Lalafofofo.org Launches New Website, Project Opportunities for Families and Youths to Help People in the Kilimanjaro Region of Tanzania
MENLO PARK, Calif. (PRWEB) September 29, 2015 -- The Vaughan family of Atherton, California has announced the launch of Lalafofofo.org, a 501c3 nonprofit organization to raise funds for affordable, small-scale service projects in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania. The aim is to link American youths, families and groups with much needed projects in Kilimanjaro, ranging in cost from $500-$2500.
Lalafofofo, (a Swahili expression for sleeping peacefully,) is initially focusing on matching families and youths in Silicon Valley, with service projects in Kilimanjaro. Through the Lalafofofo.org website, visitors can currently find links to six new projects to help Tanzanians: Building a house for a Maasai widow and her children, providing solar lanterns to a village, the Mkombole School cow project, building a kitchen and bathrooms for a school, and sponsoring a school lunch program are all desperately needed projects that are available immediately.
Building a house for a Maasai widow in the Kilimanjaro region gives widows and children a place of permanence and maintains their social standing in the community. Most importantly, it is a safer and healthier existence for the family because the house has a door that can be locked for security. Houses can be built in a village west of Kilimanjaro called Boma Ng’ombe for $1,500 in less than a month using local materials.
The Vaughans held their first Lalafofofo.org fundraiser in early September, raising $1,850 from the sale of arts and crafts they brought back from Tanzania, plus an additional $1,500 in pledges to support three of the projects: the "Build a House for a Maasai Widow," "Light Up Boma Ng'ombe" and “The Mkombole School Cow Project.”
“We are thrilled with the community’s enthusiasm, it appears that a lot of families want to be involved in these projects,” says Laura Vaughan. “So far we have three families who have committed to personally traveling to Tanzania and doing their own service projects as well.”
The Vaughans learned early on in their visit to Tanzania that corruption runs deep in the impoverished villages of Tanzania, where bribes must be paid to local officials, contractors and suppliers in order to complete certain projects. Lalafofofo.org recently paid its first bribe to continue the installation of a water pipe to Mlima Shabaha Public School—$100 to the local water company—which held up the project for months while officials held their ground demanding the kickback.
In July, the Vaughan family—Brannan and Laura, and their three sons Sam, Reid and Tate, returned to their Silicon Valley home from a six-month stay in Moshi, where they established the groundwork for Lalafofofo with their BridgePipeLunch.org project. Since returning, Laura Vaughan has worked on related ventures, including Raise Global Citizens, a website and book series she is writing to promote global volunteerism for families. The focus of the Raise Global Citizens organization is to encourage parents to guide their children to become lifelong participants in worldwide volunteer efforts, from home or by traveling to deserving communities around the globe.
The Vaughan family is planning to return to Moshi in early June, 2016 to continue their volunteer work, and to reconnect with friends still living in the community.
Laura Vaughan continues to raise awareness and funds for the villages surrounding Mount Kilimanjaro, and to empower U.S. families to participate in global volunteerism through a variety of programs that suit any budget and lifestyle.
To make a donation or find out more about the Vaughan’s charitable projects in Tanzania, visit the lalafofofo.org website, email info(at)lalafofofo(dot)org, or call 650.218.3027.
About Lalafofofo.org:
Lalafofofo (a Swahili expression for “sleeping peacefully”) is a 501c3 charitable organization created by Brannan and Laura Vaughan of Atherton, Calif. Lalafofofo is set up to be a source of affordable, small-scale service projects in the Kilimanjaro Region of Tanzania, East Africa. Lalafofofo links American youths, families and groups directly to much needed projects in Kilimanjaro, ranging in cost from $500-$2,500 for financial sponsorship. Lalafofofo is initially focusing on education and recruitment of families and youths between 7-18 years of age in Silicon Valley, Northern California to encourage their interest and involvement in service projects in Kilimanjaro.
Lalafofofo’s website will also link to local grass-roots organizations in the Mount Kilimanjaro region. These Tanzanian nonprofit organizations are qualified Lalafofofo partners. By partnering with specific Kilimanjaro nonprofits, Lalafofofo aims to advocate and spread the reach of these organizations to the U.S. Donations from the U.S. to these organizations are tax deductible via Lalafofofo’s 501c3 status in California.
Families and individuals visiting the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania, Lalafofofo will provide recommendations for short-term service projects (one-day to one-week). The objective is to support further development of the volunteer economy of Moshi and Kilimanjaro.
###
Media Department, Lalafofofo, http://www.lalafofofo.org, +1 650.218.3027, [email protected]
Share this article