Opportunity Fund for Developing Countries (OFDC)

See Your Donations at Work with OFDC’s Interactive Map (http://www.mapme.com/map/ofdc_projects)

2010-08-29T13:05:00.001-07:00

I am continually amazed by technology, and even more so by those who actually know how to use it! Thanks to our overseas administrator, Patrick, and OFDC’s tech savvy Peace Corps volunteer, Megan, you can now follow all of OFDC’s projects on our cool, interactive map. Just click on one of the many OFDC “hotspots” to see where we work, what we do, and how your donations continue to make such a big impact! This is still a work in progress, and we intend to get photos uploaded soon. Remember, OFDC works in very remote areas, most of which have no electricity, so traveling two hours to an internet café and uploading photos can be a challenge. We hope you enjoy this map as much as we do! Please click on the map below.

New School Desks Provide Cause for Celebration at Ololoiboti Primary School

2010-06-30T07:05:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a generous donation by the Marusi Family Foundation the children at Ololoiboti Primary School now have 50 brand new school desks! Ololoiboti Primary School is situated on a hill top in a small, remote farming community. Transportation, other than by tractor, is non-existent because there are no roads for vehicles to travel, only footpaths. Due to the hard work and dedication of the parents, who spent one week working tirelessly to repair the only bridge by which to access the school, OFDC was able to successfully deliver the desks via tractor. While the desks are clearly an instrumental starting point, it is the community involvement in this project that will leave a lasting impression. If they were not before, these parents are now directly invested in the education of their children. In turn, the children will sit at these desks with pride and strive to do well not just because of OFDC and your donation, but also because of their parents. Please see the photos below courtesy of Patrick Ngigi, one of OFDC’s amazing volunteer overseas administrators!

What the bridge looked like prior to being repaired by the parents.

According to an email from Patrick, "Some of the parents and the school head came in the tractor to receive the desks...They were so happy and as you can see they were overjoyed to receive the desks."

The parents also helped load the desks into the tractor trailer!

The desks are loaded, the bridge is repaired, and the children are eager to sit down and learn.

Community Shopping Night at Ten Thousand Villages

2010-03-12T18:09:00.001-08:00

Come join us on April 23rd, 3-7pm! 10% of all purchases at Ten Thousand Villages will go to OFDC.

Where: Ten Thousand Villages. 1941 South 1100 East, Salt Lake City. (801) 485-8827

When: Friday, April 23rd 3:00-7:00 pm.

For more information call Sarah (801) 836-7265.

Remember, OFDC receives 10% of the total sales made ONLY between 3:00 and 7:00.

Kiramatisho Women's Group Receives a Microcredit Loan!

2009-11-13T14:22:00.000-08:00

A group of 6 mamas in Oimerru, Kenya received their very first microcredit loan! The Kiramatisho (Caretaker) Group is very excited to now have the means to provide for themselves by raising goats and sheep and selling wool and the offspring.

Patrick Ngigi accompanied the mamas to market where they bought their first goats and sheep.

Over the course of a year the mamas are responsible for running their new business and caring for the animals. The mamas are responsible for paying back the loan, which will not only enable them to generate income, but to also take ownership of their new business. Now that they have the means to earn, they are able to provide for themselves and for their families.

OFDC Fundraising Event at Panda Express in Sugarhouse 10/23

2009-10-21T19:46:00.000-07:00

Panda Express in Sugarhouse is hosting a fundraising event for OFDC on Friday, October 23rd! For one day only, 20% of your purchase will be donated to OFDC when you present the flyer at the register.

If you are interested in attending, please e-mail us at ofdc@ofdc.org to get a flyer. Remember, the event is only taking place at the Sugarhouse location and you MUST bring the flyer with you.

Thank you for your support!

Kenya Trip 2009: Part Two

2009-10-12T20:39:00.000-07:00

Koiyaki Guiding School
GPS: 1 degree South, 24.426 and 35 degrees East 20.532

After a long and bumpy ride from Narok into the Mara, we met up with Simon and Agnes Nkoitoi and journeyed to the Koiyaki Guiding School. We spent a few days visiting with Maasai students studying to become safari guides, learning more about Maasai culture and admiring the local wildlife.

Elephants are regular visitors to the area surrounding the Koiyaki Guiding School. Contrary to popular belief, elephants are very fierce and dangerous!

Olpukoti Primary School
GPS: 0 degrees South, 54.193 and 35 degrees East, 36.756.

We traveled with Simon to his shamba (farm) in Melelo, located in the hills north of Narok. While there we visited Olpukoti, the primary school where Agnes works as a teacher.

