Take a photo tour of our school in Nepal

Have a look around our school in Nepal with this photo tour!

Clothing Donations Being Handed Out in Nepal

Thanks to some very generous donors, bags full of clothing donations were handed to people of the lower village in Rithepani.

Check out all the pictures below!        

Thanks again to all who donated!                
 

Clothing Donations Heading to Nepal

Malcolm Trevena and Megin Alvarez are returning to Nepal and then unto India to investigate possible locations for new solar-powered schools.

They will be bringing suitcases jammed packed with donated clothes for the residents of Rithepani in Nepal.

Special thanks to everyone who donated.

 

  • The Fletcher Family
  • Laura and Cassidy Brock
  • Valerie Smaller
  • Gloria Ratner
  • Gloria and Ed Alvarez
  • Debra, Bronwyn, Beth, and Bruce
  • Winnie Liu


 

Robyn Sporting her Robyn's Nest T-Shirt

Robyn Ratner got a special gift today: Her very own Robyn's Nest T-Shirt!

Robyn's Nest is the name given to the new classrooms at our solar powered school in Uganda.  The classrooms serve both raises awareness about autism and as a loving memorial to Robyn's grandmother, Eva Miller. 

Thanks to Ben and Jen Ratner for making the shirt.

Thanks also to Bob and Gloria Ratner for their support. 

 

Robyn's Nest Continues to Grow

Our little school in Uganda continues to grow. 

We recently started expansion of the new classrooms named Robyn's Nest, in honor of our good friend Robyn Ratner. Robyn's Nest will both be used as classrooms as well as a vehicle to increase understanding of those who have been diagnosed on the Autism spectrum. 

We are pleased to report that Robyn's Nest is all but completed! 

Check out photos below.

Robyn's Nest Completed

The main construction for Robyn's Nest is all done! Check out all the pics below.

The next stage for Robyn's nest is to construct a water collection system to the roof. 

Heading back to Dumangas

by Malcolm Trevena

My volunteering journey started in a tiny barangay (village) of Pulao in municipality of Dumangas in the Philippines. 

It was here that my love of people in developing countries began. 

There is nothing but good memories for me in Dumangas. 

I fly out to the Philippines tomorrow. Mostly for business, but also to visit my friends in Dumangas. 

I will visit the school I used to teach at and do some scouting to possibly (possibly!) expand Meaningful Volunteer into the area. I will be talking to the locals to found out their concerns for the area and how Meaningful Volunteer might help. I will be checking out how safe the area is and looking for families that volunteers could stay at. All the normal due diligence stuff we do when we expand.

I hope we can expand here, but no guarantees. Watch this space! 

Robyn’s Nest

As previously noted, our school in Uganda is creaking at the seams and we need to build more classrooms. 

Thanks to some generous support we are starting to make that happen. 

One of our good friends is a young lady named Robyn who has been diagnosed with autism. Robyn has been a big part of Megin and Malcolm’s life since she was seven. She has become part of their family and loves interacting with their children. She brings joy wherever she goes. 

Robyn’s parents, Bob and Gloria Ratner, made a generous donation that provided the initial funding to get the extra classrooms started. The money was donated in memory of Gloria's mother, Eva Miller.

In honor of Robyn, we have named the new classrooms Robyn’s Nest. 

Robyn's Nest will both be used to teach preschool children and to raise awareness about autism. 

One of the most pleasing aspects of this new project is the community involvement. The parents of the students know the value this will bring to the community and many of them have volunteered their time freely to help construct the new classrooms. 

The base of the school is well underway. Watch this space for further updates!

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Mary's Magic Porridge

We’re so happy to see our school in Uganda going from strength to strength. 

But why is this? What has caused this success? 

One key ingredient - both literally and figuratively - is Mary’s Magic Porridge. 

According to this UNICEF report, a full stomach is critical to learning. Here’s an excerpt from the report: 

Early childhood: Hunger in this stage of life, indicated by low birthweight, growth faltering and micronutrient deficiencies, can cause damage to a person’s basic learning capacity (i.e. their ability to utilize future learning opportunities). Hunger can also limit an infant’s opportunities to explore the world around them (i.e. to gain access to stimulation) and to concentrate on those interactions (i.e. to utilize those opportunities).

This is why we feed our students everyday in the form of Mary’s Magic Porridge. We consider it the most important factor is our students’ ability to learn, high above things like quality teaching (which we also have!), school resources, textbooks and so on. 

So next time you are in Buyaya, be sure to share in a cup of Mary’s Magic Porridge