Chances are you’ve taken part in a harambee, though you probably knew it by another name.
In Kenya, a harambee can be as simple as a community gathering. The name comes from the Swahili word meaning “together pushing forward.” One local group is looking to embody that spirit and help Kenyans at the same time through an event at Village Pizzeria in Middle Grove on Friday, Sept. 7.
The Loisaba Community Conservation Foundation, Inc., anon-profit organization based in Saratoga is hosting the harambee from 6 to 9 p.m. Each $35 entry fee (also a tax deductible donation) will get you beer, wine and a variety of tapas. The donation will also outfit one student in the impoverished village of Ewaso with a backpack filled with school supplies.
“We decided to sponsor the harambee, a community based event modeled after similar events in the Ewaso community to raise awareness for (their) needs and the many projects our fundraising efforts support,” said Susan Bartkowski, a trustee with the Loisaba Foundation.
The school supplies will be delivered by a cargo vessel.
“We had the opportunity to get a shipping container and thought, ‘What can we fill it with?’” said Jim Towne, also a trustee of the foundation and principal of Towne, Ryan & Partners law firm. He added that the backpacks really give the kids a sense of identity.
Both Bartkowski and Towne have been to Kenya several times and see the school and the kids as some of those in greatest need.
“It’s not unusual to see an 8-year-oldteaching a 16-year-old reading. It’s a different school system,” said Towne. Kids in Kenya go to school year-round, excluding December and April.
Towne said life in Ewaso is exists in a “different paradigm” than it does in the west. The life expectancy of Kenyans has been undercut by the AIDS epidemic, tuberculosis and extreme drought.
In addition to school supplies, proceeds from the harambee will be put toward replacing two of 12 classrooms at a primary school in Ewaso where nearly 500 students attend class — with up to 70 students in one classroom.
Programs supported by Loisaba include student and teacher housing, scholarships for high school and college students and salaries for teachers and school nurses. There are also needs for potable water, AIDS awareness efforts and wildlife conservation programs.
“Our list of programs and activities is quite long and encompasses many aspects of this region’s needs. Our mission is ‘To never let the sun set on those in need’ and our goal is to have these projects, which are welcomed and supported by the leaders and residents of the Ewaso community, be self-sustaining,” said Bartkowski.
Needs of women in the area are also great, and Bartkowski has taken the helm with many programs to benefit that group, including the Pledge of Women Products within the Koija Women’s Group. Bartkowski said the Koija women are one of the most overlooked sectors in Kenya and that many of them are widows due to AIDS and other factors, and have large families to support.
“On my first trip to Kenya in 2006, I met with the Koija Women …to see the various beaded leather projects they were working on to sell to visitors and tourists. (They) formed an organization from six local communities to pool materials and design and create various products such as bracelets and bowls,” she said.
She said the products were amazing and she thought there may be an opportunity to sell them here to increase sales for the women. Thanks to her efforts, local vendors include Adirondack Cotton Co. in Bolton Landing, Sloppy Kisses and Spa Cascada in Saratoga Springs and The Pilates Studio in Latham.
“They lack any formal education and there are no traditional job opportunities in their very rural region. By giving (them) the opportunity to sell their products at a global level, we have greatly increased their income potential and their ability to support their families,” said Bartowski.
The foundation also helps to provide medical supplies for a health clinic in Kenya that serves 19,000 impoverished Laikipiak Masaai and Samburu tribes people
For more on the harambee and the foundation, visit www.loisabaccf.org.
