General:
Dr. Martha (Bobby) MacGuffie
2011 was a tumultuous year for SHARE as we lost our beloved Founder, Dr. Martha (Bobby) MacGuffie. In 2010, following her decision to appoint Usha Wright, a long term Board member, as President of SHARE, the communities in Kenya where Bobby worked decided to honor her by renaming the organization from simply SHARE to Dr. Bobby MacGuffie SHARE Program. Fortunately, Bobby was presented with the photographs of the big signs and banners designed to announce to the world the extraordinary legend that she is in this small village of Mbita, where she touched and bettered thousands of lives. We are grateful that Bobby witnessed this honor and believe she would be very proud of our accomplishments in 2011.
Our fund raising activities continue to be challenging. By far the largest donations come from individuals and a few foundations who have been long term supporters. In 2011, we organized a successful music event which netted us $16,000.00, by far our largest single event contribution. We have been fortunate in getting offers from several talented people with experience in non profit development. Accordingly, we are hoping to be more aggressive in 2012.
SOS Status Report:
Group of SHARE sponsored orphans at St. Peter’s boarding school, Kenya. With the children are SHARE social workers, the school principal, and SHARE board members on their visit to Kenya.
The SHARE Orphan Sponsorship (SOS) program not only saves lives of children, it literally transforms the lives of these children. SHARE places heavy emphasis on education as a means to a better, brighter, and productive future for these orphans. In the last four years, 87 of our sponsored orphans graduated from high school. After graduating from secondary school, these children also graduate from the SHARE Orphan Sponsorship program. Many of them continue on with their education at colleges and universities.
In November 2011 (the end of the academic year in Kenya), 29 of our 231 SHARE sponsored orphans graduated from high school. This is truly a great accomplishment. These children would not have been able to receive decent primary education and now they are high school graduates. This would not have been possible without the generosity of our sponsors, whose support pays for school fees, school uniforms, food, health care, and other necessities for these children. After graduating from secondary school, these children also graduate from the SHARE Orphan Sponsorship program. Many of these children were a part of SOS for over 10 years (from 1st grade to graduation) and many were supported by the same sponsor over that time span, developing long lasting connections.
In 2011, 32 of our orphans completed 8th grade and are ready to move on to high school studies. In November, 8th graders take the National Examination. Based on the child’s exam score, the Kenyan Ministry of Education assigns the children to specific high schools, which are ranked according to the quality of students they accept. In 2012, we expect to have 84 students in secondary schools, in freshmen through senior grades (in Kenya these are Form 1 – 4 grade levels).
Orphan Transportation:
SHARE’s new mini school bus purchased in 2011 with contributions made by our generous donors.
As noted in 2010, SHARE’s 20 year old vehicle used to transport orphans to schools and for delivering personnel and medical services to the children in need, had to be retired. In 2010, SHARE functioned without a vehicle and transported children on scooters, etc. We were convinced that this created issues of safety as well as greater financial burden. SHARE undertook an aggressive fund raising campaign and was able to generate enough funds to add to our reserve for such purposes and now Dr. Bobby MacGuffie’s SHARE Program is a proud owner of a Toyota mini bus that can transport as many as 11 children at a time. We are proud that our children are now in better care on the treacherous roads.
SHARE Medical Program:
Under the leadership of Dr. Jeff Karasik, SHARE’s new Medical Director, continuation of Dr. Bobby MacGuffie’s legacy in and around Mbita, is ensured. Jeff has spent time in hospitals in Kenya (and in Vietnam for another worthy organization) and is establishing an on-the-ground hospital program in Mbita. His contribution and presence is very welcomed in the community where there are just 2 physicians for 300,000 residents. Due to turnovers in hospitals and medical officers, this undertaking has become more challenging but therefore, even more urgent and has motivated us to continue undeterred. In 2012, Jeff is scheduled to be in Mbita twice.
Further, Jeff has assembled a team of 2 experts who will be providing bereavement counseling training to principals and teachers where our orphans are schooled. The need for this was brought to us by caring academicians who are dealing with children who have not only witnessed the loss of their parents but also their siblings and frequently an entire community of adults. This training is scheduled for Q2 in 2012.
Dispensary – Improving Health of Communities (Orphans and their guardians):
Patients waiting at the clinic/dispensary built by SHARE.
In mid 2000s, Dr. MacGuffie had the inspiration of building permanent clinics that would be staffed with health care professionals, and provide critical and much needed health services to the local communities where SHARE operates. This was to replace the numerous mobile clinics that SHARE operated. A Community Based Organization (CBO) was formed, which is the most effective way to get the communities to participate and the clinic was constructed on the spectacular shores of Lake Victoria. Dr. Jeff Karasik, SHARE’s Medical Director, in a recent visit to Kenya noted that the clinic continues to provide health care to the community and SHARE is pleased with its continued success.
EMS Program:
EMS training.
David Violante, long term Board member of SHARE, led a team of EMT professionals (Bill Jeffries and Dave Grass) to conduct CPR/ACLs training in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu. This training was done in cooperation with the Kenya Council of EMTs, the National Resuscitation Council of Kenya, the American Heart Association, Simulaids, Phillips, IES, and DCC. We are grateful to the SHARE volunteers, Bill Jeffries and Dave Grass for donating their valuable time and expertise to this worthy cause. We know that through their efforts lives will be saved.
Solar Oven Project:
We were able to get all the interested parties aligned to pursue the acquisition of the solar oven. However we did encounter an issue of transportation and custom/duty on the Oven, estimated as up to 45-60% of the cost of the oven. This required us to postpone the project until we can determine a better way to manage the issue. We were told that shipping through Uganda would be a better way since Uganda does not charge custom duty to non profits and Uganda/Kenya being part of free trade under East African agreements would enable an easier delivery of the oven. While we were exploring this approach, we were fortunate to talk to several other non profit organizations who shared their experiences and concluded that the Uganda-to-Kenya approach will not result in any cost savings. Currently we are approaching the Ministry of Education which has the ability to grant us a waiver of custom duty since it is destined to be installed at Our Lady of Orore School where our orphans and community can learn important business skills with it. However, that process can take more than a year to get the waiver!
Sewing Machine Initiative:
In 2011, we spent a lot of time in laying the ground work and developing a business plan for sewing machine projects. This has taken longer than expected. However, it has served as an opportunity to educate in enterprise success and we are looking at 2012 to make actual investments.