Assisting Children in Need

We take great pleasure in announcing that British Ambassador (ret.) Brian Donaldson has agreed to serve as ACN's Country Representative in Madagascar.

Ambassador Donaldson has been a member of Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service for many years. He was posted to the British Embassy in Algeria in 1968 and subsequently served at the embassies in Bolivia, Nigeria (High Commission), Luxembourg, Cameroon, and Bangladesh. After time in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), he was in 1999 appointed British High Commissioner (Ambassador) to Namibia and then as Her Majesty's Ambassador to Madagascar and non-resident Ambassador to the Comoros Islands.

Following his retirement in 2005, Ambassador Donaldson founded a charity, the President of Madagascar's Small Grants Scheme, now called the Madagascar Development Fund (MDF) [www.maddevfund.com) to identify sources of funding to build much-needed primary schools and health centers and install safe, clean water systems, all in impoverished, vulnerable and often remote rural communities.

In 2016, the President of Madagascar awarded knighthoods (Chevalier de l'Ordre National) to Ambassador Donaldson and his Malagasy wife Nicole for their contribution to the country's development. We are honored to welcome Ambassador Donaldson into the ACN Family.

Although his lunch program for orphans in the slums of Kisumu, Kenya, is at capacity, Tobias Ayugi, ACN’s Country Representative, has temporarily made room in his meal program for a number of single mothers who have lost everything to area flooding. The situation is terrible, he reports, and “most primary and secondary schools, police stations, hotels, bridges, and many homes are now “No Go Zones.”

Congratulations on the progress made in Transmara, Narok County, by Hand to Hand Community Kenya (HHCK), last year’s ACN grant winner.

Under the inspiring leadership of John Ombasa, HHCK starts a permaculture garden for every Masai child who receives a goat.

Organic vegetables for home consumption are grown in these gardens, with the sale of surplus helping to buy them educational supplies such as books, uniforms, and even school fees.

A surprising result of the project is enhanced stability in the home. John states, “Without this goat-raising project, some children would have run away to the streets, but they now stay home” due to their interest in caring for their goats.

“Their initial ten goats,” continues John, “have just started bearing the fruits envisaged in the project. The first kid born out of the initial ten was donated to a 10-year-old boy from a poor background. Now, the donor family can sell the subsequent kids to support their child’s educational needs.” ACN looks forward to the birth of more kids from the initial ten goats, who will go to additional needy families.

The Kiserem Epilepsy Foundation, a 2024 ACN Grant winner managed by local youths with epilepsy, has been given an electroencephalogram (EEG) to assist in diagnosing epilepsy in rural Kiambu County in Kenya. Before the Kiserem Epilepsy Centre opened, the nearest government hospital for local children was 31 miles away. The Centre’s impressive founder, Fred Kiserem, states, “The EEG machine is expected to help more than 5,000 people living in Kiambu County.”

Photo courtesy of Kiserem Epilepsy Foundation.

St. Joseph Mixed Academy’s mill project, funded by ACN and managed by 2024 ACN grant winner Joseph Ayieka, is now fully operational in Kenya - with profits covering the school expenses of local, vulnerable children.

Congratulations to Obwororo Academy’s progress in goat breeding! Under the leadership of its Director, Martin Maiko, the school (a 2024 ACN Grant Recipient in Kenya), has creatively added goat breeding to its list of student activities to help cover educational expenses.

Keneth Mugere’s Nakalama Skilling Centre in Iganga, Uganda (a 2024 ACN Grant Recipient) is busy producing reusable sanitary napkins, benefitting many women and enabling them to earn income.

The safe, clean drinking water project in Ambohibao, Madagascar, jointly funded by ACN and The Street Foundation, is complete. Congratulations to all who participated in the project, but we want to especially thank Brian Donaldson, Founder and Patron of the Madagascar Development Fund, whose program management, project updates, and follow-up skills continue to impress us.

Area residents join ACN in celebrating the completion of the grinding mill funded by ACN and managed by Patrick Omutoj, one of ACN’s 2024 grant winners and Executive Director and Founder of OCONE, a community-based organization in Uganda. The nearest mill is miles away, and the grateful community now not only has a mill, but also help for their children, as profits from the mill will pay for their children’s education-associated costs.

Exciting News From Madagascar
Brian Donaldson, Madagascar Development Fund's (MDF) dynamic Founder and Patron, has updated ACN with news of developments in Ambohibao: "One of MDF's building teams, with unpaid, unskilled labor provided by the local community, started work on ACN's/Street Foundation's safe, clean water installation at Ambohibao. The project consists of building a sealed capture tank to collect and protect water from a reliable spring in the hills above Ambohibao, transfer it to a reservoir, and on from there to five stand pipes located in strategic positions around the community. The water pipes are now in place, the five stand pipe enclosures are complete, and the reservoir has been built. In about two weeks, once the reservoir has dried out - all the pipes will be connected, and the water will flow.” The project will bring clean, safe drinking water to 293 villagers.

Congratulations to our newest partner, the Madagascar Development Fund (https://www.maddevfund.com), on being one of this year’s ACN grant recipients. ACN has joined the non-profit the Street Foundation in granting what is needed to install a safe, clean drinking system in Ambohibao, Madagascar for 293 villagers.
Photo: Courtesy of the Madagascar Development Fund

The 2nd Zelaya Family Library, generously funded by Jay and Rachel Zelaya, is now fully operational. The library is based at Gibens Blessed Academy, which is located in the Kawangware slums of Nairobi, Kenya. The school’s co-directors, Gideon and Bendetta, oversaw the library’s construction. The library will be sustained through membership fees from the local community.

