Dez & Al meeting Ann after 4 years

This past April, Desiree Daniels and Al Sodaro, headed to Kenya to finally meet the girls that they have been supporting for the past four years. Desiree is also an MFFO Board Member. It was an amazing experience for everyone. We are so very excited that they are heading back next week. And trust me, so are the girls in Kenya.

There is so much to say about your first trip to the home to see the girls, but no one has ever explained it quite like Al himself. This video was prepared for the attendees at our Gift of Education Fundraiser this year in Gaithersburg, Maryland back in October. Please take a moment and listen to Al tell his personal story.

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Thank you Al and Desiree for loving the girls so fully and proving to all of us once again that love is never limited by distance or time. Please give each and every one of them a hug from all of us… volunteers, sponsors, donors and friends.

Tell them we love them all and hope that they have a wonderful holiday and new year!

Safe journey my friends.

We have WONDERFUL news.

At 8:15pm on Thursday night, we received news that our eldest girl, Mary, was accepted to Nairobi University!! She will be studying International Relations and she reports on October 5th.

We couldn’t be more proud.

We, at MFFO, met Mary when she was entering High School. It’s amazing how the time has flown by and here she is, all grown up, and heading to College.

Mary has worked so hard over these past four years. We also know that none of this would be possible without the tireless efforts of the staff at Saint Monica’s. Perpetua Gatome, the director at Saint Monica’s, has been an inspiration and motivator for higher education. We know that she has played an integral part to all of this, and we are forever grateful!

We love you Mary and good luck in your studies!

We are excited to announce that this years Gift of Education Fundraiser will be on October 15, 2011.
It will be in Gaithersburg, Maryland once again.
If you have any questions or would like to join us for the evening please contact Audrey Forshey at AudreyForshey@gmaildotcom.

More details will follow in next few months. Thanks again and we hope to see you there!

Lillian, Joyce, and Teresia

Last weekend was half term break for our girls at Saint Monica’s. They got four days off from school. I know that may not seem like such a big deal to us here, but it is. You see, on a typical school day, our girls go from 7:00 am to 4:00 pm. They also go to school on Saturdays as well until noon.

Why you ask? The chance to get into a great High School is so very competitive in Kenya. Each girl has to work extra hard to get the grades she needs to be accepted. Our girls understand this. So they work day in and day out to get the best grades they can possibly get.

So last Thursday, this picture was taken of Lillian, Joyce and Teresia when they arrived back from school. They were happy to be able to take a few days off and just enjoy being a kid before the next half of the term began. Now, this week, the work begins once again.

We are so very proud of each girl as she moves forward to her academic goals. Each one of them has a dream, and we are so very lucky to witness it.

Ruth, Maureen & Alice showing off their new uniforms!

Last November, we celebrated our 2011 School Year Annual Education Fundraiser. It was an amazing night hosted by Mike and Audrey Forshey, and all their amazing and dedicated friends. It was a a wonderful night. Along with the money raised and money donated by sponsors (some of our girls have specific sponsors), we were able to raise all the money for the 2011 school year.

We wanted to update you where the money is going. For the past few weeks, we have been busy registering the girls in schools, some new ones because we had the funds, and paying off the first term school fees. (There are three terms each year)

The great thing is that some of the schools offer swimming and computer courses as well. What an amazing opportunity for our girls!

We have 31 girls registered at four different schools. Here is the breakdown:

Laureate School – Elementary School-Boarding (3 girls)
Paid: 01/26/2011
$1,214.73

St. Ann Gichocho Girls Secondary School - High School-Boarding (12 girls)
Paid: 01/19/2011
$3,828.93

Mirema School – Elementary – (14 girls total/ 2 boarding 12 day scholars)
Paid: 01/24/2011
$4,147.90

Loreto School – High School- Boarding (1 girl)
Paid: 01/25/2011
$220.00

Totaling: $9410 for the first term. Money is sent separately to Sisters Arise Project for requirements (personal items and school supplies for each girl) totaling approximately $1700 – $2000 a term, this is based on exchange rate and what grades the girls are in.

