Embrace It Africa

Programs: Bethlehem parent's school & orphanage (bps): (i) final reconstruction of the third classroom block- this phase of the reconstruction included cementing the walls, replacing wooden beams with metal beams, building the wall up to the roof, building a 1 foot veranda around the base of the building stability, and adding metal window frames and doors for security. The building houses two classrooms, one dorm room for boys, and an office for the school headmaster. (ii) constructing a new library- eia funded a new library at the school. We donated reading books and purchased a substantial amount of regional text books, redesigned the room, contributed various classroom supplies for teachers to use in their respective classrooms, and set up infrastructure to have a functional library on campus. (iii) implementing education programs- eia set up a number of education programs in which our members worked with the bps teachers to start new classroom programs focused on teaching using limited resources. In addition, we presented seminars on alternate forms of discipline. (iv) starting extracurricular activities at the school- bps had a lack of programs for children to participate in outside of the traditional classroom due to a lack of funding. Eia has provided funding for the boy's soccer team in the past, and this year the drama club, so that the children can have a more well-rounded experience at bps. Programs such as these not only improve the lives of the students at the school, but also attract additional fee-paying students who choose to attend bp. This leads to the school becoming more sustainable. (v) maintenance on existing projects- we have put money into the car and motorcycle we had purchased in previous years, and performed routine maintenance on dorms and classrooms we have reconstructed in the past in order to maintain the schools operations (vi) provided food in times of emergency- during local droughts when food prices drastically increase, we have provided the school with money to buy food for the faculty and students at bps. (vii) started the sprinkler irrigation system- purchased a sprinkler irrigation system to help improve cultivation to produce more food outputs with sustainable sources of water during dry periods (viii) expanded the sponsorship program- eia now has 103 sponsored students enrolled in our program with approximately 190 american sponsors funding their education. For primary school, the sponsors pays the fees for attendance at bps, and for secondary school, funds their room, board and education at various boarding schools in the region. All 66 sponsored secondary students would not be able to attend secondary school without the financial assistance of their sponsors. For the first time, we have three students in college as well, two of whom are attending kampala international university. The students who are able to attend college through are program have the understanding that they will return to the bethlehem community for a few years after graduating in order to help build up the local community.

this year, the mikwano financial agency (mikwano) began some new and exciting developments to its program, thanks to microsoft's good maker challenge. As part of a partnership between microsoft and global giving, a charity fundraising web site, microsoft sponsored a grant matching campaign, wherein any funds raised for a particular project or organization would be matched by microsoft. Through this campaign, and the help of our dedicated donors, eia was able to raise over $5000. 00 for mikwano. Funds were used to: (i) offer classes for recent graduates of secondary school interested to learn, understand, and hopefully manage a small business. Most importantly, we want to give youth in the bethlehem community the education necessary to comprehend and manage mirco-lending effectively, as part of their business model. To facilitate these classes, eia is working with teach a man to fish (tamtf), a uk-based organization that focuses on "encouraging and supporting education projects that generate sustainable livelihoods for young people across the developing world. " tamtf has experience in teaching business development classes through countries in east africa and south america. Tamtf also came to bps in 2011 to offer basic business classes to bethlehem community members. Eia is very excited about this relationship, and hopes to continue working with tamtf in the future development of mikwano. (ii) mikwano used some of this funding to prepare a 5-year plan for the program. This was prepared by an experienced manager of a microfinance institution in another district, and is very detailed concerning the proper steps to take in terms of infrastructure, staffing, and licensing for mikwano to begin facilitating loans on a greater scale. These are necessary steps that we need to follow to ensure that we are following government standards as a microfinance institution, and so mikwano can expand and develop the financial tools we can offer to the bethlehem community. This was a huge boost in our fundraising efforts, and has now set us on a new trajectory to design and develop mikwano so that it can flourish in the bethlehem community. As eia has explained in the past, mikwano ran into some difficulties two years ago, having trouble collecting loans, and essentially stunting mikwano's ability to work in the bethlehem community. Eia is now confident that we are learning from our past experiences and moving in an exciting and interesting direction.