$35,000 raised for Africa at dinner
October 26, 2006

By Hannelore Volpe
Staff Writer, Stouffville Sun-Tribune

More Igoman children won’t be dying of malaria and villagers in Igoma may have less water-borne diseases in future thanks to the support of Whitchurch-Stouffville residents.

At Friday’s gala fundraising dinner, $35,000 was raised for the Stouffville Igoma Partnership. The funds will enable the partnership to keep Igoma’s first medical clinic running for another year.

Finding ways to improve the village’s water supply is a new initiative of the program, which started in Whitchurch-Stouffville. Several members of the partnership, including Pastor Lou Geense of EastRidge Evangelical Missionary Church and committee chairperson Peter Neufeld, are travelling to Tanzania this fall and winter to explore bringing in clean, safe water with local officials and to assess the partnership program.

Around $8,000 was also raised at the fundraiser to buy mosquito nets for Igoman villagers. It was enough money to purchase around 2,000 nets, instead of the 1,000 originally projected. The nets cost around $4 each last year and are purchased in Tanzania. They’ll make a significant difference to the lives of children in the village.

“Three thousand African children die daily and half of them are under five years old,” Mr. Neufeld said, “as they have little or no immunity to the malaria mosquito bite.”

<< News & Event Directory >>