WHAT WE WILL BE DOING
Both of us signed up with a volunteer organization, Global Volunteer Network (GVN) and we will be stationed at an orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya. The
Dagoretti Corner Children Orphanage and Rehabilitation Center is an orphanage that is located in Nairobi and has a school for its 801 children from pre-school to high school. The children of this centre come from the streets, orphaned by parents dying of HIV/AIDS. Hence, besides teaching, another key role of this centre is to counsel the children. The school is staffed by volunteer teachers, as it is without any funding, and relies on the help of volunteers. The orphanage has been given an 8 acre plot of land by the government, so volunteers with an agricultural knowledge are needed to help to teach agricultural methods for this plot to become productive.
Since both of us do not exactly have green thumbs, we will be concentrating our efforts on helping with the education of these orphans. Ari plans to organize a book drive and a school supplies drive at General Mills to then donate to the orphanage.
We will also be assisting with the daily running of the orphanage including tasks like cooking cleaning, caring for the children, teaching school lessons and helping with homework. It sounds like a lot of work but it's going to be a lot of fun!
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Like most volunteer efforts, we will be fundraising to help raise money for the orphanage and to also help defray our costs for the program.
At this moment, we are facing some difficulties trying to make your donations tax-deductible. GVN is not able to accept donations in small installments. Using their own words, "the best way to do that is to have your sponsors make payments to you and you make one full payment to us".
On a more positive note, we are very close to having an agreement with General Mills to "match" the funds we successfully raise. We hope this will encourage donors like you to participate since every dollar given will be doubled. While any amount will be helpful and highly appreciated, a contribution of $50 (or more) is ideal to make our fundraising efforts successful.
• Online contribution
Under “Related Links and Updates” (see right side of page), there is a link that will allow you to donate money to our cause via Paypal. The link will take you to a secure website where you can use your credit card to donate money to aid us in our efforts. Paypal membership is not necessary. When taken to the Paypal payment page, ignore the "Pay with Paypal" section and just fill in your credit card information.
• Malaysian Open House
Most of you have or will be receiving E-vites to a "Malaysian Open House" event that we will be hosting. We plan to have 2 dates for the open house, one each in May and June. There will be plenty of Malaysian food served, and lots of drinks to wash down the tasty food. We hope that those who attend can donate some money. We’ll guarantee good food, drinks and lots of fun…and (here comes the cliché), it is all for a good cause!
• Personal cooking lessons
As another form of fund raising, we are also offering personal cooking lessons in exchange for donation money. The idea is that, for a donation, we will come to your home and offer you cooking lessons in Malaysian/Asian cuisine. There is a link on the right side of this page that will show you some of the comments we’ve received from people who have tasted our cooking. In the coming days, we will provide more details on these lessons and how you can sign up for them.
• Mail-in contribution
If you would prefer to send us a check, you can write out the check to ‘Ari Zainuddin’ and mail it to: 250 Park Avenue #215, Minneapolis, MN 55415
RELATED LINKS AND UPDATES
To the right of this page, you will find various links for more information. There is a link to the Global Volunteer Network (GVN) website where you can learn more about the program that Ari and I are participating in.
In the future, we hope to have a link that will bring you updates of our work in Kenya, with stories and photos. We've already had requests from friends to include these photos as proof that we're actually working in Kenya, as opposed to taking their donations and blowing them in Vegas ☺
If you have any questions or comments, please contact either of us at:
Ari -- ari.zainuddin@genmills.com, (612) 306-8913
Vanan -- vananmurugesan@hotmail.com, (612) 644-8165
We thank you for taking the time to read this. We also want to thank those who have given us words of encouragement in our endeavor and to those who have already pledged money to aid our cause.
As they say in Kenya, “Don’t forget to bring your checkbook when you come for the open house!”
See ya.
