Wells of Love Blog

Happy Day of Love!

2012-02-14T18:01:00.001-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day

from Amman Imman

to our Wells of Love family!

With Love

from Ariane, Denis, Debbie, Momine, Michael, Laurel and Dennie

Water is Life animated video

2012-02-12T09:41:00.000-05:00

Water is Life. This animated video illustrates the essential importance of water in our lives, and how the water crisis affects millions of people around the world today. Simple and straightforward, it raises awareness and invokes appreciation for this essential resource. Information is shared through simple animation. A great introduction to the concept that "Water is Life". Please share it with your students to start your Amman Imman: Water is Life campaign!

Food Security and World Water Day 2012

2012-02-10T13:22:00.001-05:00

The theme for this year's World Water Day on March 22 is water and food security. This is a fitting focus for Amman Imman's mission to bring water to the Azawak. The interrelationship between food and water is apparent everyday in this drought-afflicted, resource-scarce region. Without water, there is no food.

Currently, due to last year's drought and poor harvest, all of Niger, and in fact all of the Sahel, is suffering a food shortage. Food prices have doubled and even tripled. In January, the Niger government reported that over 750,000 people were food insecure, and predicted that numbers would rise to over 1 million. Other reports predict even higher numbers. Last year, 200,000 refugees fleeing turmoil in Libya flooded into Niger. Conditions are worsening with fighting in Mali causing the exodus of 15,000 additional refugees into already food scarce Niger. A humanitarian crisis begs attention from the world. Read this new report on the hunger crisis across the Sahel published in Time magazine today.

At Amman Imman, we are doing our utmost to aid our borehole communities in the Azawak that now have water. We are providing staple grain, which the community can sell to community members and visitors at less than half the price it can be found on the market. A percentage of the profit from the grain sales will go to the women for their projects, including restocking their cereal banks. The rest of the profit will go toward their borehole fund, as an additional security measure if and when borehole repairs need to be made. As a longer term strategy, we are conducting gardening training among all community members - including school children - as well as providing tools and seeds.

For World Water Day, Amman Imman is offering a presentation about water and food security in the Azawak region of Niger. If you'd like to schedule an assembly at your school or for your group this spring, please contact Debbie at info@ammanimman.org.

A Walk for Water, 2012

2012-01-31T21:53:00.000-05:00

Washington DC area schools and families, please "save the date", May 12, 2012, for the 6th annual A Walk for Water. Registration to open in March in time for World Water Day!

To organize A Walk for Water in your community, please download our AWFW Planning Guide and Fundraising Kit!

Practice Adds Up to Something Powerful

2012-01-30T09:49:00.001-05:00

A student pogo hops while his partner counts.

I don't know what it's like where you live, but here in Washington DC the winter has been unusually mild. It's still January and people are already talking about spring! An Amman-a-thon is a great activity to do outdoors with students, whether to take advantage of the mild weather or to welcome the spring.

Here's a description of the event from our WOL Resources and Tools page:

The Amman-a-thon is a skill-building fitness fundraising event through which students improve their athletic and math skills while raising funds towards a Well of Love.
Students gain proficiency through practice hopping on one leg, twirling a hula hoop, shooting baskets, jumping rope, and other activities of their choice. On the day of their Amman-a-thon, they partner with a friend, listen for "Go" from the teacher and perform their activity. Their partner counts the repetitions. Prior to the event, they've rallied their family and friends to pledge support, getting promises of 5 and 10 cents per hop, jump, basket and hula spin.

(Download an Amman-a-thon Planning Kit and Fundraising Guide)

I really love this activity because everyone benefits, both students engaging in the activity and the children of the Azawak! Students enjoy practicing. They feel really good about using their own skills to raise funds. Classrooms of young students have raised as much as $5,000 by asking a lot of people they know to contribute a few cents towards their cause. It ties together athleticism and philanthropy, providing students with a first-hand experience of how practice adds up to something concrete and powerful.

In this video a teacher talks about how the Amman-a-thon empowers her students. She says the Amman-a-thon builds a sense of community. The children work hard to build their skills in order to help others. In return they become physically fit, and have fun.

You can download an Amman-a-thon Planning Guide and a Fundraising Kit from the WOL Resources and Tools page. Consider planning an Amman-a-thon for World Water Day (March 22), Earth Day (April 22) or International Peace Day (Sept 21) to start the school year.

It's really not hard to organize, and it's a great activity!

Making Wishes for Water Come True at MLK Day of Service

2012-01-19T08:05:00.000-05:00

On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Amman Imman joined with hundreds of nonprofit organizations to provide an opportunity for service at MLK Day of Service sponsored by the Volunteer Center of Montgomery County, Maryland.

Laurel talks with service volunteers about
how they can help kids in the Azawak.

Laurel Lundstrom, our communications coordinator hosted our information table where enthusiastic volunteers looking for service opportunities learned about how they could help populations in need in the Azawak.

Intern Olivia Johnson and I ran two project tables where kids made Wells of Love, Wishes for Water. This craft activity provided a context for youth to learn about how water scarcity affects the lives of children, and gave them an opportunity to express their feelings and take action.

Students quietly read a small vignette about the life of two children, Anaha and Youssouff, who live in the Azawak. These children face a daily struggle because they have no access to water, a sharp contrast to the ease with which we can turn a faucet.

As they thought about these children of the Azawak, perhaps in relation to their own life circumstances, they constructed a Well of Love. A paper cup, that they decorated with markers and heart stickers, formed the base of the well. They affixed a picture of the child they'd just read about to the roof of their well. After writing their Wish for Water, they affixed it to the top of their Well of Love.

The students took their Well of Love home with suggestions about how they could meaningfully extend their day of service:

Set a time each day, maybe during a meal, to make a daily wish for water. As you make your wish think of Anaha or Youssouf.
After your meal, put a penny, nickel, dime or quarter into your well. On Valentines Day (Feb 14) or World Water Day (March 22), send a donation to Amman Imman.
Ask your friends to contribute to your wishing well.
Ask your parents for a matching donation.
Organize your own fundraiser and make a donation to Amman Imman, www.ammanimman.org/donate.
Sign up for Amman Imman's local event, A Walk for Water, on May 12, 2012 by contacting debbie at ammanimman, or checking back on the Amman Imman website.

Make a Well of Love and a Wish for Water with your students!

Click here for instructions and materials!

Wells of Love, Wishes for Water

2012-01-19T06:30:00.000-05:00

MLK Day service volunteer shows her
Well of Love and Wish for Water

Here's a project your students can do that will raise their awareness about water scarcity, and inform them about the lives of children who have no water. It also can jumpstart your spring Wells of Love campaign. We did this activity at an MLK Day of Service event with great success!

