Getting ready for the exams

by Thomas Bwire

They all sat quietly in one of the rooms at the center as they read through their continuous assessment exams, given by Uweza to monitor the effectiveness of our after-school tuition. These are some of the students who are high school candidates making final preparations for their exams. After four years of hard work in high school, candidates are required to undertake a national Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam that determines their life path. The Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) is the examination body in Kenya is mandated to examine students at their last year of their studies, be it in primary and high school.

I got to interact with some of the candidates taking advantage of the Uweza center to study and get to know how they have adequately prepared to handle exams which are already on–going.

Edmond Bwire, Francis Namale, and John Kidagwa are some of the high school students who study at Uweza's center

Edmond Bwire Peter, aged 19 years old, is a candidate at Langata High School, and notes that he has been reading hard to be well prepared for the national exams. “I have been working with groups of fellow students for revision purposes, ” notes Edmond. His dream is to become an aeronautical engineer.

Francis Namale, aged 19 years old, also a form four student at Jeremic Adventist Academy is  optimistic that all will be well. He says that he been doing lots of revision and the teachers strike at the beginning of the school term will not affect his performance. "These exams mean a lot to my life and I want to join campus to study computer science since technology advancement keeps having an impact on our lives and there is need to embrace it,” are Francis sentiments.

Francis Namale taking the Uweza tuition continuous assessment exam

John Kidagwa, aged 18 years old, is motivated to become a business entrepreneur  “My motivation comes from my late father, and that’s why I have to work hard and pass my exams well."

John Kidagwa

In total, ten students from Uweza's programs are taking the exams this year. From the Uweza family, we want to wish all candidates sitting for their national exams success and may their life desires be realized come next year!

Quest for Knowledge

by William Ochieng

A famous scholar once said ‘if you want to go far, go alone and if you want to go further, go with people.’  This quote is relevant during the three week long teachers strike that paralyzed learning in all public schools countrywide. Despite the teachers’ strike, students need not sleep on their knee to search for excellence to better their lives.

In the Kibera slums a group of eight young students both high school and primary used to converge at the Uweza Foundation center to discuss mathematics, English, chemistry and other subjects.  One of the students stands up who is bright in mathematics and shows the rest how a sum is tackled when brought in the question paper. He leads the rests step by step on the methods and formula followed to arrive at the answer.

After that, each one them is assigned to bring similar questions.  They then discuss other subjects like English and the rest.  What I discovered was that the students made sure that each understood well the concept, and if you are a slow learner, sessions are more repetitive in order to tackle the problem.

I posed a question to one of the boys “Has the teachers strike brought an end to learning?"  His take was that with or without the teachers' presence, learning must continue.  The teachers work, he said, is only to supplement and much of the work that should be done by the student himself.

All of the students aspire to be engineers, pilots, doctors, lawyers, etc. and they are determined to meet their goals.  I advise them that in order to succeed, they must work entirely in all subjects so that they join better campuses and colleges both locally and abroad to study.  I noticed that the students are motivated to succeed to fulfill their dreams and I was happy with the ideas and encouraged them to forge ahead.

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William Ochieng joined Uweza as an intern in September 2011.  After receiving a diploma in Community Development in September 2012, he joined the Uweza team full time as our Administrator.

Uweza Community Center One Year Anniversary

This past weekend marked one year since the keys were handed over for the property that is now the Uweza Community Center. The space has become the center for all our activities which include  after-school tutoring for primary and high school students, life skills lessons and counseling for youth, art classes, and a journalism club.  The center also acts as a meeting point for a Kibera microfinance group, a support group for HIV-positive women, coaches and players from the Uweza Soccer Academy, and students enrolled in our sponsorship program.

To commemorate the occasion, we thought we'd take a look back at the transformation that has occured through photographs taken in May 2011 and May 2012.  We've also asked Uweza program participants and staff about how the creation of the center has impacted their life.  We are all so grateful to the Uweza supporters that have helped make the center possible and we look forward to seeing what the next year will hold for us!

  
Office:

Kitchen:

Classroom/Meeting Hall:

 
“The center has helped me with tuition because the teacher at school has many pupils in class but at tuition, the teachers can help us one on one with our questions.  The center also offers art classes. Before I attended, I didn’t know how to draw but now I can draw.”

