lifenets

March 23, 2009

Our district Rotary’s Group Study Exchange (GSE) Team will be going to Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe on May 1 for 30 days. This is an exchange of teams from our District 6560 with District 9210 in the above mentioned countries. They will stay with Rotarian families and interrelate professional y as well as personally.

Kokomo Rotarian Steve Currens is the GSE leader.  What a great experience…we wish them well. We look forward to the inbound team from this district to visit us here in Indiana.

Bev and I invited the GSE team over to our home for lunch to talk about the area they will be going to. We have travelled here many times and continue to work here (www.lifenets.org/malawi/    www.lifenets.org/zambia and other places on our LifeNets Web site). 

We were really impressed by the enthusiasm, interest and desire of these ambassadors to help disadvantaged people in the third and fourth poorest countries in the world. Two work with Goodwill Industries, one a forensic DNA analyst and one a photojournalist (melaniemaxwell.com). 

We look forward to hearing good things from them all. 



GSE Team from left: Dan, Nick, Melanie, Steve Currens (team leader), Gina along with Bev Kubik of LifeNets on the right
 

This day is not about us. It’s about others and what we do for them. “Loving in Deed” is about our relationship to others. It’s about acts of kindness, about sharing, caring and giving. When we follow these principals, it becomes all about JOY. 

So, today I want to share with you some of what God expects from us and how we can effectively put it into practice in our lives.

 I believe that we will come to see that this will produce JOY in us and bring JOY and hope to others. 

Loving in Deed is about doing something for others to make their day a little better.  

In the months prior today, knowing that I had committed to speaking, many thoughts came to mind.

Loving in Deed is unlimited. It’s about the giving of our time, of our resources; it’s about commitment and following through. It’s about love.

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The 2nd Annual Boot Scoot benefiting the Developing Nations Scholarship Fund was held on January 10th in Fort Worth!  Delicious barbecue beef ribs were served to 100 guests before the silent auction and dance with music generously provided by Soundpost.  The silent auction, raffle, and ticket sales along with separate donations netted approximately $5000 for the scholarship fund.

Jerry Girard of Dallas commented, "This year's Boot Scoot was a blast!  We were greatly looking forward to the social activity, the delicious beef ribs, the killer music!!!  I really love hearing Soundpost every time!  It's a fantastically fun time, in the name of helping out other people with a good cause, which makes the participation even more rewarding!" 

Plans for 2010 are already underway as the even will be held in the historic Stockyards once again on January 9!  For more information, visit www.bootscoot.org.  See ya next year!

      - Kelli Hogg

PS:  We want to THANK everyone who made this happen, particularly the Hogg family who put a lot of effort, time and resources to make this event happen and SOUNDPOST.  Your generosity and love will send young people to college and give them a life-changing experience they would not have had otherwise. 

     - Vic Kubik

Below are photo memories of the Boot Scoot  (MUCH MORE)  

December 10, 2008 ShareThis

The Northeastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania combined together this fall for a card and calendar sale. Our profit is enclosed; we would like to donate this to the LifeNets Developing Nations Scholarship Fund for Ghana.

We hope that this small amount of money can help add to our family in Africa for the future of the church.

Six church areas in Northeastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania came together during the late summer and fall of this past year to put together a fundraiser. The Akron, Cleveland, Canton, Youngstown, Meadville and Pittsburgh congregations enthusiastically participated in selling cards and calendars.  We currently have two students studying with the LifeNets Developing Nations Scholarship Fund.

We ordered the cards and calendars from God's Creation Fund-Raising Products Youth Group Promotions. No matter how large the order was, the shipping and handling cost only $10. The total profit was $890, a tremendous blessing during the economic troubles of today. We emailed announcements kept the process moving, and the monthly gathering of young adults and teens for YAT Night in Youngstown, Ohio, assisted in sorting the products. The extras ordered because of packaging arrangements were too few to satiate the demand. Planning for next year's fundraiser has already begun - church members are asking about calendars, and more areas are anxious to be involved.