The students will make a Well of Love, and a Wish for Water. They'll have the opportunity to use their wish to raise awareness in their community. Designed for students ages 6 through 14, but may also be adapted and enjoyed for younger and older students as well!

Read the instructions, and the suggestions for students about how they can use their Well of Love. Beneath these instructions you will find all the elements you need for the project: stories about two children who live in the Azawak, label sheet with pictures of these children and the instructions. You can download and print these pdfs.

Students can take the story home to remind them about their wish.

Wells of Love,Wishes for Water

Materials

One paper cup (the unwaxed kind)

2 wooden craft sticks

2 wishing papers

1 picture label of an Azawak child

1 index card

markers, heart stickers, construction paper – fordecorating

scissors, glue, a pen

Instructions

ReadAnaha or Youssouf’s story. Closeyour eyes. From your heart, make a Wish for Water.Remember your wish as you make your wishing well:

1. Your paper cup will be the baseof the well. Decorate it withmarkers, heart stickers and construction paper.

2. The craft sticks will hold upthe roof of the well. Tape onestick vertically on each side so that they stick out from the top of the cup.

3. An index card will form the roofof the well. Shape the roof by trimming the edges of the card. Place a picturelabel of a child from the Azawak on the top of the roof.

4. Use the blue paper to write yourWish for Water. Please write it two times. You may want to cut your wishinto the shape of a water drop. Glue your wish onto the roof next to the label.

5. Using some tape, attach theindex card to the top of the craft sticks to form the roof by using some tape or

Pleasetake your Wishing Well home, and remember your Wishfor Water.

Suggestions on how to make your wish more meaningful, and use your Well of Love

Set a time each day, maybe during a meal, to make a daily wish for water. As you make your wish think of Anaha or Youssouf.
After your meal, put a penny, nickel, dime or quarter into your well. On Valentines Day (Feb 14) or World Water Day (March 22), send a donation to Amman Imman.
Ask your friends to contribute to your wishing well.
Ask your parents for a matching donation.
Organize your own fundraiser and make a donation to Amman Imman, www.ammanimman.org/donate.
Sign up for Amman Imman's local event, A Walk for Water, on May 12, 2012 by contacting debbie at ammanimman, or checking back on the Amman Imman website.

Youssouf 's Story Anaha's Story Youssouf Wishes for Water Labels Anaha Wishes for Water Labels Wells of Love, Wishes for Water Instructions

A Gift of Hope

2011-12-17T09:02:00.001-05:00

Dear Friends,

As the end of 2011 approaches, I want to thank each of you for the support you've given to to me personally and to Amman Imman over the past several years. You've donated, helped us fundraise and volunteered your time. You have encouraged me and your children have inspired me. I am truly grateful for your support.

This year Amman Imman has lots of good news to share! We've received a grant for $130,000 from the Vibrant Village Foundation. We are in Niger ready to build a borehole in the Azawak this winter that will bring water to another 25,000. We are continuing to work with our villages that have water to implement activities that will alleviate hunger, and more. With increased drought, a food crisis affecting all of Niger and the influx of refugees from Libya, Amman Imman's work is even more crucial. We are truly grateful for this partnership with Vibrant Village that allows us to build a borehole this winter. However, we still need to raise additional funds for these projects.

This holiday season I'm asking everyone I know to make a donation to help. Large, medium and small, it "takes a village" to make a difference. Please visit my fundraising page to read my personal story and make your donation today.

I hope you will join me in giving a gift of hope this holiday season! Again, click here to go to my fundraising page.

You can read more about the Vibrant Village borehole and keep in touch with our latest news from Niger on the AI Water is Life blog.

Sending love and blessings for warm and joyous holidays!

Sincerely yours,

Debbie

http://bit.ly/rLcSoM

Help Seneca Valley HS students raise $3,500 this holiday season!

2011-12-11T09:35:00.001-05:00

Students at Seneca Valley High School in Maryland are helping Amman Imman build the Vibrant Village borehole by raising funds during the holiday season. Please their initiative to take action by making a donation today! Please click here to donate through their fundraising page.

Help us raise $3,500 this holiday season

The students of IB Environmental Systems and Societies classes at Seneca Valley have begun a fundraiser through the holidays to support the Amman Imman: Water is Life Foundation. We were inspired by the work of Amman Imman after one of its dedicated members, Debra Kahn, visited our school. When we heard about Amman Imman's plan to build a borehole this winter, we wanted to provide as much support as we could.

Amman Imman recently announced its new partnership with theVibrant Village Foundation which has provided a grant of $130,000 to start the construction of a new borehole. However, Amman Imman still needs $70,000 to complete the project. Please help us support

Amman Imman in their efforts to build a new borehole in the Azawak.

Every donation, big or small, will go to help a person in need

and make this holiday season a little brighter.

Please go to Seneca Valley's fundraising page

to place your donation today!

Mathews Elementary Montessori Program Gives Back

2011-12-10T15:40:00.000-05:00

from GwdToday.com, 9 Dec 2011, Greenwood, South Carolina:
The Montessori Program at Mathews Elementary has chosen a new charity to support this year. Amman Imman, meaning "Water is Life", is a very special cause that the students and teachers of the District 50 Montessori Program have chosen to support as their philanthropy project for the year......(read more on GwdToday: Mathews Elementary Montessori Program Gives Back)

Creativity and fun-draising at Aidan Montessori School

2011-12-10T10:09:00.001-05:00

Two brothers baked fudge.

Students at Aidan Montessori School in Washington D.C. raised $52.25 on Friday at the school's bake sale. Teacher Kelli York reports:

On Wednesday, Allison Rawls Manuel came to talk to our class about Amman Imman. She asked the children if they would like to have a donation jar at the bake sale that the school was having on Friday. With no adult input, several children wanted to boost donations, so they made fudge and created jewelry with iron-on beads in the shape of water drops. We had a few children manning the table and sharing information and others that walked around asking for donations.

Allison's discussion inspired a flurry of suggestions from the children about other ways to raise money, including raking leaves and an Amman-a-thon that we hope to pursue when we return in January.

Thank you to the students, teachers and parents at Aidan

for supporting our Vibrant Village borehole,

now being launched in the Azawak of Niger!

To contribute towards this project, you can donate through the Wells of Love Firstgiving donation page.

I also invite you to become a fundraiser this holiday season:

Taking care of people who need water

2011-12-09T15:25:00.001-05:00

Today I received a wonderful surprise in the mail - a letter and a check for $50 from a young man in Glenallen, Virginia who wants to help people who do not have any water:

Dear Water is Life,

My name is Joshua. I'm in the third grade and I wanted to give water to the people who need it. I heard at my church that drinking water is the number one killer on earth. That's why I want to give this check to you. I'm supposed to choose a company that does stuff for charity. I chose your company because lack of drinking water is the number one killer on earth. I hope that you can take care of the pople who need drinking water.

