Bikes That Transform Lives: Cause & Affect distributes bicycles to remote school kids in Uganda

Empowering Ugandan Students With Bicycles

                                   WATCH THE FIELD REPORT HERE AND DONATE HERE                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

JINJA, UGANDA -- Back in April, my 7th grade students were fascinated to learn that providing bicycles to people is a very effective means for them to improve their lives. Having access to a bike leads to better health care, education and income. I pledged that if they were able to raise the funds to buy a bicycle, I would find a worthy recipient. They put together the funds needed so on my humanitarian trip to Uganda, I found an amazing non-profit to partner with and carried out the project. I worked with Coop-Uganda, which is a Dutch-African NGO that provides bicycles to students, health workers and entrepreneurs. The process was pretty straight forward: I purchased a bike on behalf of my students for a Ugandan student, they took me to a school and I delivered it. 

                                         

The only problem was when we arrived at the school and I discovered that there were five other students that really needed bikes also. For these students that live in remote regions, without a bicycle, they have to walk up to 2 hours to get to school and 2 hours to get home. As a result, they are exhausted by the time they reach school and often miss morning lessons because they have chores to do at home before leaving. Some even have to hike 90 minutes to fetch water and then walk 90 minutes to school - every morning! Girls are sexually assaulted on these long walks as well. With 6 students in front of me, I was forced to randomly choose one of them to receive the bike, but that didn't sit well, so I pledged to go home and raise some funds to buy them all bikes. 

                                     

Working hand-in-hand with my childhood friend (and Lutheran pastor) Tim Krick, Cause & Affect launched a crowdfunding campaign on Razoo and we were off to the races. Two weeks later we had raised $1,500 to go back to purchase 10 more bikes. 

                                                

We delivered the bikes to 10 students from 2 different schools. As the video shows, most of them used walk a total of over 3 hours to and from school every day! Their education suffered as a result. With their new bikes, they will arrive at school in time for their lessons, they will be able to help their parents around the house, they will have more time to study and they will be safer. It's as easy as that.

                                                  

Thanks to all of our donors who helped make this project a reality! To donate to projects like this, please make your donation via credit card or Paypal using the link here. Remember, Cause & Affect is a registered 501-c-3 charity, so all donations are tax-deductible.

                                          

Assisting HIV Orphans and Children with Cerebal Palsy in Soweto Township, South Africa

 CAUSE & AFFECT FOUNDATION VISITS

 SOWETO TOWNSHIP IN SOUTH AFRICA 

TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO PATIENTS OF 

THE SOWETO HOSPICE

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 Soweto, one of the townships where South Africa's black residents were forced to live during the apartheid era, was at the epicenter of the liberation struggle for equality in the 1970s and 1980s. Though it's well known for being the birthplace of two Nobel Peace Prize Winners (Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu), it is still home to crippling poverty, economic marginalization and a very high HIV rate.

Many terminally ill patients come to the
Hospice Wits - Soweto in order to receive medical care or if there is no hope for recovery, at least death with dignity. The hospice has a full team of doctors, nurses and social workers, as well as in-patient care for 26 adults and 10 children at a time.
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They offer palliative care, nursing services and spiritual care. They are an integral part of the community, not just because of the end-of-life care they offer but also because of their team of social workers who make house visits to many of the families whose relatives have passed through the hospice. While meeting with these social workers, Cause and Affect learned that many of the families receiving assistance face other dire needs - not covered by the hospice's mission. We set out to assist five of these families.                                                                                                                                             #1: After being affected by HIV through a blood transfusion in Mozambique, Thebisile became very ill and nearly died while in the hospice less than two years ago. She's made a marvelous comeback but couldn't attend school without a school uniform and school supplies. For $85 we purchased shoes, uniform, backpack and full set of school supplies for this sweet 10th grader. She is so appreciative of the help (as are her parents). When we asked what she wants to be when she grows up, she didn't hesitate. "I want to be a social worker." Seems she understands the important role social workers have played in her life!
                                                                             

 #2: These three HIV orphans are living with their over-burdened grandmother in very tough conditions. 15 year-old Siphumelelo, his brother Siyabonga (11) and his sister Lufono (not pictured here) lost their mother to AIDS, but are anxious to continue their education. Siphumelelo wants to be an engineer and young Lufono wants to be a teacher. We purchased all of them full school uniforms so they are ready for the school year. Beautiful smiles dreaming of a better future.
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#3:Karabelo was born with cerebral  palsy. She is now 16  years-old and living in a tiny ramshackle shack with her parents, brother and sister. There is one bed for the 5 of them. Since she cannot swallow her food, her mother feeds her through a feeding tube in her stomach. When we saw her mashing up the food by hand, we asked if she had a blender to do this work. The mother calmly replied that though a blender would save her a lot of effort, they didn't have money to buy one. We rushed to the mall, bought a $40 blender and a few hundred diapers to make this family's life a bit easier. Be sure to watch the video to see Karabelo's magic smile. She steals the show. 

                                                                                                                                                                #4: Goitsemang is another 16 year-old with cerebal palsy. Despite his condition, he also has a wonderful sense of humor. When asked what the family needed most, they told us that diapers are very expensive so we went  out and purchased enough to keep the family supplied for a few months. 
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#5: Life is not fair. Lehlolonolo, this wonderful 7 year-old and his sister Reabetsue (12 years old) were born with HIV. Soon thereafter, their parents died of AIDS. They are living with their grandmother in very bad conditions here in Soweto. The hospice makes sure they get their meds to control their condition, but they were in dire need of school uniforms so they could attend school this year. 

Fulfilling the wish lists of these 5 families cost less than $500. There are so many families in need, but Cause and Affect is overjoyed to have been able to help these five.

