Monday 24 June 2013

One Person Slide Show

Every year Brenda puts together slideshows for various  presentations and events - they really keep us going when we're getting a little weary from the hundreds of hours we dedicate to the project.
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Newspaper Articles

A sample of articles in Okanagan & B.C. newspapers
We are featured around 6 - 10 times a year
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TV News Mentions

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We have been featured on CHBC, Global TV and Shaw TV at least twice a year since 2008.

Click here to go to youtube to see One of our mentions on the news.  Shaw & Global TV 2012


Transcript from a 2009 Global Okanagan news segment.




Anna's youtube video from the 2013 trip


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Thursday 20 June 2013

Help feed a child at the Amani HIV Clinic

Brenda with Abdul at the July 2012 Celebration at the Kahama District Hospital


One Person donates funds and resources to the Amani Group, a club house created for around 200 children who attend the Kahama Hospital's HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment Clinic  (CRT).  
The Amani club aims to improve quality of life by providing social support and a safe environment in order to encourage families and caregivers to bring children for regular assessment and treatment. There is still a great deal of social stigma attached to being identified as being HIV positive
We intend to provide funding towards food for the children who attend the clinic to receive antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. ARV’s are highly toxic and patients risk malnutrition and harmful side effects unless they can increase their overall caloric intake by as much as 40 percent. In addition, people with HIV/AIDS are more likely to be malnourished in the first place and extreme hunger is a cruel side-effect of the drugs. The Amani clinic receives funding for food from the local council but needs an additional $200 per month to ensure that each child can receive a simple meal on the day of treatment.  (2014 Update: Thanks to individual donations and people donating refundable beverage container money at our local Bottle Depot - we have been able to provide up to $200 a month.)

Or send a cheque to The One Person Project, 10108 Julia Street, Summerland, B.C. V0H 1Z5, donate on-line or email me





The children look forward to our One Person visits!



THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed
in any way to supporting the Amani Children!  

Contact me to set up a regular monthly donation to the food program.



Strengthen one person - strengthen the family - strengthen the community.


Read the April 2nd 2013 blog to find out more about the Amani food program
Read the Sept. 4th 2012 blog for more details and photos of the Amani children.

Help 15 Families - Chicken Cooperative


Help put 15 families on the road to self-sustainability.  We are providing funding for a poultry cooperative for some of Kahama township's most vulnerable families.

Nurse Guardian of the cooperative, Anna and two of the fifteen co-op members -
Martha, Chair Person and Chausiku

We support the Amani Club, a social support group for children who attend a clinic at the Kahama Hospital for treatment of HIV/AIDS. Most of the children are from woman-headed households. Fifteen women who have taken in orphans have been chosen for the first cooperative; Chausike, Martha, Veronica, Jamilah, Zena, Monica, Kuluthum, Shardia, Sauda, Asha, Leticia, Khadija, Regina, Angelina and Fortuna.

Read the April 10th 2013 blog for more chicken co-op and Amani Children details
Read the Sept. 4th 2012 blog for more Amani pictures and details.

Why Poultry? Chickens provide maximum production for minimum costs compared to most livestock. The chickens will address basic nutritional needs as well as generate income for the Amani families and the Amani Clinic. (Meat, eggs and manure.)
Hybrid Chickens. The local breed of chicken is small and weak and produces only around 40 eggs a year, so they will be cross-bred with sturdier imported cockerels to improve body mass and output.
Funds Required. Start up costs will include building a structure, the drinkers and feeders, purchasing 50 chickens, 3 cockerels and initial vaccinations and feed. Ongoing costs will include vaccinations and treatments, security and admin costs. 
Impact. Reducing the burden of care on the women who have taken in orphans and are already struggling to support their own families, by providing food and income. An increased family income will help with shelter, nutrition, healthcare and education. The women will learn skills, which they will pass on to their children and to a second group of women who will form a co-operative (and so on...). Cooperatives for women  provide opportunities for the members to participate in decision making and provide a route towards self-empowerment and self-sustainability.
Funds will also be directed back to the children's Amani Clinic.
Strengthen one person - strengthen the family - strengthen the community


To make a donation send a cheque to The One Person Project, 10108 Julia Street, Summerland, B.C. V0H 1Z5, donate on-line or email me.




Monday 10 June 2013

What is Project Aid?

Project Aid is a partnership whereby the villagers participate in the process with the ultimate goal of self-sustainability. We endeavor to create opportunities rather than dependency. To provide a hand-up rather than a hand-out. 

Our June 2012 blog  Does Aid Work? outlines the research we did before we set up One Person; and we continue to try to make sure that any impact we make on the community is a positive one. But of course  - we have made mistakes along the way!  But the beauty of our project is that we are in constant touch with officials and contacts in Kahama and are aware when we take a wrong turn, and rectify it. 

The 2012 blog describes the folly of our planning to donate milk goats to an orphanage. Makes sense hey? Milk for orphans? But it was a well-meaning assumption that would have created a great deal of work for the orphanage ladies who already volunteer their time!  Our first 40' sea-container, which was shipped to Rwanda, carried far too many clothes. Clothes can be sold cheaply on the black-market damaging (or sometimes destroying) the livelihood of the villagers who make and sell clothing. We now send clothing only for identified families or groups in dire need. 

At present we are giving, but in a structured, planned way; we are shipping resources to Kahama that would be prohibitively expensive to purchase locally, or cannot be found in the area. In this way we can give the healthcare and educational system a major boost. 

We do give when we provide support for the most vulnerable children (as identified by professionals in Kahama) but this is the context of emergency aid rather than building a dependency. In a planned process we are now beginning to provide educational and entrepreneurial support. 

Once a strong foundation is laid, we will stop shipping resources and continue to work with officials to determine the best way to move forward. We envisage sponsorship for education/vocational training and loans for small business ventures. 

We look forward to working in partnership with the community of Kahama for many years to come but we greatly look forward to the day when the region is self-sustaining. Though we will still continue to visit and enjoy the company of friends… 


For more information, to volunteer or to make a donation contact me , mail to The One Person Project, 10108 Julia Street, Summerland, B.C. V0H 1Z5  donate on-line or make a payment into our account at the Summerland & District Credit Union.