Introduction
Recognizing the need to improve education for underprivileged Ethiopian children, Help My Village Kids ("HMVK") was formed. HMVK believes providing children necessary tools (primarily books and supplies) will dramatically enhance their education thus providing generational benefits which do not exist today. Given a strong synergistic connection, HMVK has partnered with Books for Africa (a non-profit whose mission is to what is termed 'book famine' in Africa). To date, HMVK's focus has been children residing in Gog, Ethiopia and surrounding villages (the southwestern portion of Ethiopia). HMVK has received and shipped over 13,000 donated primary and secondary school books for the benefit of the two schools located in Gog. To enhance the use and protection of such books, HMVK has undertaken the construction of a small library in Gog. To further advance the mission of HMVK and complete the construction of the library, significant capital is required. Mission Statement "The mission of HMVK is to provide tools needed to obtain a good education for the children of Gog, Ethiopia and surrounding villages. The initial goal is to supply the two existing schools with primary and secondary school books and school supplies. In the future, HMVK will improve the school buildings and build a library. We believe improving the literacy of one child benefits the life of not only that child but an entire family for many generations." History HMVK was incorporated on January 13, 2012 in the State of Utah (see attached Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws). An IRS determination letter was received on or about January 15, 2014 (see attached copy of the letter). From 2012 forward, HMVK partnered with Books of Africa as mentioned above. In 2015, approximately 13,000 donated school books were shipped to Ethiopia at a significant shipping cost. The receipt of these books by Ethiopian families was overwhelming. A fund-raiser held on June 30, 2018 generated cash of $14,000. HMVK partnered with a community development organization in Gambella, Ethiopia (see the discussion below regarding Gog-Aboro Community Development Agency ("Gog-Aboro")) to begin construction on a small community library. The funds raised from the 2018 event were transferred to the Gog-based partner and construction on the library commenced. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen cost increases, the library has not been completed. The hope and partial focus of this request is to raise sufficient capital to complete the Ethiopian library. It is important to understand that given the start-up status of HMVK, all labor provided the organization has been donated. All management services have been provided by volunteers at no cost. Salt Lake City Management The founder and president of HMVK is Opiew Ablla. Born and raised in Ethiopia, Opiew has a burning desire to help his people. HMVK is the vehicle by which he targets his significant energy and direction. Akway Ochwor serves as Vice President with Marion DiRado and KelliAnn Ablla (Opiew's spouse) serving as Secretary and Treasurer respectively. Each resides in the greater Salt Lake metropolitan area and maintains employment or commitments in the home on a full-time basis; hence, time dedicated and donated to HMVK is on a part time basis. Ethiopian Management HMVK is currently working together with Gog-Aboro (a local, registered non-profit organization) as mentioned above. HMVK's partnership with the association has helped HMVK in managing on-site responsibilities related to the library construction. Gog-Aboro plays a critical role in controlling all monies transferred to Africa as well as managing day-to-day HMVK issues in Ethiopia. HMVK has a group of seven volunteers who function as a board in Ethiopia overseeing and coordinating all HMVK work performed in Ethiopia. These individuals possess skills and backgrounds necessary to fill their roles on the board. Conclusion HMVK has accomplished much to date. However, being capital constrained has limited its ability to achieve goals set by the organization. With additional capital, the library can be completed and additional books and supplies provided to permanently change the lives of this underprivileged children. The mission of HMVK was to provide the necessary tools for the children in the village of Gog, Ethiopia to obtain a better education. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! The books have arrived in the village and the people were so excited, happy and grateful. They are planning a big celebration and can now start to enjoy the benefit of those books. This is the first time anything like this has ever happened. Now that the books are there, our next goal is to build a library to house those books.
Thank you to our generous donors this past month of April. With your support we are 13% to our goal, what a great start to our fund raising efforts. Opiew has particularly been touched by the interest and support the wonderful families of Uinta Elementary have shown in Help My Village Kids. This small community of families has a large heart and has reached out to Opiew in many wonderful ways, not least of which is the example of a small preschooler, a sibling of a Uinta student, carefully handing him her allowance of one dollar in donation. What a special gift this community is to all of us.
Help My Village Kids is pleased and excited to announce the official start of our partnership with Books for Africa. With the post of our HMVK project page today on the Books for Africa website, we are up and running and able to take donations. With this strong partnership in place HMVK is sure to be extremely successful in supplying the children of Gog, Ethiopia with the tools necessary to obtain a good education.
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