So there you have it. The girls are settled and ready for the new 2011 school year. Our founder, Rocky Turner, along with Audrey Forshey, will be heading to Kenya in April. We will update you on the girls progress in school then, with plenty of pictures of course!

Thanks again to everyone who supported the 2011 school year. None of this would be possible without you!

The Mothers Fighting for Others fundraiser on November 13th,  was a real spectacle of service. I’ve rarely seen so many volunteers work so hard for a good cause for such a sustained period of time.

Audrey Forshey and her husband Mike hosted in their home, and with the help of more than a dozen of their friends and colleagues, put together a truly wonderful, moving event. They spent weeks canvassing local businesses for donations to go in the silent auction – in the end, nearly 70 lots were on offer, including paintings, Persian rugs, spa packages, personal chef services, and baby toys. (They also secured donations of two iPads that were raffled off, one online and the other at the event.)

Then there was all of the fabulous food that so many people contributed: Whole roasted salmon, macaroni and cheese, big salads, roast beef, sushi, and tray after tray of cookies, cakes, and desserts were needed to feed the hundreds of people who moved in and out of the Forshey home throughout the night. (There were also two open bars, all stocked by the volunteers.)

When I arrived and saw how much had been prepared – and how many people were running around to take care of all of the last minute details – I said to MFFO founder Racquel (Rocky) Turner and her husband Jeff, “You must be exhausted after all of this work.” Rocky’s reply: “It’s all Audrey and her friends. I took two naps today!” (She has six kids at home, plus the girls of St. Monica’s in Kenya. If anyone needs a nap or two, Rocky does.)

I will have more to say about MFFO in future posts. But for now, I just wanted to give credit to the many people who put so much into raising nearly $27,000 ** in one night to make sure that the girls of St. Monica’s can continue their education for another year. Not everyone can afford to sponsor a girl (or to match the funds of those who donate, as Monica McNamara did), but Audrey and her friends showed that everyone can do something to help others, whether it’s locally or in the developing world.

I was somewhat overwhelmed to witness such a display of joyfully-given service. Thank you to Audrey, Mike, Dede, Nancy, Lavina, Suzanne, Connie, Jim, Maria, Delores, Gisela, and everyone else whose names passed me by. You gave me a great example of carrying out much-needed service with a smile when called upon to do so.

-Jackie Danicki

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*This post was written by Jackie Danicki, an inspiration and humanitarian in our eyes, who currently works for Concern and was a guest at the Gift of Education Fundraiser.

**All Donations are finally in and the total raised was $32,096.57

The goal for the evening is to raise $25,000 to help put the girls at Saint Monica’s through school for an entire year. 100% of the money raised will go to school fees, tutoring, books, supplies, transport and all the personal items a young girl needs for an entire year.

If you would like to join us for the evening please contact Audrey Forshey at AudreyForshey@gmaildotcom, or if you would like make a donation to the Gift of Education Program, you can donate directly at MFFO.org.

We are looking forward to this very special night!

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This is why we’re taking action in Kenya by creating a new home for 34 girls. We believe that part of the education process is teaching girls that they DESERVE to be treated with respect. Combine an education with a healthy sense of self-worth, and you’ve powerfully changed a life. And changing the life of a girl is important. Here are some facts provided by The Girl Effect.

1. When a girl in a developing country receives seven or more years of education, she marries four years later, and has 2.2 fewer children.
2. Educated girls grow into educated women, who – research shows – have healthier babies and are more likely to educate their children.
3. When girls and women earn income, they reinvest 90 percent of it into their families, as compared to only 30 to 40 percent for a man.
4. An extra year of primary school boosts girls’ future wages by 10 to 20 percent.
5. An extra year of secondary school boosts girls’ future wages by 15 to 25 percent.

At Mothers Fighting For Others, our mission is to help orphaned girls become powerful women. And there’s a lot of work to be done. If you’d like to help, please let us know.