Every year OFDC provides 40 Olpukoti students with new uniforms and underwear. Uniforms are required to attend school and, thanks to your donations, these children can continue their educations!
*Agnes is in the back row, far left.

Narok AIDS Clinic

Back in Narok, we visited a woman named Lucy, a clinical counselor working at an AIDS clinic.

Lucy kindly has assisted OFDC by teaching 4 women's training seminars. The 1,050 Maasai women who attended benefited from her knowledge and the fact that she is a woman. It is a rare opportunity for them to receive answers to important questions, as they are too afraid to ask the men.

Enkusero Primary School
GPS: 0 degrees South, 30.344 and 35 degrees East, 47.350

Enkusero Primary School is a small school in the rural rolling hills of the Interior. The community is very poor and the school has many needs.

This latrine was funded by YOUR donations! Clean latrines are necessary to keep girls, especially, in school. They no longer have to fear the boys peeking at them!

Ololongoi Primary School

Olepolos Primary School

A well is currently being built for this school with materials purchased by OFDC. The parents donate their labor and 20% of the total cost, giving the community ownership of the project.We would like to thank Sarah Beth Coyote Foundation for donating the funds to make this possible!

Olemeisi Primary School

Like many of the schools in the area, the buildings are less than desirable and there is a chronic lack of water. The school has a need for new latrines so that the girls can have some much-required privacy.
Water is currently being drawn from this very dangerous unfinished well. The head teacher is requesting a new well to save the children from having to make the long trek to water from a safer place. A new well would provide clean water for up to 600 people!

Safe House

Before our return to the United States we were sure to visit with the girls living in the safe house. The teen girls are lucky to have a place to stay that protects them from having to be circumcised and becoming young brides. These girls see school as their only hope and the only possible way out of traditional child marriages. YOUR donations keep these girls and others in school and enable them to have a future.

Leah, Alicent, Masi and Florence smile as they walk to school. They are grateful to you, their sponsors for helping them pursue their dreams of becoming educated, liberated women.

Thank you for your support!

Remember, even as little as a dollar makes a difference.

OFDC Fundraising Event at Panda Express in Omaha Tuesday 10/13

2009-10-11T10:29:00.000-07:00

OFDC is having a fundraising event at Panda Express (168th and Maple location only) this Tuesday, October 13th all day.

If you are interested in being part of this event, please email ofdc@ofdc.org for a flyer. If you have the flyer, Panda Express will donate 20% of your purchase to OFDC. This is a great opportunity to donate to OFDC and eat some good Chinese Food!

OFDC Garage Sale Fundraiser!

2009-10-06T06:22:00.000-07:00

OFDC Board members in Omaha have urged their family and friends to clean out their closets in support of OFDC! If you're in the Omaha area on Saturday, October 10th please stop by for some fantastic deals. 100% of the proceeds will go to OFDC. Not only will you be able to buy great items, but in doing so you will help empower women, educate children, and provide health care for all. Thanks for making a difference!

The Details:

Multi Family Sale in the Regency Area

9901 Harney Pkwy S, Omaha, NE

Saturday, October 10th, 2009 from 7:30 am to 4:00 pm

Designer adult/kids/baby clothing
Household & Kitchen items
TVs & Electronics
Books, toys, and much more!

Cash only please. Rain or Shine.

Kenya Trip 2009: Part One

2009-09-26T02:12:00.000-07:00

Oimerru Primary School

In a rural community outside Narok, Kenya is the Oimerru primary school. Because of severe drought many famlies’ crops have failed this year. As a result, the children have very little to no food at home. Luckily they can come to school and eat meals provided by the World Food Program.

OFDC funded the purchasing of new desks for Form 8. Children can look forward to having their own space at school and a place to keep their school supplies and milk!

Ole Rai

Far from the city and even the rural farming life is the little village community of Ole Rai. The Maasai families live in manyattas (mud and cow-dung huts) and sell charcoal in town. These mamas were very happy to receive mosquito nets to protect their children from malaria!

Pulung’a Primary School
GPS: South 1 deg. 6.203 ft., East 35 deg. 50.751 ft.

Pulung’a is a rural community just outside Narok. They too have been struggling because of the drought. Maasai men and families lead their cattle and coats to the nearby river. The teachers are so proud of their school and the students!

The mamas want nothing more than to enable their children to receive an education.

Students were excited to receive their new school uniforms!

Olokirikirai Primary School
GPS: South 0 deg. 44.693 ft., East 35 deg. 53.153 ft.

In the farming town of Olekirikirai is a school that has benefited from OFDC in a variety of ways. This year the neediest children received new uniforms. They were so excited to have new clothes that they sang songs and danced.

Ololoiboti Primary School
GPS: South 0 deg. 45.754 ft., East 35 deg. 54.451 ft.

