UNGANA Foundation: Goals for Goal

In honor of Earth Day, here is a recycling project I'm going B-A-N-A-N-A-S over! ;-D

The UNGANA Foundation is working to make a difference by bringing people together to enact change. The word "ungana" means to “come together” in Swahili. The essence of the Ungana Foundation is to bring people together for the purpose of solving poverty and offering hope for generations which follow.

Ashley Linford is setting up operations in Gisenyi, Rwanda to put together banana fabric and business education entrepreneurial development project for UNGANA.

The Ungana entrepreneurs will benefit from business essentials training and start-up advising. Finance, bookkeeping, marketing, business management, and even economic concepts are essential lessons before starting and running a business. Setting apart the IIF program from other valuable options is the application of these studies used directly in business operations.

The Ungana Foundation’s IIF program is built on a strict savings plan that will mitigate or possibly eliminate accruing debt. Rather than borrowing a substantial amount, the UNGANA Foundation is matching the entrepreneur’s savings, building the capital needed to start their venture debt-free.

At the core of IIF is a venture that extracts and sells Banana Fibers. It is a new eco-friendly product with growing demand and taps enormous resources in Rwanda. Where these fibers are normally a waste product from banana cultivation, they can now be used to make textiles, paper, rope or even composites. Finally! A product that I can eat and wear! ...and write on! ;-D Waste Not, Want Not!

Currently, Ashley does the community outreach for the foundation, consisting of after-school clubs and volunteer networks. She is headed for Rwanda on May 15 to organize the 'Goals for Goal's program. They are also trying to secure funding for an XO Laptop deployment.

Wishing her luck and can't wait to hear more about her trip!

The Change Exchange

Andrea Hannah with her org's tees and kid volunteers

The following story is a reason why I love internet technology, the web and blogs!! The ability to network with like-minded people around the world is so satisfying! More coming on this subject soon... ;-D (Hint: Create for a Cause expansion in Brazil!)

This is a wonderful project that Andrea Hannah is working on in Northville, Michigan. Andrea contacted me through my blog a few months ago, inquiring about schools and volunteer opportunities in Rwanda. I mentioned the Gisimba Orphanage projects I worked on and she expressed enthusiasm in helping out there while she is in Rwanda this summer. This will be great to partner with her and have her on board with fundraising for Gisimba Orphanage.

The Change Exchange is a non-profit organization that works to support schools and counseling centers throughout Africa. Currently, the organization is working in Rwanda and is fundraising for Gisimba Memorial Center and several primary schools outside of Kigali.

Andrea Hannah, the organization’s Executive Director, has created a program that connects kids to kids globally. Kids For Africa is a web-based program that incorporates education, motivation, and inspiration in its itinerary. The program offers educational resources as well as fundraising opportunities for children that want to help make a difference. Kids that participate in the program can earn Pencil Points in a variety of ways – from spreading the word about Africa to designing a t-shirt or donating pencils. Each Pencil Point earned is match by The Change Exchange and those pencils are given to Gisimba and the primary schools in Rwanda. The program has been a great success so far, and has expanded to Chicago schools and even all the way to Colchester, England. Andrea will be donating the proceeds and school supplies while in Rwanda this summer.

If you know a child that would like to connect with kids in Africa, send an email to pencilpoints@learntodream.org or check out www.learntodream.org/kidsforafrica for more information (the site is new and still being updated).

Anyone, not only kids, can help support The Change Exchange by checking out the e-store at http://changeexchange.ecrater.com/ or making a donation. Details can be found under the “Make a Donation” tab at www.learntodream.org

Awesome job Andrea and can't wait to hear about your experiences in Rwanda!