When this fund began... our dad, Chet Miller, was on hospice care at home and was within hours of passing. In the midst of our grief, we'd struggled, wanting desperately to find a way to honor him. Then it dawned on us - he'd hoped to help at least one school in Africa. In 2018, we were so fortunate to have visited Africa and fell in love with the people! We saw great need there too. In particular, many schools  do not have running water --- more specifically, wells. We tried to raise money the old fashioned way, but it topped out at $300 (which we will add to this fundraising effort).  So, in honor of Chet Miller, we have established this GoFundMe page to raise $7500 to pay for a well installation.  We obtained 2 estimates (they average 90,000 RAND which is about $6,100). The rest of the funds will go towards books, school supplies, malaria prevention, and sanitation.  The details on the school will follow in our updates. We have selected a school, but we need to make certain that the right things are in place to make it happen for them. Join us in paying tribute to an amazing human being who dedicated his life to community service!

On February 10th, our dad passed after a short and difficult battle with cancer. Not long before, on September 30, 2020, he retired (at the age of 84) from his third career as Registrar of Voters for the Town of Wallingford, CT.  He and our mom moved to Florida on October 8, 2020 to live with our sister, Karin. Although they were sad to leave their life-long friends, they were excited to begin retirement and had many things planned. Karin was so happy to have our parents with her. Two weeks later, he was diagnosed with metastatic stage 4 cancer.  The disease progressed very rapidly and his suffering was horrible. He wanted so much to keep living and he'd planned a second trip to Africa for this summer. It was difficult for him to accept he might not make the trip. His decline and pain were undescribably difficult for us to witness. We are thankful he is no longer suffering. We are thankful for the many lessons he taught us, for the great care he took of and for us, and for the many happy memories he helped create. We are also thankful for the love and support of those around us. We know our dad would want us to move forward and do good deeds in the world, following his countless examples.

Thank you for helping us do that!

If you would be more comfortable sending a check, we have sent up an account for donations. Checks can be made payable to The Chet Miller African School Fund (mail:  c/o Paula Miller, 39 Walter Hill Road, Naples, ME 04055).  Thank you.