SeventyTwo in Swaziland
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| Author: | Ryan Hale | |||
| Posted: | 11/19/2007; 10:13:11 AM | |||
| Topic: | SeventyTwo in Swaziland | |||
| Msg #: | 198 (top msg in thread) | |||
| Prev/Next: | 197/199 | |||
| Reads: | 1917 |
Location:
Swaziland, Africa. Several villages in Swaziland are requesting assistance. The current village that we are working with is Mgambeni.
Project partnership:
SeventyTwo works in partnership with Advocates for Africa's Children who vets and provides ongoing follow-up and accountability for projects. In addition, local AFA leaders in Swaziland provide guidance and assistance to assess the needs of a village and provide monthly follow up assessments of the work with the children.
Project description:
Swaziland is heavily afflicted with an AIDS epidemic. The disease is spreading at a rapid pace and is devastating the population. Many mothers and fathers have contracted the disease and have died, leaving tens of thousands of children orphaned in this country. In some of the poorest rural areas, as many as 60% of the children in a village may be orphans. Orphaned children have little to no access to food, shelter, education, or other necessities and are forced to sell or trade their bodies sexually to support themselves.
Many village leaders in Swaziland want to stop this vicious trend, but the level of poverty in Swaziland presents challenges in caring for the orphaned children. Most families in Swazi villages are very poor and have difficulty feeding their own children. Bringing another child into their family to feed, clothe, and care for is almost unimaginable financially.
The village leaders are asking for help in funding small, startup micro-businesses that they will operate. The profits will be distributed to the people who bring orphaned children in to their homes and pay for their needs. The money and efforts of SeventyTwo will be multiplied many times over as an initial investment will be turned into a small business that will take care of the orphaned children in that village.
Several layers of accountability have been put in place to ensure that funds are being used properly. First, the village must develop a business proposal that meets requirements demonstrating how the money will be used to help the children, presents a cash flow and profit and loss analysis, and provides 10% seed money for similar projects in other villages. Once the business is running, the village must provide monthly reports and accommodate regular visits by an oversight team in Swaziland who reports to Advocates for Africa's Children.
SeventyTwo partnership:
SeventyTwo is actively seeking partners to start new projects to help orphaned children in each of the villages who have submitted an approved business proposal.
Strategic goals
SeventyTwo has several strategic goals in Swaziland. These goals will be attained through our partners' help and support:
- We will connect American organizations with the villages in Swaziland. The American organizations will help take responsibility for the orphaned children in the village by supporting the projects and develop a long-term relationship with their partners in Swaziland.
- Fund micro-business projects in the villages. Most businesses are agricultural in nature. Examples of these businesses include a poultry business or a dairy farm.
- Provide additional funding for water wells to be installed in villages where clean water is unavailable. We will also work with local organizations to install the wells.
- Send short-term teams to Swaziland to help the churches start the new businesses. They will share in the physical work to be completed to start the business and spend time with the children.
Partner opportunities
The following opportunities are available through SeventyTwo to achieve the strategic goals in Swaziland:
- Sponsor a project or a portion of a project. Project start-up costs are less than $10,000 and an organization can decide to fund an entire project on its own or work with another organization to adopt the project.
- Short-term trips to Swaziland. Your organization can send a team to Swaziland where they will visit the children, perform physical work on the project being funded, learn about Swaziland and its culture, and join in the work of SeventyTwo in Swaziland.
Additional details are available from SeventyTwo upon request. Please contact Ryan Hale at ryan.hale@seventytwo.org or (636) 566-8343.
Getting started:
Additional information about SeventyTwo and our programs is available on this website. We are available for speaking engagements or consultations about how your organization can be involved in working with orphans in Swaziland or in other parts of the world.
SeventyTwo is a 501(c)3 tax exempt non-profit organization incorporated in Missouri. Tax deductible donations can be given with a credit card online or by sending a check to:
SeventyTwo Incorporated
20 Stoneridge Court
Moscow Mills, MO 63362
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