We are excited to share the news that our 33rd project has been fully funded!
Our matching grant with Spark Ventures has been fully funded for a total of $20,000. Your donations will have a dramatic impact in the lives of the children at Hope Community School. Not only will the 350 children receive basic school materials, they will also receive much needed medical treatment and health education.
How Did We Accomplish This?
It is through your support that this project is possible! Some people donated their birthdays, like Katie and six-year-old Naomi, while most others donated directly to the campaign. Whether you donated to the fund or simply shared the story with others, we would like to thank you. You made this grant possible!
The Project:
ODW is partnering with Spark Ventures through this matching grant to fund the coming year’s semi-annual school clinics and the HIV/AIDS program for 350 children. ODW has already released $10,000 to cover the cost of uniforms, shoes and an additional 840 textbooks (140 for each of six subjects) across grades 1-7 at Hope Community School and would like to match that commitment for a total of $20,000 to ensure robust health care support for the children. This project will include:
- Staffing for the two 3-day clinics including local Zambian doctors and nurses stipends
- Malaria testing kits and medications to treat infection
- Medications to treat stomach and skin worms (very common seasonal ailments
- Other clinic supplies and materials
- Year-round HIV/AIDS education programing
Having traveled to Zambia twice a year for the past five years, it's amazing to watch how the children of Hope Village grow and change. Smiling and waving when we visit, the kids move from one grade to another, growing in confidence, improving in health, and inching towards finishing primary school. A good number of them have successfully moved on to high school.
These children live in extreme poverty, walking to school with no shoes and anxiously awaiting the lunch break when they will receive probably their only hot meal for the day. It was incredible to receive photos from Lusaka a couple of months ago of a mountain of freshly made shoes that have made possible for the Hope kids, thanks to the first $10,000 grant given to Spark Ventures on behalf of One Day's Wages. I was with a team of volunteers in Zambia this summer as we measured the 350 students for their new uniforms, which are almost done being sewn and will be ready for the kids as they start their new school year in January. Again, thanks to the ODW grant.
Now we’ve also reached our matching grant goal of $10,000 thanks to the generous supporters of One Day’s Wages. And just in time! Spark is just a few weeks away from a 3-day clinic offered to the entire primary school, along with medicine and treatment for those who are sick. Thanks to this matching grant, we will not run short on medications, and we'll be able to provide health services and follow up treatment to not only the children, but also their teachers and the teachers' families. 350 vulnerable children in the rural township of Twapia will start their new school year off strong- with a new uniform, pair of shoes, new textbooks in their classes, and a medical evaluation and treatment.
The funds from the matching grant will also reinforce and build on the HIV/AIDS education programming at Hope, along with the recurring hygiene and sanitation training the children will receive, which heavily focuses on prevention of various ailments and food born diseases.
On behalf of the Spark Ventures team, our partner organization Hope Ministries and the local Zambian staff that will be employed thanks to the One Day's Wages campaign, thank you so much for your support and making the above a reality.
Rich Johnson | CEO Spark Ventures
Thank you for making this possible!
We’re grateful for your partnership, support, and trust. ODW is you, me, us, and them working together for a more compassionate and just world.
As always, we'll report back to you with videos, pictures, and progress reports here as they become available to us. You can also learn more about our Education and Health Funds and make a donation to future projects like this.