Sincerely,

Amanda Rupp   

June 2008  ShareThis

In the summer of 2007 Jennifer Myers along with Phil Myers and Aaron Blue volunteered to help out Dr. Sam Chilopora with the work of Chizeni Clinic in Balaka, Malawi. We asked the team for an assessment about what they saw, what we could do better and possible ways to do it. 

Tom Peine, LifeNets chairman, Jennifer Myers and Sue Peine when Jennifer came  to Indianapolis on August 28 to tell us about her journey.

Jennifer told us that most projects were going well and that the people produced good products. But she noted that there was a gap in understanding of how to market products, how to make a profit and how to sustain a business. 

Jennifer Myers has been Program Officer, Noble County Community Foundation in northern Indiana.

So we asked Jennifer to go on a mission to Malawi and Zambia to teach simple business concepts to those who received Livelihood Development grants. This took place the last two weeks of June 2008. What she taught included: What is needed to start a business; understanding and marketing what makes a business different from its many competitors; planning and anticipating; money management and bookkeeping; and the importance of mentoring and working together.  Jennifer did an outstanding job going alone and teaching the seminar in five location in Malawi and Zambia.

Jennifer writes this report and provides us the beautiful photos in three sections of this report:

"Business 101:  The purpose of this trip was to teach simple business concepts to those who have received LifeNets Livelihood Development grants.  A summary of the topics include: what is needed to start a business, understanding and marketing what makes the business different than its many competitors, planning and anticipating, money management and book keeping, and even the importance of mentoring and working together.  Though the same topics were taught, the presentation was different in each area due to the different group of attendees.

“First, I must thank God for the opportunity and for keeping me safe as I traveled. I thank LifeNets for all the wonderful work the organization does to better communities here in the United States as well as around the world. This, of course, wasn’t my first trip to visit the projects in Malawi, but my eyes were still opened in awe to the living conditions that continue to be improved, the skills learned, and the overwhelming gratefulness from people who feel loved and cared for not only by those in their own communities but by all of us in the States who support them through LifeNets. They are just so grateful for the chance to succeed. sI thank the host families who took their time to schedule the presentations, set up the project visits and to care for me as though I were a part of their families. It isn’t always easy traveling to another country, but the families welcomed me with open arms, and I truly felt at home. The generosity and love by these families really captured the essence of LifeNets and the outstanding people that are a part of the organization.

“The main reason for my travels was to present an educational session on simple business concepts and practices. While I presented the information, the attendees shared their own experiences and stories, they asked questions and were just eager to learn from me and from each other. This discussion not only increased the amount of information they learned, but allowed them to see how they could help each other and how they could learn from each other. They left with tools to help them continue learning how to better their projects/businesses, through marketing, planning and money management. And they were reminded of the importance of working together and possibly mentoring those who too are eager to learn. 

“The projects I visited continue to survive and benefit the families and communities. Though the growth is not extreme, it is still a start, and the families are taking the necessary steps to help them succeed.   

“My visit to Zambia was a learning opportunity for me as well. There I learned of LifeNet’s cattle program. It is through this program that families learn responsibility and ownership. They realize the importance of working as a community. And the program maintains itself, which is incredible to see. 

“It is amazing how one can go to teach, but learn so much more in the process. A part of my heart remains with those in Malawi and Zambia as I learned more about myself, about service and how quickly friendships can develop as we work together.” 

Elifazi Salawila, who coordinated Jennifer’s visit in Malawi, wrote us:

“Thank you for sending Jennifer to us. Her visit to Malawi has been of great benefit to us all. She came to give us a business key, which was not known to some of us. And we hope that with this business key our businesses will improve and grow. We are glad that she has been able to visit all the projects which were on our programme, both Blantyre and Lilongwe. Jennifer is a cheerful and flexible lady who strived to learn our culture. This kind of heart helped her to associate with any class of people without problems.”

Here is a summary of the five presentations that Jennifer made on this mission:     

In Blantyre the presentation went well as there was good discussion. Attendees asked wonderful questions and took a real interest in understanding the skills needed to help their businesses grow.  It was interesting to see the interaction between the attendees as well.  This group really helped each other and I think they began to understand their own knowledge that they have and how they can network and work together.

