“The Sunshine Project”
At the Caroline Wambui Children’s Home
Wangige, Kenya
Project Managers: Travis Mitchell, Dr. George Mungai, Francis Njuguna
Every 14 seconds, a child in sub-Saharan Africa loses a parent to AIDS. Of the 11 million children in sub-Saharan Africa who have lost one or both parents to AIDS, nearly two million are under the age of five. It is estimated that 150,000 of those young orphans live in Kenya.
"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." -John 14:18
Project Objective
Our overall objective is to expand the Caroline Wambui Mungai Home to accommodate 40 more orphans. Currently, the C.W.M. home is at max capacity with 40 children. The Sunshine Project consists of constructing a new building, which will bring in an additional 40 new orphans. This proposal is strictly geared towards construction and start-up costs for the "Sunshine Building" and is separate from aid needed for sustaining the orphanage.
The Caroline Wambui Mungai Foundation
The Caroline Wambui Mungai Foundation (CWMF) is a 501(c)3 – Tax Exempt - non-profit foundation established by Dr. George Mungai; a Kenyan native who currentlyresides in New York. After his daughter Caroline, departed in November 2004 after short illness, Dr. Mungai started the foundation to pursue her life-long dream: to help the orphans and vulnerable children of Kenya and the world attain their destiny. Through the CWMF, money and donations were given to establish the Caroline Wambui Mungai home.
The home is located in Wangige, Kenya, about 40 minutes outside the congested city of Nairobi. It sits on three acres of fertile land and overlooks pastures of green crops. The Mungai family donated the land the property thereon for this cause. The location of the home is very conducive for learning and harvesting crops. It is surrounded with resources such as crops and cattle that will ensure the children are always well fed. Additionally, the home has a 200-meter water-well that supplies the children with a sufficient amount of water for drinking and bathing.
Currently the home holds 40 beautiful-smiling children ranging in ages from 3 to 6-years
old. The home is not only a safe-haven from the malevolent streets and slums of Nairobi, but also a kindergarten where the children learn reading, writing, and mathematics. Atany time of day you can hear songs about Jesus sung with broken English and smiling faces. This will be home and school for these children until they are ready to face the world alone. In addition to basic education the children will learn techniques and skills such as agriculture, sewing, and cooking in order to prepare them for the difficult everyday life of a Kenyan.
Caretakers and Staff
The general manager of the home is Dr. Mungai, and is in charge fund raising and financial distribution. The overseer of all operations at the home is Francis Njuguna a successful and generous family member of Dr. Mungai. Francis also runs a private school in Kenya and is quite knowledgeable in needs of children. The director of child-care is Pastor George Muguru who has dedicated his life the children and to God.
The rest of the staff consists of young trustworthy Kenyans whose duties are divided among teaching, cooking, cleaning and basic childcare. In addition, there is a guard who protects the home at night, as well a man who lives up the road and is available for everyday maintenance. Staff will expand as the number of children. The goal is keep a child/caretaker ratio of 8 to 1. Depending on financial standing a nurse may be hired for care of children diagnosed with HIV.
The "Sunshine House"
As mentioned earlier this proposal,our primary goal is to begin theconstruction of the "Sunshine House." An architect has already been hired and blue prints have been drawn for the building (see appendix A for generic building layout and floor plan). The proposed building consists of three floors that will include bedrooms for children and a “resident foster mother.” Construction will be facilitated in the most economically efficient manner possible. Recruiting volunteers from the United States to aid in construction efforts will accomplish this. Current estimated cost for the building is $71,878, however, this cost is subject to decrease. We are expecting to reduce this estimate by 30 to 40%, bringing total costs down to $40,000-$50,000. This dramatic decrease in total cost will be due to the attainment of an "organic brick-making machine." This machine which is being shipped to the home in August from the US, will allow us to make our own bricks from the soil on site. Thus, the attainment of this machine will not only decrease overall material cost, but also reduce costs entailed in transportation of bricks from Nairobi to Wangige.
Therefore, we are seeking grants and donations up to $50,000. This money will be stretched as far as possible and used in the most efficient manner possible, once this money is exhausted an assessment will be made for needs of further funding.
100% OF ALL DONATED MONEY WILL BE USED FOR CONSTRUCTION.
Any remaining monies will be used for start up costs such as furniture, paint, etc. Estimated start time for construction is dependent on arrival of financial aid; however, desired completion date of the "Sunshine House" is February 2007. Financial aid needed for child-care will be raised by Dr. Mungai. Monies donated to the "Sunshine House" will be kept in a separate account. Two people, Travis Mitchell and Dr. George Mungai, will have access to this account.
