A year in the making…
Last Thanksgiving Aaron and our big boys went on a trip to Malawi. This trip was a chance for them to deliver donations, provide cash for Tiko’s baby home, and do some site seeing along the way. The other goal of this trip was to get a feel for the immediate and long term needs of the people we met on our first trip there. Over the past 10 years we have been fundraising for adoptions, orphanages in multiple countries and other major projects along the way. It has always been a dream of ours to be able to provide a tax deductible donation system and getting our 501c3 was the start of making that a reality.
As of February 2020 Food+Water+Shelter became official and we started asking for donations for specific projects. The first projects we began funding were Afriana Baby Home (Tiko’s orphanage) and then feeding babies in a local village who were in desperate need of consistent nutrition.
We received our first set of pictures in March 2020 of 12 babies and we knew we had to help. We immediately sent money for formula and other nutritional supplements for these specific babies. We then received photos a few months later and the improvements were amazing. It’s hard to imagine not having a way to feed your baby but when breastfeeding is not an option formula can be out of reach for most families in Malawi. We are happy to be providing for these families. This is just one small step in helping families stay together.
Ours goals are big for Food+Water+Shelter but we know you have to start small. We are excited to continue supporting multiple orphanages for Christmas and beyond. We are also helping multiple people start small business to provide for their families and are encouraging them to also give back to their community. Our desire for Food+Water+Shelter is to be a non-profit giving grants and donations to local organizations who share our passion for supporting the basic human needs.
This morning we had the opportunity to send money over to our partners in Malawi. With that money we are purchasing a van to expand a new taxi bus business that will some day fund the owners own NGO. We had the privilege to provide the finances to a young woman to purchase her first motorcycle and start her Motorbike taxi business. This will in the allow her to eventually be self employed focusing on the health of young children from pre-natal to 5 yrs old. A portion of the money will go to Afriana to be used to provide seed and fertilizer to families in the surrounding villages. This allows them to grow crops and provide for themselves through farming. The remaining money will be distributed between 3 orphanages to purchase food, supplements and supplies. This is a huge stride forward from last Christmas when we provided one orphanage and Afriana with a little under $1,000 each.
From the time we were in the process of adopting our son Kamble, we knew that a commitment to the people of Africa was a life long obligation. We have continued to push to better the lives of people in Africa for the past 8 years. We are so excited to have the opportunity to continue that work and expand our reach through Food+Water+Shelter. We have been blessed with so much and are very grateful to all of you who have and continue to partner with us. We have some big plans for 2021 and are excited to get started.
-April Marvin