- Elizabeth Teresa, Class 7, Ayany Primary School

"The center helps with tuition. Teacher George has helped me in reading Kiswahili and with many other subjects.  I didn’t know how to speak well in English but now I can write and speak English well."

- Elizabeth Atieno, Class 4, St. Juliet Primary School

Saturday reading program

"Uweza has assisted me in many ways. Outside in Kibera, there is peer pressure to do drugs but we can spend our time to use the center and play soccer.  Sessions with coaches help in building discipline and reducing tribalism among teammates. With schooling, some parents in Kibera can’t afford to pay, like my dad is retired and does casual jobs.  Uweza has helped provide school fees so I can gain academic knowledge."
- Thaddeus Otieno, Form 3, Highway Secondary School

  

"At home, it is noisy and hard to study but I can concentrate at the center.  The center gives me a place to go to avoid getting into bad company with boys who idle around.   I have learned a lot of new skills like how to socialize with other friends."

-Charles Omondi, Form 3, Olympic High School

High school students studying at the center

"I am happy that there is good management at the center and I’ve seen role models in Jen and Moi.  The center has helped in nurturing talents in playing soccer.  The program has helped provide me with school fees and uniforms."
- Michael Kubasu, Form 3, Olympic High School

 
"The center provides books that we don’t have at home so we can come to read. The counseling sessions with Becky help us learn how to choose the right friends."
- Aisha Mohammed, Form 1, St, Anne's Girls High School

 
"The center has helped with books for learning.  It has helped identify talents. Like I am in Journalism Club and we are learning many useful skills so that if we go to college, we will learn faster. We also get a chance to associate with people."
- Everlyne Nzilani, Class 8, Ayany Primary School

Journalism club reading newspapers

 "It has created a job opportunity for me and opened my mind through interactions with kids and other staff. We need have big dreams and think outside the box.  Kids get porridge at the center and many of them don't get enough to eat at home. As staff, we are given the freedom to implement ideas and do what is right for the growth of Uweza, which is rare in other NGOs."
- Mathew Muema, Sponsorship Coordinator

"I am happy to be here because I prepare porridge for the kids who come to the center after a long day in schools. Providing them with cup of porridge to add their strength is what satisfies me by the end of the day."
- Agnes Adongo, Cook

To continue supporting the Uweza Community Center, click here.

Reading with a purpose

by Thomas Bwire

Schools have just closed for April holiday and the Uweza center is coming back to life from the day‘s silence. One can easily be mistaken that nothing much happens in the evening.  It’s just past 5 pm and one can easily hear murmurs in low tones from the adjacent classes within the court. I walk into one of the classrooms and I meet a few young students all glued to their books as they try to concentrate.

Though it’s a classroom set up, no one here is wearing any school uniforms. I quickly say hey and explain my mission of approaching them for a small interview this evening.

I am amazed by their self motivation.  Despite schools being on a holiday, a few of them are taking it a step further and creating their own time to come at our center and make use of our open space by revising, reading and also getting some educational assistance from their friends.

The first person I approach is Aisha Mohammed who recently joined high school.  She shared with me that her reason for coming at the center was because her new school requires students to undertake an exam on the next opening date and she doesn’t want to have any excuse for failing. "I want to refresh my mind so I don't forget learned topics when I sit for that exam on day one," she told me.

Aisha Mohammed

Second in line was Norah Atieno a class eight pupil at Ayany Primary school who informed me that she loves to keep herself busy so as she can remember what the teacher had taught them in school. “When I come here, I am able to avoid clashing with my mum who sometimes  give me additional house chores like washing the dishes that eat into my time when I want to study,” notes Norah.

For Everlyne Nzilani, also a class eight candidate at Ayany Primary, her major reason for coming to the center is to seek guidance from other friends and tutors who are always ready to assist her when she has difficulty with her school work. “You see I want to be a judge when am done with my education,” says Everlyne. Her advice to her peers is that they need to study hard, plan ahead and that nothing should stop anyone achieve their goals in life. Faith Jennifer, who aims to become a doctor, is happy to use the center as a safe space to study hard so as she can pass her exams.

From left: Class 8 students Norah Atieno, Everlyne Nzilani, and Faith Jennifer

An interaction with Stephen Odhiambo a form three (third year) high school student  gave me an insight into his thoughts that  he wants to pass his exams well and see his family out of the slum life one day. The last on my list was Alex Nyabuto, also a form three student.  He was happy to share with me his sentiments that being at the center takes him away from bad friends who can easily influence him into drugs and idleness that won’t be of any benefit to him.

