Gambella: One Neighborhood Helping Another

When we went to Gambella this summer, I had the chance to...

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 17:06:00 -0500

When we went to Gambella this summer, I had the chance to address the people in the village. I have thought in the past about what I would say to them if I had the chance, but when the time actually came, I couldn’t remember any of those things. It was great fun though, to reconnect with my old friends in the village! Hassan, one of the local GHNI workers, translated for me.

Here’s a brief tour of the new wellness center in...

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 00:29:51 -0500

Here’s a brief tour of the new wellness center in Gambella. We built the tables, desk, and benches during our trip there this summer.

Bush Volleyball

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 21:32:40 -0500

There are 12 hours of sunlight in Gambella. Every day. 365 days a year. The amount of sunlight on the shortest day in Gambella is only nine minutes less than on the longest day.

If you are a youth in Gambella, and are no longer in primary school, there aren’t a lot of options for how to spend your daylight hours. If you aren’t out with the animals, or fetching water, or preparing a meal, what can you do with your time? Most of the options available are not good ones—until now.

Hassan, one of the GHNI workers in Gambella, came up with the idea of putting up a volleyball net, so that young people can have something positive to do with their free time. So, two days ago they got a couple posts from the lumber yard (or timber store, as they call it there), and put up a volleyball net. I never thought I would see volleyball out in the bush of Kenya! The next trip that GHNI will take to Gambella is in February. Who wants to play some volleyball?

Abdi (another GHNI worker) took more pictures that he put on the Gambella blog. You can see them at http://gambella.ghni.org.

Saving Lives in Gambella

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 07:23:56 -0500

This picture is of Kaltuma. She is a villager in one of the four villages in the Isiolo area of Kenya that GHNI works with. She, and a handful of other villagers, have been trained to be CHWs (Community Health Workers).

Learn more about their work at Jeff Power’s blog.

New Gambella Photo Blog

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 11:16:25 -0500

There’s a new photo blog of Gambella, that is maintained by Abdi, one of the GHNI workers in Gambella. He regularly posts new photos from the village. Check it out! http://gambella.ghni.org

Our first afternoon in Gambella. The people of Gambella sang...

Sat, 06 Aug 2011 16:25:00 -0500

Gambellan Greeting

Mary, Kelsey, and Lydia in Gambella

Our first afternoon in Gambella. The people of Gambella sang and danced. Mary, Kelsey, and Lydia soaked it all in. We love being there with them, and they love having us there!

Lydia, Kelsey, and Mary meeting Bulesa Dima for the first time. ...

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 07:39:04 -0500

Lydia and Kelsey in Bulesa Dima

Mary in Bulesa Dima

Lydia, Kelsey, and Mary meeting Bulesa Dima for the first time. Bulesa Dima is one of the four villages in the Isiolo cluster that we work with (Isiolo is the nearest town to the villages. Gambella is also one of those villages, and is the village that we have our partnership with, but all four villages benefit from our partnership.

After meeting as a team, and meeting with the villagers, and...

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 07:34:00 -0500

After meeting as a team, and meeting with the villagers, and meeting with our wellness expert…after all of the planning…this is what our week in Gambella boiled down to…this was our blueprint for the week. So simple to execute (though not easy, due to challenges we are not accustomed to facing in the US), and yet so impactful to this village (and to us as well). It ROCKED!

Justice and Life in Gambella

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 07:46:26 -0500

The following is a post that I (Matt) wrote for my personal blog, justiceandlife.org. I’m re-posting it here, because it gives an overview of our trip to Gambella last week.

Justice and Life. There’s a reason this blog has that name. My life’s mission, or goal, or purpose, however you prefer to say it, is to lead and challenge others to create a just world, and come fully alive.

I’ve spent this week in Kenya, with a team of volunteers. We’re here to help the poorest of the poor villages. Working through an organization called Global Hope Network International (GHNI), we are working with what we call the Isiolo cluster of villages. Those are four villages near the town of Isiolo. Our beloved village of Gambella is one of those villages, and that is where we’ve spent the most time this week. Gambella is the village that five families (including mine) in Algonquin, Illinois, has partnered with, to come along side them in their journey out of extreme poverty.

This week lands squarely in the sweet spot of my mission, and it has been delightful. Our group has been split across the different villages in our cluster, but our team from Algonquin has been focused primarily on Gambella, working on a few projects that you can read more about at our Algonquin4Gambella blog.

My mission comes from my belief that one person—with very minimal effort—can change the world, and make it a more just place, leaving it better for everyone. But, it doesn’t end there, because in the process of creating a just world, people come fully alive—the people who are doing the “helping”, and those who are being “helped.” It’s the greatest win-win in the history of win-wins!

Read the rest of the post at Matt’s blog, justiceandlife.org…

Live from Kenya!

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 13:39:18 -0500

After four full days of travelling to Isiolo (which is the main town near Gambella), and visiting villages (Gambella, Ola Nagele, and Bulesa Dima), we finally have access to the internet to share an update with you.

