And They're Off!!

I am excited to announce the packages have finally shipped. It was dissapointing that they couln't be there in time for Christmas but the kids will get to celebrate Christmas twice this year! I ran into a few snags in the shipping process. Do you know that many shipping companies don't even have planes that fly to Tanzania? I didn't but I know that now. Thanks to all of you, we were able to collect 119 Christmas gifts with the approximate value of $3000!!! Wow that's going to be a big help to those kids. I was also able to collect enough money to get the packages shipped off and also provide the orphanage with much needed school supplies such as books, playground equipment, and some music CDs and CD player. We were also able to ship hygene supplies needed such as soap, and 150 toothbrushes! Thank you all for your support. We have been promised pictures of Christmas at Majengo. Stay tuned. The best is yet to come.

Wall of Presents

We have all of the gifts in!  How exciting!  I had my mom help me gather them all together and we played Santa Claus.  We got out our list and checked it twice and loaded up everything in boxes.  We have a total of 119 gifts that fill six large shipping boxes that weigh about 300 pounds.  My project for this week is getting them shipped and out the door.  My dad is helping out there.  And what a week to finish things off.  All I can say is "I'm Thankful."  The support I've had from people near and far has been amazing.  Thank you all so much.  Thank you to Jamie and Lynn from Majengo for all of your help and support.  I will keep everyone posted on when the gifts arrive and will try to get some photos of the Christmas at Majengo.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!!

Here's a photo of a family turning in gifts for the children
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Gifts are pouring in for the children. What a great response! Thank you everyone who has participated so far. We are well on our way to making a lot of children happy.

I have 80 gifts that have been turned in so far and more are on their way. How exciting!

Exciting: Turn-ins!

We have finally arrived at the most exciting.....well another most exciting part of the project. Turn in time! Already we have recieved a total of 12 gifts and many other donations for the orphanage itself!  I am so excited for the kids. Hopefully we will get pictures of them opening gifts on Christmas!

Just a reminder that when turning in you gifts YOU MUST TURN THEM IN WITH A RECEIPT! If there is no receipt, I will bug you until I get one : ) because I must know everything in that package to be able to ship and get it through custums without them opening everyone's boxes. Also if I am to complete the project successfully, the BSA requires that I have precise paperwork and records of all donations and the approxomate values!

I would like to thank all of you that have volunteered to help. There has been a posative response to my project and I am very thankful for that. Now, let's go help some orphans!

Community Enthusiasm

Wow! Thank you all for all of your enthusiasm. Yesterday there was a total of 73 kids "adopted" and as far as my records indicate, each child at Majengo will be recieving a gift for Christmas. Thank you all. You're amazing!

For everyone who is still interested. I STILL NEED HELP! Although it is fun and exciting for a child to get a gift for Christmas, school is something that they do every day. We are trying to provide picture books, EZ reader books (in English), musical instruments, and a few playground toys for the orphanage school. We also need to raise the funds to ship these things to Tanzania. Through education, Filipo can achieve his dream of becoming a pilot. Let's help him fly!

More Children!

NEWS FLASH!

Today I received word from Lynn Connell, founder of the Majengo Orphanage, that the orphanage will be admitting 55 new kids within the next few weeks! WOW! Those of you who read the Majengo story know that Lynn's goal is to be able to take care of 1,000 kids in the orphanage and as you can see she is well on her way.

Right now we have about 30 more kids that need to be 'adopted.' That means I need to ask for more help.  I many have given so much already but if you haven't already signed up for an orphan please help me out and if you have maybe you could take one more. I just think that it would be terrible to have Christmas come around and only have half of the orphans receive a gift. These children come from tough circumstances.  We can help them out.  I would really like each child to be able to unwrap his own package. 

This also means that shipping will be more expensive. I will be checking into some options on that, but any help you can give will be appreciated.

Please get fired up about this project and help me out. Tell friends, neighbors, relatives I don't care how far away they live or how much they give because every little bit helps!

Thank you so much for the help I have already received!

Shipped Today!

Goals Accomplished Today

1. Purchased supplies for the first package.
2. Shipped the first package of a CD player, 24 batteries, 8 children's CDs, 20 bars of soap, and 60 smarties.
3. Answered questions about my project.

Thank you to all who have donated to make this first mile marker possible! I also recieved a CD from Majengo with tons of photos of the kids and the facility in Mto wa Mbu. I'll try to get a slideshow of them onto my blog or maybe a link.

Just a reminder all donations and gifts are due on October 31st. Thanks again to everyone!