From left: Form Three students Stephen Odhiambo, Alex Nyabuto, Peter Odhiambo

When all is said and done, the time to create a conducive future is now by investing time and energy into the books and the available space to gain valuable knowledge.

Handy photography tips

by Thomas Bwire

Last Sunday, the Uweza journalism club had an introductory photography session meant to give them new skills of being able to tell stories through the lens. The cold and chill weather did not deter some of my students who showed up for our Sunday routine class despite the heavy downpour just a few minutes before 2pm in the afternoon.

The lesson was interesting as I took the students present into understanding the basics of what a good photo entails. First they got to learn that all great pictures have something in common, they are well composed.

Some of the handy tips that were also shared included learning about framing a photo using the rule of thirds and to give a better understanding of what your photo is talking about.

And all in all some few practicals were applied by the present members on day one of their photography lesson.  Each participant had an opportunity to take a few photos of anything of their choice.

Here are some of their photos:

Club members Dorcas, Douglas, and Samuel

Club member Douglas Momanyi

Club member Samwel Samunya

Bananas trees outside the Uweza center

The session came to an end with a parting shot that, “a good picture is worth a thousand words.”  Check out for more updates and photos taken by some of the club members in our coming blogs.

Agnes the Cook

by Thomas Bwire

Agnes Adongo is the cook at the Uweza center, but as many of the kids in Uweza programme will tell you, Agnes is much more than a cook. She has taken the Uweza’s mission as her own.  Agnes, aged 32 years, lives in Olympic, one of the estates in Kibera, with her husband and four children, whom 3 are boys and one girl.

She joined the Uweza family in June of last year, 2011.  She says that working here brings joy and personal fulfillment as she is adored as a mother by the kids who come to the center, after their school day and served a  cup of hot porridge.

Her day at the center starts at 4pm and ends at 6.30 pm.  Upon her arrival, she heads to the kitchen located at one of the corners within the center premises and lights the jiko (Swahili for stove) using charcoal.

This takes less than five minutes and once the jiko is ready, she heads back to the kitchen and starts preparing the meal provided by the center to all the Uweza kids.  She took me through her preparation process of the porridge. “First put water into the sufuria (pot), give it some time to boil, say 15 minutes.

As you leave the water to boil, make a fine paste of flour using cold water with a clean bucket and stir it until it becomes thick and mixed well.

Then pour the paste into the boiling water and stir until it all starts releasing some bubbles. Add sugar that is enough for intake depending on the number of people you are cooking for. "Give it 10 more minutes and your porridge is ready," Agnes finishes with a smile and all this time under the watch of her little daughter.

By this time, one of the rooms hosting some of the students is almost full and students present are undertaking their school assignments silently. A hot steamy cup of porridge is served as each student gets a share and says “asante mathe” meaning thank you mum. Besides the students, staff members also get served a cup of porridge.

Upon completion, Agnes quickly washes the dishes and once she is done with all the kitchen chores, she bids me farewell and off she goes.

When asked about Agnes, Managing Director Jennifer Sapitro commented, "She is amazing. She consistently goes beyond the call of duty and demonstrates what participatory development and community service are about.”

Welcome to the new interns

by Thomas Bwire

The Uweza family is gradually growing and we are happy to introduce to you two of our new interns who reported to the center located along Karanja road in Kibera this Wednesday morning.

Meet Mukami Kibaara and Vivian Njeri, both are law students at the Jomo Kenyatta University. Hardly had the day passed and it was all systems go, as two found a task to be undertaken in the administrative office by digitizing the office manual records into the system.

A brief chat with Mukami revealed that they had met with Jennifer Sapitro, Uweza's Managing Director the previous week at one of the girl’s forum and got to know about Uweza Foundation. While conversations took center stage, the two also inquired more how they could join the Uweza family, and that’s when Jennifer offered them the opportunity.

I did ask her the kind of new skills she would like to bring on board and. She smiles a little, then getting composed she answers back. “I want to mentor the girl child, walk with them, and make them understand who they are.” says Mukami. “That’s awesome,” I tell her back and wish her well.

