Supporting volunteerism can take many forms. There are numerous critical roles a Board Member can assume if volunteering on a Foundation Board. These can range from writing thank you letters to donors and organizing and overseeing funding campaigns to visiting the Foundation’s site to ensure funding is reaching and impacting the directed service and need. As a Board Member of the Ebenezer Foundation, I was extremely proud of our Board Members Erin and Bob Botsford who recently visited our orphans and school children in Zambia. In connection with their visit, they raised more than $60,000 for the children and we thank those who made it possible.
Erin and Bob Botsford with school children in Zambia
They described their visit as follows.
“The children were so happy to see us and remembered us from our time there two years ago. It was then that their “mum,” Founder Ranji Chara had died and we just happened to be there at that time. At that time we had the chance to meet with the children to assure them, even though the woman who rescued them from the streets in 2000 had died, our commitment to them has not. Trust me….they remembered us. Imagine from their perspective: They had already lost both parents – now the woman who had taken them off the streets was dead!”
“Two years later, the orphanage looks AMAZING – both the girls’ house and the boys’ house actually have small kitchens in them – a huge improvement from two years ago. They are building a new school – good thing because the current one that teaches 450 children in two shifts has basic cardboard walls covered in plaster. As we visited each classroom, we could hear what was going on in every other classroom. So, a new school building is definitely warranted and in the works. We wanted to report to you that your money was able to help them meet their emergency needs and we authorized the farm manager to make some much-needed improvements, especially to the chicken coop. The farm manager reported, and it was confirmed, that if they get these improvements made, a local hotel (the Avani hotel) has agreed to buy chickens from our farm! We really want this as a first step in helping Ebenezer to become more financially sustainable. In addition, the school bus is totally dilapidated (we know – because we rode in it) so we are currently trying to figure out the best way to give the most bang for our buck in terms of buying a new(er) school bus for the children. We have set aside some of the money donated by you to provide safe transportation for the orphans to and from the school.”
The donations we received during the campaign was a literally a life-saver and a much-needed boost to the children and staff of Ebenezer. While this is a small microcosm of the need in Zambia (they have 1.4 million orphans), always remember your donation made a difference to not one, but 450 children in Zambia. On behalf of each child, we wish to say: “Thank You!”
The Ebenezer Foundation is a U.S.-based 501(c) 3 not-for-profit organization created to provide financial support to the Ebenezer Child Care Trust in Zambia, Africa. The Trust is dedicated to saving, raising, and educating impoverished and orphaned children living in the city of Livingstone.
100% of your donation goes directly to the children of the Ebenezer Child Care Trust in Zambia. All administrative costs of the U.S. Ebenezer Foundation are borne by our volunteers.