I'll be back........... but until then, here are some pictures of the oven micro-loan project that I did last summer. A group of women wanted to buy a charcoal oven so they could make food to sell and supplement (or in some cases, provide) an income for their families. We bought the oven and got permission to have it "live" in the LDS church building in Nairobi. This was necessary because they needed the space to house it and the fact that the church has a guard. The women bring their own ingredients and fuel and use it at a scheduled time. It has been so successful that we are doing another one in another building on the other side of Nairobi and are looking for funding to do on in Uganda. This one is Jacob's oven. The person who donates the money can name it........ (Angelina Jolie totally copied me on this one.... I also have a project for each of my kids--granted I only have about 10$ for each one instead of one billion... whatever.....). The cost of this project? 350$ Just another example of how SO LITTLE can go so far. The bike project is well underway as well, each bike costs 60$. The picture at the bottom is an example of a Boda Boda bike, they are used as a form of taxi, for transport, to carry items to market, and apparently, children. If you (or anyone you know) wants to help, let me know...
Making the dough
These are the tin's that they cook the bread in...
This is the charcoal part of the oven, the bring their own fuel an burn it here...
The finished product!
This is a typical Boda Boda...some are more like scooters, but the ones we will buy are just man powered. When I was in Uganda I saw a full sized couch on the back of one of these... 
13 comments:
Wow you are such a remarkable person in all that you do. I would love to try and help out in some way.
Maybe we could do something through our school here.
Let me know how to get in touch with you.
Take care xx
So $350 for the oven? That is great that it helps out so much. What does it cost for them to fuel it? This is something my family wants to help out with, I would love to travel there too and help, what a wonderful gift your involved with.
I would like to help in some way, let me know how. Thanks
I will let you all know the details... I am getting another post ready about that. If you want to fund a bike or an oven (or part of one) I would be happy to direct you to where to send the money. It is really needed...
The fuel is provided by the women who use the oven...we try very hard to have our projects be sustainable...meaning that there needs to be accountablity on the part of the beneficiary... what they earn from the baked goods helps them pay for the fuel (and it really isn't cost prohibitive...)
R
This is awesome. I'm going to forward this to my ward...we're looking for service opps...so...this is FANTASTIC. Can't wait to get the details.
How do you find the time??
ps. I'd like to donate time to serve...although my talents are in the PR arena... anything I can do for these organizations??
Um, Queen. YES!! I'll e mail you... I will have more info for your ward in a few days...just give me a few days... There is a "7 Days of Nothing" plan that I want to introduce and ask people to try and allow me to write up their experience and even get some pictures... I will need volunteers. :-) The point is to "do without" for 7 days things that we have here that kids in other countries DON"T have (electricity, food, etc) or to pick one thing to sacrifice (books, caffine, etc) and use that money to dontate to a good cause (hopefully mine...). :-)
Stay tuned...
If I could, I would so go with you to Africa...or wherever I could be of help. I'm so glad that you have the opportunity.
This is so awesome! I showed this post to my husband and we would love to help too. What organization is this with? How many times have you been to Africa?? You are sooo lucky! It's my dream to go there someday to help in someway-
what a wonderful use of your blog! good luck with everything!
You are amazing!
I love micro-loans and how so many of them go directly to women--to ultimately enrich their families. If you can lift a woman out of poverty, the whole family can follow.
Absolutely terrific projects, good luck as you move forward with the new ones!
The oven mircro loan project is VERY interesting to me. I would love to get involved with micro loans....
At the moment we are saving every penny we can towards our Ethiopian adoption costs and travel to and from Africa.
I look forward to the post about the details. I love the idea of having a service project in the name of each of your kids.
You really are amazing!
LOVED this post.... I am a strong advocate of microloans and have three in the works right now through KIVA. Are you familiar with them? I'm impressed by the oven project. I'd like to learn more.
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