From,

Joshua

Thank you, Joshua, for choosing Amman Imman: Water is Life!

Joshua's contribution will go toward our new Vibrant Village borehole, currently being launched in the Azawak. To make your donation, please visit the donation page on our website.

You can also help by creating your own fundraising page:

The Global Water Crisis: Amman Imman

2011-12-01T06:58:00.000-05:00

The Global Water Crisis: Amman Imman: One of our current juniors has been involved in a great project to try to bring water to the people of the Azawak region in Africa....

Feeling Grateful To Give

2011-11-23T10:26:00.001-05:00

"It makes me feel good."

Second-grader Rebecca has been learning about the cultures of the Azawak since pre-school. She's listened to presentations about Amman Imman's work, watched videos that depict conditions in the Azawak, and participated in Wells of Love fundraising projects at her school. She's tuned in to the struggles children and families go through to get water.

Through her participation she's aware that because of the abundant water that flows from their borehole the lives of children in Tangarwashane and Kijigari have dramatically improved.

They are healthier.

They can bathe, drink clean water and grow food.

Now they go to school.

Recently Rebecca celebrated her 8th birthday. Rather than receive gifts, she asked her friends to donate to Amman Imman in honor of the occasion.

We asked Rebecca some questions about her experience. Here's what Rebecca had to say:

Why is Amman Imman and the cause of the people of the Azawak important to you?

Because water is a very important thing, and I like to help people far away.

Why should other people donate and help?

It is good for a community to raise money for charity. You can work together to help people who need help.

Why did you decide to ask people to give a donation to Amman Imman instead of giving you a birthday gift?

Because it is helping a lot of people that I've heard a lot about, and it makes me feel good.

Congratulations to Rebecca for raising over $100!

Amman Imman is building a new borehole this winter!

Please help us raise the remaining $70,000 needed for the project...
give gratefully....

Donate in honor of someone,
Start a Fundraiser,
Ask your Community to Help!

Holiday Campaign to build a Borehole this Winter!

2011-11-21T19:42:00.001-05:00

We are excited to announce that Amman Imman has a grant to build a new borehole in the Azawak! Ariane and Denis are currently in Niger for three months and ready to proceed with construction.

But we need your help now! In order to begin our work we need to raise additional funds as soon as possible.

We invite YOU to be part of our holiday campaign. Our goal is to raise $70,000. The money will cover the remaining borehole expenses as well agriculture, health and economic activities, bringing water, hope and relief to thousands and thousands.

If you donate now, you can make a double impact: A donor is willing to match the funds raised by students and sent in between now and the end of the year.

Please make your contribution today!

Here are some activities students in Wells of Love schools are doing to help. I invite you to add your creative ideas to this list:

Coin Collection
Holiday Craft Sale
Hot Chocolate Sale
Art Show and Sale
Holiday Program fundraiser
Ornament Sale
Making Holiday Cards and Selling them
Penny Wars
Movie Night

Additional opportunity: if you would like to match funds raised, and thereby encourage our Heroes of Compassion, send a message to info at ammanimman.org and we'll be in touch.

Together, we can help Amman Imman bring water to another 25,000!

To donate, please go to www.ammanimman.org/donate
or mail your contribution to:
Amman Imman: Water is Life
7036 Strathmore Street, Suite 111
Chevy Chase, MD 20815

Individual Acts of Compassion

2011-11-15T10:06:00.001-05:00

Students at Palm Harbor Montessori Academy have been participating in the Wells of Love program since its inception. These industrious students, supported by their dedicated teachers, have raised more than $4000 through all-school activities and individually inspired student projects over the last 5 years. Last year the school collected coins throughout the year and held a culminating celebration on Earth Day. Here are some of the individual acts of compassion these Heroes have engaged in last year and this year:

One girl painted a picture, sold it to a neighbor for $5, and donated the money.
A 4 year old held a bake sale that raised $65.
Children decorated their own water bottles and collected money from their friends and family.
A student is currently making plans for a toy sale. His parents have offered to match the funds that he raises.

"The children are very excited and eager to help in any way they can!" reports teacher Nicole Nasser.

A young artist donates the proceeds from the sale of her painting.

Palm Harbor student activists have participated in Wells of Love since 2006.

Trick or Treat for the Azawak this Halloween!

2011-10-26T18:13:00.002-04:00

donate by clicking here

Please contribute towards our $35,000 goal to provide better access to food, water and revenue among the Tuareg and Fuani populations of the Azawak.

Download the wrapper HERE
and the instructions HERE.

Dear Wells of Love Students, Teachers and Friends of the Azawak,

Please remember the children of the Azawak this Halloween!

If you plan to go trick-or-treating, please download and print this trick-or-treat wrapper, affix it to a container and collect coins for the Azawak. Your pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters will add up to make a difference!

This is an easy way to support Amman Imman's work with people in the villages of Tangarwashane, Kijigari and Chinwagari that Ariane and Denis plan to do when they travel to Niger this fall.

Instructions for students, including where to send the collected monies, can be downloaded here.

Thank you for your love and support!

Sincerely,
Debra Kahn
debbie at ammanimman.org
Wells of Love program director

Amman Imman: Water is Life, with water comes hope

2011-10-09T22:52:00.001-04:00

Download this photo composite that shows conditions in the Azawak: people searching for water, the water-scare region,drinking dirty mud water, how water is obtained during the rainy season and into the dry season, drinking clean water from Amman Imman's boreholes, and the resulting positive activities in communities that have an abundant source of clean water.

Amman Imman in the Azawak photo composite

Creativity, Action and Service

2011-10-03T16:57:00.002-04:00

Last Tuesday, I spoke with students in Mr. Joy's 1st, 3rd and 4th period classes at Watkins Mill High School in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Mr. Joy teaches history and comparative religion. His classroom was wonderfully decorated with artifacts from traditions around the world. Our Amman Imman table complemented the multi-cultural decor.

Amman Imman presentation table

Most of the students I talked to are juniors enrolled in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. As Mr. Joy explained during his introduction to my presentation, many of them need to do a project that combines creativity, action and service (CAS) as part of their IB diploma. Our Wells of Love program fits in well with these requirements. Opportunities as advocates for the people of the Azawak directly engage students in creating action-oriented projects that make a difference. Whether by designing an event to raise awareness about the dire situation in the Azawak or initiating a fundraising event in their community to contribute towards Amman Imman's work in the region, students helping through Wells of Love learn about global issues while taking an active stand through creative service. As Mr. Joy pointed out, much of the legwork has already been done for the students with a plethora of ideas and resources available on the Wells of Love resource website.

