GO By The Numbers
Dear Friends of GO,
With a heavy heart, the GO team must leave the kind and caring communities of East Africa after a wonderful and enlightening trip. After seven weeks on the road, the GO volunteers are returning to their homes. We will never forget our time here, the kindness shown to us by all, and the many lessons we have learned along the way.
On behalf of all us, we would like to thank all of you from the bottom of our hearts for the generous donations, kind words of support, and encouraging letters from home. With your help, we have raised over $8,000 for our projects in Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda!! Every cent of these donations will directly to the communities on the ground.
The biggest thanks goes to James Nathaniel, Costa Ndayisabe, and Peter Luswata. They were ours hosts in Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda, respectively, and opened their doors and hearts to us. Though the GO volunteers, both on the ground and around the world, make heavy sacrifices to do the work they love, it is individuals like James, Costa, and Peter that keep our passion alive. They give back because they see the suffering of others first-hand and know they can make a difference.
The world needs more people like them and GO is proud to help support and sponsor each of their wonderful projects.
Here is how the money was invested in the communities of Moshi (Tanzania), Muhanga (Rwanda), and Masaka (Uganda):
- $2,500 donated to the Tanzanian Children Concern (TCC), GO’s new project partner in Moshi, Tanzania. These funds are already being used to build 4 new classrooms for the TCC’s new school for orphans and vulnerable children. The community and the TCC will fully own the project, giving them ownership and responsibility to provide a better future for themselves. GO would like to thank Mama Hope (www.mamahope.org) for all their leadership and guidance with this project and for their continuing inspirational work in Kenya and Tanzania. We could not have done this with you! To learn more about this project, please read “It Takes A Community” (below)
- $3,500 donated to the Unity and Peace Development (UPD), GO’s project partner in Muhanga, Rwanda. These funds were used to build two homes for survivors of the genocide and to facilitate reconciliation classes in the community. To date, GO and the UPD have successfully trained 28 facilitators and are working with 100s of families to reconcile survivors and perpetrators of the genocide. The project of building these homes is owned entirely by the community with all labor being performed by volunteers on the ground. Additional funding will be used to purchase rabbits for children headed households to provide them a source of income, sustainable gardens for vulnerable families, and health insurance for orphans and victimized children. To learn more, please read “Bricks of the Heart” and “Hope and Unity” (below)
- $3,000 donated to the Uganda Rural Fund (URF), GO’s project partner in Masaka, Uganda. These funds will be used to provide a local grain mill for URF’s sustainable development farming practices in Masaka, Uganda. Currently, farmers supported by the URF walk over 20 kilometers to mill their grain and are charged for hiring the equipment. With this investment, the farmers will form a cooperative to manage their own grain mill, saving both costs and time. It is expected that over 500 farmers will benefit from this investment every day. To learn more, please read “This is Rural Style” (below)
We would like to sincerely give thanks to our donors, partners, and corporate sponsors for making our new round of projects a brilliant and lasting success. Without your help and support, none of this would have been possible. We look forward to hearing any afterthoughts you may have regarding these project as well as any ideas you may have for future projects.
This blog will continue to be updated through the end of the year by our volunteers and partners on the ground. Please stay tuned!
Yours in Progress,
The GO Team
To pledge additional support for these projects, please donate here >
