African PenPal Links Students in US-Kenya

October 4, 2012, Galveston Island Texas— Students at Galveston Island's Ambassador Preparatory Academy are learning about Africa in a new program that will help them communicate with children at a small school in East Africa. Since early September, fourth-graders at the 4-year-old charter school have been writing letters and preparing video materials for the students at St. Philip’s Primary School in Nairobi, Kenya. Read more:

Cole Family and Friends Support Science Scholars

November 1, 2010 -- The friends and family of the late arts entrepreneur Carole Cole recently donated $1000 to the Carole Cole Science Scholarship Program, an initiative that helps orphan girls in Africa pursue secondary school studies in math and science. 

“The donation will support the education and board of a Tanzanian girl for a full year,” says Linda Ercole-Musso a close friend of Cole’s.  Ercole-Musso chair’s the board of African Children’s Haven, the organization that sponsors the scholarship program.

Project leader Aichi Kitalyi notes that in its first year of operations all five scholarship recipients performed well in their studies, finishing at the top of their class. 

Carolyn Graves, Cole’s daughter, adds that “the program has kept her mother’s legacy vibrantly alive by promoting the education of disadvantaged girls in part of the world where science-based solutions to hunger and poverty are so urgently needed.”

For more information visit: http://www.africanchildrenshaven.org/projects.asp

We always get what we cry for.

If we cry for love, peace and security we

eventually get it.

Ahmed E. Ahmed, Ph.D.

Journaling Group Supports Orphan Science Scholars for a Second Year

September 22, 2010, Galveston, Texas – For a second year, a women’s journaling group, the Flamingos, is supporting orphan girls in Tanzania with a talent for science and math. 

Thanks to the Flamingos, a second group of girls will receive a Twirligirli gown in recognition of being selected for a secondary school science scholarship. “The idea is to make sure that the girls know that someone cares about them,” says Twirligirli founder Cathy Stovall.  The gowns were donated in memory of Andrea Hufstedler Walker, the late daughter of Flamingo Bev Frannea.

“Andy was an open-hearted person," her mother says. "Her warmth and humor were constantly shared with a big hug and a bigger smile. She was dedicated to her four children, her husband and her extended family. And, that "family "included everyone she came in contact with including her neighbors, any child she encountered, and her many health care providers. Her love was inclusive, and helping others was her spiritual path. Her light will be missed by many.”

Andy was born in the U.S. in 1965 but was a long-time resident of Costa Rica. She was described by those who knew her as an "American by birth, Costa Rican by heart." She is shown here with her family (photo left). On the right: last year’s science scholars with their Twirligirli gowns. 

Twirligiril sponsors included Flamingos Bev Frannea, Maggie Fuller, Susan Lynch, Cherie Ray, Marilyn Schultz and Linda Ercole-Musso.

Learn more about Twirligirli.

Science Scholarships Awarded to African Orphans

Galveston, Texas, USA, February 5, 2010 – Five orphan girls with a high aptitude for science and math have received scholarships from African Childrens Haven to attend secondary school in Tanzania.  It costs $1,000 per year to send a girl to secondary school. It’s a good investment, but one that’s largely out of reach for the majority of Tanzanian children. The Carole Cole Scholarship Program pays school fees and provides guidance from volunteer mentors drawn from Tanzania’s science community.  News Release

Texas Journaling Group Supports Tanzanian Orphans

  Dody Stovall                        

August 10, 2009, Galveston, Texas – A local women’s journaling group, the Flamingos, is supporting orphan girls in Tanzania with a talent for science and math.  Thanks to the Flamingos, five girls will receive a Twirligirli gown in recognition of being selected for a secondary school science scholarship.  

“The idea is to make sure that the girls know that someone cares about them,” says Twirligirli founder Cathy Stovall.  The gowns were donated in memory of Stovall’s mother, Dody Stovall (pictured here on her 57th wedding anniversary). 

“She loved my Twirligirli business and encouraged and inspired me to continue my mission of bringing cheerful twirls to  girls through colorful, playful gowns.” Stovall adds.  “Many times, she sewed finishing touches to the gowns with her loving hands. They carry her goodness and sweetness and are dedicated to her.” Learn more about Twirligirli.

MSNBC Highlights Plight of Nairobi Slum Kids

August 6, 2009 – Andrea Mitchell’s report on the plight of kids living in Kibera, Africa’s largest slum, is a must-see for anyone interested in the well-being of African children. The story focuses on a primary school for local orphans, nearly 40 percent of whom are HIV positive. African Childrens Haven support a similar school in Mathare, Nairobi’s second largest slum. The plight of children in Mathare is all-too-similar to what Mitchell describes and the need is equally urgent. See a video about the work being done at St. Phillips.

Innovative Orphanages in Tanzania

June 27, 2008 – The New York Times ran a story on Thursday, June 25 that highlights the way people in Tanzania are caring for orphans.  Rather than permanently house the children in orphanages, local people are organizing special facilities that take care of the children until their second or third birthdays.  The idea is to help kids survive until they are ready to eat regular food and can be returned to their extended families.  In one innovative program, teenage girls from the family live with the children at the facility to provide emotional support and a link to the families.  The girls, who bond with their charges and tend to take care of them when they leave, benefit from educational programs.  The story reinforces the approach we take at African Childrens Haven, namely that projects organized and run by local people produce long-term results.  Read more

Slum School Video

May 28, 2009 -- A new video about African Childrens Haven's support for St. Phillips Primary School in Kenya's second largest slum is now available on You Tube and Vimeo. Produced by 18-year-old William Miller and Alex Pritz, the video shows how a local community is working to educate their children and give their kids a leg up out of poverty.

Kids Raises Scholarship Money for Tanzanian Orphans

May 7, 2009 -- New York City children have helped raise much of the money needed to send five orphan girls with an aptitude for science and math to one of Tanzania’s top-ranking secondary schools.  Working in partnership with the New York City-based Wembly Fund, 25 kids attended the April 21st fund raiser.  Wembly Fund founder Skye Dobson, reports that the children discussed the importance of education in poverty reduction and wrote letters of support to scholarship beneficiaries. The project, which is slated to begin in January 2010, will provide orphan girls who have shown a talent for math and science with the opportunity to pursue careers in research. Tanzania sorely needs scientists to grow its economy and address challenging social and environmental issues, especially AIDS and global climate change. The event, which raised more $4,000, was held at the Snapple Center York’s Times Square.   

Texas Students Support New York Fund Raiser 

May 7, 2009 – A new student group at the University of Texas in Austin worked behind the scenes to support the Wembley fund raiser in New York, designing posters that provided background material about the ACH scholarship program in Tanzania. The posters are part of a larger effort designed to help university students with an interest in African development engage in overseas projects, says UT students Maya Lee and Kristine Vong. The posters were prepared in association with the Houston-based Gatauma Foundation, a key investor in African Children Haven projects.  

CARE International Campaign Against Childhood Marriage

May 6, 2009 – CARE is mounting a campaign urging the United States to take a leadership position in efforts to prevent childhood marriage.  A key ACH partner, Mission With A Vision, works in Western Kenya to shelter girls who escape such marriages and also to educate local communities about this problem. According to CARE, more than 60 million girls worldwide are forced into marriages with older men. Such girls are twice as likely to suffer domestic violence and are far more vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases. Click here to learn more about the CARE Campaign.

Mission With A Vision in Western Kenya provides girls escaping arranged marriages to older men with a safe place to live, go to school and gain skills needed to succeed in life.