School for Andy

Andy Manley

Meaningful Volunteer is delighted to announce a partnership with the School For Andy movement.

Andy was a passionate person who was struck down in the prime of his life.

The solar-powered school that Meaningful Volunteer will build in Uganda will be built in Andy's honour. We have several events plan to raise funds.  Donations are being accepted here.

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From the School for Andy site:

Andy Manley was a wonderful young man who was full of life and laughter.

As one of 9 children, Andy was very close to his parents, as well as his siblings. He lived predominately in the Madison, WI area where he was surrounded by friends and some of his siblings. Andy was able to make all those around him smile with his quick wit and tremendous sense of humor.

As an avid fan of sports, history, trivia and spending time with family and friends, Andy was always busy doing something he loved. Whether he was cheering on the Braves, Hawkeyes, Badgers or Falcons, Andy was a passionate follower of his favorite teams. His love for trivia and history led him to major in history and education at the University of Wisconsin.

After a one-year internship with the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL, Andy had returned to Madison to pursue his dream of becoming a teacher. Given his caring nature, his wonderful disposition and his passion for history, there is little doubt he would have been a fabulous teacher.

On November 9th, 2010, Andy died in an horrific house explosion.

Because he was so young, and because of the shocking way in which he died, both family and friends have struggled mightily with his death. Andy was a best friend, a wonderful brother, a good son, the best uncle and most importantly, an amazing person. He spoke with family members daily, making his loss devastating on many levels.

Because he was so caring, and so smart, Andy set a great example for all of us. His kind way with others and his ability to light up a room with his smile are examples of things Andy shared with all of us. Andy was a unique person: he was funny, kind and smart all rolled up with a very easy going personality.

Although his loss is painful, and although we will never fully recover from his absence, we can try to keep his spirit alive through this school and other endeavors in his name.

For more information, please contact us.

Cherry Trees in Bloom

A cherry tree in bloom.

Running a non-profit NGO is hard.  It is a daily struggle to find the money to keep Meaningful Volunteer afloat.

Almost like clockwork, something comes up to keep us going and inspires us that there are other people out there to whom the words "human solidarity" really means something.

Such was the case early in 2011 when I received an unexpected email from the fine folks at the Cherry Tree House announcing that they had raised $US1,500 for Meaningful Volunteer.

A most welcome start to the new year!

So a tip-of-the-hat and many thanks to the Cherry Tree House.

A special shout out also goes out to my rock-and-roll friend.  You know who you are.

Casting a worrisome eye towards Uganda's Election

Police Brutality

Early 2011 will see a general election to determine the presidency of Uganda.

The election will be rigged.  There will be voter intimidation.  There will be police brutality. It will be violent.  People will die.

In no way shape or form will Meaningful Volunteer ever consider sending volunteers to Uganda during this time.  Our placement area is far away from political hotspots and it is hard to imagine anything untoward happening there.  Nevertheless, safety is our number one concern and prudence is our best course during this time.

How will things look after the election however?

Well, firstly standing president Yoweri Museveni will almost certainly be re-elected.  He has held power since 1986 and is not about to relinquish it.  Museveni's human rights record is... not good, but he at least brings some semblance of stability to the region.

Museveni will win because he has the most money, and knows how to work an election and spend his money wisely.

There will be outrage against the results and the big question is what opposition parties will do.

Will they become violent?  Will they become organized in their violence?

I don't know the answers to these questions.

I do know that if things become too bad in Uganda post-election, then Meaningful Volunteer will pull out of the region and set up its numerous projects elsewhere, most likely in Ghana.

Challenges in 2011

Looking ahead to 2011

2011 is shaping up to be a challenging one for Meaningful Volunteer and myself.

It's all a bit scary and exciting at the same time

• The RYE School
  We're building a solar powered school for a start.  We've never built a school before yet alone one that is powered by green solar-juice.
  
  We raised a massive $US 3,888.70 from our world-spanning Rubber Soul event and are about to announce a couple of new sponsors for the school.
  
  It is a bit overwhelming launching into such a big project.  We know that for it to succeed both as a building project and a project that empowers, that we must involve the local community.  As a result, we'll be employing numerous locals to help us build the project along with all the international volunteers we can muster.

• Mama Pamba
  Mamba Pamba is also looking very exciting in a scary kinda way.  Our team is slowly coming together and project planning is well advanced to fit in with a two-month on-the-ground time frame.
  
  We're also set to announce some especially exciting news about a fashion designer coming to Uganda...

• Malaria Operation
  We're also excited to see our Malaria Operation under way.  We've got our processes sorted and raised a bunch of money to buy nets with.
  
  
• Expansions
  We're also looking to expand into some other countries. At this stage, Nepal and Ghana look promising.

