Ndebele Art Project Africa - Viral Shopping Mall BADGE

The little nonprofit that DOES...

It's been our pleasure over the years to meet and work with a variety of nonprofit groups, all of them compelling, all of them passionate and all of them doing good to better the world. This month, we'd like to highlight Ndebele Art Project Africa, an organization whose exuberant optimism and 'on-the-ground' work is reminiscent of the children's story: The Little Engine That Could. With what sounds a lot like the 'I-Think-I-Can' motto repeated in the story, this group is making an impact while managing on a shoestring. Monetizing the resources they do have, this small and devoted team continues to plug away, slowly but surely, turning a love for their dear friends of the Jabulani Village into steady and sustainable progress.

Their challenge is not unlike the awesome ferocity of nearby Victoria Falls. Zimbabwe's political crisis and resulting economic breakdown has led to abysmal access to public healthcare, a collapsed infrastructure, a crushing HIV epidemic, political violence, food shortages, cholera outbreaks, malnutrition, the world's highest inflation rate (at over 231 million percent) and an unemployment rate of 90 percent. Many better known NGO's who've sent doctors and other aid workers into the country have been run out while NAP Africa's stream of under-the-radar support -- coming from a group of seven board members and a handful of volunteers from Orange County, California -- has to date been unwavering and unencumbered.

This story of endurance began in 2004 when Sandy Orrill was inspired to take action after visiting a Zimbabwean village with her daughter Jennifer Kemper, a dealer in African art. They became acquainted with the talented carvers and the families living in the Jabulani village and saw first hand how devastating an impact the economic downturn was having on their new friends' lives. Acknowledging that there were no safety nets in place to support the Zimbabwean villagers during these unstable times, and that an art form was on its way to extinction, the two began dreaming up what would later become Ndebele Art Project Africa while flying home from their trip.

The work this steadfast group has accomplished in a short period of time is astonishing. To date NAP Africa has funded the building of the Jabulani Pre-School, which serves roughly 55 students, 30% of whom are orphans, and employs two phenomenal teachers year-round. Nearby is the centrally located windmill they installed, equipped with six water tanks for clean water that can serve over 500 people's water needs. In addition, the group provides emergency medical aid and food in monthly stipends.

In 2008 NAP held an incredibly successful village health clinic with sports medicine specialist Dr. Wendy Norman of Laguna Niguel, CA, treating over 90 men, women and children. Dr. Norman will return later this month to conduct a second clinic and to begin health education classes. Awaiting her arrival will be a 1-ton shipment of nutritional supplements and vitamins that she will distribute to the village families to help combat malnutrition.

This year NAP is taking legal steps to form a Trust (Zimbabwe Art Project - ZAP) with local chiefs and community leaders planning a number of new village initiatives. ZAPs first project is a community garden that will help feed villagers as well as allow them to sell product to local hotels and restaurants.

The long term commitment that NAP and its 'engine' of board members, volunteers and donors has made to the Jabulani villagers is to help bring hope, health and economic sustainability back to the village, restoring the majestic 'tall blondes' to the world marketplace and carving a brighter future in Africa through art.

EAT WELL, DO GOOD

Care to help out a good cause? All you have to do is eat. Really.

Dine at Memphis at the Santora in Santa Ana from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Sunday, and the restaurant will donate a portion of meal and beverage proceeds to an Orange County-based nonprofit group working to preserve the Jabulani Village in Zimbabwe, Africa.

The Ndebele Art Project (NAP) is an organization made up of local O.C. women endeavoring to aid the villagers' struggling community, which has been embattled with political unrest and economic devastation.

The Jabulani villagers of tradesmen and women are known worldwide for their "tall blondes" -- 15-foot giraffes carved from the local mucwa hardwood, but that art has virtually vanished.

Last year's NAP event raised more than $12,000 for ongoing village projects, including a preschool, community water, and a health clinic. The goal is to raise $20,000 this year for the preschool, food and emergency medical care and more water projects in the village.

Dinner reservations for the NAP fund-raising event can be made by calling Memphis: 714.564.1064. There will also be an optional fund-raising poker tournament, a silent auction, raffles and giveaways of the village's famous carved giraffes, local artisan jewelry, vacation packages and more.

Zimbabwe in Crisis

Health Crisis Sweeps Zimbabwe as Violence and Economic Collapse Spread

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The first months of 2008 marked a period of further economic meltdown and political violence throughout Zimbabwe. While the country has been in crisis for years, the situation deteriorated to ever more alarming levels, with inflation of 231 million percent, shortages of essential goods, repression of opposition supporters, and additional restrictions on humanitarian organizations in the lead up to contested elections in June.

The crisis was especially troubling for the country’s estimated two million people living with HIV/AIDS. According to the United Nations, life expectancy in Zimbabwe has plummeted to just 34 years of age because of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. As a result of the crisis, many people undergoing treatment were forced to skip meals, unable to afford bus fares to clinics, or were simply too afraid to leave their homes. MSF has 40,000 people with HIV/AIDS under its care in Zimbabwe, half of them on antiretroviral therapy. As patients missed appointments, some were feared to have fled the country. Unplanned treatment interruptions can have severe health consequences, including treatment failure due to the development of drug resistance.


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Throughout the year, Zimbabweans continued to flee the country in alarming numbers. The flight of much needed medical staff placed an even greater strain on the country’s deteriorating health-care system. About 3 million Zimbabweans have fled to neighboring South Africa; an unprecedented figure for a country not at war. Every day, thousands of people crossed the Limpopo River to reach the South African border town of Musina, risking beatings, rape, or robbery by bandits. MSF launched a project in the border town of Beitbridge to assist migrants on their way to South Africa and ran mobile clinics for new arrivals at sites along the Limpopo River and in Musina itself. Many who reached South Africa were forced to live underground to avoid arrest and deportation and in May, Zimbabweans, along with other foreign nationals, were targeted with violent xenophobic attacks, which displaced more than 100,000 people throughout South Africa. MSF provided emergency assistance to victims of the xenophobic violence.

The worst outbreak of cholera in years began in August and quickly spread as a result of the country’s collapsed infrastructure. The outbreak, which has been centered in Harare, was declared a national emergency in early December, by which time MSF had treated more than 11,000 patients. MSF’s medical teams set up more than a dozen cholera treatment centers and units, helped chlorinate water sources, disinfected homes, and sent teams throughout the countryside to treat outbreaks in rural areas. Significant new outbreaks were found in mid-December, particularly worrying as the rainy season had not yet started in many areas. Cholera spreads more easily in the rainy season, November to March, when contaminated sewage is more likely to be flushed into unprotected wells. MSF expects to be caring for cholera patients in Zimbabwe into 2009.

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