The Village Of Love is Born: Our First Newsletter!

“The Village,”  December 2011

Dear Friends,

Leonora Obara meets Stephen Lewis. On their recent visit with us in Toronto, Andrew and Leonora Obara reached out to connect with and touch the hearts of both great and small. On November 30th, at the Stephen Lewis Foundation Launch of their new Arts Fund, Leonora spoke with Stephen Lewis, thanking him for the opportunity 3 years ago to be part of the Kenyan delegation to a Toronto conference to share best practices in psychosocial counseling for women who had suffered rape traumas in Congo.Welcome to “The Village,” our first newsletter.  They say that it takes a village to raise a child. Through the “Village of Love,”  we have a chance to play OUR part in raising children orphaned by HIV&AIDS.

In raising a child, there are two necessary roles: firstly, a CAREGIVER, so that the child may receive nurture, love and guidance; and secondly, a PROVIDER, so that the child may have the material necessities of life.  Working together as part of the “Village of Love”  we can provide both nurture and material necessities.

In Kibera, compassionate families on the ground are already giving the love and care that orphaned children need. As their extended “Village,”  in Canada, it is up to us to provide the material means for these children to have a chance at life.

This last month, Andrew and Leonora Obara, our Kenyan partners in the “Village of Love,” came across the ocean to share their stories, to inspire us by their faith and generous way of living, and to invite us to be part of the “Village of Love”.  Thank YOU for your positive response.

Thank you for being part of the Village!

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 Canadian Village Action

VOLUNTEER:

Ride for Village of Love this June and raise funds for orphaned children to be cared for in loving families!Our immediate fund raising focus is the Bike-a-thon in June, 2012, organised through our partners, CAP/AIDS Network.  CAP/AIDS Network provides everything needed, including the infrastructure for on line pledging.

Last year “Village of Love”  fielded 11 riders. Our goal this year is to increase participation to 50(!), and to double the number of bike-a-thons across the country (currently they are held in Toronto, Ottawa, Victoria and Vancouver).

Here’s what YOU can do:

• Ride for “Village of Love.” Ask your siblings, cousins, friends to give you an Alternative Christmas Gift: a commitment to ride with you!
• Join a small group to strategise, plan and implement the vision of extending the number of bike-a-thons across the country!

To volunteer, e-mail Linda HERE

DONATE

The most immediate need is for sustainable funds to build the capacity of the Kenyan Village of Love organisation.

• Please consider a monthly donation, no matter how small.
• Give someone you love an Alternative Christmas Gift: the gift of safety, hope, health, empowerment; dignity.

With your year-end tax deductible gift, orphaned children will have a chance at life!

Thank you for being a Provider in the “Village of Love!”

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A Christmas Village Story

Andrew and Leonora Obara’s love, welcome and encouragement of children cultivates in their children a desire to give back. When we donate to the Village of Love, we’re empowering many more parents to send their orphaned children to school where they can gain skills to give back to the community.When Omolo turned thirteen, he had to fend for himself.  His mother was dead and his father very ill. He wanted very badly to go to school, but food was the first priority.  Whenever he got the chance, he would work as a farm laborer. This paid for food and paraffin.  He would attend school until the food money ran out. Then he’d have to work again. With this intermittent pattern of school attendance he did not gain a good educational grounding.  

At seventeen he came to live with the Andrew and Leonora Obara.  Now he could start High School! The fact that he loomed over his classmates in height and bulk never phased him! He was simply thrilled to have the chance to learn. From a young age, Omolo had dreamed of being a social worker, of being able to be there for others who needed a helping hand.

He was a good student, his mother Leonora says, considering his lack of educational grounding, but his marks were not high enough to enable him to go into social work studies.  The alternative for him has been to train in masonry. Omolo is very happy with this. He has learned skills that he can use, gained tremendous self esteem and knows that he will always have work, especially in rebuilding schools after the seasonal floods. He has a livelihood and a future.

Even more than that, however, he has the chance to use his skills to help others. On his way home from school every day he passes through villages where there are elderly widows. They ask him to fix something for them, their roof, their wall. He never accepts any gift in return, not even porridge, they report! Omolo is resourceful and practical, with good values. He plans to train other youth in the same skills.

He inspires younger boys to take the right path, telling them that they don’t need drugs or alcohol, only to work hard. Leonora says, “Omolo is an asset to the community!”

Your donation impacts not just one child, but a whole community. Through their love and caring on the ground, your gift keeps on giving!

May you have peace and joy this Christmas, even as you bring hope and love to others.

Linda Levin, Coordinator of “Village of Love Canada”

To receive our e-Newsletter, “The Village,” updating you on needs and news, please send us an e-mail by clicking on the “Village News” icon.

Mother Teresa:  If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.