Cindi Brown's "Poverty and Promise" Garners Seven Book Awards with Recent "Best Books 2009" Win

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Author Cindi Brown speaking to the Treasury Executive Institute

Receiving seven book awards for our first book, 'Poverty and Promise,' is humbling and electrifying for Just One Voice and the people of Kenya!

Surprise, AZ (PRWEB) November 17, 2009

"Poverty and Promise" is a Best Books 2009 Winner and also recently won the First Place Prize for Published Non-Fiction from the Arizona Authors Association, bringing the total of book awards to seven, including:

IPPY Gold Medal (Multicultural)
Best Book 2009 Winner (Multicultural)
First Place Non-Fiction from Arizona Authors Association
INDIE Gold Medal Award (Multicultural)
INDIE Finalist Award (Travel)
Glyph Finalist Awards (Multicultural)
Glyph Finalist Awards (Best First Book by New Publisher)

"Most thrilling about the books awards," says Brown, "is the exposure of the book's topic, which explores issues of international development faced by the people of Kenya and other developing countries. All book sale proceeds go to support rural villagers in Kenya. The more people who read the book, the more people who understand what Westerners can do to make the world a better place."

Just One Voice supports rural Kenyan communities through The Great Lakes University of Kisumu (GLUK), the university where Brown worked as marketing and communication manager while serving as a Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) volunteer in 2005.

An abridged audio book version of "Poverty and Promise," narrated by author Cindi Brown, will be released in January 2010, and will feature authentic African slave songs performed by Sule Greg Wilson on handmade primitive instruments. Pre-orders are being taken at http://www.justonevoice.com, and through http://www.Amazon.com. Both the printed and audio book make a meaningful gift with proceeds going to assist Kenyan families in paying for education, food, and healthcare.

With the success of her first book pushing her forward, Brown is currently writing a children's book to spotlight Just One Voice's animal donation program. The children's book will be published in 2010. Animal donations are actually "gifts" purchased for a loved one through the Just One Voice website. The donor receives a gift card to give the recipient stating what animals have been donated in the recipient's name. Just One Voice provides goats, cows, and hens and roosters to rural Kenyan families, who also receive vaccinations for the animals and training in caring for the animals so they thrive and reproduce. Families benefit from nutritious milk and eggs, and also from the monies received from the sale of excess milk and eggs.

"I'm especially excited about the children's book," says Brown, "because we are using actual children from an orphanage in Chuka, Kenya, as characters in the book. These children will receive donated animals, and the story will show how their school benefits and how their families improve economically from the animals. We'll show photos of the real children in the back of the book. And because Kenyan children learn English and Kiswahili in school, Kenyan children will be readers of this book as much as North American children will be. Just One Voice plans to provide copies of the children's book free of charge to Kenyan children."

Brown hopes the children's book will win awards and attract speaking engagements, like the invitation Brown received to speak to the Treasury Executive Institute (TEI), which serves eight divisions of the U. S. Treasury Department. Brown’s presentation followed her journey of leaving a corporate job to work in Kenya, and to her continued involvement in international development through Just One Voice.

“While most of us will not likely step away from careers to volunteer internationally,” says Bruce Nolan, Director of the TEI, “[Ms. Brown’s] story invited us to consider—as individuals and as public servants---what can happen when we step out in courage to confront stereotypes, face our own doubts, and try to see things through others’ reality. Ms Brown exceeded our expectations during her presentation to the institute.”

"Receiving seven awards for my first book is simply hard to believe," says Brown. "However, I'm hearing from readers around the world who are interested in volunteering and getting involved. There is no greater reward than connecting with people who have read 'Poverty and Promise' and are inspired by the work Just One Voice is doing."

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