ARRIVE in Kenya

Founded by a SAE Colorado Chi, Gus Nemechek, Arrive Kenya generates positive action and sustainable advancement to empower children in impoverished regions of the world by providing shelter, promoting good health, offering access to education and giving at risk children tools and opportunities for a successful, independent, and fulfilling life. 


arriveinkenya.org
Instagram: @Arriveinkenya
Facebook: @Arriveinkenya

The gentlemen of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Colorado Chi chapter are raising money for our philanthropy partner, Arrive in Kenya. Arrive in Kenya was founded by alumni of the chapter in 2013, and and has been changing the lives of unprivileged children in Migori County, Kenya. Arrive focuses on building communities and educating people around the globe about political, financial, developmental and health issues that surround the East African Region, today primarily in Migori County. In partnership with Light Uriri, Light Home of Hope was constructed to provide a holistic and safe environment for children in Kenya. Light of Home provides children with education, life skill training and assistance in overcoming addiction to drugs like glue and opium. Arrive is also partnered with Naretoi Empowerment Hand, employing local women, known as the Maasai Mamas, to make beaded and traditional African themed products, which Arrive will purchase and resell in international markets. An arrangement that provides sustainable revenue for all parties and a stable salary for women to provide their families with food and school fees. Arrive is dearly close to Colorado Chi and all it is doing to enrich the lives of people in Kenya.

To find out more, visit http://www.arrivekenya.org/

THE GOAL IS SIMPLE
On January 6th we (Nell Pollak, a volunteer at Arrive in Kenya  and Registone Ong'esa, a once street youth now thriving high school student) will set out to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise money for the non-profit that's changed both of our lives - Arrive in Kenya . Kilimanjaro has been summited before, but rarely has been done by a Kenyan soul who has fought every step of the way to get there.  For a child who lived in the shadows of addiction, homelessness, and without parents, this achievement is almost unheard of - and that is what makes this story so special. 

AND THE BEST PART?!
We want you to join us for this journey. Please consider donating and helping us further the efforts of a non-profit who is making a real difference in Kenyan youths' lives. 

WHAT IS ARRIVE IN KENYA ?  
Arrive generates positive action and sustainable advancement to empower children in impoverished regions of the world by providing shelter, promoting good health, offering access to education and giving at risk children tools and opportunities for a successful, independent, and fulfilling life.

WHERE WILL THE DOLLARS GO? 
The money we raise with your support will be split two ways-
1. $5,000 will be allocated purely to break even on the costs to make the trip happen and give Registone the trip of a lifetime.

             -Registone's ID to cross the border into Tanzania 
             -Transport to and from Arusha, Tanzania 
             -2 nights in hotel before/after climb + food
             -All National Park gate fees 
             -All camping fees 
             -Kilimanjaro rescue team fees 
             -Qualified mountain guide, assistant guides, porters and cooks 
             -Breakfast, lunch and dinner on the mountain 
             -Tents, camp tables and camping chairs 
             -Climbing permit 
             -Complete First Aid Kit (for use in emergencies) 
             -Government Climbing Taxes 
             -Water for the hike 
             -Tips for guides, porters and cook 
             -Yellow Fever vaccination
            - All hiking/trekking gear 
            -Snacks, personal medicine and water purifying tablets 
            - Celebratory beer at the end of the climb! (fyi Registone is 18- drinking age in Tanzania is 18) 

2. the remaining $25,000 (and any funds remaining from the above allocation) will be sent directly to Arrive in Kenya  to make further differences in the lives of Kenyan youth. 

           -Registone and his fellow students' secondary school fees 
          -Logistics and planning to take more kids on future outdoor adventures 
          
          
To learn more about Arrive in Kenya please visit-
http://www.arrivekenya.org/
#ArriveClimbsKili




"ASANTE SANA!!!!" (THANK YOU SO MUCH!!)

This year, SAE Colorado Chi is partnering with Arrive in Kenya and Naretoi Empowerment Hands (NEH) to help support Maasai artisan mothers struggling to survive. These mothers have no stable source of income and have between 5 and 7 kids each. In other words, their kids are currently starving because they have no way to feed them and their traditional ways of life are impossible because of globalization and privatization. 

Arrive in Kenya is working with NEH to build a facility to do two things: 
1) For the women to be able to produce handmade products and then connect those products to a global market. And
2) To host volunteers who can work in the community, the local school, and hospital, while also training the women in topics ranging from personal finance to health practices.

