I hesitated to post about this, but after some reflection, I believe our supporters need to see the the positive as well as the negative. My heart is heavy due to what happened over the weekend. Our gardener, the man Frank entrusted to take care of the land on the school property, broke into the office and stole many valuables of Frank's. I would have to say, most of his valuables. His laptop, ipod, speakers, money, a flash drive, some clothes and receipts that were in the bag he used to take everything...all gone. Frank filed a police report but it's unlikely he will see any of his belongings again. There are a few things upsetting about this. The obvious being the theft itself. The laptop was not only Frank's main way of keeping track of the project and keeping in touch with us, but he also had personal items on there and items saved to his hard drive that he'll never get back. Also, electronics are way too expensive in Tanzania to just send him money for a replacement and besides, right now all of our money is going directly to the project itself. But the other thing upsetting is that we gave this man a job in an area that has so much unemployment.  We would have employed him for years and he was willing to throw that away for a one time theft.  We don't know his situation... maybe he had a family member in need and he was desperate. Maybe he didn't trust he would be paid and he saw an opportunity he couldn't pass up?  Whatever his reasons, I'm a firm believer in the karmic law, or what goes around comes around...or we reap what we sow.  Whatever you want to call it, things have a way of taking care of themselves.  I just wish him luck on his journey and I can pray for him, as he has made a choice that has changed the course of his life.

I also believe there are no accidents. There are things both Frank and I will learn from this, I'm sure. And maybe this theft will protect us from a potentially much more devastating theft in the future because we now take precautions against it. We will need to invest in a locked cabinet or safe of some kind. We will make sure and hire security and be more cautious in vetting our help.  So... it's a minor bump in the road. It makes us stronger. It brings us all closer.

My vision is to get a laptop donated for Frank. One that is solid with a good battery (because of constant power outages) and wifi.  One that will allow Frank to get his work done faster (the last one was slow as molasses with a chinese keyboard haha). One that will allow us to get some face time in with video conference (assuming there is a fast enough connection). We have a small window of time- Frank has a friend traveling in the US and can take a laptop back with her. If you are reading this and have a laptop you would like to donate, or know of someone that could find it in his/her heart to help out... please contact me so I can get transportation worked out.  Let's come together and make this happen!  I'm sad that Frank has lost all of his valuables, but I'm certain someone will step up to help. Thank you in advance!

UPDATE 10/9/12: We have a laptop donation!!!! Thank you! If anyone has old ipod/speakers/hard drive etc that they would like to donate, these items were also stolen. Not necessary to run a nonprofit, but they were taken from the school property and I would like to help replace if possible. thank you so much. This is such a blessing. It means that the funds we have raised can go back into getting the school ready rather than on a new computer. This is fantastic news...

Woohoo! We have raised enough money to fix all three bathrooms and get started on the kitchen. This is so exciting! I've been doing the accounting for KCP in the last couple of days, tallying what we've raised since this all began in February (prior to my trip)...and I'm just overwhelmed with gratitude. We have a long way to go, but the generosity and encouragement that I've received in the last few months is so incredible. We are all in this together. I'm honored by each of you who have donated because I realize there are so many projects and fundraisers and causes...and you chose us. You chose to help the little children in small Kilimanjaro villages in Africa. You chose to trust in me and my vision.  I am grateful.

I am in awe of these kid's work. Such colors, such maturity.  We commissioned some artwork from the Hard Life Artists in Tanzania. They are street kids that are artists and have created a company that holds workshops to teach other kids art. They are truly giving back to the community. Many of these children can't even afford pencils, let alone paint and canvas, so being able to learn to paint is such a light in their difficult lives.  We believe in these kids and Frank asked them to paint the alphabet and murals on the inside of the school. We bought the supplies and they donated their time.

And now we have these incredible pieces available to YOU! I want to plaster my apartment with them, but that wouldn't really help our cause any, would it? hahaha.... instead, I've created a page here on the website showcasing all of the art we have left. For $100 donation, you pick which one you want.  We have a variety of artists and styles. We even have art made from banana leaves- each detail being a separate piece of leaf. Amazing.  Six donations for these paintings will cover the costs to fix all three bathrooms at the school. Fifteen more and we can build the kitchen that will feed up to 80 children, two meals a day. I know there are so many fundraisers and so many causes and we are constantly bombarded with give here, donate there.... so what can I say to make you want to help get this school up and running?  We are not a big organization. We don't have the manpower to hold large fundraising events.  But we do have beautiful paintings. :) If you cannot take us up on this offer, please send to all art lovers, Africa lovers, children and animal lovers (we have two dogs!)... we desperately need your help to spread the word in order to keep the project going.

With deepest gratitude.

Christine

Did you just upgrade to the iPhone 5? Do you want to get a tax write off for your old phone? Electronics are very expensive in Tanzania, so it would be a great way to help us raise money for the school. That goes for ipods, laptops...anything you have that is still in decent shape we would take for donations as long as we could fit it in a smaller sized shipping box (shipping is quite costly to get to Tz). You could write off the total value! Please contact us. Thank you.

The website is up and we are getting our first donations!!! woohoo! I am so excited about this as it feels we are finally moving forward. As we will continuously be updating the pages, please leave comments about what you would like to see more of, what you would change or any suggestions that may help. We need a team of people to get this off the ground, and that means YOU.  Please repost, share, tweet...get the word out about our project, the school and the kids in need.  Thank you!

Frank has done some really great work at the project with very little money. However, we are in great need of getting the bathrooms (3) up and running.  A Fundrazr page will be set up soon so you can donate and start your own Fundrazr campaigns to help!  We also need to build an outdoor kitchen. Gas is terribly expensive in Africa so most families cook using charcoal or firewood in an outdoor kitchen. This kitchen will enable us to feed up to 80 kids, two meals per day. This may be the only food they get.  Please be on the lookout for the Fundrazr. We are close to getting it set up with Paypal.