FMFM Team Assesses Projects in Tanzania

Ground Report from Tanzania's Schools

Feeding Mouths Filling Minds (FMFM) is driven by a relentless commitment to improve the lives of students in East and West Africa. This report provides a comprehensive update on our team's recent 3-day site visit to Tanzania, focusing on our projects aimed at enhancing access to food, clean water, and sanitation facilities in schools.

Day 1: Murungu Primary School

The Setting

• Student Count: 400 and growing

• Location: Remote

• Commute for Students: Up to 10 km

Challenges & Future Plans

• Community participation has been lower than at other locations.

• Future projects will emphasize better communication to engage the community.

Key Accomplishments

• A latrine with 5 stalls for girls and 5 for boys

• A rainwater collection system

Insights

• New regulations call for separate latrines for girls and boys, as well as a changing room for girls and facilities for people with physical disabilities.

• Covering the water tank in concrete, as suggested by our in-country partner Richard, can significantly extend its lifespan.

Day 2: Kyenshama Primary School

The Setting

• Student Count: 700

• Location: Accessible

• Commute for Students: Average 8 km

Challenges & Future Plans

• High incidence of water-borne diseases

• The existing sanitation facility is insufficient for the number of students

Key Accomplishments

• A latrine with 6 stalls for girls and 6 for boys

• A newly completed rainwater collection tank

Insights

• Strong local community engagement is evident from their donations for construction.

• Existing facilities are not sufficient for the current student count, requiring immediate expansion.

Day 3: Ruranda Primary School

The Setting

• Student Count: Over 1,000

• Location: Easily accessible

• Community Engagement: Highly involved

Challenges & Future Plans

• Existing facilities wear out faster due to high usage

• Maintenance and repair are needed for sustainability

Insights

• High community involvement is pivotal for the long-term success of projects.

• Investing more upfront in robust sanitation facilities can lead to significant long-term savings.

Special thanks to our in-country partner, Richard, who provides invaluable local insights and support. We left Tanzania inspired and more determined than ever to enhance our impact.

For those who've supported us, know that your contributions are making a tangible difference. Together, we will continue to progress in our shared mission.

Stay tuned for more updates from the FMFM team!

Koinadugu College Receives Accreditation; Sets Launch Date

As many committed FMFM supporters know, we have been working diligently behind the scenes to support Project 1808 and our partner, Alhaji Njai, as he has embarked on building the FIRST higher education institution in the remote Koinadugu District of Sierra Leone. A dream for Dr. Njai and his community for more than 10 years, Koinadugu College is now a reality.

We are proud to announce that the college has received the necessary accreditations from the Tertiary Education Committee (TEC) and NCTA boards - allowing the school to begin short course registration this July and an official launch of its undergraduate degree program in September 2023.

Koinadugu College will be a model One Health campus and the first higher institution of learning for the people of Koinadugu and Falaba Districts. Built on the Project 1808, Inc. model, Koinadugu College brings experiential learning along with the values of Sustainability, Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Indigenous knowledge, Pan-African education, and global thinking.

Our partner, Dr. Alhaji N’jai had this to say of this announcement: “So many amazing people to THANK along this journey of dreams to reality, and it will take an entire book to do. Feeding Mouths, Filling Minds, Maria Nicholas-Groves, Sarah Fracek, Strides For Africa, Chris Jimieson, Dr. Susan Balmes from Lake Michigan College, the Project1808 Family and team. We made it beyond odds!”

A huge thank you to all FMFM donors over the past three years. Your contributions have helped to purchase materials and pay for labor for a main academic building, cassava plant processing machine, sustainable landscaping that will protect the campus from eroding winds and much more. Our team will visit Sierra Leone in 2024 and share an update on the schools progress and our revenue-generating crop program in years to come!

FMFM Welcomes New Team Members

Over the past 10 years, we have grown significantly and made a global impact without a formal staff, and now we have reached a major milestone! We are proud to welcome our newest members of the team, Jacob Breit and Missy Olivia Ngabire, both of whom bring extensive experience and passion for our mission to the organization. We know they will be integral in helping us achieve our mission.

JACOB BREIT, development coordinator

Jacob is responsible for the initiation and implementation of development strategies to deepen the impact of both Feeding Mouths, Filling Minds, and Strides for Africa. Jacob is a recent graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, having obtained Bachelor of Science degrees in Global Health and Organic Agriculture, and is on the pre-medicine track. Jacob strives to promote community-based learning and youth civic action campaigns.