40 minute presentations in three class periods with time for questions

Students in each class asked good questions. A few focused on whether water might be a source of conflict among the populations in the Azawak. This is not currently the case. I explained that in this region, already prone to political and economic instability, Amman Imman builds permanent and sustainable sources of water to alleviate the lack of basic resources so that people are less vulnerable to conflict. Once water is available, animals produce milk, people grow food, economic, health and educational opportunities can begin.

A students signs our mailing list to learn more

Another thoughtful student asked why couldn't people in the Azawak be relocated to coastal regions rather than suffer from the lack of water where they currently live? Another good question. Niger is a land-locked country far from the coast. From the north the encroaching desert continues to spread. The pastoralist populations of the Azawak have roamed these vast plains for centuries. It's their home. We are talking about half a million people! Agriculturalists in other parts of Niger would not welcome these nomadic families and their herds of animals. They would become refugees (like the thousands and thousands of people leaving Libya) if they left Niger, or displaced persons if they were forced to leave the Azawak valley.

This Thursday I'll continue my presentations when I meet with students at Seneca Valley High School in Germantown, Maryland.

Making a Big Difference

2011-09-27T17:27:00.000-04:00

Again and again I discover that when a young person is provided with the knowledge, understanding and tools he/she needs to put their compassion into action, they want to do something that matters.

Thomas Lea, a 2nd grade student at Five Oaks Academy in South Carolina, has been learning about water and what it means for people who struggle to survive without access to this precious resource. Through his school's participation in the Wells of Love program, Thomas has started to understand that through his own effort, he can help save lives. This August, Thomas initiated a toy sale outside his home, raising $318.40 towards Amman Imman's projects in the Azawak.

When asked what he learned, this young philanthropist answered,

“I learned that sometimes

it is easy to make a big difference!”

What a great insight from our young Hero of Compassion!

Read the entire article on Five Oak's website.

John F Kennedy High School: Ambassadors for the Azawak

2011-09-08T19:00:00.000-04:00

Students listen deeply to stories about people who have no water.

Today I presented Amman Imman to thirty juniors and seniors enrolled in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program at John F. Kennedy High School in Silver Spring, Maryland. The students listened intently as I shared stories about people who live at the mercy of their environment and suffer from an absolute lack of water.

The rain that has been soaking our region, falling in buckets for more than 24 hours, provided a sharp contrast to the Azawak where it is bone dry for more than 9 months a year with temperatures soaring higher than 120 degrees. As I illustrated the harsh circumstances afflicting the people of the Azawak through photos, video and stories, the students acknowledged how easy it is for them to control the temperature with the flip of a switch and relieve their thirst with the turn of a faucet.

I felt swept up in the emotion of the presentation. Although the students gave me their rapt attention for 45 minutes and asked some great questions, I had no idea what kind of impression my words had made. I offered them the opportunity to help as leaders - to raise awareness in their community and help Amman Imman improve and save the lives. To my delight, twenty three students stood in line to sign up. In fact, five of them went directly to the teacher to ask if they could make Wells of Love their senior project.

The coordinator later told me, "I know the kids were really inspired by your presentation, and I’m so glad that we could form this partnership." She noted that those who signed up would be student ambassadors as they spearhead a campaign for the rest of the school.

Welcome IB students from JFK High School, our newest Heroes of Compassion, and Ambassadors for the Azawak!

"You have the opportunity to take your care, concern and compassion and turn it into action"

Calendar of Monthly Fundraising Ideas for the Azawak

2011-08-30T11:10:00.000-04:00

This calendar suggests lessons and videos about Amman Imman, water education curriculum resources, questions about water to reflect on and fundraising ideas for every month during the school year.

Use these ideas to dedicate a little part of each month
to the children of the Azawak!

Thank you to Bonnie Benthall,
teacher at Five Oaks Academy in South Carolina,

for sharing her school's yearlong plan!

Amman Imman Calendar of Monthly Fundraising and Curriculum Ideas

Trick or Treat for Amman Imman this Halloween!

2011-08-27T16:28:00.000-04:00

Collect coins for the children of the Azawak this Halloween! Download this wrapper, print it and affix it to a container. See the instructions below for more information!
Amman Imman Trick or Treat Wrapper 2011
Amman Imman Trick or Treat Instructions

A Young Philanthropist Remembers the Children of the Azawak

2011-08-17T13:44:00.000-04:00

As you get ready to return to school, please

remember the children of the Azawak

like this young philanthropist in South Carolina:

East Cooper Montessori Students Show Their Love

2011-06-21T09:45:00.000-04:00

Thank you to students and teachers at

East Cooper Montessori Charter School!

These inventive Heroes of Compassion in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina manifested their love in February by wearing love, peace and heart graphics on Valentine's day and donating $2 per person for the people of the Azawak. To make this creative fundraiser meaningful for the students, the teachers used our curriculum materials to incorporate a lesson about Amman Imman's work to bring water to the Azawak in time for the Valentine's Day fundraiser.

We recently received their check for $265 raised on "Giving Graphics Day" as part of the Wells of Love initiative!

Gavi's Gift to Give

2011-06-08T15:31:00.001-04:00

Recently I had the unique pleasure of being informed by a mom about her son's generous contribution to the children of the Azawak. Gavi, 13 years old, had been learning about the Azawak region at his school, Oak Meadow Montessori School in Littleton, Massachusetts. Throughout this past school year, students at Oak Meadow have held various fundraisers to raise money for Amman Imman's projects.

For his bar mitzvah, Gavi planned to donate a portion of the gift money he received to a cause he supported. Aware of his keen interest in technology, his parents naturally suggested that Gavi contribute to an organization that supplies computers to children.

But Gavi, having gained a deeper understanding through his participation in Wells of Love at school, made another decision. He said to his parents, "Mom, I think people having clean water is more important than kids having computers." Gavi donated $400 to Amman Imman: Water is Life.

When I hear about young people like Gavi, who make a conscious choice to use their own resources to make a difference in the lives of people who have very little resources, I am deeply moved. I remember the reason why I am doing this work in the first place: to bring water and hope to people most in need, and to be connected to people like Gavi.

Gavi, Thank you for your caring and generosity.

I am honored to know you!

The funds raised this spring will go towards livelihood projects around the site of our boreholes in the Azawak to help local families support their borehole infrastructure. Our goal is to establish an Oasis of Life at the site of each borehole, where the local people can engage in economic, educational and agricultural activities to help their community develop and thrive, now that they have water.

