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Check out awesome Updates & Upcoming Events!  SUMMER 2016
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Rebuilding Villages and Restoring Hope in Kenya and Uganda.
SUMMER 2016
Updates and Upcoming Events!     
WELCOME to the latest edition of the Give Us Wings quarterly e-newsletter. Take a few moments to learn about some of the important work you help make possible!  
 

Sponsored Students Give Back to Their Community




In May 2016, the 63 sponsored children in the Family to Family Program and their adult leaders planned and took part in their second community involvement activity -- planting fruit tree seedlings! The students planted the trees at the Prime View Education Centre Nursery and Primary School where most of them attend! The goal was to teach the children to protect and conserve their environment and demonstrate that they have the ability to give back to their community. Eventually, the fruit from the trees will benefit the students at the school. The students planted mango and other fruit trees and each child named the tree they planted. The purpose of having the students name their trees is to motivate them to take care of their tree. After they learned about the importance of conserving their environment and planting their trees, the children shared a delicious lunch.

Volunteer Travelers Offer Medical Care, Training, and Help Construct a Demonstration Chicken Coop
This past March, 10 Give Us Wings volunteers traveled to our sites in Uganda for a 10-day service trip. The volunteers spent their days working at a variety of projects.

Some of the volunteers helped a family build a chicken coop for their new poultry business. It is a demonstration coop that others in the community can replicate if they want to start their own poultry business.

Other volunteers worked at the St. John's Kayoro Health Center II providing immunizations, cancer screening, forums on pre- and post-natal care and postpartum depression. They also went into the community to speak to young people at a local high school about the importance of preventative medical care and offer de-worming medication.

Their days were filled with meeting community groups, spending time with local families, and working on projects. They returned to the US with a greater understanding of the challenges our partner communities face every day and a deep respect for the hard-working and loving people in Uganda. 

Give Us Wings is grateful to the volunteers who travel with us. They create connections with our partners and become the caring face of Give Us Wings in those communities. To learn more about Give Us Wings Volunteer Trips, please read about them on our website.

17th Annual Celebration was a Tremendous Success! 
Thank you for your support!


Sarah Muzaki, Give Us Wings Africa Program Director, joined us for the 17th Annual Celebration and Silent Auction on April 16 at the McNamara Alumni Center in Minneapolis. Sarah shared with us deeply moving stories of how your donations are bringing real change to families in Uganda and Kenya. She brought many of us to tears with her story of Oburu, a little boy who could not imagine a better future for himself. But she left us feeling hopeful and joyful that each of us is making a difference and making it possible for Oburu, and children like him, to work for a brighter future for themselves!

It was an amazing evening and your support helped to make it an enormous success. Together we raised over $158,000! Donations and pledges associated with the event made it possible for us to renew the existing sponsorships of 47 families and add 15 new families in 2016.

Your generosity makes it possible for us to continue important Give Us Wings programs in Kenya and Uganda and to expand the reach of our Family to Family Sponsorship Program.

To watch an interview with Sarah and other Give Us Wings Uganda staff, click here.
 
THANK YOU!

Give Us Wings Chosen as Nonprofit Partner 
My Little Pony_MSP
Thanks to the great folks at the Minneapolis-St. Paul My Little Pony Convention (MLP-MSP). For the third year in a row, MLP-MSP chose Give Us Wings as their nonprofit partner. Volunteers had fun answering questions about GUW and talking with convention attendees. The convention, which was held June 10-12, in Minneapolis, culminated with an exciting auction that raised over $7,600 for Give Us Wings programs in Uganda and Kenya!  
Thank you MLP-MSP!

Explore the New Give Us Wings Website!
DONATE HERE
Give Us Wings is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization working together with adults and children in Kenya and Uganda to eradicate poverty.

Through person-to-person support, both financial and educational, people overcome poverty and become self-sufficient.

All donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.

Give Us Wings
USA Staff:


Therese Dosch Anderson
Executive Director
(651) 789-5607
director@giveuswings.org

Betsy Davies
Program Coordinator
(651) 789-5606
coordinator@giveuswings.org
New Farmers' Cooperative to Increase Household Incomes


Nine Kayoro farmers’ groups are working with Give Us Wings (GUW) to establish a farmers’ cooperative society. Most of the farmers are subsistence farmers, but with business loans and training from Give Us Wings they are ready to expand their crop production.

The Cooperative will assist the farmers in identifying the most profitable crops to grow, creating a marketing plan, and offering small interim loans to farmer members so they can delay selling their commodities until market prices are most favorable. By pooling their commodities, the members of the nine farmers’ groups will be able to demand higher prices for their products. This is the next step in these families journey to self-sustainability.
​

This Cooperative will initially benefit 100 families (about 800 people). It is estimated that household income will increase 50% the first year and 80% in the following year.  Within a few years, it is projected that 500 families (about 3900 people) will be benefiting from the creation of the Cooperative.

GUW helped the Cooperative Society purchase a centrally-located plot of land on the main road to Tororo, on which to build a commodity storage facility. There is room on the plot to build a processing facility and offices in the future. The Cooperative project is off to a strong start. Currently, the Cooperative and GUW are looking for funding to build the storage facilities, acquire other necessary equipment and hire personnel to manage the Cooperative.
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Give Us Wings Second Annual Bike Tour Fundraiser 
September 11, 2016



 
Join Give Us Wings on September 11, 2016, for a beautiful autumn bike ride with the St. Paul Classic Bike Tour and raise money for families in Uganda and Kenya.
 
Last year 35 people strapped on their bike helmets and rode in the St. Paul Classic Bike Tour to raise over $12,000 for Give Us Wings.

Enlist family and friends to ride with you. Each rider who raises $300 or more will receive a GUW water bottle that shows your support for Give Us Wings and looks great on your bike or desk.

Sign up today to ride with Give Us Wings in the St. Paul Classic Bike Tour and start recruiting family and friends to sponsor you or join you on the ride! 


                                   
Ride with GUW
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ASANTE SANA.

THANK YOU.
Call us at: 651-789-5606
www.giveuswings.org
Give Us Wings
US Office: 450 N Syndicate St. Suite 290, St. Paul, MN 55104

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