Before we left, we feared that rain would make the roads to some of the villages impassable, but we have not had any such problems. In fact, the area is in the middle of a huge drought, and they are in desperate need of rain. We took a break from our work in Gambella this afternoon, and spent a couple hours visiting the village of Ola Nagele, where some of the women performed their traditional dance for us. Shortly after they started, it began to rain. We could see rain over the mountains off in the distance, but we have seen that several times since we arrived, and no rain has fallen. But today, the rain moved very quickly from the mountains, to our villages; and it rained hard, for about 20 minutes, while the women continued to sing and dance. We got drenched, but we were so happy for them to finally have rain, that we wanted to stay out with them and soak it all in (plus, it’s not a bad thing to get a reputation as the people that brought the rain)!

We have been working on a few great projects in Gambella, that we’re very excited about! The Wellness Center (which we were previously calling the health clinic) is really gaining traction now. There has been an intern (Priscilla) in the area for the past three months, and she really has a vision for getting this Wellness Center up and running, and for duplicating the way things are getting set up in Gambella, in other villages as well. Due to the contacts she has been able to make locally, she was given some great advice, to ensure that we are not reaching beyond the scope of what we are permitted to do with this building (hence the new name of Wellness Center).

We’ve been working on building tables, benches, and a desk for the Wellness Center, so that it can be completely set up and functional. Priscilla has also initiated the training of four women to be Community Health Workers (CHW), through an officially sanctioned government training program. This is a huge boost for the village.

One of the other construction projects that we have been working on, is building desks and tables for the grade school. Part of our group painted the name of the school in big, bright letters, on the administration building (it’s the first building you see as you head up the road to the school). The principal has a great vision for the school, and it’s nothing short of amazing! We’ll post more about that in the future, but for now I wanted to get you this update, along with a couple photos.

We plan on finishing the benches for the Wellness Center tomorrow, as well as the tables and desks for the school. We will also be bringing 40 more goats to the village tomorrow, to replace the ones that were stolen two years ago.

Thank you for caring about Gambella—we love them dearly!

Heading Out

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 00:35:18 -0500

We’re heading out today! Our team is here, the trucks are packed, we just finished breakfast, and we head out in just a few minutes. We start the 5+ hour drive north to Isiolo, where we will drop off our luggage, and then head to Bulesa Dima, where the team gets to have a dinner that will be hosted by the village!

We are IN Kenya!!!

Sun, 24 Jul 2011 14:08:50 -0500

So it’s 4 of us traveling to Kenya - Matt and Mary (me) Lossau, Lydia Auch and Kelsey Moss. Three of our Algonquin neighborhood families represented… who couldn’t help ourselves. We had to come see our friends in Gambella.

we arrived in Nairobi about 6pm, got through customs pretty quickly (even though the price for a visa doubled…) We grabbed our luggage, snapped a picture of us and the “Welcome to Kenya” sign and ran into our trip leader, Jonathan, who led us to Wubshet and his landcruiser who took us to our home for the night.

Wubshet and his wife, Habiba, lead the work here around Isiolo. They resource our adopted village of Gambella and now 3 others around Isiolo. Wubshet is friendly, and wears a leather cowboy type hat - a new one just today! He and his wife LOVE these villages, and it is such a delight to be with him in the car as we drive away from the airport at sunset.

we drove w/the windows down and i could hear something chirping as we drove. there were people walking all along the roads… for the entire 40 minute trip. traffic’s crazy, but i didn’t much pay attention to that. my heart was FULL as we drove. We are in Kenya!! KENYA! Algonquin FOR Gambella. Tomorrow we make the 4.5 hr car trip to Isiolo, settle into our home for the week, then head to a newly partnered village, very similar to where Gambella began 3 years ago.

And as i hear the crickets chirp, i’ll head off to sleep (complete w/mosquito net) happy in my heart. This is a beautiful moment!

Fun Run Pictures on Algonquin Patch

Tue, 24 May 2011 07:36:21 -0500

Fun Run Pictures on Algonquin Patch:

Brook Mrkvicka from the Algonquin Patch came out to the run/walk, and took some pictures. Click the link above to see them. Thanks Brook!

That Was a Blast!

Sun, 22 May 2011 16:26:51 -0500

Our first ever Run 4 Gambella 5K Fun Run and 1-Mile Pet Walk was a blast! There were dozens of runners and walkers that showed up, and the weather even cooperated with us.

It was so fun seeing so many runners completing their first 5K ever! We had kids decorating t-shirts, and true to our word, we did not time the run (much to the disappointment of the high school boy who was the first to finish)!

Through donations made by the run and walk participants, we raised $1,220 for the people of Gambella. This brings our total donations made this spring to $3,755 (including some checks that are not reflected in the ChipIn widget on the site)! We continue to be humbled by the support of the community—thank you!

Come Change the World

Wed, 18 May 2011 21:17:33 -0500

Have you ever wished you could change the world? Have you ever wondered if the money you give to different charities actually makes a difference? Here’s a fun and easy way for you to truly be a world changer!