In July, Jacob is going to be moving to Kisumu, Kenya, where he previously interned at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the summer of 2022. While in Kenya, Jacob will continue to work with continental partners, as well as increasing our partnership with those living in Kenya. Throughout the past year, Jacob has sat as the International Executive Director of a local Kenyan Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), MART-COME Kenya. He will continue to build relationships and increase partnerships to build nutrition and water access.

Missy Olivia Ngabire, Partnerships Coordinator

Missy is responsible for strengthening communications about our projects between our in-country partners, our executive directors, and our US-based volunteers and donors. She is passionate about making a positive impact on people's lives and believes that technology is a powerful tool for doing so. Missy is pursuing a degree in Software Engineering from The Adventist University of Central Africa (AUCA) in Kigali.

Why add staff?

There is nothing like having “boots on the ground” with our in-country staff!

There are five key reasons we have decided to add staff concentrated in the regions we work. The overarching benefits include enhanced effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability.

1. Knowledge & expertise: Missy has a strong understanding of local culture, customs, and language. She can help build relationships in-country regularly.

2. Enhanced community and stakeholder engagement: We partner through community-led ideas and engagement. Having Missy and Jake visit with our local communities will allow us to understand their needs better and lead to more effective program design and implementation.

3. Cost savings: As we expand and deepen our footprint in East and West Africa, it will be cost-effective for Missy and Jake to travel and visit our project sites more regularly (than having US-based teams go back and forth). However, we do anticipate continuing annual trips.

4. Improved project effectiveness: Dovetailing with point three, we will have our in-country staff provide ongoing monitoring to help identify areas for improvement and make real-time adjustments to projects when needed.

5. Increased sustainability: Through hiring and training in-country leaders, we can build opportunities for the long term and stronger economic growth in the countries we serve.

To demonstrate this further, Missy and Jake will both be in Kigali, Rwanda this May and will visit multiple partners and projects. They will also make a trip to Tanzania this summer. They will be capturing videos, building rapport, and deepening their understanding of our work and how we can further bolster the impact where we serve!

Our Response to COVID-19

The COVID-19 Pandemic has brought about unprecedented challenges for communities, families and individuals throughout the globe. As a result, our partners, donors, volunteers and children whom Feeding Mouths, Filling Minds serves have all been impacted in some way by this devastating health and, now, economic crisis. 

We want to provide our donors, friends and followers with an update on how we are responding to COVID-19, how it has impacted the communities, schools and children we serve, and what you can expect from us as we move forward in this new normal. 

How has COVID-19 impacted our projects, communities and children we serve?

At Feeding Mouths, Filling Minds, our mission is to eliminate the challenge of finding safe, dependable food and water sources so that children can focus on their future. As COVID-19 hit, we reached out to our partners to find out how they have been impacted. We are keen to ask questions related to health and safety measures being taken, as this can impact their ability to maintain safe, dependable food and water. 

KENYA 

School at Huruma Children’s Home has been suspended and curfews are in place to slow the spread of the virus. Food and water is currently adequate and rainfall has been ample. However, access to the FMFM-funded farm is limited and only two employees are allowed to work. The good news is that the projects we have completed are aiding to provide food security.

RWANDA

A dedicated group of staff at the Imizi Children’s Center (aka, Rwandan Orphans Project) has volunteered to stay on the property until this crisis ends to ensure safety of students. For graduates, ROP is providing those who have lost work subsidies for rent and food, especially for already vulnerable households. Unfortunately, the ROP annual fundraising event that takes place in San Diego was cancelled, and a fundraising event in London was postponed. The loss of these fundraising opportunities is detrimental. Despite these hardships, ROP is dedicated to providing life-changing opportunities for the children they serve. Thankfully, our large water security project has continued to provide the Children’s Center with ample water supply throughout the year. With escalating food costs in the country, we are in conversations about how FMFM might support feeding efforts.

LIBERIA

School has been closed since early March which leaves students without meals. As an underdeveloped country with the majority of people surviving on less than a dollar a day, the lockdowns create the additional risk of starvation. FMFM provided emergency response funds for our partners at Humanity Care Liberia (HCL) to purchase rice, food and sanitation to distribute to students and the community - distributing this support to 836 people. Feeding Mouths, Filling Minds continues to support their school gardens, which help provide snacks while school is in session. Moreover, our donors, along with Madison-based nonprofit Strides for Africa, fully funded the expansion of these gardens, along with a well and much-needed latrines at Khairplay School in remote Liberia. Gratefully, this project is nearly completed. This is exciting news for when students return as it’s a complete game-changer to have clean water and latrines that are usable on site, along with expanded food gardens.

