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THE CLOTH AND THE MUD #41
SPRING, 2010
NEWS FROM FABULOUS AFRICAN FABRICS
A 501 (c) (3) ORGANIZATION
727-946-5322,
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and www.fabulousafricanfabrics.org
Laura Gardner Salazar, editor
Our Mission: to support agencies working with
AIDS widows and orphans in Africa and
to educate others about the AIDS crisis in Africa.
COMING EVENTS
Today, Begin using “In Honor” cards to support FAF
June 6, Annual Meeting. Election of Officers and Summer Plans
Meet at 2:00 P.M. 1158 Kensington St. NW,
Grand Rapids, MI
June 13 FAF begins selling items at the Fulton Street Artisans’
Market, Grand Rapids Sundays 11:00 A.M.--3:00 P.M. Look for great new items.
NEWS FROM AFRICA
FAF received holiday greetings from the agencies we help support in Kenya.
From WOFAK on January 19, 2010:
Thank you for the notification of the support to WOFAK. Readily, we can confirm to you and the great team that you have, that the funds will be channeled into our orphan feeding program at Kaiobangi centre, where we now have a funding gap. The centre provides a daily nutritious lunch meal to 100 orphans, many living with HIV/AIDS and it has been supported in the past by the Stephen Lewis Foundation (Canada). The Foundation experienced funding constraints in 2009 and this year, was unable to support this initiative, hence the dilemma. Your support will therefore go towards bridging the huge gap that we experienced in feeding the orphaned in Kariobangi centre, Nairobi.
Charles Kaduwa, Program Officer
From The Good Samaritan Home on December 24: “ On this festive Occasion Good Samaritan Children Home and Rehabilitation Center Wish all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.”
Kenya Lawmakers have passes a draft constitution which will limit the powers of the President. The power of the presidential office has been blamed for much of the unrest in the country during the last 10 years, including the 2008 eruption of violence that killed more than 1000 people and made many more homeless.
There is more good news reported from Kenya by The New York Times. One article discusses how concentrated aid through 80 Millennium Villages of Africa for a small area of Western Kenya has improved life in the village of Sauri. Aid has doubled agricultural yields and diversified agriculture, dropped child mortality 30%, and improved school attendance and test scores. The program is the brain child of Jeffrey D. Sachs Columbia University economist who runs the effort with the support of Bono, Clinton, Gates, and others. Another group Huru International in cooperation with other donors has developed a soft, washable sanitary pad that poor families can afford. This keeps girls in school those five days out of the month when they might stay home. Not only does absence cause them to lose out on education, but staying at home points them out to men who prey on young girls.
The Times reported on March 14th about how the 2007 eruption of violence in Kenya provided a new method for mapping crises. Through analyzing cell phone calls, hot spots of violence were detected. Ushahidi meaning “testimony” in Swahili, provides a anonymous method to report immediate needs. Since 2007 Ushahidi has identified food shortages, wartime violence, road blockages in snow storms, and most recently earthquake victims in Haiti.
UNICEF announced that the mortality rate for children has dropped 25% since 1990. Eight point eight million children under five still die each year.
THE CLOTH
Fabulous African Fabrics of Florida sponsored a trip to see the XYZ Exhibit at Hillsborough Community College in Ybor City. The group viewed life-sized sculptured lions made with Kente cloth. More information on this exhibit will appear in the next issue of this newsletter.
SENT TO AFRICAN WINTER QUARTER: $1000
Gifts in honor in the winter quarter:\
Gina May in honor of Joanne Peterson
Mr. and Mrs. John Callan in honor of Patricia Callan
Laura Salazar in honor of Viola Keigler
GIFTS IN HONOR
Members will receive a Gift in Honor card with this mailing. Other readers may request cards from our office. Gift in Honor cards provide a way to recognize friends and family when they have a birthday, graduation, or other celebration. The cover of one card has a giraffe drawn by one of the children at The Good Samaritan Home. A contribution in your name has been made for the high school tuition of an orphan at the Good Samaritan Home in Nairobi, Kenya appears in the inside. The other card has an elephant drawing on the cover and states that a contribution has been made to high school tuition for children supported by Women Fighting AIDS in Kenya. There is room for a personal note. FAF will provide the cards without cost to you.
To honor a person, send a contribution to FAF, designating the name of the person you honor and providing their address. Mail the card to the person honored. FAF will respond with a letter of thanks to both you and the recipient.
ORGANIZATIONAL NEWS
Members and friends of FAF are invited to the annual meeting of Fabulous African Fabrics at 2:00 P.M. on June 6 at 1158 Kensington St. NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49534. The order of business will be the election of officers and plans for the summer months. Nominations for the office of President, Treasurer, and Membership are open.
Please call the number at the top of this newsletter if you have a nomination to make. Self nominations are accepted. Christine Coggins is standing for re-election to the office of President.
Congratulations to long time member Mary Seeger for having a reading room named in her honor at Grand Valley State University.
FAF HEROS
Contributors to the Anthony Salazar Fund: Betty Betts, John and Margaret Carlson, Patricia Forrest, Steven and Tamara Glenn, Carl and Jonie Kobernik, Curt and Connie Jones, Charles and Lucy Ramshaw, Christine Rydel and Edward Cole, Page Wright.
Garage Sale: Arthur and Patricia Callan for the use of their garage and their hard work, Nancy Abbott, Betsy Kenas, Jane Lukowski, and everyone who donated and bought items. $215 was raised.
The United Methodist Women of Newton, MA for its generous donation of $200.00
MEMBERSHIP
The membership fees for FAF go to our organizational expenses: office supplies, postage, and materials to make items for sale. Your dollars prevent
worry about the small stuff so FAF can concentrate on our mission: to improve the lives of children and widows of AIDS in Kenya.
INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP--$20.00, FAMILY MEMBERSHIP--$30.00
SEND THIS FORM AND YOUR CHECK TO
FABULOUS AFRICAN FABRICS, 1158 KENSINGTON ST. NW, GRAND RAPIDS, MI 49534
NAME ________________________________________________________ PHONE ______________________________________________
ADDRESS __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
e-mail ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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