Cogratulations Rylan - Top 40 under 40 Award!

Congratulations to Rylan,(right) One Person 2010 Vice President.
www.theonepersonproject.org 

Rylan is a remarkable young man who took the 2010 (self-funded) trip to E. Africa and personally raised over $12,000 throughout the year. His dream was to send a library to Africa and to that end he helped to solicit book donations and joined us in raising the funds to ship the container, which was also filled with medical, educational, entrepreneur and family resources.

We sent over 16,000 books to Rwanda to create library shelves in the village schools. Rylan continues to support us at a personal level and through his business, Coffee News.

Follow the link to read more about Rylan. http://jcipenticton.com/top-40-under-40-december-4th-rylan-hernberg/ 

Muvuma Orphanage Construction Progress!

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Exisiting Muvuma Orphanage in Kahama Tanzania

Founded in 2002 by a volunteer committee of women

See the previous Muvuma posts (scroll down or click on the labels on the right) to find out more about the orphanage.

In 2011 Kahama District donated land for a new building

It took two years and a lot of work to get to just six-bricks deep. The white band at the top indicates the 4,000 bricks that were added within a month when one of our February Trip volunteers, Nancy Comeau  donated US $1,000. 

For more information or to make a donation contact me , mail to The One Person Project, 10108 Julia Street, Summerland, B.C. V0H 1Z5 or donate on-line   

Strengthen one person - strengthen the family - strengthen the community.

Kahama, Tanzania

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 Tanzania: Central, East Africa

The Township and District of Kahama in Northwestern Tanzania

The Kahama District has a population of around one million people; split between the township and 240 scattered villages. We chose to work in the Kahama district because it is remote and has little outside help. 

Tanzania's poverty is widespread and acute. Around 85% of the population live in rural areas such as the Kahama region. The arid conditions mean that many of the people are nutritionally deficient and are sustenance farmers only.

HIV / AIDS

According to UNAIDS, about 1.4 million people are living with HIV in Tanzania. Of those 160,000 are children under the age of 15: this in a population of just over 46 million. The HIV rates are higher than the national average in the Kahama region.

We engage in capacity-building programs, which means that we are building a long-term, reciprocal relationship with the community, rather than just transferring resources. 

Kahama Town

 The town has a long, busy Main Street with side roads bustling with bicycles and motorbikes. There are some modern hotels and a large supermarket, which cater to the more affluent gold miners who spend their days-off in Kahama. But the townsfolk who can afford to make purchases shop in the small stores and markets. 

                

Scavenging Marabou storks at the rubbish dump.

Kahama lanes

The Kahama District Hospital is the only hospital for the whole district - a population of around a million people! There are also satellite clinics. We have targeted a couple of the clinics with one-off donations and hope that our support filters out to the others in the future.

Villages in Kahama

A typical village school will have few or no resources. 

We send school supplies in our shipping containers and Brenda (One Person President and co-founder) and volunteers take resources in their suitcases on each trip.

Mabula receives a precious soccer ball on one of our annual visits.

Poverty is extreme in the outlying villages

 A typical gas station...the container on the table....

There is much beauty in Tanzania, the countryside can be amazing but the devastating effects of poverty are everywhere. Thank you for helping us to make a difference. 

For more information or to make a donation contact me , mail to The One Person Project, 10108 Julia Street, Summerland, B.C. V0H 1Z5 or donate on-line   

Strengthen one person - strengthen the family - strengthen the community.

Sponsoring Further Education in Kahama

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When One Person first started in 2006, co-founder and President, Brenda Lowe asked family and friends to sponsor World Vision children in the Kahama District. In the end we found sponsors for over 50 children in the area, plus more in Muhanga, Rwanda. W.V. is due to leave the Kahama region in the next few years so some families are continuing to sponsor through One Person - a great decision as we will visit the children on our trips and will deliver and bring back photos, reports and personal messages!

Brenda is also providing funding for a young man's education. His name is Joseph and I met him on my trip in 2012. He is an amazing young man who has been acting as an unpaid guide and interpreter whenever we visit Kahama.

Joseph translating and passing on information about the photos from Summerland B.C.
to the children of the Faraja orphanage on our 2012 trip.

This is an excerpt from Brenda's Planet Ranger entry earlier this year.

"I met with my friend Joseph for a trip to the bank to deposit $900 I’d saved for him. I first met Joseph on my trip in 2009. He’s waiter at the Pineridge and has been our salvation on these trips. Joseph is one of the most resourceful, thoughtful, caring, generous people I’ve ever met. He helps us with everything we need and would never ask for anything in return.

