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AFRICA BRIDGE NEWS FLASH, NOVEMBER 03 3,000 Bricks I
have just seen 3,000 hand made large concrete bricks. The villagers of
Idweli in Tanzania are building the dream of the Idweli Childrens
Center. The target is 6,000 bricks by end of November. In December Mr.
Audax, the builder comes to live in the village and will work with the
villagers to build the Center. The new water pipes are already yielding
fresh spring water to the site. A womens group raises money for food
and provides meals for the volunteers at the site every day. Rungwe
District Council is a key collaborator (the village of Idweli is part
of Rungwe District). Their staff will survey the site. The District
social workers will train the volunteers who work at the Center. The
council will also provide grant money for the ongoing operation. The
mission of the Idweli Childrens Center is to serve the community in
nurturing and caring for all the children in the village. Priority will
be given to orphans and children with sick parents. The services
include for example; food support for extended families, orphan
accommodations; support for primary school education; scholarships for
secondary school, HIV/AIDS education; HIV/AIDS testing and mother to
child AIDS transmission prevention. The
Idweli Childrens Center is a very unique project. Typically, child and
orphan programs serve a district or a region. This requires a child to
move out of its own community into an institution supported by
strangers. However, the Idweli Childrens Center is the dream of the
children and adults of Idweli. It will be operated by the Idweli
community for the Idweli community. The scourge of HIV/AIDS in Africa
has left in its wake millions of orphans and families ill equipped to
care for another child. Some grannies care for up to a dozen children.
This project is a model in giving vulnerable children a future where
their extended families no longer have the capacity to help. Idweli Childrens Center Benefit, 11/22/03 On
November 22, Tualatin River Nursery of West Linn will host an open
house to raise money to equip and operate the Idweli Childrens Center.
10% of all sales of plants and seasonal wreaths will be donated to the
Childrens Center. In addition the Zimbabwe Artists Project will have an
exhibition with 20% of the proceeds of the art sales going to Idweli
children. Saturday November 22nd Tualatin River Nursery 65 Dollar Street, West Linn, Oregon Phone 503-650-8511 or Log onto http://www.tualatinrivernursery.com Live your dream, Barry Childs, Founder of Africa Bridge. For more information see www.africabridge.org or contact Barry at africabridge@yahoo.com or phone 503-557-7245
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