so they can change Africa”
- David Youngren, Founder
News & Updates Feed
| Last Updated: 7/11/08 | |
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Volunteers for Revolution
Each week you will participate in a tele-conference and Go-To meeting on the internet. You will also be able to access a special site on the internet for training and updates. Although this is NOT a paid position, we are looking for people who are serious about their involvement. So to get started, fill out an application form and send it to us ASAP. Once we receive your application, we will get back to you with information about your team; its members and different roles. Based on your application we will also recommend a certain position for you, but you will have a choice for a different role if you feel our suggestion is not the one for you. So don’t wait. Get involved. Make a difference! Become part of the Revolution to empower orphans to change Africa! |
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| New Revolution Site Added As the Revolution Tour begins, we have created a new page to keep you updated and to promote your involvement in it +click here to visit+ or just type saveafricanow.org/revolution into your browser. |
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| In the News... A group of 7th graders make the news, at the Red Deer Advocate, while raising support for SaveAfricaNow +read the article+ |
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Talk About It Bracelets Now Available |
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Task Force Team Dates Announced |
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Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro for AIDS Orphans |
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Wear The aWEARness |
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A Speech by David Youngren, founder SaveAfricaNow From as long as we can remember, we have heard of the many missions involved with issues of poverty in Africa. We have seen the reports; we have given of our resources; and we have even journeyed on missions of love. But still every day another 6000 children become orphans because a parent succumbing to the deadly killer AIDS. Many of these children are left to beg on the streets - no one to defend them. Suffering abuse and left in shame, they are forced to deal with all the penalties of rejection. These are not nameless, faceless humans. These are children with real hearts, with real potential, with real names. And then that inner voice; the voice of the heart; the voice that is so hard to silence and forget; would make itself heard: What will it take? What can we do? How can we end their nightmare? It is not enough to just provide hope for another day. It is not enough to just provide food, water, shelter and some clothes. All of it is absolutely necessary. But it is not enough…“Give someone a fish and you will feed him for a day. But teach someone how to fish, and you will feed him for life.” While in Africa, I had a dream that changed my life. I saw the future and I was moved. I saw Africa as it is meant to be. And then I saw that we together could really make a difference. We have a mission.
We can rescue displaced children from poverty, despair and hopelessness. We can give a new beginning to those who have lost home, hope and family to AIDS. We can find loving parents in Africa who will adopt these orphans. We can build homes for the families. We can help the parents who adopt and create job opportunities. We can restore in these children that dignity, hope and faith that is so essential. We can empower orphans to become the leaders who will change Africa forever.
I’m asking you to believe. I’m asking you to believe in the ability of these orphans who are just looking for an opportunity. There is a seed of greatness inside every one of them. They are the future of their nations. They are the leaders of tomorrow in Africa. They can end poverty &, corruption. They can resolve the many tribal upheavals that have plagued Africa for centuries I’m asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about radical change in these precious orphans. I’m asking you to believe in yours. You have the talents, the skills, the wisdom, the resources and the ability. You can change and empower the lives of orphans. Because of you, they can change Africa. I’m asking you to rise to the challenge so we together can save Africa now!!! |
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| Church Raises $18,450 Through Garage Sale By Andrew Kooman First things first. The garage sale isn’t a junk sale. Items donated need to be “clean, saleable treasures.” And another thing. Volunteering isn’t easy. It’s a lot of hard work, but it’s worth it. These are a few of the things you learn from Lois Schimke, who has headed up the annual garage sale at Crossroads Church in Red Deer for the last three years. The goal of the garage sale is to raise money for the church, and we’re not just talking about a few dollars and cents. This year the total amount raised through the sale was $18, 450. Almost all of the money came from items priced between 50 cents and four dollars. For this year’s sale, however, the church decided to donate all of the funds to Save Africa Now. Pastor Dan Cochrane pledged to give all the money from the annual fundraiser to the Salama Project when David Youngren shared about the project with the church. Lois remembers the morning of the announcement and how it brought spontaneous applause from the congregation who had just revised the church’s vision statement to “compassionately impact our world.” The commitment of the church leadership to give away what they knew would be well over ten thousand dollars suggests the church is ready to, as it were, put their money where their mouth is. Besides being generous, Crossroads church also recognizes that raising money for people in need can be a very symbiotic experience, and even a little bit of fun. People came to the garage sale from all over the city. Some for hamburgers and apple pie, others to get their faces and fingernails painted. Many churchgoers were happy about the opportunity to donate things from their garage or the back of the closet that started to collect dust. And, inevitably, sharp-eyed bargain hunters could not resist fantastic deals before they rushed off to find the next garage sale on their hit list. When the event was finished many of the things that did not sell were donated to charity. The whole event, from start to finish, was beneficial for people in Red Deer and in Africa. But why are people investing time and money, and like Lois and her team of 20 volunteers, their hard work, to raise money for a project on the other side of the world? What’s exciting about Save Africa Now and the Salama Project, Lois says, is that you know the money donated to the organization won’t be used up on administration fees. “People often hesitate, they ask, ‘where is my money going?’ With [the Salama Project] people are motivated by something practical – you can build two classrooms with $31,000!” With the money we gave, Lois notes, the church is helping to build one of those classrooms for children in great need. And that is something real, something practical children in Tanzania will treasure for a long, long time. It was a lot of hard work, and it was worth every minute of it. |
