Dean Middle School Supports Kenyans

In mid-October 2007, Dean Middle School's Young Ladies for Positive Actions (YLPA) invited Brenda Thonsgaard of Kisumu Project, Inc. to speak to students in the YLPA club about community service projects that will assist the orphans of Western Kenya. The YLPA girls were inspired to implement "Change for a Change," a fundraiser that involves all Dean Middle School students in assisting to make a change for underprivileged children in Kenya. In their "Change for a Change" fundraiser, the YLPA girls have started to educate Dean students about world issues. Every Friday, the ladies collect students' coin donations. The majority of the funds raised will go toward assisting Esibila Primary School and the surrounding community by completing the building of a water well. Remaining funds will be used to assist Migosi Family Focus group, a group home for children who have been taken in from the streets. Additional funds will be used to purchase Migosi Family Focus group a computer, printer, and video camera to assist in the home's documentation of issues relating to children who live on the streets of Kisumu, Kenya. For more information, please refer to: http://www.cfisd.net/newsmedia/press/2008/0222change.htm http://www.kisumuprojectinc.org http://www.streetchildren.org.uk/organisation/?id=309 http://migosifamilyfocus.blogger.com

Visualizing Success at Mbita VTC

The foundation has been laid for Mbita Vocational Training Center's success in Western Kenya! We are excited to bring you original footage shot by Mr. Simon Okelo, Field Director for this project.

Please take a moment to look at the progress that has been made in 2007!

Click here to watch 'Mbita-Vocational-Training-Center'

At present, we are excited to announce that School Child Africa is sponsoring our first nine students at the training center. I you or anyone you know would like to help us educate the other fifteen students who will receive training, please contact Solace International.

You will find their information at: http://www.solaceinternational.org/

"Give Meaning" to the Future

We have done it! Thank you so much to our supporters who assisted us in achieving our 100 votes to qualify us for the "Give Meaning" fund raising campaign for Mbita Vocational Training Center in Mbita, Kenya, on beautiful Lake Victoria.

Now that our proposal is approved, it is time to rally your friends, family, neighbors, and acquaintances to assist in raising funds to buy tools and equipment for Mbita VTC! The beautiful thing about "Give Meaning" is that with the click of a button, you can make a donation via a debit or credit card account. This simple task will eliminate your need to write a check and put it in the mail!

Our goal with the Give Meaning fund raising drive is to collect at least $10,000 so that we can buy the tools and equipment that will be needed at the training center. Our needs indicate that $10,000 is not even enough money to provide the school with everything it will need, but it will be a great start in the mean time!

We already have students at the site working on the construction with the master mason's and carpenters that have been hired by Young Generations Center (YGC) and Solace International, and the project is coming along nicely. The hostel (or dorms) and water well are complete already. Recently the school and shop foundations were poured so that the next phase can be started. Projected date of completion is February 2008.

Your donation can be as large or as small as you like! Remember that an average family in Kenya earns less than $1.00 a day (World Health Organization, 2007), so a donation of $5.00 would be more than an average family makes in FIVE DAYS!

The goal of Mbita Vocational Training Center is to assist orphans and children of poverty in achieving a life long career. Students who attend the training center will receive certification in two career fields. Upon graduation, they will be assisted in the development of a small business to support themselves.

There are four areas of training that will be provided at the onset: auto-mechanics, welding, carpentry, and masonry. It is the intent of this project to expand to vocational areas for women after the present project is in place. Mbita VTC will be a self-sustaining facility and will not require monetary assistance after the school is functional! The school's technical laboratories/shops will be used to not only teach students the skills they need to know, but the shop will provide "fee based" community services for the Mbita area. The fees collected from the shop will allow the school to pay for teachers, student foods, upkeep, and care of the facility.

Please visit our Give Meaning project site and give meaning to someone's life! 100% of donated funds will be given to the school! By clicking on the blue letters "MVTC" you will be linked directly to our Give Meaning fundraising site: mvtc or you can go to the site at: http://www.givemeaning.com/project/MVTC.

Make a difference in East Africa! Contribute to Mbita VTC's Fund Raising Drive on Give Meaning!

"Giving Meaning" to Mbita VTC's Cause

Your "YES VOTES" are Needed!