Next is Vivian Njeri whom you could easily be mistaken that she is our office assistant if you were a first timer visitor. Sitting behind the office computer, she is digitizing some of the important documents that had been hand written for easier accessibility and also safe keeping of these records.

Her take is that she is happy to have gotten this opportunity to work in the Kibera community, get to know the target group involved and that by the end of the day, she looks forward to attaining some knowledgeable skills that can be ploughed back to the community.

And with that brief chat with the two new interns, we called it a day. Be on the lookout in our up-coming blogs where by more news on our new interns will be posted regarding their progress.

Welcome to the new Uweza tutor

by Thomas Bwire

Every parent’s dream is to give better education to their children as they grow up so as to be responsible people in the society. Education helps shape the society and people’s way of thinking as educated people are a valuable asset to the country. Thus as the New Year began, Uweza Foundation added a new tutor to help the youngsters of today gain valuable skills that will be beneficial in the future.

Uweza Foundation is thrilled to introduce Harriet Ruvaga as the new teacher for students in pre-school and classes 1 through 3. Harriet has a diploma in Early Childhood Development (ECD).She is passionate about her work as a teacher and is already down to work, this being her second week with the children.

I visited Gifted Hands Education Eenter situated in Gatwekera village, a distance of less than 10 minutes walk from the Uweza Community Center along Karanja Road, where I found Harriet down to business with her children. The center has given working space to Uweza to conduct remedial classes for lower primary and upper primary school children.

A little chat with Harriet gave me a little insight about her. “I am passionate about working with children from Kibera, as they are unique especially because of their background. Here I meet kids with poor backgrounds, slow learners, quick learners and by the end of the day my task is to ensure that they are at the same par regarding their school work” notes Harriet.

She also added that the few days she has been working with the kids from Kibera, she is amazed at how they manage their normal school routine programme and are still able join her in the evening for the Uweza programme. Currently kids in this programme are aged between ages 3 to 9years.  Some of the participating schools include Damside, Ayany and Olympic.

We wish her all the best as she joins the Uweza family and look forward to working with her.

Intern Blogging - Fourth Post

by William Ochieng

This week has been tremendously busy for me in my work schedule moving up and down. As the Kibera Agenda were closing their end of the year savings and loaning, I have been involved in preparation of their financial statement and presented it to each member during the closure. The group members scrutinized their savings and were satisfy with the figures I presented to them yesterday. Otherwise it was okay and splendid day and recommended for the effort of updating it.

Apart from that, Moi and I have designed a center membership card for children to enable them next year access the community center programs and they looked nice.

Lessons learned

• Transparency is essential in any group work and people can trust you while managing their funds/assets and confidence is built on someone.
• With each child having a membership card, the center will be able to notice a strange person hence improve efficiency in its operation with minimal hiccups.

As the center prepares to wind up its operations next week I wish you and the Uweza Foundation a Merry Chrismas and a splendid Happy New year 2012 .

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William is studying community development at The Kenya Polytechnic University College in Nairobi and has been interning with Uweza since October.  Read his first blog entry here, his second blog entry here, and his third blog entry here.

Getting Motivated

by Mary Ngoya

The day started well as the students turned up in good number. Thomas Bwire the journalism teacher arrived at the center with Victor Muturi who is one of the radio presenters at Pamoja FM, a local
community radio station based in Kibera.

After having done our weekly press review of getting a chance to read the day’s newspaper, it was an opportunity for Muturi to speak to us on how to become a good journalist. He did mention that working hard is the backbone of every success.  He encouraged us to take our studies seriously and work with lots of determination.

Part of his presentation touched on research in order to get to know your target audience well, and this can only be achieved by one’s interest in knowing current issues that your audience feels attached to. “One has to be courageous to tackle day to day issues that affect our people, sometimes you are forced to report from an accident scene of the occurrence” noted Muturi.

We were also informed of the importance of reading newspapers as they are also good source of information for both local and international news.  Another element tackled was the need to be creative, so as you can be ahead of the pack and be able to know how to approach situations as they come across.

Even though journalism is a good field that many people would like to envy, it also comes with some challenges. Criticism is big issues from some of the listeners who call so say their songs requests were not played not understanding that there was a time limit of all songs requested to be played. Power blackout sometimes leaves the audience in the dark when power goes off and the generator available runs out of fuel. One last challenge faced by some of presenters is insecurity especially for the ones who report to duty early morning or leave late in the evening as the sometimes fall prey to robbers.

