The 1010 Project Social Network
My Holiday Letter
Dear Friends and Family,
The Holidays are here! This has been a crazy year for Amber and I, and a difficult year for the whole world. As the economy continues to plummet, my thoughts are with the poorest of the poor, as they will feel the greatest impact of the downfall.
Three years ago, I spent my Christmas on the island of Namiti, in Uganda. The trip, five weeks in all, could be summarized in the wise words of a 13-year-old boy named Richard who said to me as I got in a canoe on my way home, “You may leave Africa, but it will never leave you.” Truer words have never been spoken. To this day, the faces of those Ugandans are still fresh in my mind, and every holiday brings me back to a humble Ugandan Christmas in 2005, where we sat in a mud hut lit by a gas lantern, warmed by good conversation and a bottle of Coca-Cola, the only gifts the islanders were able to offer me.
This year is no different, my mind still lingers in Africa, though joining the faces of my Ugandan friends are the faces of new Kenyan friends. In early June of this year, I was offered the privilege of joining a small, Denver-based nonprofit, The 1010 Project on an internship basis as the Design Coordinator. The 1010 Project exists to provide a helping hand to self-motivated, creative and innovative entrepreneurs living in impoverished areas. Impoverished communities are plagued by a cyclical nature of poverty, where debt and sustenance play off each other until individuals are unable to escape their situation. We collaborate with our partners, to break a cycle of poverty that affects nearly three billion people around the world. Currently the majority of our partners are located in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, with two of our more recent partners working in rural Kenya. As the Design Coordinator, I am responsible for telling the stories of the partners we work with.
Partners like:
Erastus Omukhango - Since the early 1990s, Erastus and the school he leads, Rehema Day Care & Orphans Centre, have been working to alleviate poverty by providing food and education to children in the Korogocho slum of Nairobi. Erastus is making a difference in the lives of destitute and less fortunate children. He has used funding from The 1010 Project to invest in an income-generating poultry project for the school.
"If someone helps you to start an income-generating activity, it is better than someone who says, 'I’ll be giving every month' because now you know how you can survive by yourself."- Erastus
Abigael Atieno - Abigael is a proud mother of five and the co-founder of St. Luke's Ministry. St. Luke's is a community-based organization that is reducing poverty in Miwani, Kenya, through the provision of education to children, shelter to widows, care to orphans, and vocational training for community members. Abigael exemplifies grace, humility, compassion, and hard work. Each morning, she wakes very early and prepares cakes and Kenyan tea, which she sells in the community. The profits are reinvested into this small business and the noble work of St. Luke's.
Those of you who know me, know I typically avoid any appearance of a sales pitch. However, I’ve recently realized that when it comes to a noble cause, there is no such thing as a sales pitch, only an invitation. After working for this organization for the past six months, I truly believe in the work we are doing alongside our partners, and feel it would be a disservice not to extend each and every one of you a chance to join our story.
You can find out more concerning all of our partners on our website at: www.the1010project.org. If you feel compelled, you can donate online, or find ways to tell your friends and family the stories of those who are breaking the cycle of poverty.
No doubt, you are bombarded by donation requests during the holiday season. Those of you who do donate, even if it is elsewhere, I urge you pay attention to where your money goes. Support and sponsorship, while they may be helpful in the short-term, leave no lasting impact unless they are sustainable and renewable. Make sure your money goes toward sustainable projects, supporting innovative individuals who are already working to bring themselves out of poverty. Instead of using your money to provide food for one orphan for one day, use that same money to buy a cow, which can provide food and income for over a hundred orphans for many years. Don’t buy clothes for one adult. Instead, support a small tailoring shop which can provide multiple sets of clothes as well as jobs. This year, don’t offer a handout. Offer a helping hand.
While this is an unusual holiday letter, Amber and I both feel it is an important one, something we both believed should be shared with our spheres of influence. In any case it seems the least I can do is tell the stories of those who opened up their hearts, homes, and last bottle of Coca-Cola to me three years ago. I hope this letter finds each of you well, and causes each of you to look to other’s interests during a season of peace and goodwill.
