Local students building bridge to African entrepreneurs

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Terry

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The club, Bridge to Self-Sufficiency, started after several students at Redmond High School learned about microfinance and how it effectively raises people out of poverty.
"We thought, 'Hey, wouldn't this be a great idea,'" said Taylor Love, a senior at Redmond High School. "Students could really get excited and involved in this."

The club has grown to 60 kids at nearly a dozen schools. So far, they've raised $7,000 through car washes to t-shirt sales to even digging a trench for a $500 donation.
"If you're having fun," said Love, "it's not even work."
All of the money will be loaned out through The Village Net, a non-profit specializing in microlending in Africa.

Taylor is the blond headed guy wearing the vest.

The club, Bridge to Self-Sufficiency, started after several students learned about microfinance and how it effectively raises people out of poverty.
 
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Our local college is a missionary college where both my sons was graduated from, the students come from Africa and get a free 5 year college education. They take back with them the knowledge to build in their own land, or to educate their countrymen, or provide health care for the poor there; it would cost 17,000 a year. This is what I paid for each of my sons. Many times, they stay in our country using the education for their personal gain, never returning to help their own country or countrymen. That is a tremendous loss. There is so much poverty in our country, too.

I applaud your son in his effort it is commendable.
 
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Ian Gills

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He should really go there to get a feel for the place, and the plumbing. There's some real gems in Africa. I like Malawi, Lesotho, Tanzania and Zambia. All very poor but all very friendly and generally safe. Ghana and Kenya are OK too, but you need to have your wits about you, especially in the capital cities Accra and Nairobi. Kenya is fantastic for the wildlife.

In some of the other countries you really do need to take care: parts of South Africa, Angola, Central African Republic, Sierra Leone, Congo to name just a few.

But definitely a Continent worth a visit for an impressionable, young mind with less gray hair than his dad!

Remember to pack anti-malarial tablets, clean syringes and diarrhea tablets. And in most places it is not safe to drink the water unless boiled.

He will be asking you to go on a trip there soon. I hope you realise that.
 
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I hope you don't mind me responding to that Ian, I was never there but, what you say must be very true because of what happened in a class once. I was teaching a journalism class there and I had the kids write anything they wanted about their homeland, and one young man, broke down started to cry and when I asked him about it, it took forever to really get the gist of it, but, how odd Ian, it had to do with plumbing. I swear to God. I was in awe of this young man. He gained my respect that afternoon. Ian, it was such a huge thing for him to drink from a water fountain. I can't imagine in the men's room. :)

Water Ian, is so precious and shouldn't be taken for granted.

Maybe, Ian if you could, if you have any and you wouldn't mind, you could maybe post some pics. I know I would love to see them, and I bet Terry's son would, too. As well, as some others here maybe.

*me, back to work, the whip cracks, lol. got to feed these youngins.
 
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I just saw your sig line, and cracked up laughing. You are beggin for it, lol. By the way, I love those characters, they are great!
 

Ian Gills

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It has been quite difficult for me to get pics of the plumbing. Either I forget the camera, or can't take a picture because it's not the sort of thing you do in a men's toilet (if someone else is in there)!

And the rest of the time I am also staying in one of the nicest hotels in the country that are plumbed reasonably well. But even there you would not drink the water.
 

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It has been quite difficult for me to get pics of the plumbing. Either I forget the camera, or can't take a picture because it's not the sort of thing you do in a men's toilet (if someone else is in there)!

And the rest of the time I am also staying in one of the nicest hotels in the country that are plumbed reasonably well. But even there you would not drink the water.


Good career move. :)
 

Terry

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So last Saturday the 26th, Taylor's group had a fund raiser.
African music by a band from Kenya.
It was a catered event that raised some money for the micro loan program.

bridge_1.jpg

Taylor on the right.

bridge_2.jpg

I had no idea he could play that thing.
I don't think Taylor knew either.

bridge_3.jpg

The food was good.
Cathy picked up some purses made there.

Taylor's mom, Marlena helped along with our friend Trish.
 

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It is amazing, I look at your youngest son and can't help but think, how fast they do grow up. You should be so proud. It looks like he had a good time.
 
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Ian Gills

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A few pictures from the last time I was in Kenya. They have a restaurant called Carnivore where you can eat all sorts of strange meats like elephant, zebra and crocodile.

Kenya2.jpg
Kenya4.jpg
Kenya1.jpg
Kenya3.jpg
 
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Cass

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My daughter spent 8 weeks in Kenya working with nationals doing Missions work...

She spent a lot of time working at orphanages with babys that had no parents because of the large # of deaths due to AIDS...

she wanted to take them all home...:)

It is a huge problem over there...possibly millions of kids with no parents...once they reach a certain age they are just put out of the orphanage on to the streets to fend for them selfs...

Very high crime rate there...

Gangs were beheading people at the time...
 
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