SIERRA LEONE

In the Kabala community in which our college project, Koinadugu College, is underway, cases continue to rise. Dr. Alhaji N’jai, our on-the-ground partner and founder of Project 1808, has stressed to the community the importance of COVID-19 prevention. He remains in-country educating the community. Progress will continue to be made on Koinadugu College once it is deemed safe and the national lockdown is lifted.

CAMEROON

The danger of COVID-19 is compounded by the risks of military conflict between the government and rebel groups in Cameroon. The Tertiary Sisters, whom FMFM supported on a food and water project, continue to feed the children at their school and provide medical supplies. Our Founder, Maria, along with retired professor, Jill Moore traveled to Cameroon in 2014 completing food and water, and educational projects. Now, these women raised funds which will provide immediate needs for food and sanitation.

USA - Wisconsin

Maria spent time with Sister MacCanon Brown at the MacCanon Brown Homeless Sanctuary in Milwaukee earlier this year. This is situated in one of our most impoverished zip codes in our state. Maria was inspired not just by MacCanon’s kindness and generous spirit, but by her system-thinking approach to solve our incessant challenges in the city. Her vision to have more property which will house additional raised beds gardens, along with aquaponics inside the existing building are areas Feeding Mouths, Filling Minds will explore supporting. In the meanwhile, Maria personally donated toward immediate needs for food & sanitation during COVID-19. 

How is FMFM responding to our partners’ needs?

During times of crisis, humans can exhibit a great deal of ingenuity, resilience and creativity - and find new ways to improve and adapt. We are happy to report that these attributes are core to FMFM’s DNA. Because we are a small, volunteer-run nonprofit, we stay close to our partners and projects on-the-ground and can turn on a dime to respond if needs change. 

While connecting with all our partners, it became clear that some partners required additional support through the coronavirus crisis. The team decided to level up support in Liberia since the students are not attending school and the growing season is just starting. Their families are at risk of starvation and we felt it critical to help them get through this time. We provided funds for rice, milled wheat, and sanitation kits. 

We remain in touch with all partners as they adjust to life during the global pandemic. We must remember that in addition to the risks of this virus, our partners will suffer increased stress to delicate systems that supply food, sanitation, and even refrigeration. This is much different than life in the United States where simple things like washing hands are taken for granted. When hunger pains occur, people can’t stay locked in out of fear of coronavirus for long. 

How is FMFM continuing to raise funds to support its efforts?

We are all dealing with a new normal. In light of social distancing and the many recommended cancellations over the summer months, our team felt it responsible to suspend our in-person summer fundraiser. We were looking forward to seeing all of you!

We recognize that many of you are dealing with lay-offs, feelings of anxiousness about coronavirus and the lack of readily available vaccine, or worse, you or loved ones being affected by the health crisis. We acknowledge and have deep empathy for these challenges. If you must hold on financial support, we understand and thank you for your generosity in the past. If you are in a position to help with our partners build dependable food and water solutions not only for times of crisis’ like now, but for the long haul, please consider making a donation HERE. 

In lieu of this, we will hold a virtual event which will be educational, fun, and continue to help us raise money for our partners.

We wish you and your loved one’s health, safety, and a deep sense of our global connectedness as we weather this crisis together. We don’t have to “just get through” this time. We can journey forward with more awareness and higher levels of contentment as we help one another move forward.

Volunteer Impact: Ana Kraft

Ana Kraft, Project chair

Anastasia Kraft is from Germany and has a background in mechanical engineering and project management. She speaks four languages and is an adventure-seeker who runs a local sustainability meetup group in her spare time. As FMFM's volunteer project chair, Ana helps FMFM analyze and assess the sustainability, materials and logistics behind the projects we're working on. We interviewed Ana to find out more about why she's connected with FMFM. 

“Once I found out how many children around the world have to spend many hours every day carrying water for very long distances to cover their basic needs, I wanted to help solve this problem and make it possible for children to spend more time in school preparing for their future.”

— Ana Kraft, Projects Chair, FMFM

Tell us how you first got involved with FMFM?

