Please READ THIS!

Jambo,

As you begin to read this message, a child in Kenya is forced by their life circumstances to drop out of school. Before you finish this line, a child runs away from their home to the streets of our cities. Before you complete this paragraph, a girl child gives birth in the streets to an unwanted baby. And before you are done reading this whole message, a child is orphaned of AIDS.

Right now thousands of children are roaming our city streets. Tomorrow hundreds more will join them. They are all searching for things that we take for granted; a meal, a warm blanket, a safe place to sleep, somewhere nice to call home, an honest person to love them and most importantly; a place where they can find hope and a purpose to live. These kids lead desperate lives filled with violence, disease, broken relationships, poverty, harassment from the society and the pressure to become child laborers.

Most of these kids live day-by-day lives with no responsibility, no direction and no boundaries. They are as addicted to aimlessness and the lack of discipline as they are addicted to sniffing glue, smoking marijuana (Bhang) and using other illicit drugs. They live in a world without love. Their world is one with no future....but they have to live in it anyway.

It is with great love, care and concern that Common Ground Program (CGP) and Feed the Villages (FV) started a feeding programme at Pathfinder Academy to help these kids so that they could concentrate on education and other skill trades. CGP and FV want to help these orphans and vulnerable children break the cycle of poverty and addiction to life on the street and prostitution. Yes, we want to assist these kids to find purpose and dignity in life. Despite the fact that most of them feel unworthy and useless and like outcasts of the society; we want to encourage them so that they know that they are important and useful people in the society. The project is providing at least a meal for day scholars and three meals for those that board in school.

Our main aim is to offer these children an alternative to the street and prostitution. We are feeding them and at the same time providing them with education. The opportunity is opening a window to provide other basic requirements of life such as work skills through vocational training so that they may become responsible and productive citizens in the future.

We have seen many children turning a new leaf already and we believe God will continue blessing our donors to continue supporting these efforts. We can do even better if we stored more farm produce we are yet to harvest from the planted 9 acres of maize plus beans and two acres of vegetables and tubers. If the harvest is well stored, over 300 kids will be fed from January through December 2009. For us to succeed we need your support to build a proper granary to store all our produce, a donation of $ 25-50 will make a great different. We need to raise about $ 3,100 for this project.

Thanks to all who have supported this practical work. And to those of you who have shown an interest to working with us; let me say 'Karibu CGP which means "Welcome to CGP". Let us join hands and make a difference in the lives of these kids as we wait for our reward in heaven.

Write the check to Village Volunteers and CGP/Feed Villages in the subject line. Send it to:

Shana Greene

Executive Director

Village Volunteers
5100 S Dawson St. Suite 202
Seattle, WA 98118
Office: 206-577-0515
www.villagevolunteers.org

Be blessed and thank you for taking your time to read this. I would be happy to hear from you.

Joshua Amwai Machinga.

CGP Coordinator

Our Goal!

Our goal is $100,000 dollars. So far we've raised $12,000 for the Feed Villages project and also a goat and chicken project that taught locals how to raise chicken and goats for food, milk, eggs, and to sell.

THE REPORT!

Check out the Feed Villages Report by Joshua Machinga!

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgsfwp4t_0hfv83gf5

FEED VILLAGES IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE!

www.feedvillages.com and www.villagevolunteers.org
To make a donation, go to www.villagevolunteers.org and assign it to FEED VILLAGES!
Or please mail it to Feed Villages P.O. Box 791329, Paia, HI 96779 and make the check out to Village Volunteers.

Thank you For YOUR SUPPORT!

More new Photos!

Tree Nursery
Vegetable garden ready to harvest
Young John learns how to sow seeds

More new Photos!

Nursery bed
The president of Hard Rock Cafe visits the farm
Sharing with others around the world through video
Time to Smile
Transplanting

More new Photos!

Feed Villages Garden
Harvesting of the crops
Healthy Kale under GBIA beds
Our Hero! Joshua Machinga with crop of Tomato
The making of liquid fertilizers with President of Hard Rock Cafe

New Photos!!!!