Make your contribution at www.ammanimman.org/donate.

Montessori of Maryknoll: We are happy to help you

2011-06-06T19:46:00.000-04:00

Students show their baked goods.

Thank you dedicated Heroes of Compassion at Montessori of Maryknoll in Glen Ellyn, Illinois! Each year these students come together to learn about Africa and raise funds to help Amman Imman bring water to the Azawak. They've held an annual fundraiser since 2007. We received this card, photo and message from school director, Pat Bates:

Montessori of Maryknoll held their annual bake and plant sale to benefit the Amman Imman project (which means "Water is Life") in the Azawak of Niger, Africa. The Enrichment class is studying Africa as part of their around-the-world cultural studies. These local students learned that Montessori school all over the country are participating annually in this cause to help African children. Many African children travel many miles each day in search of water, which when found is not even clean. The Montessori of Maryknoll students baked, planted, and sold their goods in support of this "children helping children" service project. The $272 raised this year, when combined with the contributions from other participating Montessori schools, will help pay for the equipment to dig deep wells. These wells will provide clean water to thousands of people and animals in the Azawak region.

- Pat Bates, Director, Montessori of Maryknoll

Discovery leads to action at Minnieland Montessori

2011-06-04T10:26:00.000-04:00

Since 2007, Montessori classes at Minnieland Academy in Virginia have been educating their young students about global issues by supporting Amman Imman's mission to bring water to the people of the Azawak. This year, several classrooms sponsored fundraising activities ranging from consignment and bake sales to art auctions and walks for water. They raised over $2,000.

The integrative curriculum approach at Minnieland called upon the students to take action as they learned about water scarcity and its affect on the indigenous cultures of West Africa. Using Wells of Love curriculum materials, the teachers introduced the plight of the people of the Azawak during their geography study of Africa. Science investigations included the building of small water wells and the effect on plants growing under drought conditions. To help these young stewards understand the challenges the children of the Azawak face on a daily basis, the Minnieland children engaged in activities carrying buckets filled with water for a certain distance.

District Director and Montessori trainer Lori Marano told me that the study of water against the backdrop of the real-life challenges faced by the Azawak children has been a fascinating journey for both the students and the teachers. She invited me to speak at their Montessori teacher training session to share more about Amman Imman's Wells of Love program. "I've never seen teachers and directors as passionate about a program as this one", Lori told me.

Lori envisions the Wells of Love program expanding next year at Minnieland as the teachers discover new and productive ways to engage their students and raise money for Amman Imman's projects in the Azawak.

Minnieland consignment clothing sale benefits Amman Imman

How heavy is water?
What if I had to walk 35 miles to carry it home?

Students discover that water is essential for life.

Love and Hope Shared on A Walk for Water

2011-05-23T08:04:00.000-04:00

Photos by Sabina Bagazonzya (http://www.flickr.com/photos/skcphoto/), Bernard Van Leer and others

Lake Frank provided a beautiful setting for A Walk for Water. A little drizzle of rain ....

photo by Bernard Van Leer

.... reminded us that Water is Life.

As people arrived they checked in, received their t-shirt and took some refreshment.

photo by Sabina Bagazonzya

A beautiful place to gather and meet friends....

photo by Bernard Van Leer

...of all kinds.

photo by Sabina Bagazonzya

Students introduced themselves to Aichatou Bety, our special guest from Niger.

photo by Bernard Van Leer

At the rally before the Walk, I read a message from Ariane. "Walk and see life sprouting at your feet", she said.
(Read her entire message here)

photo by Bernard Van Leer

Everyone listened, remembering why we were here.

photo by Bernard Van Leer

Aichatou explained that "Water is the basis for all development". She told us that by helping Amman Imman we are directly responding to the needs expressed by people in the Azawak.
(Listen to her speech here)

"Providing water to a nomad is providing everything", she told us.

photo by Bernard Van Leer

We took several group photos...

...and then began our Walk.

photo by Sabina Bagazonzya

We understood that we walked because children in the Azawak....

....have to walk 30 miles in a day to find water.
They might bring home a little mud water to their thirsty families....

photo by Bernard Van Leer

...while we live with an abundance of resources all around us.

photo by Sabina Bagazonzya

After the walk, Aicha shared some jewelry with us.

photo by Sabina Bagazonzya

Our Heroes of Compassion received their certificates.
"By walking today, you are helping to build a future of hope
for the children and families living in the Azawak of West Africa.
Keep sharing your compassion with the world!"

photo by Sabina Bagazonzya

Love and hope were shared for each other, and for the people of the Azawak.

Aichatou explains why your help is so important for people in the Azawak

2011-05-22T09:24:00.005-04:00

Aichatou Bety lives in Niamey, Niger and works as an educator for Catholic Relief Services. A long-time friend of Amman Imman, Aicha was in the United States for a conference through her work at the same time A Walk for Water at Lake Frank was taking place. It was our blessing that she was able to be with us at AWFW and speak at the rally.

Highlights from Aicha's speech:

"Think about something that is really important in your life. Something that today if you miss it, you feel like you are not existing. Water in the Azawak, in the desert, is like this. Providing water to a nomad, is providing everything."

"Water is the basis for development. There is an NGO that built a school last year. They really built a nice school. But until now no one is in the school. Do you know why? Because there is no water. How can you build a school in a nomadic area without water? When the school was being built, the enterprise who got the contract brought water from far away to build the school. But after having the school, you also need to provide water for the community. Because if nomadic people are always traveling to look for water, how can you have people in your school? "

"What you are doing is really responding to the need of people from Azawak. This project really expresses the need. The people expressed their need and you accept this need and you decided to help.... Alot of projects fail because they don't respond to the need of people. I am convinced that you bring the hope. With this water, you are going to bring life, help them develop alot of skills."

"I want to thank all of you. Especially children. The involvement of children is very strong. You know why I say this? Children are the future. By starting now and helping the people of the Azawak, these children will continue to help. And even their children will continue."

Walk and see life sprouting at your feet

2011-05-18T19:16:00.001-04:00

On Saturday, May 14, about 100 people came to Lake Frank to go on A Walk for Water. Cloudy skies brought a little bit of drizzle, reminding us how fortunate we are to have rain. During the rally, I read a message from Ariane who is currently with her family in the Central African Republic. Here is her letter:

Dearest and devoted friends – students, parents and teachers -- of the Azawak,

How exciting to have you all present at the 5th Walk for Water being held at Lake Frank. As you spend your morning walking in compassion for the children of the Azawak, I sit here in the tropical rainforest of the Central African Republic. I’m impatient to share with you my experiences here with the Bayaka pygmies, also one of the world’s most underserved populations.