I moved to Milwaukee from Germany two years ago. While I was going through the work permit application process which takes several months, I wanted to do something useful with my free time and started exploring different volunteering opportunities. The main requirement for me was that my work would have a positive long term impact in someone’s life. I was introduced to Sarah Fracek, who is the current Communications Chair, and after an informal lunch meeting with her and Maria Groves (the founder of FMFM), I was part of the team!

What was your first impression of FMFM?

My first impression was great! I met a group of highly motivated and successful women who were working in their very limited free time on projects which had a significant impact in many African communities. I was very excited to join the group and help!

What has impacted you most about working with FMFM?

I have learned more about the issues of water scarcity and water quality in African communities. We take water for granted while making our coffee in the morning, taking a daily shower, pushing the start button on the washing machine or cooking dinner.  Once I found out how many children around the world have to spend many hours every day carrying water for very long distances to cover their basic needs, I wanted to help solve this problem and make it possible for children to spend more time in school preparing for their future.  

Tell me about an "AHA moment" you have experienced while working with FMFM?  

We started a partnership with another non-profit organization called “Strides for Africa” which is based in Madison and is doing a fantastic job working with schools in the US to fund wells in African countries. The “AHA moment” came when I realized how smart it is to get high-school and college students involved who have a lot of energy and great ideas to help students in another country! This is what we currently try to take off the ground.

Where do you see FMFM in the future?

I see FMFM running five international projects every year providing sustainable long term solutions for water and  food supply in the first place and develop community leaders through education who will continue this work in neighboring communities.  

What would you tell someone who is thinking about volunteering with FMFM?

What I love about FMFM is that all of our work is volunteering based and that one can see the direct impact of our work and the donations we collect. To be a volunteer at FMFM is fun and rewarding!

What do you like to do outside of FMFM?

I love to play volleyball at Bradford beach with my husband, go hiking and traveling to new adventurous countries. Because I am very passionate about the topic of sustainability, I organize educational events for the Milwaukee community related to renewable energies, food production, water, waste management and transportation. The group “Milwaukee Talks Green” can be found on Facebook and on Meetup.com.

Fall Harvest Tasting at the Milwaukee Public Market

Friends of FMFM gathered at the Milwaukee Public Market for our Fall Harvest Tasting fundraising event on October 14, 2016. Proceeds funded the build of a rainwater harvesting system for the Rwandan Orphans Project - a home for street children in rural Rwanda. More than $5,000 was raised in this short evening!

Attendees enjoyed food demonstrations; a silent auction and 50/50 raffle; food, wine and beer pairings; live music and a presentation by FMFM's Maria Nicholas-Groves, Holly Baumgart and Sarah Fracek explaining how the proceeds will benefit the children in Rwanda. We were lucky enough to receive a video message from our friends at the Rwandan Orphans Project as well!

Successful Fundraiser at Lakefront Brewery

The Feeding Mouths, Filling Minds team held an event at Milwaukee's Lakefront Brewery to raise funds for phase III of the Gatune Farm Pond build for Huruma Children's Home. More than $5k was raised and all proceeds were given to the Huruma Trust Fund to assist with the purchase of a cover for the farm ponds that our team has worked hard to help fund over the past year.  

FMFM Helps Turn Urban Food Desert into Source of Learning & Nutrition

Neighborhood news source DNAinfo.com covered the story of FMFM's involvement with Youth Outreach Services (YOS) in Chicago. The article, "There's A Lot More Than Just Vegetables Going Into This Urban Garden," tells the story of how Feeding Mouths Filling minds helped to turn an abandoned plot of land in this urban food desert into a thriving community garden run by the youth that YOS serves. 

 Read the full story here. 

FMFM Founder Sits on Nonprofit Excellence Awards Panel

FMFM's founder, Maria Nicholas-Groves participated in the 2014 BizTime Nonprofit Excellence Awards panel discussion. Maria participated in the panel along with three other Milwaukee business leaders discussing the importance of nonprofit and business partnerships.

Read the full story: https://www.biztimes.com/2014/11/24/a-celebration-of-nonprofit-excellence/

FMFM Receives Mention in Brookfield Now

As Feeding Mouths Filling Minds is just kicking off their beginnings, local businesses and news jumped to support the group. A local creative firm, Savvy Panda, designed and hosted our first website, and a local reporter took an interest in us and published a story in Brookfield Now - an online publication covering local news. Without community support like this, we couldn't accomplish the projects we do every year. 

Read the full story here: http://archive.brookfieldnow.com/news/doing-for-others-becomes-group-effort-nk76crd-174504641.html