explains that he must walk an hour in each direction to attend school. Though this is an incredible distance, Behailu’s love of school makes the long walk endurable. Behailu’s teachers speak highly of his accomplishments. One teacher reported “He is a great student! Ninth in his class.”

As the AAI staff was departing Burka-Boka, several teachers engaged them in conversation and implored for even higher sponsorship support. They explained that they know many orphans, who have already demonstrated a passion and talent for learning, that wish to attend school. Unfortunately, these children are obligated to support their families and left school to pursue full-time work. These dedicated educators are hopeful that even more students will be enrolled in the sponsorship program in the coming New Year, and asked AAI to express their appreciation to the committed sponsors in the States.

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Clinic Opens in Sudan

2007-05-17T07:38:24-07:00

Yesterday, we received word from Joh Deng, our clinic coordinator in Sudan, that close to 300 people have been treated since the Duk Lost Boys Clinic opened on May 3rd.

Deciding that the people of Duk Sudan had waited long enough, Dr. Miram treated the first patients under a tree as the final coat of paint was drying on the clinic. They have since moved treatment into the clinic building - the first medical facility to ever serve the 150,000 people of the region.

Without the help of supporters around the world, this dream of providing medical assistance to the people of Duk Sudan would not have become a reality.

Providing health care in a remote area of Sudan is not without its challenges. As the rainy season approaches, we are trying to assure that we can get medical supplies to the clinic before the roads become inaccessible for the next several months.

All it would take to assure that this Clinic continues to operate for the foreseeable future is for each of our supporters to find one person to match their donation of money or time. We all know people who like ourselves want to make a difference for the people of Sudan.

If you have already made a donation, can you help us find at least one person to match your donation? A personal email from you to your own friends and family asking them to make a donation is one of the most effective ways of helping.

We have created an easy to use tool that lets supporters create their own web page to direct their friends to, so that you can track your personal contribution in making health care a reality in Sudan. The entire process just takes a few minutes and requires no technical skills.

Just click here to get started -
(If you already created a fundraising page, then please update your friends and contacts and ask them to visit your page to make a donation.)

If you have not donated, would like to make an additional donation or just let others know how to contribute you can visit this page - https://secure.directchange.org/contribute/entity/34 or forward it to others so they can make a contribution.

On behalf of the people of Duk Sudan, thank you for bringing health care to our community.

God Bless,

John

Special Events That Work

2007-05-02T10:19:56-07:00

A new study by Charity Navigator shows that special events run by charities are "an extremely ineffective way of raising money." While this may be true for traditional charities, Direct Change has found that special events have been one of the most efficient approaches to raise money for our African projects.

The traditional charity model for events is to have professional staff organize the events and to have volunteers go out and collect pledges or sell tickets. Staffing costs, promotion costs and event costs drive the inefficiencies of such events.

When Direct Change started just a few months ago, we focused on providing the tools for supporters to raise money online. However, since our approach is based on the idea that our supporters know what works best for their communities, when supporters started organizing special events we shifted gears to empower them through providing materials; compelling projects; online organizing tools; and most importantly the ability to learn from each other.

Through this approach, tens of thousands of dollars have been raised at special events in the last few months with virtually no expense on behalf of Direct Change.

The events that have been the most successful worked because the volunteers adapted the event for their community and audience.

Where a read-a-thon was the perfect event for a public middle school (Glasgow in VA raised $4,400) a Battle of the Bands was more appropriate for a private High School (The Windward School raised $8,505) and an Arts Festival was best for an Art College (Otis College raised $4,990).

The advantage of being a small charity that dedicates the vast majority of our funds to our partners doing the work in Africa is that the lack of a budget for special events forces our volunteers to be creative. For example, next Friday night in Columbus Ohio our friends at CRIS, found a donor to cover the costs of showing the film God Grew Tired of Us so that all donations can be targeted to the project. While tonight in Cold Spring Harbor NY, John Dau will be attending a fundraising event organized by High School students since he was already in the area allowing us to limit travel expenses.

I remember once talking with a friend who ran a DOT COM when the money was flowing and I asked why they were so extravagant with their events. He responded that they did it because they could. Even if we could, we would not.