What strikes me the most after one month of working here is that no matter how difficult the conditions for the pygmies here are, they are nothing compared to our friends in the Azawak. Here, the forest provides abundant and delicious food, as well as streams of water to drink from. In the Azawak, our friends are lucky to have one bowl of rice to eat, and of course, one glass of mud to drink in one day. In the Azawak, luscious green forests and rivers filled with fish are replaced by neverending stretches of lifeless sand and dirt. There, the daily and pleasant rainfall and relatively mild temperatures are replaced by blistering heat and drought. The stark contrast between what I see here and what I’ve witnessed in Niger reminds me just how challenging the conditions in the Azawak are. It also helps me admire and respect my friends in the Azawak all the more, as they struggle to resist and survive despite their most hostile environment.

Thank you for everything you have done for the Azawak over these past several years. And thank you for your continued devotion. This trip to the Central African Republic has helped emphasize in my eyes just how desperately our friends in the Azawak need our continued support, not just to build the boreholes and bring water, but also help them have other forms of help – simple things that we take for granted on a daily basis such as proper health care, schools and education, a way to grow and have food… the list goes on!

Thank you! Walk in love and compassion, and with every step you take see life sprout from your feet.

Yours for the children in the Azawak,

Ariane

Around 100 people gathered

What will you see at A Walk for Water?

2011-05-09T07:37:00.002-04:00

May 14, A Walk for Water

8:30 am - 1:00 pm

at Lake Frank, Derwood, Maryland

There's still time to register! Please click here: Lake Frank A Walk for Water registration.

Understand the importance of water in our lives, and the lives of those who do not have any.

Take A Walk for Water, and show that you care!

Canopies of honeysuckle...so sweet!

Baby blue flowers

Family of geese and mallard cousins

Where the water flows

Fern forest

The lake through the trees

A bridge to cross

Fungi tree

Tree without socks

A shady path

Covered bridge

The Boyd School: A Walk for Water 2011

2011-05-03T17:32:00.000-04:00

Yesterday students at The Boyd School did A Walk for Water, with all seven campuses participating in raising funds for the people of the Azawak. Younger students engaged in a fitness Amman-a-thon fundraiser at their school, while older students gathered at a local park to walk 3.25 miles. The students brought the opportunity to their family and friends asking them to sponsor their activity.

Congratulations to these Heroes of Compassion,

working together to bring water and hope

to where it is most needed!

An Update and an Invitation to Celebrate!

2011-05-02T13:30:00.000-04:00

A Walk for Water

at Lake Frank

May 14, Derwood, Maryland

Click here to Register!

Dear Friends,

Today, I want to congratulate our Heroes of Compassion at The Boyd School in Virginia! All seven Boyd School campuses have dedicated this day to the people of the Azawak. Older students are taking part in A Walk for Water at a local park, while younger students are partcipating in Amman-a-thons at their individual schools. As of today, Boyd School students have raised close to $2,000 online. Additional funds via checks are being collected at the school. To see an example of a very cute and creative fundraising page, please click here. :-)

These actions are to be celebrated! It is a choice that these young people make to serve others rather than themselves. Encouraged by their teachers, parents and mentors, our young Heroes of Compassion have put into action the initiative required in the world today. These are young leaders of all ages who are making a difference for some of the most vulnerable people on our planet. Recently we received a donation from the Robert Goddard Montessori School whose youngest students, ages 3-6, sell bookmarks every year as a fundraiser for the Azawak. On the other end, students at Virginia Tech University have been rallying around the cause of the Azawak by staging various fundraisers this spring. These are just some of the stories to we have to tell.

If you live in the Washington DC area, we hope you will join us at A Walk for Water at Lake Frank on May 14th. Click here to register and create a fundraising page. If you prefer paper registration, contact me and I'll send you a form.

Thank you for celebrating with me and giving our young leaders this opportunity to help!

Gratefully yours,

Debra Kahn

debbie@ammanimman.org

Wells of Love Program Director

Penny War for Water

2011-04-29T13:25:00.002-04:00

In March I presented Amman Imman; Water is Life at the Garrison Forest School to an audience of around 265 young women. Invited there by long-time Hero of Compassion Sophie Marney-Dejanikus, the students received me with open arms, readily absorbing stories from the Azawak. They displayed enthusiasm about being part of the solution with Amman Imman by asking really good questions. Now, this community is organizing a contingent of students to participate in A Walk for Water on May 14th at Lake Frank.

To raise awareness about Amman Imman and keep up the excitement for A Walk for Water, Sophie is organizing a Penny War fundraiser. The Garrison Forest Penny War will start on the Saturday before A Walk for Water and last for a week, providing an opportunity for competitive fun and contribution.

Sophie explains that a Penny War raises funds by setting up a competition between grades:

Each grade has a jug where they put pennies and other coins. For each penny the grade gets a point and for each silver coin the grade loses as many points as that coin is worth. This encourages a junior, let's say, to put a quarter in the freshman jug and vice-versa.

I did a little research to learn more about Penny War. It sounds like a lot of fun and a great way to raise awareness about a cause, get everyone involved, and raise money.

Ehow provides some easy instructions on how to hold a Penny War fundraiser. Here's the link:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5425129_hold-penny-war-fundraiser.html

Consider staging a Penny War for Water at your school!

One week of fun, contribution and friendly competition!

A Walk for Water: Register, Fundraise and Support a Tradition of Hope!

2011-04-28T07:22:00.002-04:00

Dear Friends,

In a little over two weeks, on May 14, those of us in the Washington DC area will gather together to walk the shady trails around Lake Frank in Derwood, Maryland for "A Walk for Water" - an annual tradition that has inspired students to be leaders for a better future. We will spend time in nature – families and friends together – and be transported away from our conveniences, off our couches and out from behind our electronic devices – to come together for a greater purpose.

If you live in the DC metro area, please take a few minutes to register online and create a fundraising page:

1. Go to https://www.firstgiving.com/ammanimman/Event/awalkforwaterlakefrank

Click on “Register for this Event”
The next page will ask, “Would you like to register for this event?” Click “Yes register online now”.
From there, you will have the option to register as an individual or as a family. Follow the instructions to complete your registration.

2. After you register, you will be given the option to start a team, or to join an existing team. Teams can fundraise together. (this is optional!)

3. You will also be given the option to create a fundraising page. Creating a page only takes a few minutes and makes it easy to ask your friends and family to support your Walk. Please create a fundraising page! If you don’t have time to create one right away, you can return to do it later. Just go to this page and click on "Raise Money".