Estimated Costs**
Caroline Wambui Mungai HomeEstimated Building Costs / KSh / US $
1 / Substructure works / 462,635 / 6,609
2 / Wallings and Ring Beam / 738,340 / 10,548
3 / Concrete Superstructure / 1,009,020 / 14,415
4 / Roof Construction and Covering / 479,050 / 6,844
5 / Window/Window finishes / 381,230 / 5,446
6 / Doors/Door Finishes / 448,230 / 6,403
7 / Joinery Fittings / 586,920 / 8,385
8 / Plumbing/Drainage / 423,440 / 6,049
19 / Electrical Installations / 502,500 / 7,179
TOTALS / 5,031,365 / 71,878
**Total costs are not expected to exceed $50,000
INCOME-EXPENDITURE [Year 1]
Below in an outline of income and expenditure for CWMF. In year 1 total income was $71,174.40
Income and expenses were as shown in Table below:
Caroline Wambui Mungai FoundationINCOME
1 / Funds-Drive Dinners / 22,354.00
2 / Fund Raising Walk / 12,413.48
3 / The Mungai Family / 11,094.72
4 / Grace Assemblies of God, Indiana / 5,000.00
5 / Long Lasting Home Improvement / 1,750.00
6 / Tusker Mattresses / 1,500.00
7 / Trinity Church Michigan / 1,000.00
8 / Maillings / 16,062.20
TOTALS / 71,174.40
EXPENDITURE
1 / C.W.M. Home, Kenya / 46,841.34
2 / Walk expenses / 327.10
3 / Dinner expenses / 7,587.14
4 / Equipment / 4,395.95
5 / Phone / 662.29
6 / Office Expenses / 2,207.57
7 / Caroline Wambui Mungai Memorial / 1,275.00
8 / CWMF Registration etc / 4,441.15
9 / Postage / 496.12
10 / Banking & Merchant Expenses / 1,037.78
11 / Miscellaneous / 1,902.96
TOTALS / 71,174.40
Notes:
The funds sent to Kenya accomplished the following:
1.Built a two-classroom Kindergarten
2.Drilled 200 meter water-well
3.Maintainedthe present children and workers
4.Renovated the existing house and built furniture
Target Children
The type of children that will be coming in to the home are orphaned children ages 3-5. This is an age where no matter how dark the child's past has been there mind and heart are still pliable, and hope still remains in the their eyes. With help from the social services of Kenya, we will carefully select 40 new children. Most of these children will be orphaned due to AIDS and/or abandonment. The majority of the children will come from "slums" like the notorious Kibera. Kibera is roughly 2 kilometers squared with an estimated population of 1 million people. There are no residential buildings over a single story. The average home size in Kibera is 3
meters by 3 meters, with an average of five people per dwelling. Urban services such as water or sanitation are minimal. There is an average of one pit latrine for every 50 to 500 people.
In Kibera, the street children countless, every time you turn your head there is another playing in a trench flowing with sewage exposing themselves to diseases like HIV, cholera, Hepatitis and typhoid. These children use survival tactics in order to survive. They often sell themselves to prostitution or beg on the street corner for change, only to turn around and use the money to sniff glue in order to numb their pain. However, the children currently at the Wambui Home are living proof that there is hope. For example, one young girl, Brenda, living at the home for almost ayear has a scalp covered with a scar where she has no hair. This scar came from her mother who was dying of AIDS, and made the decision that her daughter would be better off dead than face Nairobi alone. Brenda's mother attempted to push her in a fire only to fail and leave her scarred for life. When Brenda came to CWMF she was angry and only knew aggression as a solution to her problems. Now, after a year of love of receiving love she is happy and rarely caught without a smile on her face. Take a walk through the slums of Kibera, and one will see these tragic stories are endless. However, the stories are not finished. With your help these children will have new fate and lives full of hope.
HIV/AIDS
While this project is not directed towards HIV/AIDS prevention and control, it will have a direct effect. In that, these children if left unattended have a staggering chance of contracting HIV. In the home, not only will it be safer, but they will also learn about HIV/AIDS, knowledge that can be passed on. Moreover, the C.W.M. Foundation does not overlook children with HIV/AIDS. Currently there are two children at the home that are HIV positive.
Why Should You Donate to this Project?
Aside from saving 40 lives from certain poverty and pain, what makes this project so great is 100% of your donations will be used for the cause. You will give 40 orphans a new home. Volunteers recruited for construction will pay out-of-pocket all expenses included in traveling and lodging. Target volunteers will be the youth of our home here in theUnited States. Therefore, we will not only be changing the lives of the children but also opening the eyes of our youth. Exposure to a miracle such as this can be life altering.
Donations
We are seeking grants up to $50,000, however, any donation is neither too big or too small and will be appreciated and welcomed. Again C.W.M.F. is 501 (c) 3 tax exempt non-profit. Please make checks payable to the Caroline Wambui Mungai Foundation, be sure to specify your donation is for the "Sunshine Project."
Please Send Your Check To:
Caroline Wambui Mungai Foundation
PO Box 1804
Baldwin, NY 11510
For Questions Please contact:
Travis Mitchell
720 244 8215
Appendix A
Proposed home for 40 Children
Travis Mitchell 11130 Sheffield Ct. Parker, CO 80134 720-244-8215
Caroline Wambui Mungai Foundation PO Box 1804 Baldwin, NY 11510 516-8582