I look at this list and it all seems a bit overwhelming. But then people appear. Awesome people. Empowered people. People who step up and help make our vision a reality.

Meaningful Volunteer's Stuff

The Story of Stuff is a fascinating thought provoking video made by Annie Leonard.

It offers very interesting insights into the true costs of the stuff we consume everyday.  Not only costs to us the consumer, but costs to the planet, costs to the environment, and costs to the industrial workers who make the stuff.

She advocates not only reducing our waste, but eliminating it all together.  

Meaningful Volunteer aims to be as green as we can with initiatives like:

• Project Mangrove
  
  
• Mama Pamba
  We trying to include zero plastics in our production cycle.  The packaging for the fashion - for example - will be tote bags which can be reused as shopping bags for the supermarket.
  
  
• Our upcoming solar powered school in Uganda
  Renewable energy has some obvious pluses.

But is all this enough?  Could Meaningful Volunteer be doing more?  How can our activities actually benefit the planet as opposed to just being neutral?

All the beautiful people

The Niger River, Mali

Way back in August 2007, I had an idea to start a crazy little organization called Meaningful Volunteer.  Check out my original thoughts on the matter here.

Since then, Meaningful Volunteer has blossomed and grown.  Volunteers are doing wonderful things in the Philippines, Grassroots Uganda goes from strength to strength, Mama Pamba is taking form, and we have funding to launch a mosquito net program and build a solar powered school in Uganda.

And just recently, we formed a partnership with My Best Friend's Closet in Vancouver.  They are selling craft from our Ugandan and Filipino based craft groups.

Now, as I look back as 2010 comes to end, I realize what the common thread has been that has helped Meaningful Volunteer grow. The answer is simple.

Beautiful people.  Abundant amazing beautiful people.

The person from My Best Friend's Closet is a good example.

The person who raised $1,000 for the malaria operation is a good example.

Ditto for the person who:

• Raised $5,000 for the school in Uganda
  
  
• Is working through the legal process for the land purchase in Uganda
  
  
• Is in the process of organizing a design contest in New Zealand to send a fashion designer to Uganda
  
  
• Is organizing a fund raiser for Meaningful Volunteer without our involvement
  
  
• Works as a member of our board
  
  
• Sells our fair trade merchandise
  
  
• Is checking out Nepal as a potential volunteer destination
  
• The person who raised $1,000 for Mama Pamba
  
  
• ... the list goes on!

And a special mention to our awesome staff and all those who volunteer their time.

Peace, love and good happiness stuff to you all.

I've posted this again, but I'll post it again because it sums up so many of the people who are making Meaningful Volunteer great.

Is doing nothing the best way to fight malaria?

Malaria is no fun.
Trust me on this.

Hell no!

"Bernie" over at Planck's Constant seems to think it is though.

Apparently, mosquitoes don't cause malaria^*, but poverty and ignorance do.  Bizarre.

If an almighty God came down from heaven and magically removed poverty and ignorance, malaria would remain.  If He instead chose to remove mosquitoes, malaria would be eradicated overnight.

Back in 1933, 30% of the residents in the Tennessee River valley area were affected by malaria.  Due to the cooperation of thirteen south-eastern states and the extensive spraying of DDT, malaria was all but eliminated by 1947.

Even today, malaria still has a presence in the States.  It is kept in check by extensive malaria control programs in California, Florida, New Jersey, Louisiana, Minnesota, Michigan, North Dakota, and Texas, among others.

I wonder how Bernie - a resident of the States (judging by his blog) - would feel if he were present in the Tennessee River valley area in the '30s and the government let him wallow in his "poverty and ignorance"?

Or how would he feel if his aunt contracted malaria after one of the aforementioned states pulled its funding?

Folks like Bernie tend to repeat the mantra that the market will solve everything: Don't send nets to Africa and some entrepreneur will step forward and sell nets to the locals.  Ta da!  Problem solved without foreign intervention.

News flash: There is no market in many parts of Africa!  The residents of Buyaya - where Meaningful Volunteer is based - cannot participate in a market based economy because they have no discretionary income.

Most residents survive as sustenance farmers, harvesting fewer and fewer crops as the years go by as the soil gets depleted.  They are - in effect - spending more than they make and are caught in a poverty trap.  They cannot buy nets because they have less-than-no-money.

Ideally, Africa would become self-sufficient and market forces could kick in.  Meaningful Volunteer tries its best to create disposable incomes through initiatives like Mama Pamba and Grassroots Uganda.

But, in the meantime as residents of Buyaya struggle everyday with malaria, Meaningful Volunteer will continue with its malaria program as Bernie looks upon dispassionately.

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^* Technically true.  The malaria parasite that lives in mosquito saliva causes malaria