For the women to be able to work, there needs to be a facility for them to work in with equipment, etc.
So while we are developing the products to sell and researching what products would be most viable in the US for the women to make we are also fundraising for the construction of a few buildings, which include:

1) A community center for the women to learn life skills in (personal finance, etc.), congregate with other community members, interact with our volunteers, and for volunteers to hang out.
2) A workshop for the women
3) A stockroom for supplies
4) A sanitary facility (restrooms and showers)
5) Dorms for volunteers to stay while doing outreach in the Maasai Community. - these volunteers will be teaching the above-mentioned life skills
6) Solar panels for the workshop to be powered
7) A small wifi tower that is necessary for processing orders, etc.

Meet the women in the link below:
http://www.arrivekenya.org/meet-the-women/

Kenya, East Africa, has an increasing number of homeless children due to poverty and illness. They lack food, shelter, care and education. 
Arrive is an American non-profit organisation dedicated to rescuing these homeless street children and starving orphans. They provide the children with the missing ingredients of life that most of us take for granted for our children. Most of all Arrive provides hope and the tools to create a self sufficient life for themselves. For more information about their work go to: www.ArriveKenya.org.

Arrive is passionate about encouraging sustainable practices and building infrastructure that will provide long-term assistance to those who need it most.
With this in mind they are currently working with their partner organisation, Light School Uriri www.lightschooluriri.org/  to construct an Information Communications Technology (ICT) Centre. This ICT Centre will come complete with a computer lab and sewing studio. This will give valuable life long skills to its 400+ students.
(Approved construction plans for the ICT Centre)

Where do You and I fit into all of this?

* I am aiming to: conquer 825 kilometres and complete my first long distance hike. 
* You can donate to my walk to: help raise the $AU5000 needed to build the ICT/Sewing studio.

Hi, my name is Fran Bruty from Ballarat in Victoria, Australia. I'm an experienced teacher, passionate about nurturing life skills; supporting and empowering marginalised groups of people in the community and also about staying fit, active and healthy!

Having spent time volunteering in both Tanzania and Kenya in the past and more recently, I have been challenged and humbled, consequently developing a strong personal understanding of how powerful it is to give to people more needing than myself!  

In September this year, 2017, I will face the hardest 5-6 weeks (…or more!!) of my life hiking along the Camino del Norte which follows the North coast of Spain, (from the French border in Irun, along the Basque Country, Cantabria, Asturias and finally Galicia region finishing in the town of Santiago de Compostela) in support of www.ArriveKenya.org. 

My time with Arrive, (founded and managed by a friend of mine, Brian, who is younger than my youngest son!)
and the connections I formed with the children they serve, has shown me just how important a project like this can be for these young people. 

This centre would not only regularly serve the children living at the home - vastly increasing their ability to learn and build upon new skills - but it would also give that same access to the 390 other local students attending Light School. Meaning, all 423 students at Light School will have access to a fully operational computer lab where they can learn various computer skills necessary for today's world, communicate with sponsors, friends, and family all over the world, research topics for school and personal hobbies, and easily apply for jobs, secondary school and one day… university! 

Our discussions around using ICT and how important learning to sew would be, were animated and sparked passionate desires in them to be able to learn more. It is not an exaggeration to say that these youngsters are outrageously resilient, passionate and hardworking, and that a project like this can quite literally have life-altering outcomes.

Similarly, a tailoring studio would allow Arrive and Light School to offer free sewing classes to local widows, providing a way to earn a decent income by making and fixing school uniforms. For local widows, tailoring skills and equipment can provide a reliable, sustainable means of providing for themselves and their family. And with time, these same widows will be able to teach the 423 current students and generations of students to come how to sew themselves.

(Photo courtesy of Light School's previous tailoring projects with local women)

In rural Kenya, the importance of introducing these marketable skills early in life is vital. By learning and mastering a skilled trade early, these young people will open up countless doors for their future.

The estimated total cost of this project (excluding the donated computers)* is $AU5,000. That includes the full cost of construction, as well as furnishing the centre with chairs, desks, sewing machines, cabinets, and more. Partnering with Julia, a friend and volunteer I met during my time with Arrive, we each aim to raise $AU2,500 to cover the total cost for the centre. 
*Computer donation is being coordinated separately, and therefore is not including in this project's fundraising cost.