Student getting interviewed about the gardening project
CGP works with poor families
Community training
Crop Diversity
First Harvest of 2008 crop - African Spider Flower

I decided to take a vacation for three months....so I wasn't able to raise money, but still donations came in the mail and I was so excited! Thank you so much for your donations and kind thoughts!
For your enjoyment....here are some more photos of the progress.....

a little reminder for those that just stopped by

I wrote some earlier posts that have more info on Feed Villages and about me.....that might be nice to read......if you like...

check out the websites
feedvillages.com
villagevolunteers.org

food growing!

On the Feed Villages Demonstration Farm we are currently growing:
Kale, corn, cassava, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, lentils, soy beans and some local greens.
There will also be an egg program and goats milk.

Feed Villages Event "Play for Change"!

thank you to those that showed up and participated in the first play for change event! As a global community, we support promote positive change for the world! We made $700 dollars plus online donations for Feed Villages! go to feedvillages. com This brings the total up to over $4,000! $96,000 more to go! it's possible. I still have the rest of my life to raise it. Mapenzi Marimba played from 9-2 am and had so much fun playing for such a good cause! Everyone was dancing and it was a FUN last performance......who knows when we'll play next.....as members are leaving the island....it's hard to have a marimba band without all the players. I also recycled yesterday all that I've saved up in the last month and the total came out to $75 dollars. I have 1 more trip to the recycling center before I leave and hopefully I can beat my last months high at $117. These are the updates..... PeAcE elana

Picture updates!

Students in the Garden 2008
I'm proud to present Feed Village's first garden project at Common Ground, Kenya! These are some photos to check out what's been happening with your donations!

100% of the money raised has gone directly to helping the project SUCCEED!! Thank you for the gift of hope and success! ENJOY!

It's an amazing process.....check out the photos!

Curing plant liquid fertilizer

New Bio-intensive farming site at CGP

Ngige at the pumpkin plant that is sucking nutrients from the compost

Ngige with some finished compost product

Sandra - grade 8 student in a life lab classroom

Dry sewage waste ready for compost making

Egg shells used in making compost...nothing is wasted

Elizabeth Wekesa at the compost piles

John learns how to sow seeds

Margo digging

9 acres of maize and beans

Current garden on May 7th

Baged compost ready for market or distribution to IDPS

Containers used in making plant liquid fertilizers

Covered compost pile

Speech!

So, Saturday night, I said my first speech about Feed Villages in front of many people when I performed marimba on Maui in Haiku! And even though I was incredibly nervous, I think I did pretty good for my first time! I ended up raising $300 dollars in one night so I am pretty proud of that....we are now at the $3,000 dollar mark! Hooray!!!

Letter from Joshua!

Dear CGP friends & supporters,

First of all we would like to thank the people who are praying for us and have sent donations and parcels here, you are giving many people hope with every donation you are giving whether big or small, it's propelling many people back on their feet. You are such a blessing, may God richly bless you in all you do for Him

It has been long since the last update. We have been able to communicate to some of you individually.

The past few weeks have been full of such good things! CGP was able to help 25 internally displaced persons (IDP) camping at Kitale ASK Show Ground to start small businesses. Many felt were very idle and wanted to do something to keep themselves busy and the only way was start hawking of goods like sweets, peanuts, cane, vegetables, soap, cookies, popcorn among other small items. We believe that it is better to teach a person to fish rather than just providing a meal. Small businesses have turned up to have the biggest impacts as it builds self –reliance.

I had the opportunity to participate in a planning meeting of the visit by President Kibaki and Raila to the IDP camps in our area and also got the opportunity to be on the convoy. During the visit, I realized that many people were really suffering as relief aid was not reaching them on time and families of more than 20 people were sharing one small tent. Only the children slept in the tent while the older people slept outside. The International Red Cross is getting to many of the larger camps, bringing tents and food enough for one meal a day. But they are not reaching all the areas by any means, and there is serious lack of food, blankets and sanitary needs in most the camps. Cooking was a problem affecting all the IDPS due to the heavy downpour. I hope the VIP tour will result to a proper peace deal that allows people return to the home and farms.

Many people are suffering from Malaria and typhoid due the heavy downpour. Some of you have been asking what they can do to help. A donation of mosquito net worth Kshs. 250 ($ 4) will save a life or save a family from spending between Kshs. 350 ($7)- Kshs. 1,000 ($ 20) on treatment. Checks can be written to Village Volunteers with CGP/IDP in memo line and send to: Village Volunteers, 5100 S Dawson St. Suite 202 Seattle, WA 98118 Office: 206-577-0515.

