Ethan is the 2 year old son of Esther Nabukone, our district manager in Uganda
Video of our Playground in Uganda
The children in Uganda finally have their playground and can celebrate their right to play!
Playground in Uganda Complete
The new playground at our school in Uganda is complete!
Check out all the pics below.
The donation was made possible through the generous donation of Anne and Doris Eichmeyer in honor of Doris' grandchildren Asher and Jory.
Many of the children didn't know what a "swing" or "see-saw" was, let only played on one.
Now they have the opportunity to experience and get some good time in just being kids!
Article 24 of the Declaration of Human Rights states that:
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure
We feel this extends to children's right to play, so we couldn't be happier that this playground is up!
Check out a video of the playground below.
Puja Ceremony in Nepal
We had a blessing/cleansing ritual (Puja) today, by very respected High Monk Palten Pals Ten & his team from Jangchub Choeling Monastery at our preschool in Nepal, for prosperity of all our Meaningful Volunteer Family, School For Andy Family & all our kind supporters.
Thank you High Lama for giving us your precious time!
Check out pictures from the ceremony below.
Playground Completed in Nepal
Our new playground in Nepal is finally complete and the children have been given the right to play!
We are so grateful that this project has finally come to completion! The children are beyond happy that they have there new playground.
Check out all the pictures below!
An extra special thank you to Hema for being the project manager and the Manley family for their generous donation.
If I Look at the Mass
This is a guest post by Jimalee Sowell - a former Meaningful Volunteer who is sponsoring Pauline.
If I Look at the Mass
Mother Theresa said, “If I look at the mass, I will never act. If I look at one, I will” (quoted in Slovic, 2007).
My first trip to Africa, I worked as a volunteer English teacher with Meaningful Volunteer in Uganda. It was there that I met Pauline. She was the niece of Mary, the cook who works for Meaningful Volunteer. Mary took me to church one Sunday, and Pauline joined us. Pauline was a quiet girl with a mild manner. She would politely sneek glances at me during the service. Pauline was interested in my differences, my foreignness, but she showed that without words—with a differential smile and kind expression. For a nine-year- old, she had a certain seriousness and maturity about her. I loved her name—Pauline Gift.
Not long after leaving Uganda, I got a message from Mary. Pauline could no longer go to school because her mother (Pauline’s grandmother) had so many obligations to take care of that even with all the scrimping and sacrifices, there still wasn’t enough money. A once happy child, Pauline had become depressed and distant, spending her days roaming the village with nothing to do. Mary wanted to help her, but she was already using her salary to support herself and other family members, and no amount of stretching came to enough to send Pauline to school. Mary contacted me out of desperation. I know that she didn’t want to ask for my help. Mary is a proud and independent woman who wanted to take care of Pauline herself, but there just wasn’t enough money.
Truthfully, it was not the easiest time for me to think about giving more than I was already giving. I had left paid teaching to serve as a volunteer teacher for a year and a half, and my savings was dwindling much more quickly than I had expected. There was a part of me that wanted to say no, that I was already stretched financially myself. But, at that moment, I had to think very seriously about money and how I used it, and how even in my leanest financial times I still lived richly compared to billions living in moderate to severe poverty around the world. As a child, I had never faced the threat of not going to school. It was a privilege that I always had. For forty dollars a month, the price of a moderately-priced pair of shoes or a dinner out, I could send a child to school. Could I have one less dinner out every month, and still be okay? Could I live with fewer pairs of shoes? Certainly. Was it ever a sacrifice that kept me from living a full life? Never.
But, it has made a tremendous difference in the life of an intelligent and hardworking young woman. Shortly after Pauline started going to school again, Mary emailed me and told me that Pauline was again happy and engaged in life. Pauline is now thriving. She is now a young woman who loves her school and gets top grades. She has passed her exams to enter high school. But, think of how different it could have been had I decided that I could not afford the 40 dollars a month to pay Pauline’s tuition. The money I give to pay for Pauline to go to school is a relatively small amount of money for me, but it has changed her life. We must help the one(s) we can help.
Slovic, Paul. (2007). If I Look at the Mass I will Never Act: Psychic Numbing and Genocide, Judgement and Decision Making. 2:2. pp. 79-95.BC
Christmas in Nepal
Christmas in Nepal
Christmas arrived a little early in Nepal this year!
Thanks to some very generous donations from our partners WSDO, the Good Shepherd Daycare, Educate a Child, and numerous donations from individual donors, the children at our school in Nepal, got a little early Christmas cheer!
Ma'am Ram Kali Khadka also made an appearance to add to the Christmas spirit.
Check out all the pictures from the party below!
Merry Christmas to everyone in Nepal!
Remembering Andy
Andy Manley was a great supporter of Meaningful Volunteer and unfortunately died in a tragic house explosion.
He kindness and generosity is not forgotten. Both of our schools in Nepal and Uganda are built in his memory.
The staff and students at our school in Nepal recently had a service to remember Andy's life and legacy.
Check out all the photos below
Celebrating Life with Asher and Jory
Here at Meaningful Volunteer, we like to celebrate life.
Our schools in Uganda and Nepal do not commemorate Andy Manley's death, but rather celebrate his life. We also celebrate our friend Robyn through the new Robyn's Nest classrooms in Uganda.
Anne and Doris Eichmeyer, good friends of Andy Manley, recently returned to our school in Uganda and were moved by what they saw. So they decided to donate funds that will go towards a new playground at the school.
The playground will be constructed to honour Doris' grandchildren Asher and Jory.
We look forward to the completion of the playground that will celebrate Asher and Jory. We hope that they can visit the school when they are older.
Thanks Anne! Thanks Doris! And an extra big thank you to Asher and Jory.
Santa Collections Donations for Meaningful Volunteer
Santa made an appearance at the Good Shepherd Daycare to hand out Christmas presents to all the students there.
We cannot confirm nor deny that Malcolm Trevena was secretly dressed as Santa.
Joey Pascis, the owner/operator for the daycare, was gracious enough to ask for donations for Meaningful Volunteer from the parents. Joey Pascis has been a long time supporter of Meaningful Volunteer.
Over $250 was collected and this will go towards a Christmas day program at our school in Uganda.
Thank you Joey and all the parents!
