PROJECTS of THE MOSES KAZIBWE MEMORIAL FUND FOR AFRICAN CHILDREN

The Moses Fund, as we call it, is considering several short term projects to help African children. As we do that we will decide how to best achieve our long term goal, building boarding schools for homeless children. Included in the planning of all these projects is the intention for projects to continue without ongoing financial support. Our desire is for all projects we support to be funded in the long run by local people.

We are a small organization just getting started. Building and nurturing relationships in Africa while we work on the short term goals is extremely important. As we learn how to raise the funds necessary to build the boarding schools for homeless children, we will establish connections with people who can run them.

Since adults take care of children, and so many adults in Africa live in poverty, The Moses Fund will provide for the needs of the adults who run these programs so that they are able to guide, nurture, and teach the children in their care.

At this time we have identified three locations for this work:

Gisenyi, Rwanda

Bujumbura, Burundi

Kampala, Uganda

 

GISENYI, RWANDA
The genocide that took place in Rwanda in 1994 left the survivors devastated. Slowly they are pulling their beautiful little country back together. Two of their problems are the economy and children orphaned by war and AIDS.

We have given $1000 to Director Zawadi Uzamukunda of Umubano III Primary School (the photos shows the project). Language, distance, and time have limited our plans for working with her on the following projects:

• Continuing to provide money for repairs to the school buildings
• Raising the money to provide tables, chairs, shelves, and benches
• Continuing to fund the needs assessed by Director Uzamukunda

We have not had the opportunity to discuss one of our ideas with Director Uzamukunda which is to build a bakery in the future which would feed the students at the school and also provide a income for running the school. We expect that working with her and Umubano III Primary School will also benefit homeless children as time progresses.

BUJUMBURA, BURUNDI
The AIDS epidemic and being embroiled in civil war for ten years have created a terrible problem with orphans who have nowhere to live but on the street.The Moses Fund would like to alleviate a bit of the suffering by:

• Buying lumber to build trolleys to rent to older street children for cleaning the streets
• Funding a project to give shoe shine kits to street children
• Getting small motorcycles and spare parts donated and shipped to Bujumbura, Burundi to be rented to older street children as taxis
• Financing a CD in Bujumbura, using children in the chorus, which speaks to taking care of children and that promotes The Moses Fund
• Buying drums to start a "Drummers of Burundi" for the purpose of promoting The Moses Fund

On our visit to Bumumbura in June, 2003 we asked people to start non-profit organizations that would help children. We said we would help them to the best of our ability initially, but to plan a means for ongoing self-support. Ideas put forth at that time by people in Bujumbura were:

A boarding school for homeless children

• Land for this project would be acquired free from the Burundi government
• Providing basic lessons of reading and writing as well as vocational training such as mechanics, cooking, sewing, music, carpentry, cosmetology, gardening, baking and first aid
• Teaching the children to experience responsibility and accomplishment by taking care of some of their own needs by applying their learning at the school
• Designing the compound so the walls around the school have enough outside space for small stalls for the school and people in the community to sell goods
• A health clinic would be available to the children and the community

Other ideas that we intend to discuss with our Burundian contacts are:

• Building a warehouse on the school property to store the trolleys and motorcycles
• Housing in the warehouse a donated truck for transportation of donated containers. When not doing work for The Moses Fund, this truck would be available for money-making projects for the school
• Containers would bring goods to Africa, both used and new, that The Moses Fund will arrange to have donated and shipped
• Merchandise from the containers would be organized in the warehouse and sold from one of the stalls

KAMPALA, UGANDA
Moses Kazibwe was born in Kampala, Uganda. On our trip in June we met many of his friends who rejoiced at the idea of preserving his memory in a way that they know would make him happy, helping African children. Our first plan was to make repairs on the schools he attended but after visiting them we realized that they are some of the best schools in Uganda. We decided it would be more fitting to help children with greater needs.

We look forward to developing projects in Uganda with the help of our Ugandan contacts.