Your own garden in Uganda!

Imagine having your own garden in Uganda! For a donation of $150, the Nzirambi Education Fund will make it happen for you – we’re going to commemorate your donation by naming a patch of the orphanage garden after you. This garden is pretty special because it ensures that more than 100 children at the orphanage have fresh vegetables in their diet. It helps them be self sufficient so that they don’t have to purchase fresh produce elsewhere. When it comes to naming your garden patch, there are lots of crops to choose from – everything from cassava and cabbage to onions, eggplant and bananas.

 

There are lots of gardens to choose from – here are some examples!

 

Brunner’s Bean Way

Kerry’s Cabbage Patch

Cecile’s Cassava Corner

Nancy’s Nightshades: Eggplant Row

What’s up doc! It’s Colleen’s Carrot Bed

Barb’s Beetroot Bulbs

 

As the holidays approach, please help us to make dreams come true for children of this Ugandan orphanage and show your support. Visit our Rockethub fundraising page to find out more information on how to name your garden.

Educational Sewing in Canada’s Capital

Guest post by Aynsley Morris

When Karen and Monica started the Nzirambi Education Fund, I jumped at the chance to help. Not only is it a great cause, I love to sew and had some beautiful fabrics I’d picked up on my travels that needed to be put to good use.  For a few years I’d been experimenting with sewing bags for yoga mats and making baby quilts for nieces, nephews and my friends’ new arrivals.  My sewing could be my way to help. I sold some bags and offered a quilt and other items for the Fund’s silent auction. 

This year there are six youth pursuing higher levels of schooling, including Veronica, the initial inspiration for the Fund.  Next year, eight children are expected to need our support; this will take considerably more funding.

Karen challenged a bunch of us involved with the Fund to increase our efforts so I’m heading out to a few of Ottawa’s craft fairs to sell bags, eye pillows and quilts. My first show is the Suburban Craft Show (@suburbancraft) at Centrepoint in Nepean on November 17th from 10am to 3pm. The organizers are doing a great job promoting it and I’m honoured to be in the company of other exhibitors like VersaTile and Sassy Scarves. 

Some great pals will be helping me on November 24th at the McNabb Community Centre at 180 Percy Ave. (Bronson and Gladstone) from 10am to 4pm. My sister and nephew are helping at the last show for the season as part of the Perth House Tour on December 1st and 2^nd. Artisans will be set up at the Perth Best Western Plus Parkside Inn and Spa with free tea and cookies.

If you’re in the Ottawa area, please come out to support the Nzirambi Education Fund and amazing Ottawa (and Perth) artists at some of these events and pass the info along to all your friends!

Bags to carry your yoga mat!

Fundraising Goals: Dreams of Attending University

Dreams of attending university

When she was just a year old Veronica Nabasinga was brought to the Nzirambi Orphans Talent Development Centre in western Uganda. Her mother had just died of AIDS. Her father was unable to care for Veronica -- his youngest child, his only daughter. The orphanage took her in.

 
At the orphanage, Veronica has thrived.  She has grown into an ambitious young woman, committed to her studies. In 2011, Veronica was accepted to law school at the University of Kampala becoming the first of 100 children at the orphanage to be accepted to university. However, there was no funding available for her to attend.

Inspired by Veronica, the Nzirambi Education Fund was established to help ensure that not only Veronica, but the 100 children of the orphanage will have opportunities to attend university, college or senior levels of high school.

Higher levels of education are especially critical for these children, giving them additional resources to become leaders in their communities and break free of the cycle of poverty that has defined their families.

We need your support

Over the next three years (2013-2016), the Nzirambi Education Fund aims to raise $50,000 -- enough funds to see six youth through university, two through a vocational training program, one through college and another through senior levels of high school. Already, our fund has supported Veronica in university, four students through senior levels of high school and one in college.

Your support to the Nzirambi Education Fund is critical in helping these children so that they may be the next generation of smart, productive and well-educated Ugandans contributing to the future of their country.

