Little Bits of Obama-Mania!!

This fall, HEAL had the great opportunity to participate in the annual AIDS Run & Walk Chicago, which is hosted by the AIDS Foundation of Chicago. HEAL members including Dr. Robert Bailey, Erin Starzyk, Justin Starzyk, Albert Plenty, Silas Ellison, and Elena Navez set up a booth to help spread the word about HEAL’s mission and work.

In order to raise money for HEAL’s current projects in Kenya, we sold Obama bracelets.  These little bits of Obama-mania were a fantastic hit with people absolutely RAVING about them.  All bracelets are handmade in Obama’s father’s hometown in Kenya, and we sold over 250 dollars worth of them at the walk. With the success of the bracelets, HEAL has continued to market through various venues, and to date has netted a profit of over 1,100 dollars.  This will, as we all know, go a long way in Kenya.  As always, all profits go directly towards HEAL’s projects which can be seen on this blog or at official HEAL website.

If you would like to purchase an Obama bracelet of your very own (and we know you do) as he is – you may have heard -
the current President Elect of the United States – contact Martha Schnell at mschnell@uic.edu.

Schooled in Tough Times: A Message from James Furner

Hello, hope you are well.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I wanted to take a minute and ask for your help. Early in 2008, Sylvia and I traveled with a group to Tanzania. While there we visited the Kibaoni Primary School near Karatu. Imagine a school with no electricity, no running water and only the boys have a latrine! With over 750 students and only 6 classrooms, classes are held in shifts. Not enough desks, not enough chairs, not enough books, not enough pencils, but plenty of need.

Now you know why I am asking for your assistance. Yes, economic conditions here are, indeed, very tough. But the children of Kibaoni Primary School really know what tough times are. Even if they are lucky enough to graduate and pass the national test, most of their families cannot afford to send their children to Secondary School – much less dream of attending University.

These are the reasons we partnered with H.E.A.L. (Health Empowerment for African Lives) to collect tax deductible funds for the Kibaoni School. We still plan to form our own 501(c)(3), which should be up and running in early 2009.

To date, we have collected $2,595 for the school. All funds will be distributed for specific projects at the school. Our first project is to build a latrine for the girls. We are over half way to our goal of $ 5,000 for the 15 seat facility. Other projects include getting electricity to the grounds; desks and chairs; water reserve tanks; books and sports equipment.

While at the school, I met a young man, Thomas Andrea Malinga. Thomas speaks very good English and served as our translator. As we were leaving Thomas pleaded for

help. He had passes all the needed tests, but as an orphan could not afford the tuition at the nearest public school (approximately $1,000 per year). When I mentioned Thomas’ plight to one of our fellow travelers, Darrell Lund, decided to step-up and pay Thomas’ school expenses as long as Thomas does well in school. Six months into the year, Thomas is blooming. He loves school and wants to be an accountant. He now considers Darrell and I his American fathers. He is able to email us regularly. His letters are amazing insightful.

No contribution is too small. Together we can do so much good.

-James Furner