Oprah and Africa

Friday I was watching Oprah, and an African woman, Tererai Trent, was on her show.  She is from Zimbabwe, and her story is that of nearly every rural African girl.

Transcript of video:

As a young girl in rural Zimbabwe, Tererai Trent lived without running water and electricity and had no hope for her future. "I remember very well my father pointing to my brothers and the other boys in the village and saying: 'These are the breadwinners of tomorrow. We need to educate them. We need to send them to school. The girls will get married,'" she says. "And that was just a painful experience for me."

Watch her story. 

Desperate to learn, this little girl with big dreams secretly did her brother's homework. "I learned to read and write from my brother's books," she says. Soon, Tererai's secret was exposed, and the teacher begged her father to let her learn.

Tererai attended only two terms before she was forced to marry at age 11. By age 18, she was the mother of three. "When my husband realized that I wanted to have an education, he would beat me," she says. "I have nightmares of that time of my life."

In 1991, a visitor changed Tererai's life forever. Jo Luck, from Heifer International, asked every woman about her greatest dream—something many of them didn't know they were allowed to have. "I remember very clearly saying: 'My name is Tererai, and I want to go to America to have an education, and I want to have a BS degree. I want to have a master's, and I want to have a PhD," she says. "And she just looked at me [and said], 'If you desire those things, it is achievable.'"

Hoping her daughter could break the cycle of poverty, Tererai's mother encouraged her to write her dreams on a piece of paper. The 20-year-old placed them in a scrap of tin and buried them under a rock in the pasture where she used to herd cattle. "As a woman without an education, life will continue to be a burden," she wrote. "I truly believe in these dreams, and I hope one day to work for the causes of women and girls in poverty."

Tererai not only broke the cycle—she shattered it. In 1998, Tererai moved to Oklahoma with her husband and now five children. Just three years later, she earned a bachelor's degree in agricultural education. In 2003—the same year her husband was deported for abuse—Tererai obtained her master's degree.

After every achievement, Tererai returned home to Zimbabwe, unearthed her tin of dreams and checked off each goal she accomplished, one by one. In December 2009, the now happily remarried Tererai will realize her greatest dream of all—a doctoral degree.

Tererai is a symbol of hope in her village. On a trip home in 2009, Tererai and her mother encouraged a new generation of girls to dream, giving them pens, paper and tiny metal tins. "It makes me feel happy, but at the same time, it makes me feel empty that there are more women who could have the same opportunity but they are not getting it," she says. "My story is not about me, but it's about what can come out of my story."

Tererai has a dream to build a school in her village in Zimbabwe, and Oprah, in her typical generous way, has donated $1,500,000 (1 1/2 million dollars) to help Tererai build that school, that will educate 1,000 children.


I appreciate Oprah's generosity, but let's do the math.  It costs us $15,000 to construct a 3 room school building, that will host 250 children.  That breaks down to approximately $60 per child.  To build a school campus that would educate 1,000 children would cost us approximately $60,000.  With the remaining $1,440,000, we could build 24 more such school campuses, that would provide a place to educate 24,000 additional children.  So with the same $1.5 million donation, we could construct 25 school campuses, educating 25,000 children per year.

Does someone have a connection to Oprah?  Can someone tell her about the work we do, and how far her money would go if she donated to Koins?  The reason we are able to do so much is because every penny that is donated to Koins for Kenya goes directly to our projects in Kenya.  There is nothing kept in the states for "overhead" or "administrative fees".  The reality of donating to many (most) NGO humanitarian organizations, especially the large ones, such as Save the Children, which will be assisting Oprah and Tererai to build this 1.5 million dollar school for 1,000 children, is that many pockets will be lined and salaries paid along the way, with money that should otherwise be meant for helping out these children.  Those of us involved with Koins for Kenya work very hard to ensure that the money donated towards our projects actually is spent on our projects.  Every member of our board is a volunteer, and by making this our mantra, we are able to finish many projects with relatively small amounts of cash.


Thanks to all of our donors.  We don't need $1.5 million to build a school.  Even a $25 donation can be used and makes a difference.


Asante sana,


IVL

The Realities of Education in Kenya

Bret, Koins for Kenya founder, in a typical old classroom 

In 2003, a change in the Kenyan government was made, mainly on the platform of free primary education for all.  Before this change, all education was tuition based, meaning many Kenyan poor never had a chance at being educated.

While this change sounded like a wonderful thing to the vast numbers not attending school due to lack of funds, the realities of free education became clear once existing school buildings swelled at the seams, and class sizes rose to 100+ per classroom being the norm, and a lack of funding from the government threatened to make education unavailable again to the masses of poor Kenyans hungry to learn.

Here is an article from the BBC outlining these issues:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7502223.stm

From the very beginning of Koins for Kenya's existence, one of our primary goals has been to build classrooms in rural villages of south coastal Kenya.  We do this as a partnership with the villages.  The village is required to come to Koins with 10% of the cost of the building project raised, and a willingness to provide unskilled labor to dig foundations, haul water, sand and gravel to the building site.  The partnership we create with the village makes them invested in the work.  Once the classrooms are built, the buildings are dedicated and turned over to the community.  Koins facilitates the building, but takes no ownership in the final outcome.  In the past 7 years, Koins has built nearly 20 classrooms, plus cisterns, latrines and libraries in Kenya, all with a goal to help promote education in a poverty-stricken area where education will provide the only way to a better future.

Koins has been able to accomplish a lot with our limited funds, mainly because of our mandate that 100% of all donated funds go directly to the work in Kenya.  There is no overhead paid out of donated funds.  Everyone on our board is a volunteer.  We donate our time, talents, energy and funds towards the work.  We have hosted a number of expeditioners over the years, and they become our biggest cheerleaders, often returning to Kenya see projects they have funded be dedicated, or rallying new donors to the cause.

It really takes a trip to Kenya, or an experience in a third world country, to realize the difference in how we, as Americans, live, vs. them.  Before my first trip to Kenya, I never thought twice about the fact that I had a flushing toilet, clean running water, a full pantry of food, a car, technology, (and on and on).   Not to mention the healthcare nightmare that is rural Kenya.  We know we can't change the world, but classroom by classroom we are changing the landscape of "free education" in Kenya.

Our next adventure will be in agriculture.  Our partnership with SRA will provide new opportunities to family farmers, and I can't wait to get it started.

Our board is so very grateful to those who donate towards our work in Kenya.  We value your trust, and make sure all funds are carefully spent in ways that will provide the greatest benefit to our villages.

We have another great summer expedition coming up July 9-21.  If you are interested in joining us, contact Jami, our expedition coordinator, at jami@koinsforkenya.org.  It is guaranteed to be a life changing experience.

If you are interested in furthering our work with a donation, you can use a credit card to make a secure donation here.  There is a drop down box that allows you go choose the destination of your donation, or you can make a comment on the payment page as to what the funds are for.

Asante sana!

Ingrid