In Lilongwe it was interesting, that as I visited the projects in this area, several of the grantees/attendees took many of the ideas that they learned in the presentation and were able to share with me how they can implement them.  It showed that they really took in the information.

In Lusaka, Zambia the presentation here was different as several in this area really do have a grasp on business.  They didn’t seem to really need the basics, but of course were grateful for the information and expressed that they too can implement some of the ideas.  They too were really able to teach each other, and that was important for them to see.

In Nalubanda the presentation here was very interesting since it basically dealt with maize farming/selling and cattle raising.  Though the attendees took in the information and were very grateful for what they had learned, they actually had a lot of questions for Mr. Banda.  But it was through their questions and his response that I got a very good glimpse of how the program works.  Mr. Banda works very well with this group and the program provided here is so beneficial to the families and the communities.  There is a real sense of ownership, responsibility, for those who participate in the program.

Finally in Mapoko, there was a different aspect to the presentation. This group was just starting its work with the cattle/maize program available through LifeNets. They really were in need of the business information, once they figured out I wasn’t there to teach them how to farm or raise cattle.  They asked good questions and just really soaked in all the information that they could.  Mr. Banda was there and answered all their questions that dealt specifically with the programs LifeNets offered, and again I learned.

In addition, Jennifer visited many of our Livelihood Development projects.

Project Visits:  Throughout the trip, I was able to visit various projects to see their progress and to hear their concerns.The projects are surviving and benefiting many.  It takes the simple steps of funding and education to better a community, and it can definitely be seen in Malawi and Zambia thanks to LifeNets.

Vinogradov Home Page      
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August 26, 2008

In June my husband and I, along with volunteers Stefan Saxin and Ken Zahora, had a unique opportunity to serve at a youth summer camp in western Ukraine, in collaboration with an existing LifeNets project to help disadvantaged and at-risk youth in the small town. All year, twice a day, a small group of Christians provide healthy meals, Bible lessons, love and support to a large group of street children. Each summer they go beyond this daily service to host a camp that enables the children to have even more opportunities for fun and learning. We got to see firsthand the fruits of the labors of this collaborative project, and it was very inspiring to see the lives of these children so positively affected.

For my husband and m, Ukraine is the epitome of “Eastern Europe.” The country gained its independence in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. They are still experiencing problems related to coming out of decades of communist rule. Poverty, social problems, widespread corruption, and a weak overall infrastructure are just a few of the problems people in this country face. After two weeks we were starting to get used to the gigantic potholes in the roads, the flickering power, and the constant crowds of people selling their wares in the streets. The difference once we returned to our respective developed western nations was stark. It made us feel very grateful for the daily blessings we enjoy and often take for granted. It also made us feel somewhat spoiled, when we realize how much they are able to do, with so little. When something is broken, they fix it and continue using it. Each day as we drove from the house where we stayed to the youth center, we saw people sitting on the side of the road. They were selling mushrooms they had gathered in the forest, crops from their own gardens, cherries from their own trees, juice from their own grapevines, local honey, etc. It gave us the impression that people of Ukraine were very enterprising and resourceful. We also enjoyed this local, inexpensive, fresh produce in our meals at the center.  MORE

Committee Co-Chairs Rose McDowell & Judy Servidio report on their miracle trip! A special thanks to those who contributed funds for the scholarship program and for the women’s project.

August 18, 2008 

On July 1, 2008 we left Houston bound for Nairobi, Kenya to oversee the progress of our Kenya LifeNets Girls Scholarship Program. Co-sponsored with LifeNets, this was the program’s first year and our first visit to Kenya. With a shaky beginning during the beginning of school because of post election violence in January and February, our original plans for schooling the girls together had to be quickly revised. Each girl had to stay in her own tribal area and attend schools with admission openings. This trip helped us evaluate each girl’s school situation, her individual needs and make plans for the 2009 school year.

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