The following is a transcript from the show, which was interrupted by a 30-minute Twitter outage and a visit by the infamous Fail Whale. It was an interesting experience to be interviewed via Twitter and we’re looking forward to the opportunity to joining Fi Brownrigg (Fi), with Herald De Paris et Cie, and Melanie Amor (Mel), with Bel Air Magazine, again soon. You can also find them on The Herald De Paris et Cie Facebook page.

(Fi) Today we are very privileged and humbled to be joined by Racquel “Rocky” Turner, mom of six, wife to one, and founder of @MFFOdotORG!

• (Rocky) Good Morning! #mffo

(Fi) Thanks for joining us to talk about #MFFO, Rocky! We’ve been looking forward to having you all weekend.

• (Rocky) Thank you so much for having me.
  

(Fi) Hey, we already have a request Are you looking for MFFO’s link? RT @FloridaSunSales: @LeMorningShow link? for @headmutha

• (Rocky) The link to the site is http://mffo.org and our current campaign is http://bit.ly/bIxZSb #mffo

(Fi) Our other host Melanie of @belairmagazine should be along shortly! But in the meantime, Rocky, why don’t I start off by asking would you tell us more about your altruistic enterprise, “Mothers Fighting For Others?”

• (Rocky) MFFO, the charity, was started in 2007 after a volunteer trip with GVN to Kenya.
  

• (Rocky) I fell in love with the girls at the orphanage, came home, started the charity so we could begin collecting funds for their education
  

• (Rocky) We started with very modest goals, just a handful of girls who were then entering high school. Our hope is to sponsor 100%

(Fi) You originally went to Kenya with GVN – is that the Global Volunteer Network?

• (Rocky) But we’ve extended beyond just their education. Our goal is to open a new orphanage and take care of 100% of their needs
  

• (Rocky) Yes, GVN is Global Volunteer Network. They place volunteers all over the world.

(mel) Gooooooood #LeMorning Everyone!! Desculpe for lateness! 3rd Monday tweeting #LMS @ Peets coffee instead of my warm nest. #ATTfail
(Fi) What was it about the girls in Kenya that so inspired you with the drive to accomplish this magnanimous task? Any particular memory?
(mel) Hi FI! Welcome Rocky–great to have you here, so me, Fi, Jes & our #LMSviewers can learn!

• (Rocky) I realized, as they followed me around, clinging to my side, they what these girls really needed was love. A mom.
  

• (Rocky) It is a bunch of memories all wrapped into one. It was overwhelmingly powerful.
  

• (Rocky) These were my words at the time: http://myjourneytoafrica.wordpress.com/2007/10/05/day-6-my-heart/

(Fi) Morning, Mel! We were just chatting about #MFFO with Rocky Turner – sorry to hear AT&T has failed you again
(mel) Thanks Fi! Bah! #ATTfail won’t hold me back from @LeMorningShow & #MFFO

• (Rocky) Hi, Mel.
  

(Fi) Wow. What a powerful post, Rocky. WIth an experience such as that, I can understand the motivation behind your inspiration for #MFFO.

• (Rocky) What is amazing is that the emotion is even stronger today. It keeps me moving through the struggles toward the goal.

(Fi) The audio on that post is just unbelievably touching. If the rest of you can listen to it, you absolutely should: http://bit.ly/d6sk72

• (Rocky) Thank you. I was in the moment. It was amazing was what my husband, @respres, had to do at the time to get that up.

(Fi) Your husband transcribed that from a recording you made while in Kenya?

• (Rocky) Forgive the typos. It’s a bit early here in LA and the first day of Spring Vacation for my kids.
  

• (Rocky) Yes, my husband had to transcribe recorded messages I sent from Kenya. It was the only way at the time. Technology has changed!

(Fi) Haha, yes, thank you so much for getting up so early in LA to join us and educate us about your cause We do appreciate that.
(mel) What a heartwarming story, Rocky–making me snap back to what is important in life!
(Fi) … so what were some of the obstacles and hurtles that you needed to clear, in creating MFFO and so forth?

• (Rocky) No! Thank you for inviting me. It’s a privilege.