4. Upon completion of your registration, you will receive a confirmation email from FirstGiving with a link from where you can download an Event Information and Fundraising Kit. For your convenience, here’s the link. (For Windows users, when you download the materials you will see two files. Please click on the one named "AWFW 2011 Lake Frank Event Info and Fundraising Packet".)

Whether or not you live in DC, please feel free to share this post on your listservs, with your friends and other networks and invite them to join us on May 14^th! Share the link of your fundraising page on Facebook, Twitter and with all your social networks! Invite everyone to contribute to your page!

We at Amman Imman are counting on YOU! Your participation not only helps make "A Walk for Water" a tradition, but it also supports the ideals of students who believe they can make a better world and, more importantly, provides people in the Azawak with hope that they can make their dreams of a better future a reality.

Yours for a future of hope,

Debbie

Compassion in Action

2011-04-17T10:29:00.001-04:00

Once in a while, Siena and Aria like to set up a table outside their home and sell things. These girls both attend the Oneness-Family School where all the students are concerned about how people in the Azawak cope without access to water and want to do something about it.

Since 2006, students at the school, with the help of their families and friends, have raised over $25,000 by participating in A Walk for Water, Amman-a-thon Fitness Festivals, and other fundraising activities. Last year those funds, pooled with money raised by over 60 schools around the world, was used to construct the Kijigari Montessori Well of Love that now fulfills the water needs of 25,000 people and animals. Knowing that their money makes such a huge impact is a prime motivator for these students.

For their most recent sale, Siena and Aria held several bake sales and raised $42.37 for Amman Imman. The girls also spread awareness about the Azawak by making a poster and handing out post cards to their customers.

We celebrate these acts of compassion!

Thank you to our Heroes of Compassion, Siena and Aria!

Join A Walk for Water!

2011-04-13T12:59:00.000-04:00

A Walk for Water

at Lake Frank

May 14, Derwood, Maryland

Click here to Register!

Dear Friends of the Azawak,

Greetings from Washington, DC! As the blossoms of spring inspire us to awaken from a long winter, our Heroes of Compassion are stepping into action. I'm excited to tell you about our Spring Campaign!

Walking to save and improve lives

For those who live in the DC metro area, you are invited to participate in the 5th annual A Walk for Water on May 14th at Lake Frank in Derwood, Maryland. Each year, students, teachers and families from several schools and groups come together to walk three miles in solidarity for the children and families in the Azawak of West Africa who daily struggle due to the lack of water. Please register and create an online fundraising page here: A Walk for Water at Lake Frank, May 14th. You can also download an event information kit with materials to support students including a paper sponsorship collection form.

Our goal this year

While we rejoice in being together as we walk the beautiful and lush trails around the lake, we have the opportunity to take action towards a greater purpose. Last year's Walk raised funds to complete the Kijigari Montessori Well of Love. This year, the money raised will go towards empowering the people who live in Amman Imman's three villages - Tangarwashane, Kijigari and Chinwagari - to use the water that flows from their borehole to generate economic and community vibrancy that will truly manifest the potential of their Oasis of Life. Currently we are aiming to raise at least $50,000 to install and support ongoing projects that will result in economic stabilization, food security, education and women's empowerment. These include especially adapted sustainable agriculture techniques, rain water harvesting, reforestation, livestock rejuvenation, adult literacy programs, a woman's garden, a food and sewing cooperative, and a children's garden.

An opportunity for you to help

Funds raised from activities, such as A Walk for Water events being held in Washington DC, Virginia and Ohio, Amman-a-thon Fitness Festivals in South Carolina and Maryland, and other fundraisers in places like California and Paris, France, will also go towards furthering the impact of these Oases of Life. We welcome you to host an event in your own community!

Whether or not you can join us on May 14th you can help! Visit Amman Imman's page hosted on Firstgiving.com to make a donation. Sign up to raise funds yourself, or support one of our Heroes of Compassion.

Together, we can empower our youth as leaders who are helping to make a better life for the people of the Azawak!

Gratefully yours,

Debra Kahn

debbie@ammanimman.org

Wells of Love Program Director

Month of Love and Everlasting Gratitude

2011-04-03T11:29:00.000-04:00

For several years our Heroes of Compassion at Five Oaks Academy in Simpsonville, South Carolina have tirelessly dedicated time and energy to raising money for Amman Imman's projects in the Azawak of Niger. These young leaders have inspired their entire community, thereby raising awareness about the critical humanitarian concerns threatening the region. Even the youngest students are learning about water scarcity, climate change and how these issues affect people. They are also actively working to improve and save lives.

Bonnie Benthall, Lower Elementary Teacher at Five Oaks, writes about the school's Month of Love that took place in February 2011:

I am constantly blown away by the generosity and support of the families and students here at Five Oaks Academy. During the Month of Love, the students of the Toddler and the Lower Elementary classes made treats and baked goods during school and at home to sell and raise money for Wells of Love. Students, parents, grandparents, and teachers have shared their love by buying these special treats for their friends and loved ones. The students have very thoughtfully chosen treats and carefully written kind messages to attach to them. Each day the treats were hand delivered by a Lower Elementary student. It has been such a beautiful exhibition of love and gratitude. The students truly enjoyed buying special treats for their families and friends. Many students did not even want to buy treats for themselves!

During the Month of Love we raised over $350 and this school year the students have raised a total of over $1,700 for Wells of Love!!! The students are so proud! They are so passionate about helping and are truly dedicated to making a difference!

We look forward to our Amman-a-thon in April!

ASP Green Team: Promoting Global Equity

2011-03-28T11:37:00.000-04:00

Photo courtesy of ASP Green Team Blog

I'm convinced that shaping youth leaders who learn to serve, speak out and take action - motivated by compassion - has an impact on equity around the world.

Students from the American School of Paris Green Team are examples of youth in our Wells of Love program who are operating as compassionate, serving leaders. These students attended the Global Issues Network conference in Luxembourg last week. The conference is led by students for students. In addition to listening to speakers and attending workshops on global equity and development, the ASP Green Team students presented Amman Imman at a workshop for other students. Read their blog about the conference here.

The mission of the Global Issues Network is well aligned with Wells of Love:

The Global Issues Network operates on the premise that empowering young people is fundamental to developing solutions to global issues.

Earlier in the month ASP student Sara Venkatraman asked us some very good questions to help the Green Team prepare for their presentation. Here's Sara's question and our response:

Question The theme of the conference this year is "creating equal opportunities and worldwide equity as a common goal". In what other ways do you feel Amman Imman has a connection with global equity on a large scale? How do you feel Amman Imman can help us pioneer the path to different aspects of equality both now and in the long run?

