500 Bucks!

We have some good friends who gave us $500 to do whatever with (there was a stipulation to have it benefit people here somehow). These are the items we have used it for thus far:

$135 - PlasterHouse.org - This post is coming soon regarding the visit my family took to this house where children are kept from 1 - 3 months while they recover from their corrective surgeries. Surgeries are primarily to correct mishapen bones from too much floride but other operations are done, including an operation on one very small boy who happened to be 8 years old (pictured on left) with cerebal palsey who was having seizures and he had brain surgery which helped eliminate those seizures. We purchased a $270 web site for Sarah Wallis (a New Zealander volunteer who now heads up the occupational therapy department at the new hospital) which is expenisive but includes two years of e-mail and a built-in editor and half of this money ($135) was used from the "500 Fund."

$8 - A gentlemen with one leg was getting donations from people for a $500 prosthetic leg, most donations were at this level (he had a list). Still need a picture but I can tell you that it is obvious when some people sincerely need money for a good cause. Unlike a lot of cute little kids who will run up to you several times a week laughing with their hand out and simply say "Give me your money!"

$100 - Jewelry Purchases for Africaid - We purchased about 60 items at less than $2 a piece that will sell for $20 for one item, $35 for two back in the states and all funds raised will go back to the Losinoni school and purchase probably about a half year of lunches for the 700 plus children at the school (which is actually the reason they have so many kids, who likely get their only meal of the day).

$80 - Fistula Operation - Sorry to be somewhat graphic but one of the complications of having children in the "bush" is that some women "tear" and are incontinant and banished from the village for that reason...this operation was paid for through our church here, the Arusha Community Church, and will pay to "fix" this issue and allow them to be part of their community (it likely happens near the time of delivery so they don't have to go through the ugly process of being asked to leave their village.

$1 - Kilimanjaro Beer for me.

$90 - Money toward getting a wheelchair made locally out of a lawnchair and bicycle tires for a man living on our street who has no use of his legs. The family saw him in a care tire with a stick dragging himself up the road. The most wonderful thing is that Zoe raised money from so many people toward this project and the additional money made it possible. This is really "her" project.

More to come soon! We are in our last week so I've got almost $50 more to blow! Really liked this "project" of spending the money. Thank you to my friends who supported it!

Love,
Ben's Little Family