 I made a decision on my last trip here that I would like to help Joseph get a better education so he can find decent employment. Joseph works long hours as a waiter and makes less than $100 per month. He supports his family with anything he has left over after he pays his living expenses and will never be able to change his situation without some help. He’ll need two years of upgrading and then will be allowed to attend a vocational school for training to work at the mine.

When we visited Joseph’s parents yesterday, they thanked me for helping him saying that they never had enough to pay for him to get an education and are so grateful for him to have this chance. They said that the whole family depends on Joseph and when he has a good job, he’ll be able to help them."

Brenda with Joseph's parents Grace and Sampson in their village hut.

Strengthen one person - strengthen the family - strengthen the community

Contact me today if you are interested in supporting a child or young adult's education.

To make a general donation send a cheque to The One Person Project, 10108 Julia Street, Summerland, B.C. V0H 1Z5, donate on-line or email me. 

Follow your passion and make a difference

www.theonepersonproject.org

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”  Margaret Mead

Invaluable incubator in the Muhanga Hospital, Rwanda 
Oxygen saturation machine donated by Kamloops Hospital B.C

Most of us want to make a difference in the world but with so many great causes, knowing how much to give and what charitable vehicles to use can be daunting.  First - work out what drives your giving-engine.

ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT EMPOWERING WOMEN & CHILDREN?

The One Person Project supports two orphanages in Kahama, Tanzania. The Faraja Orphanage, which is sponsored by the Summerland Montessori School (B.C. Canada) and the Muvuma orphanage, which is in the process of expanding from 18 to50    orphans. We need funding to finish and furnish the new building and welcome volunteers to visit in the future.

We also provide you with the opportunity to feed children who attend an HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment Clinic; their life-saving drugs cause devastating side-effects if taken on an empty stomach.

We are fundraising to finish building and equipping a poultry cooperative for women-headed households in Kahama.

DO YOU WANT TO BATTLE INJUSTICE?

Read about the brutal treatment of children and adults with albinism in Tanzania. One Person is helping to provide safe shelter and school education for orphaned children with albinism. The Tanzanian Government and local organizations are working on eliminating the traditional belief that the severed limbs of people with albinism contain magical properties.

IS EDUCATION YOUR THING?

We ship classroom and teacher resources and have held Train-the-Teacher workshops in Kahama – more workshops are planned for the future.  

SPORTS DO IT FOR YOU?

We believe in the concept of sport for development – that sport is not just an end in itself, but also an effective tool to help improve the lives of children, families and communities.

Participating in sports allows young men to have a sense of pride and something to strive towards and allows girls to have status and opportunities they do not usually receive. We collect and ship matching team shirts (from soccer, baseball etc.) and soccer balls and cleats as well as other sporting equipment.

DOES MEDICAL CARE CONCERN YOU MOST?

As the Kahama District Medical Officer Dr. Andrew has heavy administrative and public health responsibilities, leaving little time for direct patient care. (Update 2014 Dr Membe is now the DMO.) The hospital is staffed by too few doctors, nurses and Assistant Medical Officers. They are forced to care for two or three patients per bed and lack basic equipment. We are making strides in this area, as hospitals and organizations in B.C have donated supplies and equipment, but we intend to offer long-term support and help Dr. Andrew create a fully functioning hospital for the district. On each One Person trip we recruit professional and non-professional volunteers to ensure that we are on track, to identify needs, distribute items and meet with families and organizations.

WHATEVER YOUR PASSIONS AND INTERESTS ARE we welcome your involvement. Everyone has something to give, be it a donation of time, skills, items or funds. Whatever your contribution is, you can be sure that you are impacting the lives of women and children in Kahama and Muhanga. Thank you!

Learn more

Volunteer

Donate

Strenghten your own community: Children & Youth

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Some people and businesses tell us that they prefer to support organizations that affect their own community – which we love to hear because One Person provides life-changing opportunities for communities in the Okanagan and in the whole of B.C. (And beyond!)

Since our inception in 2006 our President Brenda Lowe has held presentations in schools, church halls, healthcare facilities, in offices, in community centres and in her own home.  Brownies, Guides, Scouts, school children, school teachers, medical professionals, families, service groups, store/office staff and clergy and congregations have seen our presentations and took part in our Q & A’s.