As I prepare and travel my journey, I encourage you to get involved. I anticipate my journey will to be challenging. I know my walk will be gruelling. What is truly gruelling, however, are the lives that street kids in Kenya are forced to live. Living in dumpsters and under cars, sniffing toxic glue to mask their hunger and sadness, all by the age of ten. To really understand ... read their stories: www.arrivekenya.org/the-kids/
I am inspired by these children who never give up and I will think about their resilience as I motivate myself to put one foot in front of the other, over and over and over again.
Every dollar you donate, including any extra funds that are raised above the $AU2,500 goal, will be deposited directly into the Arrive bank account (see the "Certified Campaign" on the right). Any money raised beyond the $AU2,500 necessary to build the facility will exclusively be used to buy necessary resources for the kids (mattresses, food, clothes, school fees, etc.). 

         Asante Sana (‘Thank You Very Much’ in Swahili)
to everyone who supports my personal journey and the mission of Arrive and Light School Uriri, and for donations to my fundraising efforts over the years… your donations are truly making the world a better place. 

This July, Karen and I will be traveling to Africa! We are heading to Kenya to volunteer with the non-profit organization, Arrive In Kenya (www.ArriveKenya.org)

Arrive was started in 2013 by my friend, and fellow Ridgefielder, Brian Ash. The mission statement is “Arrive generates positive action and sustainable advancement to empower children in impoverished regions of the world by providing shelter, promoting good health, offering access to education and giving at risk children tools and opportunities for a successful, independent, and fulfilling life.”

By working with local Kenyan non-profit organizations they have created and supported childrens’ homes and other projects in Kenya. They rescue children from a life of drug addiction, starvation and homelessness and provide them with the opportunity for a new life.  Each child goes to school, sleeps in his or her own bed, eats three healthy meals per day, and is taught meaningful skills to live a healthy and happy life.

One of the pressing needs at Arrive right now is child sponsorship. The only way Arrive can rescue more children is if all of the children currently there are sponsored.  A full sponsorship of a child costs $1,800 and goes towards school, exam fees, school supplies, food, shelter, transportation, and more.  Another sponsorship opportunity is the secondary school sponsorship.  This 4- year commitment allows the child to attend grades 9-12.  With your help, we are hoping to fundraise enough funds to sponsor at least two children!

Just recently, Arrive welcomed Sharlene.  She was born and lived in the streets of Kenya facing addiction to toxic glue and abuse. (Click here to read more about her story: http://www.arrivekenya.org/the-story-of-a-street-girl/ ) It would be amazing if we could sponsor her, providing her the necessary tools to live a prosperous life.  

To read more about what sponsorship includes and the various options to help, please follow this link:
http://www.arrivekenya.org/get-involved/sponsorship-handbook/ 

Your support will go a long way, you will literally be saving a childs life.  Any donation you can give will mean the world to us and the children. If you are unable to donate but want to help, please share this page :)

With gratitude,
Lauren Bonistalli & Karen McElgun

My name is Brian Ash. I’m 26 years old, from Ridgefield, Connecticut, USA. In 2008 I rode my bicycle 3,080 miles westward across the United States of America, only stopping when the Pacific Ocean forced me to. In 2012 I climbed to the highest point on the continent of Africa – the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro – because its there. For the past three years I have lived in a small village in rural western Kenya foregoing most of the amenities which the developed world has come to take for granted. Now, in 2017, I will face the hardest four (maybe five…or six) hours of my life - I am attempting to conquer 26.2 miles and complete my first marathon in support of www.ArriveKenya.org.

I despise running more than waking up too early in the morning. It hurts. I’m slow. My dislike for running is strong, but my love for Arrive and our kids is stronger. I am willing to put my body through absolute hell and back just for the chance of giving these kids what every child deserves – happiness. Am I scared? Absolutely, but I am ready to face my fears on March 18th, in a small village west of Eldoret, Kenya. What waits for me there are 26.2 punishing miles (http://riftvalleymarathon.com)
through some of Kenya’s most beautiful but toughest terrain in the heart of the Great Rift Valley (yes, the Great Rift Valley), reaching a staggering 7,000 feet above sea level. But first, what is Arrive you ask…?

