14 Jun
  • By Stephanie Miller
  • Cause in

Sustained Giving: Our Life Blood

Sustained or recurring donations are the life blood of any non-profit organization.

Orphans Africa, like all non-profits, needs regular ongoing donations to enable programs and projects. These OA programs and projects would not be possible without sufficient funds to keep them going throughout the year. Here are ways you can help OA:

Ugi Food Program – It provides a daily meal of highly nutritious porridge to students at the MOP-Mbozi and Isandula nursery schools. Most of the children that attend these OA supported schools come from homes of extreme poverty and the meal provided may be their only meal of the day. Improved health and participation has been noted in the children receiving this daily meal.

Medical Insurance – It may sound unbelievable but OA is able to purchase basic medicalinsurance for about $4 per student per year. This insurance covers doctor visits, medication and transportation in the event a child becomes sick. Since implementing the medical insurance program 3.5 years ago no students have died due to illness! Healthy students allow for vibrant learning.

 

Supplemental Teachers’ Salaries – This is vitally important to retain good teachers for the OA supported schools. Until the schools can become totally self-sustaining, the schools cannot afford to pay all the salaries. Our schools have been winning awards and scoring much higher than the government schools.

Science Lab and VoTech School – Ongoing donations provide for the essential equipment and replenishment of supplies for both programs. Resources like this encourage more families to send their tuition paying students to attend our schools. The tuition from those students enable orphans to attend for free.

Deep Bore Water Well – Abundant running water is extremely important to OA schools. Water for cement for building projects like the dining hall and the new boys’ dormitory are necessary. More importantly, water from a deep well is clean and does not need to be filtered or sanitized for drinking or cooking. Waterborne illnesses formerly suffered by the students have dramatically decreased since the well was installed at the Mwaji Secondary School. Another well is needed at Isandula. This clean water will benefit the health of the students. It will provide sufficient water for agricultural based courses and crops planned for the school.

Small Amounts Can Equal Big Impact – Automatic monthly donations are convenient for both our donors and OA; even $25 a month is only 82¢ a day. More supporters participating in sustained giving will magnify the benefits to our students and improve our cost efficiencies. All transactions can be handled automatically from deduction to deposit. It is easy to set up a recurring donation via the OA website donation page: www.orphansafrica.org/donate. Be sure to select “Monthly” in the “Recurring” box.

Whether you have been able to donate amounts small or large – THANK YOU! Your donations provide life changing hope through education, food, water and medical programs. If you are not already a monthly donor, please consider the benefits of monthly contributions to OA. All gifts made through these purchases benefit the entire mission of ORPHANS AFRICA. Your generous donations go into a general fund and are distributed to purchase items and fund projects where and when they are needed most. Your gift is 100% tax deductible.

By: Dave Skoor