Local children and youth especially are benefiting from the role that One Person plays. We provide an avenue to help children to become socially aware and to be able to give to a community. Parents understand that it is not just the designated charity that is benefitting from a family’s involvement; children are also learning to be empathetic, compassionate and caring.

Lemonade Stand: Caitlin, Krista, Gabrielle&  Katelyn.  Devyn in the front

A 2013 study by the United Nations found that 88 percent of  (American) children donate to charities – that’s 7 out of 8 children aged 8 to 19!  Interestingly the study showed that role-modelling alone does not affect children’s giving-behaviour.

“Parents’ giving to charity is not enough to teach children to be charitable,” the report states, “Focused, intentional teaching by talking to children about charity is what works. This is true for children in families at all income levels and across gender, race, and age.” 

Children of all ages have talked with us and contributed to our programs in Kahama, Tanzania and Muhanga, Rwanda. Children and youth donate school and soccer resources, they help to collect, sort and pack donated items into our shipping containers – they even help paint our shipping containers and then they help raise funds to ship the containers! From donating birthday money, to recycling bottles, from holding lemonade stands, bake sales and book drop-off points to helping at our fundraising events. 

The children and youth in this community get to see photographs and hear stories of the children and youth they are helping to become self-sufficient in our sponsor-communities in East Africa. The children here learn new skills, feel empowered and know that the actions of one person can make a difference in the life of a child, a family, a community – whether it be on their own doorstep or on another continent.


Go to www.theonepersonproject.org  for more information and to volunteer/donate

Young People Making a Difference

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Canadian and international statistics show that youth volunteerism continues to rise. We at The One Person Project have certainly witnessed young people becoming actively involved in changing lives!

Future Leaders
Matthew, Becca, Jackson and Nathan have been volunteering since 2006! Ethan is a dedicated newcomer!

Katimavik volunteer service program.
Painting one of our shipping containers

This brother and sister asked family and friends to donate to
One Person rather than buy birthday presents

110 Clean Birth kits for the Kahama District Hospital

One Person received a donation for cleaning up at
the Iron Man Expo


'Crate Day' Support

This is just a small selection of the amazing children and youth who 

have given their time and energy towards building a better future for children in our sponsor communities. 

A brief overview of One Person

www.theonepersonproject.org 

It’s hard to believe that it is 7 years since Brenda Lowe headed over to East Africa on a World Vision trip and on her return set up The One Person Project with friends and family. We are based in Summerland in the Okanagan region of British Columbia, Canada.



We have two sponsor-communities. The primary community being the isolated Kahama District of Tanzania, with a population of around a million people – and only one hospital! The City of Summerland has created a formal Friendship Agreement with Kahama, and the Okanagan community and others around Canada have made major steps towards helping the citizens of Kahama reach their goals of self-sustainability and social transformation.

We are about to ship our third forty-foot container to Kahama. It is filled with medical, educational, children/family and entrepreneurial resources, including one or more portable brick making machines that use locally sourced materials (earth and a 6% cement mixture) and run on man-power rather than electricity. On our One Person trips we have assisted in making identical bricks by hand – a laborious process!

We also support the Terimbere Rwanda Organization. TRO works in the Muhunga region of Rwanda to implement a genocide reconciliation project, which supports genocide survivors through community reconciliation and rehabilitation programs.

TRO received our first shipping container in 2010.  So – four shipping containers in total – you can imagine how much work it is to solicit and collect the thousands of items for each container, which, with the help of volunteers, we sort pack and record. And then the fundraising to buy and ship the containers – up to $20,000 each time!

We have a core group of around a dozen on our hard-working committee plus our amazing volunteers – including children, teenagers and seniors.  

We have visited both sponsor communities 6 times (not including Brenda’s initial trip). We make these self-funded trips to deliver the donations, monitor progress, ascertain needs and to maintain a connection with the villagers, officials and organizations that we work with - and to bring back photographs, family stories and evidence of progress to the people of B.C.  

We recruit professional and non-professional volunteers to take part in the trips to ensure that we are on track, to identify needs, distribute items and provide training in our sponsor communities.

Medical volunteers have taken part in four of the trips and a fifth is planned for late 2014. Our first education-focussed trip took place in 2012 with Train-The-Teacher-Workshops, and more sessions are planned for July 2015.

Click the links to see photos and stories in this blog.

One of our major programs is the Amani Clinic at the Kahama Distict hospital and the associated Food Program and Poultry co-operative.

 We support the Faraja Orphange and have recently added our support to the Muvuma Orphan Group - including supporting children with albinism.  