At the end of the session, we got an opportunity to ask questions which were answered. A true inspiration from Muturi and hope everyone got inspired as we now remain knowledgeable of what the market out there has to offer.

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Mary Ngoya is 16 years old and is joining Form Four (the last year of high school) at Ahero Girls High School next year. She is a member of Uweza's Journalism Club.

Painting for a passion

By Thomas Bwire

As you walk into the Uweza Center premises, once easily notices the blue paint all
over, a welcoming color indeed of calmness. With the rains gone now, the afternoon scorching sun
shone brightly from above. I dropped by the center this afternoon to get to interact with the Art Fun Club of the Uweza Foundation with a mission to get to know what it takes to be in the club.

I sneaked in silently into one of the classes that hosts activities at the center, and was mesmerized by
what I saw here. The art class pupils were all on their own and everyone was busy working on their art
work. Some sat on the benches, while others had their art work hanged on the walls, and for some the
table provided a good working space.


Noticing that no one was saying Hey to me, as they were all glued to their paintings, I quickly stepped in
to say hello to everyone in the room.

I got to interview a few as they carried on with their work, the first one to catch my attention was
Caroline Kibiego aged 11 years who attends school at Raila Educational Center .“What motivates you
in what you are doing?” I posed this question to her. She takes few moments and smiles back as she
composes herself.”Uuuuh I want to be an artist because it can be a source of income one day”


Next on line is Paul Kimani aged 14years old. His passion for the painting is that, painting makes him
feel better and that he loves to paint stuff like houses. For a 13 year old Timothy Nyabuto from Jamhuri
primary school he loves to paint to have fun, to remember what he was doing for amazement and also
for historical display that many generations to come later can be able to see his work at later years to
come.

Aisha Akinyi aged 14 years old says that her passion is to get extra money if her paintings were to be
bought, then she could have some savings for her future University studies upon completion of high
school studies.


As I left the center I felt more motivated, having learned one virtue of discovering one’s talent and having
the passion to nurture it and see it grow. Parents too have a role to play by motivating
and giving their support to these youngsters so as the birth of this noble idea remains today,
tomorrow and for many years to come.

 

Kenya at 48

by Dorcas Kirwai

This is the day Kenya attained its independence. The holiday takes its name from a Swahili
word “Jamhuri” meaning a republic. It’s one of the important days observed in the Kenyan calendar of
national holidays celebrated on December 12th.

Today Kenya turned 48 years after its independence from the Mau Mau,(Mzungu aende Ulaya Mwafrika
apate Uhuru), accredited for Kenyans independence in 1963,that was led by our Founding father the late
Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.

Today’s main ceremony was held at Nyayo National Stadium and also observed in other provincial’s
levels across the country where the final speech of the president is normally read by the Provincial
Commissioners (PC).

In Nairobi security was beefed and those intending to attend the ceremony at Nyayo National Stadium
were advised to be seated by 10am latest. As I watched the television most people at the stadium had
several thoughts of issues they would have loved addressed by their local leaders, ranging from the on-
going military operation called Linda Nchi in Somalia in the fight against Al-shabaab to the current doctor’s
strike.

Shortly after 11.20am, the president Hon Mwai Kibaki was driven into the full packed stadium in a
military land rover meant for the chief of the general staff. The first lady Lucy Kibaki was present too.

The ceremony started with prayers as the master of ceremony took centre stage, followed by the
military parade passing the presidential dias, entertainment from different musical groups and several
gospel singers were also awarded an opportunity to showcase their presentations with themes focusing
on the big day.

The show stopper was the President’s speech which part of it featured some of the problems facing
the country. The President focused on the need for peace by the politicians in the next coming general
elections to be held next year and also urged for further dialogue with the doctors to resume work as
they are on strike demanding a 300% pay rise.

That’s all I had for today as I wanted the world to read my first story as requested by our journalism
teacher Thomas Bwire about my experience of Jamhuri day celebrations, during our Friday class at the
center where I volunteered to write a story about this special day for Kenyans.
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Dorcas Kirwai is 12 years old and will be entering Class 6 (6th Grade) in January 2012.  She is  a member of the Uweza Journalism Club.

