[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 22, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E59-E60]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HOPELESS IN AFRICA? DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. PAUL C. BROUN

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 22, 2008

  Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Madam Speaker, like millions of Americans, when 
reminded of the facts and photographs of the millions of souls in 
Africa that are malnourished and lack even the basic necessities of 
life, I wring my hands at the enormity of the problem.
  I recently read an article by Wes Vernon regarding the sad plight of 
those in Kenya, but what lifted my spirits was what the author said was 
being accomplished to help these people. Rather than do nothing because 
of the enormity of the problem, or simply demand that the U.S. 
Government provide ever increasing amounts of foreign aid, American 
citizens with a vision and a burden to help those less fortunate have 
decided to take action.
  People from as far as East Africa all the way to Marietta, Georgia 
have joined hands to create the United Orphanage and Academy. They are 
doing great work, and I commend them for their efforts, their 
initiative, and their selfless compassion.
  I commend this article to your reading and submit it to the Record 
for posterity. Thank you.

                   [From RenewAmerica, Jan. 12, 2008]

              Hopeless in Africa? Doing something about it

                            (By Wes Vernon)

       Herewith, the classic example of a humanitarian and 
     selfless effort linked in a very meaningful way to our 
     strategic interests in a far-off part of the world, and 
     incidentally the effectiveness of volunteer effort as opposed 
     to taxpayer-funded giveaways.


                 Kenya's future and America's security

       In the War on Islamofascism, the United States has a very 
     firm ally in Kenya--one of our best friends on the African 
     continent. That assumes Kenya remains stable. President Mwai 
     Kibaki was recently re-elected. His opponents don't like the 
     outcome and their protests have at times become violent and 
     bloody. Under Kibaki's government, Kenya has--since 9/11--
     provided us with military bases, and shared intelligence to 
     head off at Qaeda's inroads in Africa. That has been backed 
     up by communications networks.
       Retired Lt. Gen. Michael DeLong recently told the 
     Washington Times that Kenya is ``strategically located,'' and 
     that a failed state in Kenya would erase ``one of the top 
     friendly militaries to the United States in Africa.''


           From the heart, rather than the taxman's shakedown

       During the holidays, Americans were served up a steady 
     stream of TV ads urging them to prod the presidential 
     candidates to promise to feed the world's starving.
       There is a premise there that deserves a fair amount of 
     dissection.
       In the first place, the assumption the problem of the 
     world's needy can most effectively be remedied by an 
     entanglement in the morass of presidential politics. I have 
     yet to hear a candidate for any office declare on the stump, 
     ``And furthermore, if elected, I promise that I will dish out 
     more of your tax money for foreign aid.''
       Not that the American electorate is cold-hearted or 
     indifferent to the hunger problem in third-world countries. 
     Every study that this column has seen on the subject confirms 
     that Americans are the most generous people in the world. But 
     over the years, they have heard some horror stories about how 
     aid we have sent to the far corners of the earth has failed 
     to reach the poor people for whom it was intended after 
     corrupt politicians there got their hands on it. For U.N. 
     aid--also funded by you and me--the results of aid projects 
     have been even worse. That is why even the most compassionate 
     among us are cynical about government-run ``foreign aid.''
       I once approached a congressman just off the House floor to 
     interview him on a foreign aid bill that only seconds before 
     he had eloquently urged his colleagues to pass. I thought the 
     man would have a stroke. ``Foreign aid? That's not a popular 
     issue! You know that!'' he reproached me while emphatically 
     declining the interview.


                 Now specifically with regard to Kenya

       In a land overwhelmed by poverty, pestilence, corruption, 
     and perpetual war, there is an instinct to throw up your 
     hands and give up. For those not willing to walk away from 
     digging out of that appearance (at first blush) of a 
     relentless quicksand in Sub-Sahara Africa, there is--as a 
     shining example of hope--the United Orphanage and Academy.


                           Starting somewhere

       In that part of the world, there are heart-rending examples 
     of despair wherever you look. No one capable of human 
     feelings can ignore a hungry and/or sick child. Shelters have 
     been known to run out of food in trying to alleviate 
     starvation.
       Also in that part of the world--a place not normally on 
     everyone's radar--the difficulty in dealing with the 
     ``impossible'' is all the more acute. Many life-threatening 
     birth defects can be treated in the Western world. Not 
     necessarily so in Africa.
       Much the same applies to blindness. If there is an 
     effective preventive measure, we will find it here in 
     America. The odds are longer in much of Africa.
       And then there are the kids who have been orphaned--often 
     through the ravages of war. Twelve million kids in the region 
     have been orphaned by parents who died of the HIV-Aids 
     pandemic. Add famine and unsafe drinking water to the mix, 
     and you can see that many of God's children are in desperate 
     straits.