Peace,
Ryan and Amber Linstrom
*(Thanks to Mark Mann for the partner information on Erastus and Abigail)
The Holidays are here! This has been a crazy year for Amber and I, and a difficult year for the whole world. As the economy continues to plummet, my thoughts are with the poorest of the poor, as they will feel the greatest impact of the downfall.
Three years ago, I spent my Christmas on the island of Namiti, in Uganda. The trip, five weeks in all, could be summarized in the wise words of a 13-year-old boy named Richard who said to me as I got in a canoe on my way home, “You may leave Africa, but it will never leave you.” Truer words have never been spoken. To this day, the faces of those Ugandans are still fresh in my mind, and every holiday brings me back to a humble Ugandan Christmas in 2005, where we sat in a mud hut lit by a gas lantern, warmed by good conversation and a bottle of Coca-Cola, the only gifts the islanders were able to offer me.
This year is no different, my mind still lingers in Africa, though joining the faces of my Ugandan friends are the faces of new Kenyan friends. In early June of this year, I was offered the privilege of joining a small, Denver-based nonprofit, The 1010 Project on an internship basis as the Design Coordinator. The 1010 Project exists to provide a helping hand to self-motivated, creative and innovative entrepreneurs living in impoverished areas. Impoverished communities are plagued by a cyclical nature of poverty, where debt and sustenance play off each other until individuals are unable to escape their situation. We collaborate with our partners, to break a cycle of poverty that affects nearly three billion people around the world. Currently the majority of our partners are located in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, with two of our more recent partners working in rural Kenya. As the Design Coordinator, I am responsible for telling the stories of the partners we work with.
Partners like:
Erastus Omukhango - Since the early 1990s, Erastus and the school he leads, Rehema Day Care & Orphans Centre, have been working to alleviate poverty by providing food and education to children in the Korogocho slum of Nairobi. Erastus is making a difference in the lives of destitute and less fortunate children. He has used funding from The 1010 Project to invest in an income-generating poultry project for the school.
"If someone helps you to start an income-generating activity, it is better than someone who says, 'I’ll be giving every month' because now you know how you can survive by yourself."- Erastus
Abigael Atieno - Abigael is a proud mother of five and the co-founder of St. Luke's Ministry. St. Luke's is a community-based organization that is reducing poverty in Miwani, Kenya, through the provision of education to children, shelter to widows, care to orphans, and vocational training for community members. Abigael exemplifies grace, humility, compassion, and hard work. Each morning, she wakes very early and prepares cakes and Kenyan tea, which she sells in the community. The profits are reinvested into this small business and the noble work of St. Luke's.
Those of you who know me, know I typically avoid any appearance of a sales pitch. However, I’ve recently realized that when it comes to a noble cause, there is no such thing as a sales pitch, only an invitation. After working for this organization for the past six months, I truly believe in the work we are doing alongside our partners, and feel it would be a disservice not to extend each and every one of you a chance to join our story.
You can find out more concerning all of our partners on our website at: www.the1010project.org. If you feel compelled, you can donate online, or find ways to tell your friends and family the stories of those who are breaking the cycle of poverty.
No doubt, you are bombarded by donation requests during the holiday season. Those of you who do donate, even if it is elsewhere, I urge you pay attention to where your money goes. Support and sponsorship, while they may be helpful in the short-term, leave no lasting impact unless they are sustainable and renewable. Make sure your money goes toward sustainable projects, supporting innovative individuals who are already working to bring themselves out of poverty. Instead of using your money to provide food for one orphan for one day, use that same money to buy a cow, which can provide food and income for over a hundred orphans for many years. Don’t buy clothes for one adult. Instead, support a small tailoring shop which can provide multiple sets of clothes as well as jobs. This year, don’t offer a handout. Offer a helping hand.
While this is an unusual holiday letter, Amber and I both feel it is an important one, something we both believed should be shared with our spheres of influence. In any case it seems the least I can do is tell the stories of those who opened up their hearts, homes, and last bottle of Coca-Cola to me three years ago. I hope this letter finds each of you well, and causes each of you to look to other’s interests during a season of peace and goodwill.
Peace,
Ryan and Amber Linstrom
*(Thanks to Mark Mann for the partner information on Erastus and Abigail)
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