Turn Your
Trash to Treasure
DONATE YOUR EARNINGS TO
Wells of Love and Hope

It is good for everyone
You can release some unwanted items and the people in Kenya can benefit from your donation
It’s even good for the environment!

Talk to your friends and neighbors and work together
Or
Hold a sale of your own before the end of June

• Tell or email Ms. IKabot@nred.org your name, the date, time and place of your tag sale and the Ward School Student Council will spread the word at school.
• Go to the www.wellsofloveandhope.org site to see all the good Ward School is doing for our brothers and sisters in Kenya
• Donate your Tag Sale money and additional donations
Directly Online
• Or send/bring a check to Ward School to Ms. Kabot

Please make all checks out to:
WELLS OF LOVE AND HOPE

Sell cold drinks and healthy snacks to keep your
customers happy.
Then add the snack sale money to your already generous donation!

Asante sana! Thank you, very much!

BUCKETS OF LOVE AND HOPE are being brought up every day by the students, teachers and local villagers around the Utini primary School. The first water well of William B. Ward Elementary School is real!

Tuesday, March 31 was Agnes Ndetei’s birthday, and when I called her that morning, to convey my very best wishes, she gave me the most wonderful gift. “The well is bringing up 50 gallons of water a day”, she said. “What?” I said, thinking I had a bad connection. “The well… at Utini… we hit water”, she said. I cried. (duh)

I couldn’t speak but I could think (barely) and my brain said, IT”S REAL!!! IT”S REALLY REAL”!
We did it. We brought them water. OMG!

It’s only 1 well and they need so much more but it is making a real difference in their lives. Thank you God!
And thank you, all the loving people who have made this REAL!

The well needs to be dug deeper than it’s present 22ft. to become a sustainable water supply. Then it will be tested for health standards. There are no contaminants from industry and it is so much cleaner that the stagnant supply they are using now but it will be tested and a filter will be added if necessary. Then capped to keep out animals and debris. Then the pump will be added for more efficient drawing.

I expect it will be a free flowing water supply by the time I see it in August. Don’t worry I’ll show you the pics when I get back.
Asante sana! Thank you very much!

On Friday Jan. 30,  at the conference for teachers called (CTAUN) Committee on Teaching About the United Nations, Ms. Irene Kabot received for William B. Ward Elementary School the “Best Practices Award” for their Wells of Love and Hope peace project. (in picture, Phyllis Hickey left, presenting award to Ms. Irene Kabot on right)

I got back to the conference room after lunch and didn’t see Phyllis (the Best Practices director). I sat down in the auditorium and very soon noticed that she and others were on the dais. On THE dais? At the UN? Oh, my…and I was late.

They started speaking and I scooted over to the side with our Administrative Assistant Cynthia Barr-Pfeffer. Then when there seemed to be a break I walked up to Ann Marie Carlson (director of CTAUN) and pointed to myself and then the dais to ask “Do I belong up there?” she nodded yes and I sheepishly walked up, sat at the dais and very nervously awaited my turn.
I had two minutes to tell 800 of my peers, of all the good the children, teachers, parents, friends and staff have done over the one year that the Wells of Love and Hope Project has been active.
All I remember is muttering something about Children Helping Children. Rotary. Magic tricks. And What have you done with Justin? Then I was given the very lovely Award certificate and it seemed many teachers complimented me on my enthusiasm as I walked back to my seat, shakily and very thirsty for some water.
I do remember showing them our new T-shirts, wrist bands and telling them that we are digging a well, planting tees and writing letters to the children at the at Utini Primary school. I do remember getting a note from Phyllis reminding me that I was running over my two minutes.
I wanted to tell them of all the love and compassion and generosity the Ward community has shown the people of Kibwezi; children and adults they have never met.
I am so proud of all of us at William B. Ward. I hope it showed.
Watch my speech at he CTAUN conference and see for yourself.
With much peace and love,
Irene Kabot

The 55 member student council, moderated by our Asst. prin.  John Fogliano,  has not only re-adopted Wells of Love and Hope for their Peace Project this year but the incoming Student Council president, Sammy Stone, ran his campaign on building another well in Kenya.