                              The history

       The United Orphanage and Academy is the brainchild of the 
     Rev. Stephen N. Chege, Pastor of Westminster Presbyterian 
     Church of East Africa (the orphanage's director) and 
     Washington attorney Henri (pronounced Henry) Rush of the 
     Westminster Presbyterian Church of Alexandria, VA. They 
     founded the orphanage in 2001. The facility opened its doors 
     in 2004 as a home for six orphaned children. It now houses 
     the 48 kids (31 girls and 17 boys, ages 4 to 15 years old).
       Since its founding, the orphanage has been supported by 
     Westminster; Old Presbyterian Meeting House (Alexandria); 
     Lewinsville Presbyterian Church (McLean, Virginia);

[[Page E60]]

     Mary Queen of Peace (a Catholic church outside of New 
     Orleans), and the First Presbyterian church of Marietta, GA. 
     Members from Westminster, the meeting House, and St. Leo's 
     Catholic Church in northern Virginia shared in the 
     celebration of the second anniversary of its opening.


                      The location and facilities

       The orphanage is in a rural area in northwest Kenya near 
     the border with Uganda. The area is known as Moi's Bridge. 
     Boys' and girls' dormitories are included, as are a dining 
     room and kitchen, along with office space and a classroom. 
     Fresh water is provided by a rain water cistern and deep 
     water well. There is a generator for electric power, and in 
     2007 the facility was connected to the national electric 
     power network.
       The current needs include $50,000 to purchase a bus as the 
     academy grows serving more children, drawn from Moi's 
     Bridge--population 5000.


             Still a work in progress, but steadily growing

       The academy part of the orphanage operation opened in 2006, 
     and now hosts classes from pre-kindergarten through fifth 
     grade, staffed with a teacher for each of the six classes. 
     That is a significant advancement.
       Most children in the area attend five different public 
     schools which are distant and overcrowded. (Can you imagine 
     90 to 110 students per teacher? The norm for even the worst 
     inner-city schools in the Western nations usually manages to 
     avoid that impossible-to-teach ratio). The academy will 
     maintain a ratio of no more than 35 students per teacher.
       In addition to the younger children of the orphanage who 
     are enrolled in the academy, students from the surrounding 
     community are also included.
       The academy is in the process of building a $70,000 
     permanent stone three-story building to house twelve classes. 
     The plan is to add one additional class each year up through 
     twelfth grade.


                              the children

       The children at the United Orphanage and Academy come from 
     five distinct ethnic backgrounds among the different tribes 
     that inhabit the areas in the neighborhood. In fact, co-
     mingling and reconciliation of kids from various ethnic 
     backgrounds stood out as a founding principle. The word 
     ``United'' in the facility's name was picked as an expression 
     of efforts toward the kind of understanding from which not 
     only Africa, but the entire world, would benefit.
       The point was made in our interviews (by phone and e-mail) 
     with Henri Rush. Set children on that path, and the prospects 
     for the future become more positive. And he added, ``This has 
     become important in the face of the recently electorally-
     spawned ethnic violence.''
       That unrest does not threaten the academy itself, however, 
     as Rush adds, ``Although there have been killings and house 
     burnings as close as one kilometer from UO&A, the regional 
     authorities have assured Director Chege that the children and 
     the staff and the facility will be protected by them.'' 
     Classes were scheduled to re-open for 2008 on January 14, 
     offering curriculum up to the fifth grade, a significant 
     advance. Furthermore, the infrastructure of the school is 
     being upgraded--from multiple wood frame classroom blocks to 
     single permanent stone buildings.
       Ultimately, Rush says the academy intends also to provide 
     vocational education for children not suited to pursuing post 
     high school education.
       ``This will insure that all of our children will be able to 
     lead useful productive lives and contribute to the well-being 
     of the community,'' he adds, ``For those that show academic 
     promise, we plan to raise sufficient funds to enable them to 
     attend college in Kenya with a view to their becoming leaders 
     of the community, region, or even, God willing, the Nation.'' 
     Make no mistake: These kids will be around to serve as 
     payback to their community, the nation, and--we dare say--the 
     world.


                            the big picture

       We are at a point in history when the world appears poised 
     for a clash of cultures with the possibility of the ``mother 
     of all showdowns.'' Governments and international 
     organizations--by and large--have made a mess of things. We 
     are going to have to pitch in and do the rebuilding. That 
     starts with the basics, offering help to those in need.
       There are many ways of doing that, and the United Orphanage 
     and Academy bears a striking resemblance to one of what the 
     first President Bush referred to as ``a thousand points of 
     light,'' a means by which we roll up our sleeves and do it 
     ourselves.


                           Overhead? Not here

       Every charity has to have at least a little bit of 
     overhead, I said to Henri Rush in an interview.
       ``Absolutely not,'' he replied, ``I am the overhead,'' with 
     donations of time (and though he didn't specify it, no doubt 
     a fair amount of money). He added a church bookkeeper is 
     ``overhead, but she also donates her time.''


                           where you come in

       You can play a part in the success of this shining ``point 
     of light.''
       Tax deductible checks can be sent to Westminster 
     Presbyterian Church, 2701 Cameron Mills Road, Alexandria, VA 
     22301, or Old Presbyterian Meeting House, Alexandria, VA 
     22314. Note United Orphanage on the memo line.
       Again--no overhead, no U.N. or government bureaucracy. Your 
     money goes straight to the kids. You can't beat that for the 
     ``up and up.''