After walking an hour from Olekirikirai we reached the distant Ololoiboti Primary School. The community is very small and consists of mostly farmers. Because the school is situated on the top of a hill, it is very difficult to reach. The only way to the school is by foot or by tractor.

The teachers and parents struggle to make ends meet, but do everything in their power to put their children through school. Because it is expensive to have stone and sand delivered from so far away, the parents chose to haul the stones up the hills themselves in order to build this new building.

Updates on some sponsored children:

Frederick is an OFDC-sponsored student attending St. Anthony’s Secondary School. He was very pleased to visit with us and thank you, his sponsors, for enabling him to get an education.

Elizabeth, Emily, Joyce and Demaris attend Ole Tipis Secondary School for Girls. Because of donations to OFDC these girls were saved from FGM and being married off. Emily and Elizabeth enjoy playing football (soccer) and Joyce plays drums in the school band. Demaris studies hard and was busy taking an exam at the time of our visit.

Even a donation as small as a dollar can make a difference! Your support for OFDC changes the lives of many. You, our friends and sponsors, are giving these children a future!

KCPW Pledge this Wednesday 5-6!

2009-09-15T13:34:00.000-07:00

An anonymous donor has offered a $500 Challenge Grant to KCPW (88.3AM & 105.3FM) and OFDC. If callers pledge $500 to KCPW, the donor will match that and give $500 to OFDC!

Nia and Sarah will be on the air Wednesday, September 16 from 5-6 pm appealing to you and KCPW listeners to call in a pledge of support to KCPW radio and help OFDC win the $500 challenge grant.

KCPW is 100 percent community supported and currently receives no federal or state assistance. KCPW offers BBC and many NPR broadcasts. They're a "little, local guy" like OFDC.

You can help us succeed by calling in your pledge of support Wednesday, September 16 from 5-6 pm at 801-359-5279 or go online to www.kcpw.org.

OFDC Director and Intern Visit Kenya!

2009-09-15T10:56:00.000-07:00

OFDC Director Nia Sherar and intern Sarah Berry will be traveling through rural Kenya September 17-October 6. They will be visiting the villages and schools with projects funded by YOUR donations.

Be sure to check the blog and OFDC's Facebook page OFTEN to see exciting photos and updates about the wonderful women and children in Kenya whose lives are improved with YOUR help.

Remember, every dollar makes a difference!

An OFDC Success Story

2009-06-15T08:38:00.000-07:00

A letter from Joyce Munai in Kenya

I come from a family of nine children in the rural Olpusimoru area. My father has been a drunkard since I come to age drinking cheap illicit brews. This left my mother to ensure that were fed, clothed and educated.

My mother has struggled but due to the large number of the family not all of us were lucky to go to high school. I count myself as one of the lucky few who managed to complete high school.

I was even more lucky the O.F.D.C took me to college and I graduate with an advanced certificate in Information Technology. Early this year I got a job on probation as a Secretary at Olposimoru High School. I count myself that when I needed help most O.F.D.C come to my aid through Patrick. I cant thank you enough all I say thank you a lot. I will also treasure your support not only to me but to all the children O.F.D.C is supporting.

Thank you all,

-Joyce Chekemoi Munai

Donations

2009-05-26T09:33:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in donating to a great cause, donate to OFDC!

You may donate directly through our website at www.ofdc.org, or you can find us on Microgiving.com at http://www.microgiving.com/profile/794177767.

Thank you for all of your support! Every penny counts.

2009-04-07T05:40:00.000-07:00

Thanks Sarah, great blog!

Night of Global Consciousness

2009-04-01T08:54:00.000-07:00

EVENT PASSED

Join us for a night of global consciousness!

http://www.ofdc.org/news/RPCV%20night%2004.pdf

If you are living along the Wasatch Front and would like a presentation given to your group or school, please contact us at ofdc@ofdc.org.

If you're in the Salt Lake City area, take some time to learn about life in rural Kenya!

Nia Sherar, founder and director of OFDC, will be presenting a free slideshow for the public:

WHEN: Saturday, April 25—7PM

WHERE: Wasatch Commons, 1411 So Utah Street (1605 West)

OFDC in the News!

2009-03-24T11:58:00.000-07:00

We at OFDC are proud to announce the newest article being published in the local news! To read the article being printed in the Sugar House Journal click on the following link:ofdc.org/news/Local%20charity%20celebrates%2010%20years.pdf

CONTEST!

To show your support for providing health, education and micro-loans to Kenyan women and children, please read our entry in Intuit.com's latest contest. community.intuit.com/contests/bwTsY1zDeqllvkab8P4pmk#bottom

With enough votes, we could earn up to $25,000! So VOTE today!