As you may have already heard, Kisumu Project, Inc, is helping Solace International, YGC/Young Generations Center, and School Child Africa with the Mbita Vocational Training Center Project in Mbita, Kenya. We need your assistance in a small endeavor.

We have written a proposal to "Give Meaning," a nonprofit group in Canada that will assist with fund raising. For them to accept our proposal, we must receive 100 votes on our proposal by December 10, 2007. Will you please click on the website below (in light green) and vote YES for the proposal titled "Mbita Vocational Training Center?" We are assisting YGC/Young Generations Center by supplying tools to The Mbita VTC for orphans. Voting "Yes" does not mean you have to pay anything. It only means that it is a worthwhile cause.

Voting takes less than a minute, and it's easy - so please VOTE NOW, by clicking here http://www.givemeaning.com/project/MVTC to review the project profile (and then just click on the Vote icon on the top left hand side to cast your vote).

Your name and information will not be sold to anyone, nor will you ever receive an email message from them. Give Meaning is a nonprofit group that helps other nonprofits with fund raising. You do not even have to put your entire name. You may also vote anonymously! Your vote simply means that Give Meaning will provide exposure and collect funds for us to finish this project for the orphans; we will even receive 100% of the funds they collect for us!

We appreciate your help! Please remember to VOTE "Yes" for our cause on "givemeaning.com". You are helping to make a difference in the lives of many orphans in Kenya. Thanks a million!

You can see our other listings and sites at:
http://www.kisumuprojectinc.org
http://beta.razoo.com/groups/kisumu_project_kenya
http://www.givemeaning.com/proposal/MVTC
http://kisumuprojectinc.blogspot.com/
http://ylpareddiamonddivaskenyaproject.blogspot.com/
http://houston.craigslist.org/vnn/479004701.html

Tool Drive and Fundraiser - Houston, TX

A local nonprofit group, Kisumu Project, Inc., in conjunction with Solace International of Alaska and Young Generations Center (YGC) of Kenya, is sponsoring a Tool Drive and Fundraiser for a vocational school for orphans in Western Kenya.

Mbita Vocational School will be a secondary school for young people who would otherwise not receive employment skills or education in Kenya. This school will provide a free education and a "start-up career" for all students enrolled. Students will have the opportunity to be trained in automechanics, welding, carpentry, and masonry.

Kisumu Project, Inc. is looking for donors who are willing to sponsor the purchase of tools and safety equipment for students. In addition, quality used tools, safety equipment, bicycles, and funds are being raised to supply Mbita Vocational School with what it needs to teach its students.

All equipment, tools, bicycles, and donations are to be dropped off at

James Lewis Automotive
11050 Jones Road
Houston, TX
281-890-5660

Monetary donations can be made via credit card or account transfer using Pay Pal. Checks may be mailed to Kisumu Project, Inc, 1303 Wright Street, El Campo, Texas, 77437. Please clearly mark the checks for "Vocational School tools." Cash and check donations may also be left at

Epiphany Lutheran Church
8101 Senate
Houston, TX (in Jersey Village)
713-896-1773.

Please drop off cash/check donations in an envelope that is clearly marked "Kisumu Project, Inc, Tools Fundraiser." For information, you can email us at kisumuprojectinc@gmail.com or call 979-543-8422 or 713-896-0209.

Please contact: kisumuprojectinc@gmail.com for further assistance.

PartnershipsWorking for the Kisumu Area

Joining Forces to Accomplish More

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." - 1 John 3:17-18

Epiphany Lutheran Church and School

Epiphany Lutheran Church and School has partnered with Kisumu Project, Inc. to assist and develop spiritual communities in and around the Kisumu, Kenya, area. At present, Epiphany Lutheran Church and School have collected $3000 in donations for Esibila Primary School.

http://www.epiphany-lcms.org/

Migosi Family Focus Group

Migosi Family Focus Group (MFFG) is an organization that offers street children in Kisumu, Kenya, shelter, food, health care, education, and employment. MFFG also offers assistance for the reunification and reintegration of street children back into their family when it is a viable option.

Individual counseling and group discussions enable the street children in this program to express their feelings and hopes to help them gain new perspectives and develop a meaning in life. You may learn more about the Migosi Family Focus Group at http://migosifamilyfocusgroup.blogspot.com/ or http://beta.razoo.com/groups/migosi_family_focus_group.