World AIDS Day

by Thomas Bwire

Kibera was not left out in joining the entire world in celebrating the World AIDS Day.  In different parts of the community, one could easily see white mounted tents, that acted as temporary centers for voluntary counseling famously known as VCT.

In Kibera the main celebration, an event aimed at creating awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education, was held at the DC grounds. World AIDS Day is important for reminding people that HIV has not gone away and that there are many things still to be done.

At the Uweza Center, the youngsters too were not left behind as they dedicated this day in passing the message to their fellow age mates using a small drama that used “sheng” language which is a mixture of Kiswahili and English words combined.

Their story had a family set-up that involved a father, mother, their only son and a house help who assisted in house chores. Behind the scenes, the house help had slept with the father and the son on different occasions. After many months had passed, the father and the son became sick and the house help's secret was exposed when a neighbor she used to work for had come to pay a visit to the host family.  The neighbor exposed that the house help had the HIV virus when she used to work for her

Part of the skit went like this:

Neighbor: This house help is suffering from HIV, you guys didn’t know that she is positive?

Father/Son: (Looks surprised and astonished, as they both shake their heads sideways)

Son: Oooh my God I slept with her and I thought all was fine.

Father: What? You have slept with the house help??? Me too.

Househelp: I'm sorry, I feared to tell you for fear of rejection and being stigmatized.

Father/Son: We are all infected with the HIV viruses, God help us (they fall slowly to the ground as they weep).

At that point, a counselor walks into their home and tries to console the father and the son that having slept with their house help should not be the end of the world.  She advised them that they need to visit a VCT center to get more information and if they agree, to get tested to know their status.

Once at the VCT center, they agree to be tested after having been counseled and vow to change their bad ways.

It was a story that gave a significant group at the center the opportunity to pass a message to each other with a hope to change and help educate their peers.

Get Together With A Purpose

by Thomas Bwire

The mood at the center this afternoon was adorable as pupils who had just cleared their primary national examinations known as Kenya Certificate of Primary Examination (KCPE), sat in one of the classrooms as the blaring sounds of reggae music could be heard from the Sony music system. It was a great way to kick start their long holiday as they await the result of their exams after Christmas period.

In the Kenyan education system, it takes eight years of primary school, and then the pupil sits for national exams that will enable him/her join high school education for a period of four years.

But as for now, the pupils present at the Uweza Center sat on the benches smilling, while for some, they took moments to chat with their friends. Since the outside weather was sending some signals of heavy down pour, Becky Gitau the Generation-T Club teacher took charge of the programme and asked everyone to step outside so as benches could be arranged for everyone to get enough space.

Once everyone was seated, food was served, and the menu comprised of cooked rice famously known in Swahili as “Pilau.”  This is a kind of delicacy is cooked with some meat inside and tastes delicious. Chapati too was part of the menu as well as a glass of juice to wash the food down the throat.

As the pupils sat and ate their meal as one family. I took the opportunity to talk to some of them and get to know their expectations, now that they are done with primary school.

14 year old Fredrick Mwandindo from Kibera Primary School expressed his joy of joining other pupils in the get together and believes he will perform well in his exams. I did ask him what he aspires to be in life.  "I want to be a professional footballer in the near future as I believe I have the talent, and God willing one day I can also play for bigger teams like Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United,” says Fredrick.

15 year old Willis Nyabuto from Jamhuri primary is happy being part of Uweza family.  "I love to be part of  the Uweza team as I get to learn a lot from my teachers and I want to become a scientist when I finish high school so as I can discover earth and space” notes Willis.

The climax of the day was when Fidel Ouma, the Center’s Prefect, gave a small speech of encouragement to all present and encouraged them to be kind to each other and always value the motto of discipline.

What are children in Kibera grateful for?

Yesterday at their meeting, Thomas explained to the members of the Uweza Journal Club that Uweza supporters in the United States would be celebrating Thanksgiving, a day to reflect and give thanks. We asked them to think about and write down what they are thankful for.  Given the tough circumstances these children are living in, it's incredibly moving to see that most of them are thankful to be alive.  We are humbled by their response and reminded not to take anything for granted.

We are incredibly grateful to all of our supporters worldwide for supporting programs that are truly changing lives.  It is because of you that we are able to do everything that we do.  If you are celebrating today, Happy Thanksgiving!