• (Rocky) Well, the paperwork to create a 501c3 in the US is a bit daunting. But really, that was not hard, just tedious.
  

• (Rocky) The real obstacles for @mffodotorg are distance and culture.

(mel) Rocky, do you travel back & forth often?

• (Rocky) Last year I went to Kenya three times. I’ll be leaving for my 2nd trip this year at the end of the month.
  

• (Rocky) I am going to buy “requirements” for the girls who are in high school

• (Rocky) Requirements = school supplies, toiletries, bedding, anything and everything they need to get them through boarding school.

(mel) can people can send those things also, or do y’all prefer donations to buy those necessities?

• (Rocky) It’s way too expensive to ship. And for 99% of it, we prefer to buy it there to help the local economy.
  

• (Rocky) There are things we do collect here, small school supplies, pens, pencils, etc. But most have to be purchased in Kenya.

(Fi) Great tip, Rocky – buying there, so as to help the local market. Thank you for sharing that advice.
(mel) Any special things that they can’t get in Kenya? I would imagine we (U.S.) would have essentials you can’t buy there?

• (Rocky) No, actually, you can get anything you need in Kenya. Of course “need” often means something different here in the U.S.
  

• (Rocky) @stepwise does have trouble finding soy latte’s though.

(mel) A very true point, Rocky!

• (Rocky) we work closely with @stepwise on @mffodotorg projects with the girls.

(Fi) Haha! I can believe it, Rocky. #soylattescarcity
(mel) Back at last!!!!! Sorry for the delay, #LMS! *shaking fist at twitter*

• (Rocky) It appears Twitter is back. Did we break it?

(mel) Let’s see if we can gather what is left of our time together…
(mel) Yes, we did break Twitter! *laugh* The downfall of having a groundbreaking show on twitter- I blame you, Rocky Now, where were we?

• (Rocky) Twitter is normally VERY good to us. The community here is amazing with its support. #50kfor50k
  

(mel) I, too, have found an amazing group of people on twitter…guess how I got on @LeMorningShow?! *laugh* about 4 hours ago via web
FYI, #LMS–our Guest Host is (Rocky) –Rocky Turner (alias @headmutha) of “Mothers Fighting for Others!” – via @LeMorningShow
(mel) Rocky is building an orphanage in Kenya, & changing lives! What questions would YOU like to ask her, #LMSviewers?
(mel) For those of you just tuning into #LMS this morning–we’ve endured some twitter isssssues, & have been unable to get back to our chat!
(mel) We’d like to extend our apologies to Rocky, our #LMSguesthost, who had to get up early today! Perhaps we can beg her to come again…

• (Rocky) You don’t need to beg. I’d be happy to return. Perhaps not at 6am during spring break.
  

(mel) *LOL* Agreed, Rocky! You name the day & we will be here, excited to talk!
(mel) Well, before must gallop off @8, Rocky-can you share ways #LMSviewers can find you & learn more about #MFFO, #Kenya & how to find you?

• (Rocky) Sounds like a plan. Thank you again for having me on. I look forward to sharing more about @mffodotorg

(mel) And, we look forward to learning & sharing more with our viewers
(mel) #LMSviewers, if you had a question for Rocky & didn’t get to ask, feel free to find her @mffodotorg

Just a few weeks ago some amazing friends of Mothers Fighting For Others, Michael and Audrey Forshey, threw an incredible silent auction and fundraiser in their beautiful home and were able to raise an astounding $14,699.43! This is such an incredible gift to the girls and MFFO! Rocky, Jen, and I truly enjoyed being able to be a part of such a beautiful evening and being able to meet new friends who all share the same passion to help St. Monica Children’s Home and the Gift of Education!

We just wanted to say thank you to our amazing hostess @Audreyforshey and her husband Mike, our incredible online friends who traveled to the party,  @DezDaniels, @zachhosford, @hthrfylnn, @DerekMassey and everyone else for coming together to make this years Gift of Education Fundraiser a success, and for also helping us continue giving these girls an opportunity to achieve their dreams!

With friends like these, EVERYTHING is possible!