And of course we continue to support our friends at TRO in Rwanda.

Is it worth it you ask? Does aid work? Can we really make a difference? If you clicked that last link – and the others before it – you will know the answer is – hell yeah!

One Person Slide Show

Every year Brenda puts together slideshows for various  presentations and events - they really keep us going when we're getting a little weary from the hundreds of hours we dedicate to the project.

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Newspaper Articles

A sample of articles in Okanagan & B.C. newspapers

We are featured around 6 - 10 times a year
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TV News Mentions

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We have been featured on CHBC, Global TV and Shaw TV at least twice a year since 2008.

Click here to go to youtube to see One of our mentions on the news.  Shaw & Global TV 2012


Transcript from a 2009 Global Okanagan news segment.

Anna's youtube video from the 2013 trip

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Help feed a child at the Amani HIV Clinic

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Brenda with Abdul at the July 2012 Celebration at the Kahama District Hospital

One Person donates funds and resources to the Amani Group, a club house created for around 200 children who attend the Kahama Hospital's HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment Clinic  (CRT).  
The Amani club aims to improve quality of life by providing social support and a safe environment in order to encourage families and caregivers to bring children for regular assessment and treatment. There is still a great deal of social stigma attached to being identified as being HIV positive
We intend to provide funding towards food for the children who attend the clinic to receive antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. ARV’s are highly toxic and patients risk malnutrition and harmful side effects unless they can increase their overall caloric intake by as much as 40 percent. In addition, people with HIV/AIDS are more likely to be malnourished in the first place and extreme hunger is a cruel side-effect of the drugs. The Amani clinic receives funding for food from the local council but needs an additional $200 per month to ensure that each child can receive a simple meal on the day of treatment.  (2014 Update: Thanks to individual donations and people donating refundable beverage container money at our local Bottle Depot - we have been able to provide up to $200 a month.)

Or send a cheque to The One Person Project, 10108 Julia Street, Summerland, B.C. V0H 1Z5, donate on-line or email me. 

. 

The children look forward to our One Person visits!

THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed
in any way to supporting the Amani Children!  



Contact me to set up a regular monthly donation to the food program.

Strengthen one person - strengthen the family - strengthen the community.

Read the April 2nd 2013 blog to find out more about the Amani food program

Read the Sept. 4th 2012 blog for more details and photos of the Amani children.

Help 15 Families - Chicken Cooperative

www.theonepersonproject.org

Help put 15 families on the road to self-sustainability.  We are providing funding for a poultry cooperative for some of Kahama township's most vulnerable families.

Nurse Guardian of the cooperative, Anna and two of the fifteen co-op members -

Martha, Chair Person and Chausiku

We support the Amani Club, a social support group for children who attend a clinic at the Kahama Hospital for treatment of HIV/AIDS. Most of the children are from woman-headed households. Fifteen women who have taken in orphans have been chosen for the first cooperative; Chausike, Martha, Veronica, Jamilah, Zena, Monica, Kuluthum, Shardia, Sauda, Asha, Leticia, Khadija, Regina, Angelina and Fortuna.

Read the April 10th 2013 blog for more chicken co-op and Amani Children details
Read the Sept. 4th 2012 blog for more Amani pictures and details.

Why Poultry? Chickens provide maximum production for minimum costs compared to most livestock. The chickens will address basic nutritional needs as well as generate income for the Amani families and the Amani Clinic. (Meat, eggs and manure.)

Hybrid Chickens. The local breed of chicken is small and weak and produces only around 40 eggs a year, so they will be cross-bred with sturdier imported cockerels to improve body mass and output.

Funds Required. Start up costs will include building a structure, the drinkers and feeders, purchasing 50 chickens, 3 cockerels and initial vaccinations and feed. Ongoing costs will include vaccinations and treatments, security and admin costs. 

Impact. Reducing the burden of care on the women who have taken in orphans and are already struggling to support their own families, by providing food and income. An increased family income will help with shelter, nutrition, healthcare and education. The women will learn skills, which they will pass on to their children and to a second group of women who will form a co-operative (and so on...). Cooperatives for women  provide opportunities for the members to participate in decision making and provide a route towards self-empowerment and self-sustainability.

Funds will also be directed back to the children's Amani Clinic.

Strengthen one person - strengthen the family - strengthen the community

To make a donation send a cheque to The One Person Project, 10108 Julia Street, Summerland, B.C. V0H 1Z5, donate on-line or email me.