is NOW....
ABCs
For
Africa!!!
The staff of ABCs For AFRICA (Formerly
"THE MISSOURI PROJECT FOR AFRICA", or "MOPFA")
WOULD LIKE TO REMIND OUR READERS THE WE RECEIVED OUR
501(C)3 LETTER FROM THE IRS IN THE SPRING OF THIS YEAR.
WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT OUR EFFORTS HAVE PAID OFF... OUR
STATUS AS A "PUBLIC CHARITY" UNDER THE U.S. TAX CODE IS
RETROACTIVE TO THE DATE OF OUR ORGANIZATION'S
INCORPORATION, DECEMBER 11TH, 2007.
WE ARE SO VERY PLEASED AND EXCITED AS TO OUR NEWLY-APPROVED
STATUS, AND WILL MAKE SOME SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO OUR
WEBSITE AND ORGANIZATION IN THE COMING MONTHS. THANKS TO
ALL OF OUR FRIENDS, FAMILIES, AND CONTRIBUTORS. A VERY
SPECIAL "THANK YOU" TO OUR COUNSEL, PETE PRECARIO AND HIS
STAFF FOR THEIR GUIDANCE AND EXPERT HELP IN SHUTTLING US
THROUGH THE APPROVAL PROCESS WITH THE IRS. KUDOS TO YOU!!!
It's approaching the winter
months in Missouri, and we are very optimistic about the
growth opportunities for ABCs For Africa
and Meru Peak School for
2010!
We also want to make you aware of the new website address
that will be up and running soon. Put us in your browser
"favorites" as...
www.abcsforafrica.org
It is not currently online, so for now you will be
re-directed back to this website.
ABCs for Africa, for
those of you new to our website, was established in 2007.
We were looking for teaching opportunities in Africa, and
so we registered my wife, Duane Ann Decker, on the website
Idealist.org. You can visit
Idealist to see all of the good work they are
doing in their effort to create a meeting place for
volunteers and volunteer-seeking non-profit
organizations. Her listing on Idealist led us
to Scott Morgan, who was looking for teaching volunteers
for a school located near Arusha, Tanzania. The school
is called Meru Peak Medium School (MPS), and is located
at the foot of Mt Meru. A beautiful location, but a
school in much need of logistical and financial help. So
ABCs For Africa was formed to aid schools like
Meru Peak in their efforts to become self-sustaining.
Headmaster Joseph Maganga has taken it upon himself to
provide an education for children that have been
orphaned due to the AIDS/HIV epidemic that has ravaged
parts of Africa. To read more about our goals, visit our
mission statement
page.
This summer we enlisted the help of a New York City-area
volunteer/teacher, Marissa Lipovsky. She arrived at Meru
Peak School in August, and immediately began building a
relationship with the administrative and teaching staff at
the school. She has compiled a report for ABCs, which is
under review at this time. Marissa is home now for the
holiday season, but will return to MPS in January 2010,
continuing her commitment as a
liaison/teacher/administrator. She is wearing many hats for
our organization, and we applaud her efforts and hard work,
which should undoubtedly lead to a insightful analysis of
the challenges that we face in making Meru Peak School a
self-sustaining place of learning.
During this transition from MOPFA to ABCs, I ask for your patience in our
efforts to create a quality, interactive website. We should
soon have a much-improved look, and I hope you will all
find that it was, indeed, worth the wait.
In reviewing scores of Non-Profit organizations which are
doing work on behalf of African education, I have not found
any one organization which is focusing on our particular
niche: the support of private schools which in addition to
educating paying students, also provide free
education to HIV/AIDS orphans and widows. We desire to
support schools like Meru Peak, that have, with
no other motive except
altruism,
taken it upon themselves the added burden of providing this
educational opportunity to orphans with this legacy.
This is the part of the newsletter where I quote one of my
favorite sayings, "Practice the first lesson of human
rights: just because a problem doesn't affect you
personally, doesn't mean it ceases to exist." This quote,
by the author and activist,
Irshad Manji is one
I literally
carry
around in my pocket every day. Whenever I get a bit
dispirited about the sometimes-slow progress of our
mission, I read this quote. It gives me perspective and
strength. I hope you, dear reader, will see the truth of
these words. I know I have.
Lastly, I've had many questions regarding donations. If you
are interested in helping us in our work, please email me,
Bill Crawford, or Scott Morgan. We'll be pleased to
explain our mission and our efforts in greater detail.
As yet we have no online "click and donate" feature.
However, this should be available soon.
From all of us at ABCs For Africa, we wish each
and every one of our friends, family, supporters, and the
merely curious, a wonderful Holiday Season, and a great and
prosperous 2010!
Sincerely
yours,
Bill
Crawford-Executive Director
Also contributing;
Duane Ann Decker-Vice President
Judy Searles-Secretary
Scott Morgan-Advisory Board Member
Joseph Maganga, Headmaster
David Abuga, teacher
Celia Brumby, volunteer
teacher
Jessie Bullock, volunteer, w/
students
Read Jessie's blog of her recent visit by
clicking here.
Visit
the Meru Peak School homepage by clicking
here.
See more photos on our
gallery
page.
Visit "Hunting Dog Safaris.com"
and see how volunteering and tourism can work hand in hand
to make a difference at Meru Peak School!
To email us, click on the mailbox below!
For more information on Tanzania and the health problems it
faces, visit the World Health Organization's dedicated
website: www.who.int/countries/tza/en/
Kudos to Squidfingers for
providing some of our graphics!