Community Empowerment Project for Southern Africa

Introduction

You can help the environment and send a child to school by sponsoring a cook-stove. Also consider promoting this program in your school, civic club, place of worship, or place of business.  These cook-stoves are investments in life, empowerment and opportunity.

New Cook Stove

            Vs.

Traditional cook-stoves

The Southern Africa cook-stove project is truly unique, creating multiple benefits for all stakeholders including the environment and empowering women, children and families in a tangible, relevant and sustainable way. We sponsor highly fuel-efficient cook-stoves for urban poor in southern Africa. These stoves heat food and water using gathered twigs instead large amounts of charcoal or wood, and has a very low emission of smoke, and does not expose children to an open flame This is beneficial to the environment and to the health of the women and children.

It also helps families and empowers women through the household savings on fuel, which can be used for micro-enterprise. Finally, the key benefit of this program is that in exchange for every stove sponsored, one orphaned child will be sent to school, from Grades 1 through 12, who could otherwise not receive an education. 

Benefits to the Environment

The cook-stove benefits the environment as it yields better indoor air quality and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. It also counteracts deforestation and erosion, and saves fertile land. Furthermore, families benefit by savings in fuel costs which is approximately 40% of an average unskilled wage. Supporting projects include: reforestation, harvesting transportation and distribution of twigs. The program will also include monitoring and ongoing project support to ensure transition from charcoal to renewable Biomass.

Pictured right: A child carrying wood

Supporting the UN's Millenium Development Goals (MDGs)

Our program will encourage women to use their household savings to send their child to school, and engage in microenterprise opportunities. They can generate more income to feed their families and escape the cycle of poverty. This fundamental shift to empowerment enables families to live with dignity and create a brighter future. Also, it is estimated that for every twelve stoves a new job will be created in supporting projects.

MDG goals achieved by this program:

• Achieve universal primary education
• Promote gender equality and empower women
• Ensure environmental sustainability
• Develop a Global Partnership for Development

 

Women are directly helped by the program

Stove Benefits Child Education

The cost of a cook-stove is similar to the cost of sponsoring a child for one year. Each time a stove is sponsored a family is financially empowered to send one or more children to school. The program will include monitoring by staff in Zambia to ensure continued use of the stove and school attendance of the child. This gift of long term sustainable savings opens up the opportunity for children to have a valuable, continuous and significant education.

Each stove costs $340 to sponsor.  All donations are tax deductible. Our tax ID # is: 62-1813479.

How to Sponsor:

Send a check to:

Reaching Hearts for Kids
PO Box 124
Burtonsville, MD 20866

To pay by credit card: Click the “Donate Online” link and choose to sponsor a stove.

Or call us at toll free at: 877-745-7833
Email questions to: info@reachinghearts4kids.org

Reaching Hearts for Kids thanks you for your continued support to children.