|
|
|
|
|
 |
Home
Mission: “To care for, to honor, to preserve and to protect” the dignity of children and families through collaborative projects that empower people to make sustained positive changes within their own communities. Founded in 2002, Malama International is a 501(c) 3 organization that seeks to restore hope to and a future for the world’s children and families. Malama is a Hawaiian word that means “to care for, to honor, to preserve, and to protect.” The idea for Malama International was birthed out of friendship. Glynn and Julie Griggs started the nonprofit after their close friend, Ruth Mirembe from Uganda, lost all of her siblings to AIDS and became the primary caretaker of her 14 nieces and nephews. Through Ruth’s stories, Glynn and Julie learned of the plight of Ugandan children who were orphaned by the AIDS pandemic and rebel fighting and who were living in extreme poverty. Determined to be part of the solution, the Griggs founded Malama International “to care for, to protect, to preserve and to honor” the dignity of children and families through collaborative projects that empower people to make sustained positive changes within their own communities.
 Currently, Malama International is focusing its efforts solely on work in Uganda. By the year 2010, Sub-Saharan Africa will be home to an estimated 50 million orphaned children, with more than a third losing one or both parents to AIDS, a UN report says. With an entire generation lost to AIDS, Uganda has become a young population with children accounting for more than 52% of the populace.
Because the Ugandan government does not have the resources to provide adequate health and social services for its people, non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) at the grassroots level have stepped in to fill the gap. Malama International partners with Bethesda International, a Ugandan NGO started by Ruth Mirembe. The statistics are so overwhelming that it is difficult to know where to help. That is the beauty of Malama International's partnership with Ruth and her NGO. By partnering with a local NGO, Malama International is able to see even a small amount of help have a tremendous impact by addressing three primary needs: basic necessities, education, and sustainable community project.
Through our partnership with a Ugandan NGO, we have supported the establishment of foster homes to connect 134 children with a warm, nurturing family environment. In addition, we have helped 200 children with the school fees and scholastic materials necessary for education as well as supported the building of a rural village school. Prior to the establishment of this school, village children were walking nine miles each day to receive an education. A small-scale farm was purchased for the raising of crops, dairy cows, and pigs to sustain the work.
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
This partnership was established to give hope to children living in hopeless environments and to empower children with the life skills they need to live as healthy, happy adults. We are not interested in providing simply the bare minimum required to keep human beings alive but in addressing the broader impact of poverty: social exclusion, feelings of hopelessness as well as helplessness, restricted choices and opportunities and the like. 
