Friday, April 26, 2013

APR '13 - Milagrosa community project

Update from Africa today!  Encouraging stuff; made my day.

Our friends are well along with building a community center and preschool.

Nestled in an overgrown former-plantation, Milagrosa is a small community of hard working folks with an associated mob of children. 

The community center/preschool project is their idea and they are doing the work as you can see.  After a year's prep, they offered their plan to our NGO associates.

Materials and other costs were covered by a generous folks in NC.

For those curious about Africa, the Milagrosa community is here on Google maps.
Staged cinderblock for the project

A few miles back from the ocean's edge, Milagrosa is a long way from anywhere to walk and the only transportation is the occasional taxi that makes the trip to the city most days.

Interestingly, despite their small size, the community has a wealth of skilled workers.  These folks have a strong work ethic and are willing to invest personally in their community's advancement.

If you'd like to join in on projects like this one, let me know.  We're connected to folks who actually manage the projects here and in southern Kenya as well.


In Sao Tome, Roberta dos Santos is the
NGO's coordinator.  She's the one who
pulls it all together and oversees the 
projects.  
Our onsite management is provided by a small NGO (STeP UP) in Sao Tome and Principe and by a church group (Jubilation Ministries) in Mombasa, Kenya.  Both are recommended for their accountability.

We've got about 60 kids on scholarship, total, most who wouldn't be able to attend otherwise.  We'll have 100+ next semester.  We have a number of family assistance projects as well.  These are all places we've been, people we've met, and help is applied directly where it's needed.  Feel free to join us.  You'd be welcome to visit personally. (Leave a comment or a note; I'll get back to you with details.)

Stories from Sao Tome & Principe aren't really complete unless you mention the beauty of the place.  Beaches are magnificent, unspoiled, and undiscovered yet by the tourist world.  Here, some of our friends play in the sand while us old folks relax in the sun.  An impressive culture, gracious people; all of them it seems.