A big undertaking.

I went to the orphanage today with 30 mosquito nets, a large tub of powdered milk, and 3 bags of diapers. My friend Jeremy has a car and so he offered to drive me there with all the supplies. This is going to be a huge undertaking. I heard that the Peace and Love orphanage is funded by Orphanage Africa, an organization here in Ghana that is apparently very well funded. However when I asked Madame Cella if that was true, she said that they are no longer funded by them. I emailed Orphanage Africa themselves (and plan to visit their office if I get no response), to find out for sure if they are being funded. Orphanages are sketchy things sometimes. It's sad to say it...but they are literally businesses. Somebody is making money somewhere. Before I start the ball rolling on the fund raiser I am going to find out about all of these funding issues. I talked to Madame Cella today and walked around the orphanage with her. She said they also are in need of books. Some of the items are expensive. Even in the warehouse market store I went to today, the diapers and powdered milk were very expensive. One (very large) can of the powdered milk was 26 cedis. I want to find out how long that one can will last them so I can get a better idea. Jeremy said his mom is always willing to help with orphanages, and his dad works for the UN so he may be of some use too. I told Jeremy I would give him money for gas if he would be willing to help me get supplies to the orphanage all semester. He refused the money, saying that he wanted to help out.

I have a hard time understanding some things. International students come here and volunteer at the orphanages all the time. They play with the kids and take tons of pictures to show everyone how they "helped" the kids in Africa when they get home. But no one does anything further. I'm not saying that volunteering for a few months isn't significant, but it's just not enough. These kids need more than a temporary playmate. They need structure. They need a family. They need clothes, shoes, books, toys, and food. They need someone to actually DO something. The Peace and Love orphanage is home to 75 children. It's a pretty safe bet to say that only 1-2 of them will be adopted before they get old enough to move out. And the ones that do get adopted will be the babies. Something has to be done about this and I can't sit by watching this happen without doing anything.

I'll keep you updated on the fundraiser. Like I said, I need to find out more about the funding first. What will probably happen for the fund raiser is I will have people mail checks (even if you can only afford $5 or so) to my mom's house. She will then tally up the total and deposit the money in my account. I will purchase all the items that the orphanages need and post the cost for all of the items so that people will know exactly what their money went to.

I've had a lot of emails from people ready and willing to back me up on this, so I think it will be very successful. I'll post another blog once I get more info!