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| Monica's Cotton & Community Project |
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| Project Director |
| Monica Garcia, Peace Corps Volunteer |
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Project Number |
Total Cost (US$) |
Location |
CA01-PC-09 |
$830.00 |
Kamona, Mali |
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Project Details
Unlike any other Peace Corps volunteer with whom African Sky has had the privilege to work, Monica Garcia is unique. She approached African Sky with a project proposal, but instead of asking African Sky for money she asked if African Sky could help her raise the money herself (through family and friends). Monica sent out the following letter to her friends and family to raise project funds through African Sky.
Dear Family and Friends,
Last November my host mother and work counterpart attended a training on how to spin cotton into
string. From there, she has taught 20 other women how to spin the cotton and they are now using it as
additional income for themselves and to feed their families.
Cotton is grown in my village and the surrounding towns (fun fact: Cotton is one of Mali's largest
exports). There is plenty of raw product, however the problem is the way they are spinning it...all by
hand. There is only one machine that the women have to make the process faster. Now, when I say
machine I mean a bicycle wheel frame that is operated by ones foot. When I first saw it I
immediately thought of our vacations to Colonial Williamsburg! After the women spin the cotton into
string, we then are able to sell the cotton for 4x's the price of what it is sold for when it is just the
raw product. In April, my women sold 32 kilos of strung cotton to an all women's bogolan co-op which
makes artisan work with the natural products.
My need is this: I am working with another NGO to get the wheels from, so this is a very straight
forward project. I just need to raise $500 to pay for 6 machines and 6 paddles in which to brush the
cotton so it is fine. Now, I will be working with an American NGO-African Sky to get the money.
Here is their website: http://www.africansky.org/. This non-profit was started by a Peace Corps
Volunteer here in Mali, and he just wanted to continue work here after his service.
Please Please Please, I know the economy is horrible right now, but even if you can just send $10 it
would be such a great help. This is a project where 100% of your money will go directly to helping out
these wonderful, self-motivated women. I also need the money fairly quickly, so no haste!
Thank you!
-Monica |
Monica sent the above letter to her network back in the U.S., and she was so successful that she raised an
additional $300. With her additional funds, Monica completed a second project which she described in
her blog post below:
Last July I requested $500 to be donated to African Sky to help support the purchase of cotton spinning spinning
wheels for the women of my village that I am currently serving for my Peace Corps volunteer service. I sent out an
email to my family and friends, and as I result I raised a little over $800USD. Because my project donors sent in more
than my $500 budget, I was able to launch a secondary project to enrich my host community.
It was brought to my attention that the only clean water source for our village school was a Vergnet water pump and
that it had been broken for over a year. The school director asked if I could do anything to help the school to repair
the pump, as the nearest access to clean water was in the town center, about a mile away. After getting estimates on
how much it would cost, we went ahead with the repair. The final cost in USD was $226.28. This includes parts, labor,
and transportation to the closest city (San) that actually sold the parts for our specific pump.
The school pump is now finished, the children will all be instructed on how to properly use the pump, and it will be locked
up when school is not in session. On October 18th, myself and 5 other volunteers will be going to the school to paint some
educational maps, and we will also be painting a picture on the wall that surrounds the pump on how to properly use the
pump! This was requested by the director of the school.
As a result of this pump project approximately 520 students in the primary school, and approximately 350 students in
the secondary school now have access to clean drinking water! I want to thank African Sky on my behalf, but also as
requested by the school director and the village chief. They are genuinely grateful for the work done.
I just wanted to send you a big THANK You from myself and from the 800+ students in my village school, the chief of
the village, and pretty much all of the villagers. The big Thank You is because of your donations I was able to fix their
water pump that had been broken for a year.
Truly, for all the work I have done, and will be doing here in Mali I think this is my proudest achievement and I couldn't
have realized it without the financial support from you all.
So, here's a little story for you: A few days ago when I started my 7 mile bike ride out of my village to catch a bus in
the nearest town, I passed a group of young girls. Usually when I pass by the normal thing for the kids to say is "bye
bye" or "tell the people of Bla we say hello" BUT this time, the girls said 'merci.' I paused and asked, "merci, why
merci?" they said, "for fixing out pump!" It was so sweet and unexpected, and I had NO idea who these group of girls
were, but really it almost brought a little tear to my eyes. It was unexpected and they really meant it and are grateful
for their water.
So, I just wanted to update you all on where your money went to. Truly a great cause!
Please go to my blog to see pictures: mymalianadventure.blogspot.com |
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