Special thanks to the wonderful staff at the Soweto Hospice for their devotion to assisting these families on a daily basis. It is local heroes like them that keep us inspired to do whatever we can!

To support projects like this please make a tax-deductible contribution to Cause and Affect here, using credit card or Paypal.

As always thank you for your donations. As you can see, every dollar is making a difference!

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Providing Treatment for Parkinson's Patients in Ethiopia

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Ethiopia, a country is East Africa, suffers from crippling poverty and one of the lowest-ranked health systems in the world (#180 out of 190). Until recently, the life expectancy was so low that many doctors are still unable to diagnose many common diseases that elderly people suffer from.

One of the most glaring examples is Parkinson's Disease, which is a progressive neurodegenerative disease which is caused by a slow deterioration of the nerve cells in the brain.

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No one knows how many patients suffer from Parkinson's in Ethiopia and without proper diagnosis, many patients never know the cause of their suffering. Sadly, discrimination towards these patients is common, as many still think they are being cursed by God.

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Ever since she contracted Parkinson's over 16 years ago, Kiba Kedebe, a most dynamic and inspiring woman, has been advocating on behalf of Parkinson's patients in Ethiopia. In 2011, she founded the Parkinson's Patients Support Organization for Ethiopia. They hold workshops to teach caregivers how to assist patients, they inform doctors of symptoms and treatments and they provide the prescription drugs some of the poorer patients cannot afford.






Life for Parkinson's patients without treatment is terrible. Their movement deteriorates rapidly and they suffer from tremors, rigidity and difficulty walking and balancing. There has been a very high rate of depression in patients as a result. Though there is no known cure, the Credonil that patients take really alleviate the symptoms, making the patients lives a lot less difficult.

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Once we discovered there was a shortfall of funds for several of these poor patients, Cause andAffect donated $860 to purchase the drugs they need. As you can see from the video, we went to purchase the medication and distributed it to some of those patients in need.




We all deserve the right to age without dignity and being forced to suffer because you cannot afford $10 of medication is hardly fair. We are very pleased to have been able to help and urge you to contribute to this program so we can continue to support these wonderful people.


Ethiopia is undoubtedly a country beset by poverty and development challenges, but the warm hearts of the people make it a truly incredible country!

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Many thanks to our donors that make all of this possible. Please join us by giving on our website here with credit card or Paypal. We are a 501-c-3 organization offering tax-deductible contributions.

Cause & Affect in Ethiopia: $20/month Can Save Lives

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Abel is a 17 year-old Ethiopian boy whose parents and older sister are all dead. His Aunt Sisko has little to give him, but she allows Abel - and a few other young students in need - to sleep in her small restaurant at night and eat a basic meal or two so they can at least go to school and hope for a better future. When I met Abel and his aunt and told them about Cause and Affect, they did NOT ask for help. Though they definitely need assistance, instead they told me about some others facing more serious predicaments. Faced with such selflessness, Cause and Affect felt obliged to help.

Abel first introduced me to Marisu and Mami, elderly sisters who barely scrape out a living. As the video shows, they live in a ramshackle house in sub-human conditions. Since one sister's son died, these women - 78 and 80 years old- were left to raise the granddaughter. One of them earns $7 a month from her son's military pension. In addition to this, they also go to the weekly market to sell incense, where together, they earn about a dollar. With a weekly income of $4.50 each, these kind women do not have enough money to afford basic food supplies. When I met them, they were eating week-old bread and were forced to cook with farm refuse, as they couldn't even afford normal wheat. They two women and the 9 year old granddaughter sleep on the same bed on a mattress that was in deplorable condition. Their shack is dark, though they do have a single bare light bulb for power. They have no running water and cook over scraps of firewood outside of their house. They are forced to beg for food from neighbors, but since most people in this run-down neighborhood are similarly poor, there is very little to go around.

Though Abel has very little to give, he has been helping these sisters any way he can. They lit up when they saw him arrive and were even more happy when we went out and bought them a real mattress with sheets! We are providing the sisters with $20 each per month to cover basic food and medical needs. Though this is a very small amount of money for most of us, it is a huge boost for Marisu and Mami. They now have money to cook for themselves and get the medicine they need.

Samson and Muluya are two students in Abel's high school, each facing very tough challenges. Samson is an orphan who lived in a tiny village in the mountains. Since there is no future for him there, Aunt Sisko asked a local family in Lalibela if they could allow Samson to sleep somewhere in their house, so he could at least attend school in town. He currently stays in a storage room next to the family's house, sleeping on a bed made of rocks and a layer of goatskin leather. He does not even own a change of clothes. All he wants is to succeed in school so he can improve his lot in life.

Our other student in need is Muluya; his mother has passed away and his father has AIDS. Though his father is too weak to work full-time, he tries his best as a day worker, earning $1.25 a day. As he told me, "All I want is a better future for my son." Cause and Affect purchased mattresses for each of the boys, bought them a set of supplemental textbooks to help them in their studies and gave them some money to purchase some basic clothes. In addition, we are providing them with $12 per month each, to take care of some basic food needs. The boys are very excited to receive the assistance and are actively studying. They are aware that getting an education is their only hope for a better future.

For less than $600, Cause and Affect is providing 6 months of support for these two elderly sisters, these two students and some assistance to Aunt Sisko and Abel as well. It is amazing how far your contributions are able to go in Ethiopia. Cause and Affect will be returning there from June 5th - 9th to search for more recipients, so please donate to the cause.






Thank you for your continued support. Please give to projects like this on our website using credit card or paypal. To see our recent projects, please visit our blog.

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