Come join us for our first ever “No Frills” 5K Fun Run and 1-Mile Pet Walk this Saturday, May 21, at 9am in Cornish Park in Algonquin. Every dollar that is donated for this event is going straight to the village of Gambella, in Kenya, Africa.

Gambella is a village that literally had no hope just a few short years ago. The villagers had no clean water, no means to educate their children, they lived on about $.50 a day, and they have been the subject of violent attacks. After just a few years of their partnership with Global Hope Network International (GHNI), and a small handful of partners like our neighborhood, their village has been transformed! In fact, the change in the village has been so dramatic, that the United Nations, the Kenyan Government, and several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been out to visit our village of Gambella, to find out what has given them so much hope.

The money that we are raising will be used to purchase more goats, to replace the animals that were stolen in an attack on the village almost two years ago. The nutrition provided through the milk of goats, is crucial to the people in Gambella. In February, we were able to provide 38 goats to the village, but we’d like to give more. In addition, we will be creating a pool of money that the villagers will have access to in order to start income-generating businesses, like this tea shop that was opened about a year ago.

Join us on Saturday, and have some fun while you change the world! Learn more and register on our run page.

$1020 Raised at Garage Sale

Sat, 14 May 2011 11:51:24 -0500

Our 2nd Annual Garage Sale 4 Gambella was a tremendous success, as we raised $1,020! Special thanks to Mary, Beth, Michele, and Lee, for all of their time and efforts in planning the event, and for braving the cold each morning to sit outside during the sale. I also wanted to thank everyone who donated items to the garage sale—we certainly could not have done it without you! We do have a few more items (kitchen table, Bitty Baby with crib, etc) that we will try to sell on eBay or Craig’s List, so the total may go up some more.

The next and final fund raising event coming up is the No Frills 5K Fun Run and 1-Mile Pet Walk next Saturday, at 9am. We’d love to see you there! Read more about that at http://a4gblog.org/run.

Fundraising Updates

Fri, 06 May 2011 16:17:23 -0500

Our primary fund raising efforts for the year are in full swing. Last year, the bulk of the money that we raised went toward building a storehouse (pictured below), so that the villagers would have a place to keep the crops they harvest safe and dry until they can be sold to local produce companies. This year, we’re raising money to help the villagers replace more goats that were stolen during the raid on the village two years ago, and we’re also using the funds to have a pool of money to be available for micro loans for businesses for the villagers (businesses like the tea and chapati shop, and hotel that have already been successful).

We’re done with our first two days of our garage sale, and we’ve raised about $600 for Gambella so far. That’s a respectable amount, and we want to do more! We still have tons of great stuff (great furniture, clothes, books, and more). This is a good opportunity to not only get a good deal on stuff, but also to help a poor village in the process. We’re hoping the rain will hold out tomorrow, so that we can reach our goal of $1,000 raised from the garage sale.

Our “No Frills” 5K Fun Run and 1-Mile Pet Walk is also coming up in two weeks, on Saturday, May 21. We’re very excited about this inaugural event, and would LOVE to see you out there! Name your own “entrance fee” (in the form of a donation of any amount to Gambella) for this event. So far we’ve raised over $600 for this event. Check out our Fun Run page for more information: http://a4gblog.org/run.

2nd Annual Garage Sale 4 Gambella

Tue, 03 May 2011 20:53:00 -0500

We are having our 2nd annual neighborhood garage sale for Gambella! All proceeds will go to the village of Gambella, in Kenya.

If you have an interest in donating items, please contact Mary via email

(garagesale@a4gblog.org).

Date/Time: Thurs, Fri, and Saturday 5/5 - 5/7; 8am - 3pm
Location: 321 Lincoln St, Algonquin, IL

We're Cleaning Ambulances to Raise Money for Gambella

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 07:54:00 -0500

Our group will be cleaning ambulances this coming Sunday, April 10, beginning at 9am. The ambulance company pays us for each vehicle that we clean. We need to clean 18 vehicles by the end of the month, and we could use your help. Come help us, and enjoy some fun conversation, as we talk about the things that have happened in Gambella since they became involved with GHNI, as well as what their future holds.

The ambulance company is Rescue Eight, and they’re located at 1520 Industrial Drive, Suite C, Lake in the Hills, IL. See the map below.

View Larger Map

We hope to see you there!

Another Live Video Call with Gambella!

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 15:56:16 -0600

We will be doing another live video call with our adopted village of Gambella, in Kenya, on Wednesday, February 16th. You are invited to join us to meet some of the people from the village. We’ll also spend some time talking about adopting a village, and about the Transformational Community Development model that Global Hope Network International uses.

If you are at all interested in adopting a village of your own, this event is for you!

Where:

Algonquin/LITH Main Fire Station
1020 W. Algonquin Rd.
Lake in the Hills, IL 60156

When:
Wednesday, February 16 - 9:00 PM (inconvenient time due to the time difference with Kenya)