I finally met with the student council to explain more of the wells project to them and once again was met and uplifted by the joyful enthusiasm of  ” young hearts doing good”.  They are ready to make posters, hold bake sales and this year due to the drive of the new president we will be selling Wells of Love and Hope wrist bands.

Yes, Sammy Stone was proud to announce that his grandfather was donating all the wristband we could sell for our Ward School Project Peace: Wells of Love and Hope.  We decided to go with two different colors: blue for water/wells and gold/yellow for Hope.

Now I am jumping on board and have completed the Kenya Movie from my trip this August to show the children next week.

Also the T shirt logo contest winners are in and the winning logos are being prepared.  One for “Wells of Love and Hope” and one for “Seedling for Sustainability”, our tree planting project.  We expect to sell many of them after the presentation next week and after the evening performance fund raiser.

Date of he evening fund raiser TBA.

Irene Kabot

When we had our African Cook Out on June 21st, it was just a segue into my plans for my trip to Kenya in August, especially since half my trip had just been funded by a very generous parent!

I spoke to Agnes, Anele, and Maluki. I sought out advice from a teacher in Staten Island who had been to Liberia on  a cause of her own. Great story see www.Boimah.com. And I generally kept in the swing of Wells and Kenya.  The week I returned, I presented our Peace Project pictures to a local New Rochelle assisted Living residence of Willow Towers… and so on.

The point being, I never stopped to see the end and the beginning that everyone else saw.  I jumped right into September with running start, never acknowledging the accomplishments of the past school season. I apologize!

THANK YOU!            THANK YOU!         THANK YOU!    ASANTE SANA!  (which means Thank You Very Much)

This week at Ward School we are placing a huge sheet of brown rolled paper on the bulletin board outside the auditorium with the help of one of our art teachers, Ms. Patti Kenny. All who have contributed in any way will be invited to sign the Thank You Note!

Sometimes you need to take a deep breathe and appreciate where you are!

Last year at this time we had just accepted the Wells of Love and Hope as our Ward School Project Peace for 2007-08 and now we are digging a well, planting trees and writing to our Peace Pals.

I am planning to add a scroll to the website so anyone who contributes can sign in and be recognized.  I will speak to my gifted “Tech” Suzanne owner of www.vassistantsvcs.com, with whom I have been blessed!

THANK YOU ALL!

22 members of the Ward School community have jumped on board to plant mango seedlings in Kenya. Planting trees in the deforested areas of the world like Kibwezi in Kenya, Africa can slowly but surely reestablish some balance in the ecology in the local area and the world.

8 year old Justin touted ” When one part of the world is struggling and out of balance, the whole world is struggling and out of balance and we need to fix it!”

$20 will buy a seedling and send motivational school supplies to the seedlings’ student guardian.  Agnes or someone she trains will check on the “health” of the seedling and reward the caretaker with a school supply.

Wells provide local water supply, for general health improvement and greater  opportunity for children to go to school. Then water supply for plants and animals to reestablish ecologic and economic balance.

See the United Nations Millennium Development Goals www.UN.org and note that this Wells of Love and Hope project addresses 7 out of 8 of the MDGs.

When I got to school this morning and looked in my mail box.  There was this brown thick envelope with stamps all over it!  It looked like it had traveled half way around the world…it had!

It was our 1st International Peace Pal package!

When I was In Kenya with Agnes this summer we traveled to the Utini Primary School, where we at Ward Elementary school are presently digging our first well. Part of the trip was to connect with the people we would be serving and find an appropriate well site.  Second was to start the “Seedlings for Sustainability” tree planting initiative with the students there, which we are in the process of doing.  Letters went home with our children today. And third was to start the International Peace Pals, a pen pal writing program between Ward School and Utini. We got lucky Kevenda Primary School joined us too. We had decided with the teachers there that they would write to us first. And voila! Today WE GOT MAIL!

I am reviewing the letters to show to some of you and then find teachers and students who wish to participate in a committed writing relationship. We already have students waiting. So it’s a go!

More about:

Wells of Love and Hope

Seedlings for Sustainability

International Peace Pals on our main site

Read the story of the birth of Wells of Love and Hope.