Counting the Days

2007-04-12T11:55:00-07:00

The long wait for health care in Duk County Sudan is coming to an end. No longer will people have to travel 75 miles (often by foot) for medical care. On April 30th, Dr. Miriam and several other health professionals will be arriving to open the Duk Lost Boys Clinic.

A call this morning from one of the volunteers reports that the finishing touches on the clinic itself are almost complete, enough diesel fuel has just arrived to power the generators for the next 10 weeks and multiple people are showing up on a daily basis looking for medical help.

The almost finished clinic has been such a sign of hope that my Uncle Chuei, who is need of medical help, is waiting to see Dr. Miriam rather then make the long trip.

We are now at 21% of our fundraising goal for clinic operating costs for the next year.

God bless everyone who has helped us get this far.

Bringing Health Care and Hope to Sudan

2007-03-29T13:17:17-07:00

Despite having suffered through years of oppression and attacks by the Khartoum regime that tried to impose an extremist form of Islamic Sharia law, the people of my village share my optimism about our future.

Thanks to the generosity of supporters around the world, we have completed our fundraising for building the clinic in Duk Payuel Sudan. Now we need to hire medical staff and send supplies; will you please help us raise the money to make this possible?

We look at this empty structure and see a clinic where our children are being vaccinated, mothers are safely giving birth, and no one has to travel by foot for 75 miles for basic medical care.

The positive outlook of the Duk Payuel people is so contagious that in the last few weeks, the United Nations started resettling refugees in our village. In fact, just last week, USAID came to the village and proposed to set up a feeding center next to the clinic.

Some have commented that the picture looks like an empty building. In many ways they are correct. Without medical staff, medicine and funds, this building would just be an unfulfilled dream.

To fully staff and provide the operating costs for the first year, we need to raise $417,000.

Thanks to the continuous generosity and support of people like you, we have already raised almost $75,000. This money has helped us hire Dr. Miriam, a doctor from Kenya who will arrive at the clinic next month. Assuming supporters like you and others continue to provide the necessary funds, Dr. Miriam will be joined by a nurse (Viera), a lab technician (Peter) and a midwife (Caroline).

However, we are still short of fulfilling our dream. We need $342,000 to hire additional staff, purchase vaccinations and medicine and meet operating costs, such as generator fuel. The medicine alone costs about $12,000 each month, so we need your help even more in operating this clinic. Please make a generous donation or create your fundraising page today and encourage your friends to match your gift.

Thank You America, Part 2

2007-03-14T12:28:41-07:00

Today, the first medical supplies are arriving at the Duk Lost Boys Clinic, which will be opening within the next two months. The clinic, which is the first medical facility in Duk County Sudan, will provide health care services to the 150,000 people of the region. The following video shows the tremendous progress that has happened since volunteers arrived one month ago to start construction.

With construction almost done, our focus is now shifting to the operations of the clinic. A doctor has been hired and will arrive at the clinic in early April, nurses and other staff are being hired and more supplies will be shipped in the weeks ahead.

This project is working because people have come together to offer whatever they can. While experienced construction volunteers traveled from Syracuse NY to work with Sudanese volunteers to build the clinic in Sudan, many other volunteers have been working with us in raising the funds necessary to complete the clinic. Those who have been able have made large personal contributions while groups of students have collected hundreds of small donations.

However, you have helped in the past or help in the future I thank you and the people of my home village in Sudan thank you. Our work on this one project in this one village is just a beginning that will hopefully inspire others to join with us in rebuilding Sudan and supporting projects throughout Africa.

As always, any donations of any size are welcome as is your help to encourage others to get involved.

Clinic Rising

2007-03-02T04:14:33-08:00

What was just a dream a few weeks ago is quickly becoming reality.

In the last week, the Duk Lost Boys Clinic has really started to take shape, a working well providing clean fresh water is operating in Duk County Sudan (the first since the war) and the generator providing electricity at the site is providing the first electricity ever in the area.

Only a few weeks ago the first group of volunteers left to start construction and they have made tremendous progress. Working with a large group of Sudanese supporters, the clinic will be completed and opened in two months.

Our work on this project is far from complete; with refugees starting to return to the area the needs for the clinic is only increasing.

Donations are still needed to both complete the clinic and to pay for staffing and supplies. Please join us in making a donation and spreading the word about this project.

Tags: Sudan, Africa, NGO, Charity, health