It was so wonderful to be visited by Joao Fonseca and his beautiful wife, Julia. In the early days of ACN, Joao accompanied Dr. Klein to Romania when ACN was called ACA (Assisting Children with AIDS) and when our focus was solely on Romania. Today ACN funds projects worldwide.

ACN Honors Curtis McGraw Webster

Single teen mothers interested in vocational training are often faced with the problem of where to leave their children while they receive training. A community-based organization in Wakiso, Uganda called Efforts Integrated Development Foundation (EIDF) has resolved this problem. With funding from ACN, they have opened an infant care center a short walking distance from their training site. This care center is free for all trainees. It is maintained by EIDF’s income-generating projects, and the trainees (who are also trained in commercial vegetable growing) tend to EIDF’s small garden. The 14 single mothers that are currently being trained can leave their infants in the care of others before training begins each day, and then return throughout the day to feed them.

It was an easy choice when ACN was given the wonderful opportunity to name the infant care center. Years ago, when ACN was legally registered as a non-profit in the U.S., one individual oversaw the registration process. He not only helped ACN get its start in the U.S., but has also continued his interest in and assistance to ACN, making a difference in the lives of thousands of vulnerable children over the years throughout the world.

ACN and EIDF honor Curtis McGraw Webster by naming the infant center “Curtis’ Care Centre” (British spelling). Curtis’ Care Centre will enable teen mothers to get the professional training they need to provide for themselves and their children.

Queen and Gideon are siblings who participate in an ACN funded goat raising and gardening project in Kenya’s Transmara Sub County. This project not only donates goats to Maasai families, but also teaches the families how to use the goat manure to fertilize gardens that produce organic vegetables. Managed by Hand to Hand Community Kenya, children’s school fees are paid by the sale of the organic vegetables grown.

Congratulations to Rescue Mission for Street Life in Uganda on winning an ACN grant. With ACN funding, this non-profit is able to purchase equipment necessary to train 25 youth rescued off the streets. Having been rejected by their families, these youth, 15-19 years old, are being trained in metal and woodwork with the goal of becoming self-supportive post-training.

Congratulations to Margaret Nyabuto and her Tenderfeet School in Kenya on winning an ACN grant for their mushroom farming project. This project enables the school to feed its students a nutritious lunch while reducing its food budget. Selling surplus mushrooms also generates an income that helps the school become increasingly self-reliant.

Congratulations to ACN grant winner Hand to Hand Kenya on the birth of their very first goat. Hand to Hand Kenya is currently providing 10 families with one goat each. Once these goats have litters, the first goat of each litter will be returned to the project coordinator for further distribution. Any goats born after the first will become the property of the families, to sell to raise money to cover the educational costs of their children.

We are pleased to announce that the Centre for Community Development and Innovations Initiative Uganda, a vocational skills training resource center, has recently been awarded an ACN grant. ACN will be funding courses in motor vehicle mechanics, bricklaying, fruit processing, and fruit packaging.

Beula Christian Visionary Project in Kisumu, Kenya, has received the final installment of its 2022 grant that focuses on the purchase of tools necessary for seedling cultivation. Disadvantaged children gather and plant seeds that grow into seedlings. The seedlings are then sold, with income covering the basic needs and education of the children.

Two key people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with whom ACN has worked over the years are Mrs. Alphonsine Apendeki, Coordinator of REFEADES and ACN Country Representative, and Chief Sadiki Onge Mbalamweci, leader of the Makobola village. Both are wonderful examples of how caring about those around you can result in positive change.

Thirteen of the girls we rescued from street violence after allegations of witchcraft in the DRC prepare for their last school term before graduation. This educational opportunity was made possible through the combined efforts of ACN, REFEADES, the girls’ parents, and Chief Sadiki Onge Mbalamweci.

Assisting Children in Need Inc. (ACN) has recently provided funding for a project initiated by St. Joseph’s Mixed Academy in Kenya. St. Joseph’s Mixed Academy will purchase cows and sell milk to generate income to cover the costs of educating children who cannot afford school tuition and fees. ACN funds requests for income-generating projects that increase a program’s self-reliance, thereby decreasing the program’s dependence on external funding in their efforts to assist vulnerable children.

Assisting Children in Need Assisting Children in Need (ACN) is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that envisions a world where all children not only have a home, but also access to education, medical care, counseling, and the independent living skills and vocational training necessary for them to grow into self-reliant ad...

Children gather outside an ACN-funded wing of Good Mummy Nursery and Primary School in Uganda. While it is uncommon for ACN to fund school renovations, crumbling walls and a leaking roof that threatened the safety of the students required immediate assistance.

Disabled Ugandan children in the ACN-funded Osobola Community shoe making program continue to impress us with their attention to detail and eagerness to learn.

Congratulations to all ten tribal youth (two are pictured here) of Dindigul District, Tamilnadu, India for earning their four-wheeler driver’s license. This license will qualify them for employment with local tourism companies. Action For Community Transformation India Foundation Trust (ACTIF Trust) managed this ACN-funded training.

We welcome Eden Preparatory School in Kasese, Uganda, into our ACN Family as we fund their project to grow and sell mushrooms. Not only will the mushrooms provide nutrition to the children, but also their sale will generate an income to assist the school with their goal of self-reliance.