I don’t do this often, but whilst undertaking a photo shoot for a ministry for my church. I learned that they are in desperate need of funding to finish out their program for the year. At the current state, they will continue either until this Friday or the following. To finish out the program until August, they need about $5000 a day or $75,000 total.

Harambee is a ministry which, well, “ministers” to a variety of groups. First, St. Louis children are given the opportunity to learn a valuable skill (tuckpointing) and the opportunity to earn some money. This provides all sorts of benefits including learning to work with others and gaining discipline. The children also hear about Christianity and receive instruction on other life skills in daily devotions.

The ministry also provides great blessing to the widows and elderly who get their homes tuckpointed at no cost, normally a very expense proposition.

And, finally, the staff who work with the children, not only bear with the physical challenges of the job, but also strive to be a blessing to the children. And this can be challenging when there are discipline issues to deal with. As I have witnessed these staff working, I am amazed at their patient care and love for the children.

So, in the spirit of the meaning of “harambee,” which is Swahili for “let’s get together and push,” I thought that if you had some spare cash lying about which was unspoken for 🙂 that you might consider giving some of it to Harambee! I imagine that big gifts are the most useful to keep the program going (no kidding, Neil!) but you might call and see if whatever amount that you have to give will be immediately useful or not. Of course, they will take your money any day of the year 🙂 but it may be especially useful now. If you are ready to give or want more information, you may have a look at the Harambee web site or try the numbers below to let them know a gift is on the way.

Harambee Main Line: (314) 726-4988
Executive Director: Aaron Henning, (314) 726-4988 x225
Director of Training: Lester Badenoch, (314) 726-4988 x224
Administrator: Carrie Jones, (314) 726-4988 x231

Or you can simply make out a check to “Harambee” and pop in a note if you like and send it to this address:

Restore St. Louis
1142 Hodiamont
St. Louis, MO 63112

Finally, some pictures. I do not have any recognizable pictures of the children here to respect their privacy, but hopefully this set gives you some indication of the nature and scope of the work (I visited 4 out of 5 crews today). The final picture is of the program director, who wears his dedication in the smudges on his face.

<