Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Want to make a difference? Check this out!

Taking a break from Sudan tales for a moment to move a bit south. Please read and then I hope you'll be moved to act.

Jen Coil is a former ECM student who is now a RN in Kansas City. A couple years ago, she traveled to Tanzania and worked with AIDS orphans in Mpwapwa. She is an amazing and compassionate woman and she has continued to labor for the children of Tanzania since her return.

I recently received this email from her with a request that I pass it on.

I’m fundraising now for a large relief effort for the Mpwapwa region of Tanzania. I stayed in Mpwapwa, Tanzania for 4 months at the end of 2003. The Orphan rate is growing exponentially because of AIDS and this year Tanzania is again experiencing another famine. Orphans are the hardest hit by these unfortunate events because they lack any sort of representation. They are hungry and unkempt. My goal is to raise $20 for each child. There has been no project yet established for these orphans, but because of the desperate need, I feel called to raise money for relief right now instead of setting up a program. All of the money donated will go directly to these children for the necessities they’re lacking. I have histories and pictures of orphans in 8 of the parishes in the diocese which represent only 11% of the population. 850 orphans exist as of last year in these 8 parishes.

There is on average 106 orphans per parish. I am hoping to have American parishes support Tanzanian parishes. If you are interested or want more information about my efforts, please email me at jencoil@yahoo.com. The more people we get involved, the faster the relief can reach those children who are desperate. Thanks for your help!

Sincerely,

Jennifer Coil

To give you some pictures of who Jen is and what captured her heart, well, take a look.

Here's Jen with a Mpwapwa friend.



Here are some shots of the children.





These are the houses of Mpwapwa



Here is what passes for a playground for the kids





I have pledged to give 0.7% of my income toward accomplishing the Millennium Development Goals. 0.7% is the percent of the wealthy nations' GNP that it would take to meet all the goals. Last year, I gave it to the All Souls Liberian Episcopal School in Buduburam, Ghana. This year, I'm giving it to Jen's efforts.


I hope you can find it in your heart to give as well. I urge you to give at the 0.7% level ... whether to Jen or somewhere else working for the MDGs. You can use this site to easilly calcuate what that percentage of your income is.

I can guarantee you that you won't find a better person to be tackling this issue than Jen.

Thanks for reading. |
Mike at 4/26/2005 09:36:00 PM