After graduating from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in Economics and with the support of my family and friends, I founded an amazing non-profit organization – Arrive (www.ArriveKenya.org). Instead of the traditional yet highly flawed neo-colonial method of international aid, Arrive promotes locally driven initiatives carried out by members of the society in which we work. We partner directly with local non-profit organizations around the world, engaging and empowering native community leaders to provide aid for the most vulnerable kids of their society. Social development in Kenya must be propelled by Kenyans themselves, ensuring Arrive’s model for aid is sustainable and delivers long-term, highly effective progress.

Arrive is devoted to the rescue of homeless street children and starving orphans, providing them with hope and the tools to create a happy and self-sufficient life in the society that once abandoned them. We are passionate about encouraging sustainable practices and building infrastructure that will provide long-term assistance to those who need it most. Now, I am ready to push myself to the limit, both physically and mentally, to support the people and organization I love.    

I anticipate my training to be painful. I know my runs will be grueling. What is truly grueling, however, are the lives that street kids in Kenya are forced to live. Living in dumpsters and under cars, sniffing toxic glue to mask their hunger and sadness, all by the age of ten. I am inspired by these children who never give up and I will think about their resilience as I motivate myself to put one foot in front of the other, over and over and over again.

As I begin my journey, I encourage you to get involved. I am raising money for Arrive so we can further extend our positive impact in the developing world. Of course, I’ll be paying for all expenses of the marathon myself; every penny donated will be given directly to Arrive to support the kids. 100% of our donations will go towards buying desperately needed foods, clothes, and school supplies for the boys and girls of our childrens home. Joining my quest for 26.2 miles not only means the world to me, but also may be the difference between the streets and our home, desperation and happiness, life and death, for a young child in Kenya.

I aim to raise $2,620 – first as a tribute to the 26.2 miles I look to complete in March and secondly because I thought $26,200,000 to be a bit ambitious. Every dollar you donate, including any extra funds that are raised above the $2,620 goal, will be deposited directly into the Arrive bank account (see the "Certified Campign" on the right). Supporting Arrive by contributing $1 for every mile I run is equivalent to a $26.20 charitable donation. 

Follow every step of my journey on Instagram: @brianrunsamarathon (or click here: http://goo.gl/uwD6oV), to see photographs and statistics from each of my training runs around the world. 

Asante Sana (‘Thank You Very Much’ in Swahili) to everyone who supports my personal journey and the mission of Arrive. Your continued and gracious support has enabled us to create positive change around the globe - your donations are truly making the world a better place.

Kuwashukuru ('Special Thanks') to my aunt Vicki for expertly coaching me through all of my training; to my friend and Arrive Board Member Davide for always creating a way to motivate me to keep running; and to Boulder Running Co. (Boulder, Colorado, USA) and Ridgefield Running Co. (Ridgefield, Connecticut, USA) for hooking me up with only the best gear. Hongera! 

Thanks for reading. Now, I've gotta run...

I am Stephanie, a little kooky, a little spontaneous, looking to give back by having a reverse Christmas.
As some of you may know, I am going this December to Kenya to volunteer with Arrive in Kenya and the Keumbu Rehema Childrens Home  . This is an amazing home for street and orphaned children 4-17 years old,  in western Kenya. This is a crazy adventure for me, but one I am looking so forward too - especially spending Christmas with these wonderful munchkins. This is my first time at the crowdfunding rodeo, and I hope to raise this money before Christmas.

Arrive in Kenya is a US non profit started by a young man, in order to create some progress and change for the children of Kenya. But like many non profits and children's homes, they do need help and support. Aside from items I am bringing that so many of you have graciously donated, I am also raising money for some projects they need financial assistance with:

A new water pump (approx cost $4,000 USD)

2x dairy cows to provide milk for the children and initial vet bills (approx $150-250 USD per cow plus vaccinations).

The water pump would be purchased and installed, to replace their currently broken one, which helps bring in water from the nearby stream, into the home for washing, cooking and the like.

As the home is in a teeny remote village, they have been focusing toward becoming fully self sustainable, with vegetables and livestock building up their little farm. Purchasing cows would provide important daily milk for the kids. 

I would love love love if you might take a moment during this holiday season, to donate to this little campaign. I would be incredibly grateful. For those who donate more than $100, I will try to put together some little surprises for you!

Thank you so much for donating. And remember, ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE!!!

Any excess money raised will go towards the operating costs of Arrive in Kenya and the home.

Happy Holidays!