For more information, you can connect with the Nzirambi Education Fund on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/nzirambi, follow the blog or email nzirambifund@gmail.com

** In this photo:   Veronica shown here with Baby Steven. Steven was found abandoned in a garbage dump on Boxing Day in 2010. Veronica, now 18, has lived in the orphanage since she was just one-year-old. The Nzirambi Education Fund helps these children go to school

Nzirambi Holiday Raffle

Want to win cool raffle prizes? Check it out! We've got five prizes up for grabs - including an ipad2! Each prize package is worth more than $500. And you get to decide which prize packages you want to enter your tickets into. Just let us know how many tickets you want and which prize packs you want to enter.

Prize Pack #1, For the Ladies, value $600:

Tula Yoga Central

Robert Ashley Hair

Hair care package

Ugandan necklace and scarf

Ladies clutch

Women's Nike golf shirts

Jewellery by Grace & Angeline

Danier Leather gift cards

Kleen Kanteen

Meditative Arts Drumming for 2

Prize Pack #2, Toronto Foodie Package, value $650+

Bloom Restaurant

Starbucks

E11even

Embrujo Flamenco

Le Dolci Cupcakes

Ceili's Cottage

Frida Spanish Restaurant

5th Elementt

23 Degrees Roastery

Prize Pack #3, Gifts for the Family, value $650+

Evoke Hair Salon

Toronto Yoga Mamas

Marcel Dee Photography portraits

CG Monsters

Clay gift card

Kids Toys

Robert Rotenberg books

Me-To-We T-shirt

Eco gift pack, including: Therawise, Mini Organics, Wean Green, Strawsome Straws, People Towels, Quash

Prize Pack #4, Social Media business pack, value $525

3-hour social media business consulting with Third Ocean

Unmarketing's new Book of Business Awesome

Prize Pack #5, iPad2, value $700

ipad2

Tickets are: 

• $5 each
• 5 tickets for $20
• 15 tickets for $50

You can use paypal to purchase tickets on this blog.

The draw will be held on Dec. 1.

Good luck!

Holiday shopping ideas to support the orphanage

What do you know? It’s snowing in Ontario – and it is starting to look a lot like Christmas!

I’m super happy to tell you that we’ve already sold 325 bookmarks in our annual drive, but our goal is to sell 400. Help us reach our goal and share info about the bookmarks with your friends and colleagues. They make great stocking stuffers, Secret Santas, gift toppers and gifts for colleagues, friends, family. Each one cost $10 and you can order them from this blog using paypal. They’re really cute and ALL of the money raised will go directly to the orphanage to help send the children to school.

We’ve also got some other crafty goods for sale to help us raise funds. Check it out:

Poetic Art

Roxane Tracy of Poetic Art is giving proceeds from the sale of her African-inspired art to the orphanage. Her work is a perfect match for the orphanage, depicting the challenges and triumphs of women and children. Take a minute to look at her work – it’s gorgeous. She is selling prints for $40 and greeting cards for $5 each or 4 for $15. http://www.poeticartgallery.com/

Yoga bags for a good cause
Our friend and supporter Aynsley Morris (@aynsilly) has handcrafted these really amazing bags for yoga mats. She did some in African prints, and some other designs, including one white with daisies. The yoga bags are $20 donation. She also made eye pillows with flax seed and lavender – great for meditation, blocking out light when you’re sleeping or if you get headaches like I do. We’re asking for a $10 donation for those. Aynsley donated the material and so ALL of the money raised from these purchases will go directly to the orphanage.

Last but not least
Please do think of our children this holiday season. Right now they will be just finishing up their semester at school and gearing up for a few weeks off over the holidays. The kids don’t really celebrate Xmas, except, hopefully, this year they will have an opportunity to have a big feast. They’re happy kids, and we are helping to give them a world of opportunities by paying for their education.

Please do consider the orphanage when making your holiday donations this year. We don’t have charity status yet for tax receipts – but stay with us because we aim to have that in place for this time next year.

Thank you for your support - Happy holidays!