Kisumu Project, Inc. is looking for individual donors or organizations who are willing to support the contracting of a Kisumu area doctor who can provide check-ups, medications, and care for the street children who are in the process of being rehabilitated by the Migosi Family Focus Group. Additionally, Kisumu Project, Inc. hopes to provide a support network that will allow Migosi Family Focus Group to continue their feeding program for street children. You may contact Kisumu Project, Inc. at kisumuprojectinc@gmail.com.

YGC and Solace International

Solace International is a grassroots non-profit aid organization that works with communities in developing countries to help create educational and economic opportunities for children and adults. One such organization is Young Generation Center (YGC) in the Manyatta slum of Kisumu, Kenya. YGC is home to 90 orphans.

http://solaceinternational.org/sp_kenya.html

Recently, Solace International helped YGC in the construction of a school in Manyatta. At present, Solace International is assisting in the construction of a YGC Vocational School in Mbita, Kenya.

Through combined efforts, Kisumu Project, Inc. and Solace International are implementing a "Tools Drive and Fundraiser" to ship both used and new tools to Mbita to be used in YGC's Vocational School for orphans. The tools donated to this project will be used to teach orphans vocational skills in automotive mechanics, masonry, carpentry, and metal working.

Kisumu Project, Inc. is looking for donors in Texas and the surrounding area who can donate both new and used tools for this event. You may contact Kisumu Project, Inc. at 979-543-8422 or 713-896-0209. You may also contact us through email at kisumuprojectinc@gmail.com.

What is Kisumu Project, Inc?

If you simply Google Kisumu Project, you will pull up quite a few hits under both "Kisumu" and "project." Although you will find a number of "projects" in Kisumu, you must look for "Kisumu Project, Inc." to have our specific projects and organization. Kisumu Project, Inc. is a nonprofit group that aspires to help the people of Kisumu, Kenya, deal with the atrocities associated with poverty and disease.

Kisumu Project, Inc. was conceived in November 2004 as the brain child of Kenneth Osore. Kenneth was born and raised near Kisumu. When returning home to the Kisumu area in 2004, Kenneth was horrified by the economic situation that had developed. Although he knew the area and people well, he was shocked by the ravage of disease and poverty.

Kenneth's fervor and desire to make the world a better place led him to form Kisumu Project, Inc., a nonprofit organization (501c3). Kisumu Project, Inc. achieved status as an official nonprofit organization in December 2004.

Beginning in January 2005, Kisumu Project, Inc, with the help of numerous friends and family members started shipping needed medical supplies, equipment, food, and other needed supplies to Kenya. Since 2005, a shipment is quarterly sent to Kenya thanks to donations provided by the generous people who share Kisumu Project, Inc.'s desire to help the needy.

Kisumu Project, Inc. - Kenya, is a nonprofit organization that works with organizations in the United States and Kenya to bring improved education, health care, spiritual guidance, and related services to Western Kenya.

American & Kenyan schools, organizations, churches, and individuals work to:

- Refurbish Schools through upgrades (i.e. restrooms & water wells), repairs, and shipments of books and supplies,

- Assist needy clinics, dispensaries, and hospitals through shipments of medical equipment and supplies,

- Provide Christian Communications through Radio Tower Installations with community distributed fix-tuned radios and Solar Powered I-Pods with the New Testament installed,

- Construct water wells for communities and schools without a clean water source,

- Provide care for orphans and children of poverty through the building of a free vocational boarding school for children. It is the intention of this school/project to provide students not only with an academic education, but a foundation in micro-enterprises so that each graduate has the opportunity to make a strong impact upon the development of Kenya as an economic stronghold.

Kisumu Project – Kenya volunteers raise funds to not only rebuild schools and communities in Western Kenya, but to raise cultural awareness about the global crises occurring throughout Africa. Volunteers visit schools and organizations to present on topics such as water and sanitation development, plight of the orphans of Africa, cultures of Kenya, Kenya through the Eyes of a Child, to name a few.

You can learn more about Kisumu Project, Inc. and its projects by visiting: http://www.kisumuprojectinc.org.

You may contact Kisumu Project, Inc. volunteers at kisumuprojectinc@gmail.com.