by Fresh and Green Team
Now, thanks to your generous donations, the security wall is back up keeping the school safe and giving the children a place to play.
Thanks to your donations, the new security wall is complete.
We still need your help to rebuild the block of classrooms that was partially destroyed. The building needs to be completely torn down, moved and rebuilt in brick. This project will cost close to $10,000.
To make things even more challenging….. The land that the school sits on is going up for sale in a few months. Fortunately, we have been given the opportunity of first refusal and a discounted price in order to keep Fresh and Green Academy operating, but we can’t do it without you.
The immediate financial needs are as follows in USD:
$106,000. for the purchase of the 732 sq meters of land including the main school building, which houses the principal and director’s offices, library, science lab, and classrooms for 5th through 8th grade. The kitchen, Mothers Coop area, showers and bathrooms, and director’s home are also included in the price.
$10,000. for the relocation and the rebuilding of the first through fourth grade classrooms. Government regulation requires the building to be reconstructed in brick which raises the construction price significantly.
$2,500. to purchase new desks.
To see the school and it’s needs check out our video.
To donate specifically to theses projects you can use the button below. As always, your donations are tax deductible.
Thank you for making a difference.
by Fresh and Green Team
Friends of Fresh and Green Academy hosted its fourth annual Casino Night on September 10, 2012, at Connolly’s in Midtown Manhattan. Over $10,000 was raised which will pay for the new addition of classrooms to enable us to add fifth grade. Many guests exclaimed that they had a great time and will be back next year!
Fresh and Green Academy, in Addis Ababa, has eight students entering fifth grade for which three additional classrooms are needed. These classrooms include a science lab, library, and general classroom. In Ethiopia, fifth through eighth grade is considered middle school. These newly constructed classrooms will be able to accommodate students for the next four years.
Thanks to money raised at this event and continued donor support, Fresh and Green Academy will also be able to admit ten new preschool children. These children now have hope for a future, which includes a well-rounded education and three nutritious meals daily.
The evening’s highlights included a poker & blackjack tournament, and new to this year, roulette tournament. Guests played for prizes while enjoying a full open bar and appetizers. Tickets to see Madonna in concert were among prizes in the roulette tournament. Along with the tournament, a raffle enticed guests to donate more money to the school with a chance to win prizes such as a Proenza-Schouler handbag, Stella & Dot jewelry and more.
Every guest who attended received a goodie bag that was filled with samples, including Scentsy and Lancome products, air plants from Lulindi, promotional coupons, and Friends of Fresh and Green playing cards.
Robert Essel from Robert Essel Photography was taking photos all night, which can be seen here.
Friends of Fresh and Green Academy would like to thank all attendees, volunteers, donors, and businesses that donated goods and services to make this year’s Casino Night a huge success for such a crucial cause.
Please watch for information on holiday fairs and other fundraising campaigns to ensure that Fresh and Green Academy and its 125 brilliant children continue to thrive!
by Fresh and Green Team
The Friends of Fresh and Green Academy, announces the launch of its brand new online shop called; “Mothers Cooperative”.
This new shop, headed under the brand title “Fashion Feeds Ethiopia” offers its’ visitors the opportunity to buy hand woven items made by members of the “Mothers Cooperative” at the Fresh and Green Academy, (a school for impoverished children in Ethiopia).
Every item sold helps the women provide food for their families.
The women grew up in small villages, in the 1980’s, a time of great famine in Ethiopia. Seeking a better life, most moved to Addis Ababa in their early teens. But there was no work, no food and faced with limited choices, some turned to prostitution as a way of survival. Most got pregnant, and most got HIV.
Through the Fresh and Green Academy they have been given back their dignity via the sales of jewelry and craft items. The money enables the mothers to afford food for themselves and their children. Most importantly, they are now able to qualify for life-saving anti-retro viral medicine that has turned AIDS from a fatal to a manageable disease.
To find out more about Fresh and Greens’ “Mothers Cooperative Shop” be sure go to: http://friendsoffreshandgreen.org/clone/store
by Fresh and Green Team
For the first time, student-run organization AIESEC and Microsoft connect to help children at Fresh & Green Academy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. AIESEC is an international NGO organizing social issues development projects all over the world.
With the financial help of Microsoft, people from AIESEC developed a project to provide international volunteers to teach English, basic IT and art for children from Fresh & Green Academy.
The project was launched in November 2011 with two volunteers. Veronika from Czech republic is teaching theatre and Sandra from Kenya is teaching English lessons.
We are expecting two more interns from The Netherlands and Estonia to come in January to teach English and basic IT.
Thank you AIESEC and Microsoft for making a difference in the lives of the impoverished students of Fresh and Green Academy.
by Fresh and Green Team
I would like to thank Fresh and Green Academy for an amazing life experience in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. My husband, a school teacher and myself a Chiropractor, set out the summer of 2011 to climb Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. While in Africa, I wanted to utilize my skills and passion for chiropractic and volunteer for those who do not have the luxury choosing chiropractic. After meeting Dr Salem Aklilu, the first chiropractor in Ethiopia, at a Parker seminar we were put in contact with Dr Greg Rubinstein of New York who has brought chiropractic to a primary school in Addis Ababa.
Our experience there was terrific. Muday, a wonderful Ethiopian woman who started Fresh and Green, came and picked us up at the airport and treated us like royalty. We stayed at a hotel and were picked up daily to head to the school to adjust the children. My first day at the school, I adjusted the kids and some of the moms. Spencer, my husband, spent some time in the classrooms teaching the kids the basic principles of chiropractic and health.
I was amazed by what Muday has done. She has 111 children at the school all of which come from families that can not afford for them to go to school. They are fed a healthy well balanced diet of 3 meals a day, they
get clothes, showers, teeth brushed and naps for the young ones. They learn English and all the core subjects, they even get music and art. All of this is done through donations, she unfortunately has to turn families away daily as she can not help anymore at this time. Muday’s vision is big, she has many plans for fresh and green and the children in that community.
A lot of the moms are involved with the school as well. Many coming from the streets were they have had to beg or prostitute themselves in order to feed their children. Muday has the moms cook the meals, do laundry, make crafts and learn how to support their families.
The children were so excited for their adjustments, lining up and looking through the window with anticipation. I loved that Dr Gregg had been at the school 3 times in the past few years and I was continuing on his work. The more the people in the community see the Chiropractor as someone that can help their body heal themselves, the healthier they will become. The children are so fortunate to be receiving
great nutrition, clothing, chiropractic and education. These children could be the ones who help Ethiopia become a better country to live in. As BJ Palmer once said, “You never know how something you may say think or do may affect the lives of millions tomorrow”.
My experience at Fresh and Green Academy will always be remembered. Many of my patients donated spare change in their pockets before I left and we ended up collecting enough to help Muday buy uniforms for the children in September. We are also sponsoring a child to continue her schooling. I would recommend for anyone to volunteer at Fresh and Green Academy, you won’t regret it.
Dr. Christie MacDonald
www.whitemudchiro.com
- Adjusting the children helps their bodies better fight disease.
