To everybody who has supported our efforts, you have already brought joy and happiness to so many. This quote is for all of you:
"The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not intend to sit."
"The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not intend to sit."
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To make a one time donation
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RHO stands for Richard Hiroshi O'Brien from Davis, CA. Richard was born on December 16, 1990. He died on February 13, 2010 in a skiing accident. Richard was an amazing young man who had such a bright light in his eyes. He had a lot to offer this world. RHO Appleseed is our way of carrying his torch and keeping his memory alive. Click here to learn more about Richard.
We are dedicated to providing quality education and improving the quality of life for orphans and vulnerable children in the Bauleni Housing Compound in Lusaka, Zambia. We operate a school and meal program for more than 100 of these children. They have little opportunity for education and a dangerously poor quality of life.
Help Bring Internet to Appleseed!
Just $170 can bring internet access! Please help!
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Both kids and adults are enjoying the new computers provided by I.T. Africa!! Members are learning basic computer skills and having fun too! The next big step is to bring internet to the center. Please help us to purchase a wireless router. For just $170 (Kwacha 1200) so that we can begin offering internet access to our members. You can help by clicking the Donate button above! |
The Latest News and Events!
APPLESEED COMMUNITY CENTER OPENING DAY!
Saturday, March 7, 2015
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March began the true kick off of Appleseed as a community center. In addition to tuitions, we have opened the lending library and media center. We owe a huge thank you to our new friend Wayne, who is a librarian from the UK. Wayne volunteers on Saturdays. He and Paul have put much work into the organization of the library and the checkout system.
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Also on Saturdays, Olivia, a 12th grader, runs a girls group called Shine Girls. She has organized art activities and brought in guest speakers for the girls. This is a great addition to the exciting line up of programs and activities happening Appleseed Community Center.
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Appleseedlings Transition
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The transformation from school to Community Center is underway. It has been a challenge working with the government schools to get everyone placed.
Although Primary Education is "free" here in Zambia, the schools are so crowded that there simply is not room for everyone. As of today, most of our children have been placed. A few are still waiting, but are receiving lunch and tutoring at Appleseed while we continue to look for a school to accept them. |
Please help purchase a school uniform! Just $8.33 buys a school uniform (required for 'free' education)To make a one time donation
We have reached our goal for uniforms! Thank you to all who helped!
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Change
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While a necessary part of life, change can be difficult. We started ‘Appleseed School’ when we found that we wanted to be a part of the lives of the children we were meeting. We wanted to help improve their lives but most of all, we just liked being around them. They made us happy, so Appleseed began.
We operated as a community school for 3 years. During that time there have been extreme highs and extreme lows, but the one thing that has never
wavered is the smiles of the kids and how they made us feel.
We believe strongly that we must have a scaleable and sustainable model in order for Appleseed to be successful for the long term. To that end, we have decided to make some changes to the structure of RHO Appleseed. The new Appleseed, will be RHO Appleseed Library and Community Center. We will continue to serve the 100 Appleseed students at no cost to their families.
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In January, current Appleseed students will attend the local government school, and will receive 3 hours of small group tutoring per week at Appleseed. They will have a meal voucher for each of their tutoring days. In addition, Appleseed kids will receive scholarships for extra curricular classes such as soccer, choir, art, etc.
The center will also be a lending library. We will begin by giving Appleseed families lending privileges. There is currently no service of this kind in the Bauleni community. We have been cautioned a number of times that people will not return the books. However, we feel that with training and trust, the community will want this service and will make it work. This is predominately a culture of non-readers simply due to lack of books. No one has access to books in the home. We are very excited to be the first to try a lending library in Bauleni.
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While we are excited about the future of Appleseed, we are also sad for the loss of the current school. The change is difficult for everyone; Ken and I, the teachers, but most of all, the students. They are nervous. I think they worry about losing the family feeling that we have at Appleseed. We have assured them that Appleseed is still their place, it will be open more hours and be a place where they can hang out, read, play games and learn after school.
Kids in the compound desperately need something to do after school. Currently, the school is locked up at 3:30. We are excited about offering afternoon and evening activities. After this school year (which ends in November) Appleseed will reopen with its new model where we will eventually serve many more people in the Bauleni Compound.
Our friend, Diego, told us, “The compound is speaking to you, and you are humble enough to listen.” Diego runs an NGO, In and Out of the Ghetto, and lives in the compound. He has been a wonderful sounding board through some difficult times. Change: Difficult, Necessary, Transformative, EXCITING!
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The Beginning....This slide show is a reminder of how we got started. Saturday afternoons... the broken out building with dirt floors, songs, stories, snacks and fun. These were very happy days for us all. Now we look back and are amazed with how far we have come as we continue to look to the future.
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We are so grateful to Dan Harrison and Manu Tavares for putting this video together for us. They are amazing people who have been bicycling from London to Cape Town, helping worthy projects along the way. |
Check out our new listing at www.zaplaces.comThank You Zaplaces.com for the courtesy listing!
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