Sometime we feel like we are in a movie here...things seem so unreal. We watch things happen and we do not even have enough information to download them into our heads. I think the hardest thing was watching the mother as her tears crept down her face after narrating her situation. I had to shut my eyes so tight so that I would not cry.

Presently CGP is focusing on assisting IDPS that are returning to their villages with some seeds, a few tools and knowledge on how to grow their own food. Helping families to set up small vegetable gardens using bags filled with soil and compost, these bags have holes around the outside and can produce a lot of vegetables using very little water, 2 or 3 bags could keep a whole family alive and well nourished.

In this kind of work, one cannot get discouraged by the unmet needs, but must focus on what you have accomplished. If people only eat well for a few days, it is still better than having to scrounge around for a little food and going to sleep hungry. Moreover, as I have learned in the past, visiting people who have been the victims of violence is perhaps one of the most important peacemaking activities one can initially do. As the Burundians say, "A real friend comes in the time of need."

We are working on "Feed the Villages" project where villagers participate in learning agriculture and growing food for their families. We are targeting to feed the people who cannot afford to have a meal like the orphans, street children, widows and sick people. The goal is to feed a person on less than a dollar. For more information contact Elana Greene at elanagreene@gmail.com

Thanks to those support Isaac Simotwo, the student who joined Alliance High School. He did very well. See the attached report card. As you may understand from the report and other document he still needs support. We are planning to apply a 2009 scholarship for him from Maasai Foundation.

CGP is left with 2 months before inspectors arrive from the Ministry of Education headquarters to inspect the school facilities for final stage of registration of the school as private day and boarding institution. We'll need your support to see us through this stage. CGP is delighted to have broken ground for dinning hall, which will be used as dormitory for girls for the next seven months. Presently, some of the girls are being accommodated in one of the classrooms. Thanks to Tobias and Sereina of Zurich, Switzerland, who raised the funds during their wedding ceremony. The hall has the capacity to accommodate 72 girls. We are still raising funds for iron sheets. You can join hands with them to see the building completed by giving a girl an opportunity to stay at Pathfinder Academy for only $ 9 for seven months.

Thanks to Karen Kotoske of Amistad International for supporting the construction of seven classrooms at Pathfinder Academy. The project is going to assist us in the final stage of school registration. For more information on registration please contact me.

We had a jovial and thanks giving celebration of 2007 national exams on 11of April 2008. see the attached picture of the school choir.

I want each of you to know that none of the work we do here could be done without your prayers, your gifts, and your help in so many other ways. We know that God alone provides… please keep us in your prayers, give financially if you can, and share our stories and our needs with others as the Lord leads.

We love you and appreciate you and continue to pray for all of our partners that God will bless you abundantly in every area of your life so that you will be a blessing to others.

Sincerely,

Joshua Machinga.

SOLD!! BID ON THE NEXT ITEM!!

http://www.pwaworldtour.com/index.php?id=35&tx_ttnews
[tt_news]=1186&tx_ttnews[backPid]=29&cHash=8b5532ef9c
(to see page copy and past both lines)

"Putting Something Back

The Pritchard Brothers need your support to help them with a worthy new charity effort…

Up 4 grabs - bid high and bid now!

It’s nice to see the big names of windsurfing stay centered and down-to-earth as they live the high life jetting around to the world’s best spots, scooping juicy prize purses in glamorous competitions.

But thoughtful siblings Matt (Tabou / Gaastra) and younger bro Kevin (Starboard / Gaastra), who’ve recently launched PritchardWindsurfing.com are donating a signed Sylt Grand Slam Jersey for an auction in the name of their nominated charity Feed Villages.

So, please don’t delay and head over to their Bidding Page now to throw down a few bucks for a great cause and great souvenir from the tour. Plus, you can check out their great new website! Thanks."

A couple of inspiring quotes by Haile Selassie. I watched the Africa Unite documentary last night which I recommend you to see. It was very inspirational and made me even more excited about this project.....fueled my fire!
Enjoy your day!

"Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

"Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph.”

“Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned, everywhere is war and until there are no longer first-class and second-class citizens of any nation, until the color of a man's skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes. And until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race, there is war. And until that day, the dream of lasting peace, world citizenship, rule of international morality, will remain but a fleeting illusion to be pursued, but never attained... now everywhere is war.”

Letter from Joshua Machinga:

Dear Elana,

Thanks for your email. I will send the pictures of what is going on soon. Crops are still young and might not be good for the internet at this moment.

Feed Villages is on well. CGP (Joshua's NGO) received a college student who is training villages on bio-intensive farming methods. I am also happy to report that we have 9 acres of maize and beans under this project. Thanks to Elana for a wonderful program. CGP has the renamed the food security project as Feed Villages.

Thank you for supporting us. I have been in convoy of President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila who were visit IDP camps in our District. This has kept me very busy. The team just concluded the visit, which also been on Radio and TV a few minutes ago. I will be covering some of the activities in my next update. I am very tired now from the trip.I will send them over the weekend.

Thanks for your contributions to CGP, it is giving us opportunities of meeting with VIP in Kenya while helping the poor of the poorest.

Love,

Joshua Machinga

This video really inspired me....perhaps it will inspire you too!

PLEASE CHECK OUT MY FRIEND AND FELLOW WINDSURFER KEVIN PRITCHARD'S WEBSITE SUPPORTING FEED VILLAGES!

http://www.pritchardwindsurfing.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/

Look to the right side of the page and it says Donate 4 Charity....click on link!

Aloha Friends of Feed Villages!

This is my first time blogging thanks to the advice of a Feed Villages friend who is "Being the Change" in her own inspiring way! Keep up the great work!!


~ Please check out ~ www.villagevolunteers.org
~ Please check out ~ www.feedvillages.com

So....may I introduce myself......

My name is Elana Greene (founder of the project, Feed Villages) and I am the daughter of my beautiful mother, hero, Executive Director, and founder of Village Volunteers, Shana Greene. Feed Villages has partnered with non-profit organization Village Volunteers and will be working in impoverished Kenyan rural villages with their successful non-profit local community based organizations. Without her support and her visions of a better world for us all, I might not have been inspired to start this project (and all the other projects I have also worked on before this!) that I am thrilled to share with ALL OF YOU!!!

I grew up on San Juan Island, WA and had the fantastic opportunity as a young woman (much of it solo) to travel abroad to 26 countries! So, let's just say that I feel very fortunate to KNOW and TO SEE with my own eyes the poverty and struggles people live every day of their lives. It gave me such a broad, eyes-open perspective of the suffering in the world. I vowed to do what I could because I feel blessed to not struggle for the basic necessities of life. I feel gratitude EVERY SINGLE DAY.

After much traveling, I ended up on beautiful Maui, HI. I have lived here for 5 years and absolutely love it. My energy and drive to help others has not faded so here I am once again starting a project that has taken off the ground and has already grown wings ...what can I say...magic happens.

In November of 2007, I came up with the name, the idea, and the vision for Feed Villages. It all popped into my head, standing in my garden watching the sunset. I thought, wow, if 200,000 people donated .50 cents, I could raise $100,000 to feed children. Imagine if they donated a dollar instead of .50 cents? Of course this is only the first goal and a start. Why such a big goal? I THINK BIG! What appeals to me is that if everyone donates a little, it adds up to a BIG IMPACT! There are a lot of people on this planet...imagine what could be done for so many people if we put the money in the right places.....this is why I am so frustrated with the squandering of funds by so many agencies, businesses, governments, and individuals. BUT that is another subject I won't discuss now.

So to continue the story, I was in Paia on a Friday night and I started telling people about my concept for Feed Villages. In two hours, I made $80. My ideas continued to grow and the more people I talked to the more ideas flowed...so this is a creative process....everyone has a part of it...it's not my project, it's everyone's project...and whomever wants to be a part of it...please be my guest and join me.

We are a global community. We can think outside the box, we can encourage our local communities to become global communities, and we can ALL make a difference by using our unique gifts and talents. I hope that in some small way I can facilitate, bring people together, work with others, network, raise money, and inspire others to feel gratitude and to BE THE CHANGE!

whew...long blog....

Signing off for now....
~ PeAcE ~ Elana Greene