Response The situation in the Azawak is one example in the world where people have been left behind. Helping people meet their most basic needs, starting with water in the case of the Azawak, is the first step towards equality. Amman Imman’s approach in the Azawak is a model for the world of how to pioneer a path towards equity where it previously had no chance of thriving.

Promoting global equity on a large scale starts with a small scale approach. The first thing we do is listen. Successful sustainable development, that lays the foundation for equity to be attained, places the needs of the people first. We work with the people to make our boreholes “Oases of Life” from which life-enriching activities, such as economic opportunities, education, food production and environmental protection activities, are generated. When the people are empowered, equity can flourish.

Additionally, as Amman Imman works with young people through the Wells of Love program, we are fostering a generation of youth who care about people and are dedicated to helping those who are vulnerable gain access to what is essential for a good life. Nurturing attitudes about equity in youth of priviledge is essential for global equity on a large scale both now and in the future.

Thank you, ASP Green Team, for your caring and your initiative!

A Walk for Water at Lake Frank

2011-03-26T12:27:00.001-04:00

A Walk For Water /Lake Frank

Start raising funds!

Download an Event Information and Fundraising Kit here:

Lake Frank Kit

To start your own event, please fill out our online form. We will be in touch!

Service Springing from Compassion: the Foundation of Leadership

2011-03-23T11:32:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the Evergreen School in Silver Spring, Maryland to present Amman Imman to a class of 6 - 9 year old students. I find that the energy and impact of a presentation and my ability connect with an audience is influenced by their openness. In this case, these young students were right with me. They sat in rapt attention as I shared photos with them of children in the Azawak getting water from contaminated marshes. Their empathy was ignited upon hearing stories of how kids a little older than themselves travel horrendous distances to reach a well when the muddy marshes dry up. Upon hearing how they can help through our Wells of Love program, they wanted to get involved.

It is so moving for me personally to reach the caring spirits of students. I always experience that when their hearts and minds are touched, they want to help.

I've come to the realization that service springing from a heart of compassion is the foundation of leadership.

Here's an excerpt from the March 21 edition of Evergreen's newsletter:

We visited two countries in Africa this past week: Niger and Sierra Leone. Well, we didn’t actually go there but those countries came to us through two wonderful presentations. The first presentation was from Debra Kahn, the director of the Wells of Love program of nonprofit organization Amman Imman: Water is Life. Amman Imman has a mission to dig wells and bring water to the thirsty men, women, and children of the Azawak. The children learned about the life and culture of the Azawak Nomads and imagined and saw what life is like without an accessible water source. The presentation was fascinating and the children were inspired to help. Amman Imman will be having their annual walk in May and we would like to participate. More information on how to participate will arrive in the next few weeks.

A Walk for Water at Lake Frank on May 14: Registration now open!

2011-03-22T07:00:00.011-04:00

Schools, students and their families in the Washington DC area are invited to join Amman Imman: Water is Life for the 5th annual A Walk for Water at Lake Frank in Derwood, Maryland. Join us when we walk 3 miles on the beautiful wooded trails around the lake in solidarity with children in the Azawak of West Africa who have to make a marathon hike for water every day just to survive.

Your voice can speak for the half million in the Azawak. You can be a part of saving and improving lives in a place mostly abandoned by the rest of the world. Register for the Lake Frank event here!

Please invite your friends!

Virginia Tech Students Promote World Water Day

2011-03-20T23:19:00.002-04:00

Find out more about what American Water Resources Association students at Virginia Tech are doing by visiting their blog, http://vtawra.blogspot.com/2011/03/world-water-day-food-sale-and.html

Nigerien Government and Village Leaders Thank Students in Schools

2011-03-03T13:53:00.003-05:00

Dear Wells of Love Friends,

Watch the video, The Reception in Kijigari, on YouTube!

As World Water Day approaches on March 22, I'd like to ask you to turn your attention to the tremendous impact that our Heroes of Compassion in Wells of Love schools across the world accomplished in the Azawak of West Africa over the past year. The children in Kijigari have sang and danced in gratitude for their borehole. We've shared our appreciation with the students, their teachers and their schools. Now, we invite YOU to watch this video, filmed by a Nigerien TV crew, in which the government of Niger and the leaders of Kijigari congratulate students for the tremendous impact their efforts have yielded.

In the video, the president of the Kijigari Water Management Committee, Adaman Houseinni, proclaims that the people of Kijigari have "a borehole that none other can equal". He praises the Amman Imman team for saving the lives of men, women and children that were previously suffering from thirst, while at the same time protecting the trees and the environment. The Nigerien government, represented by the prefect of the Department of Abalak, Commander Alhassan Boubakrin, says that "the little project Amman Imman, without funders other than little school children" is actually a "grand project", and that Amman Imman’s work demonstrates that "you can do great accomplishments with minimal means". Denis Gontero, Amman Imman's Niger Program Director, thanks the children who diligently dedicated their time and resources for four years to raise the funds that helped to build the borehole.

On World Water Day, and everyday, please remember your brothers and sisters around the world who lack the most basic and essential of natural resources. Also, please support the youth who care enough to turn their compassion into action, and who are working together to save lives and bring hope to where it is most needed.

Sincerely yours,

Debra Kahn

Associate Director, Amman Imman

Wells of Love Program Director

Find out more about

Wells of Love!

www.wellsoflove.info

Girl Scouts in Ohio Rally Students at Ascension Grade School

2011-01-29T07:37:00.002-05:00

Today I received a check for $319.84 from Carol Griffith, leader of Girl Scout Troop 30576 in Kettering, Ohio, and this note:

Please accept this donation to continue your efforts in Africa. These monies were collected from Ascension Grade School in Kettering, Ohio, primarily from coin donations. The 7th grade Girl Scout Troop organized this effort. May God Bless you for this work.

I wonder... Are these 7th graders the same scouts who four years ago, when they were in the 3rd grade, started a trend that has been replicated by students in several schools? Those earnest students placed a small baby food jar at every water source in their homes - by the kitchen sink, the bathroom sink, the bathtub, the toilet. Every time they used water they placed a coin in the jar. As the jars filled up, they emptied them into a larger container at their school. After 4 weeks, they had raised $389 and also become keenly aware of their dependence on water.

This photo was taped on the coin jars to remind the students of Ariane and children of the Azawak.

Coin Collecting Awareness Jar idea started in 2006

Young women like these embody the mission of Wells of Love - to inspire and empower a legion of leaders - our Heroes of Compassion - who take action as caring philanthropists - and form the core of Amman Imman's vision to build Oases of Life throughout the Azawak.

Thank you, Carol, for sponsoring the leadership development of these young women!

Heroes for the Azawak TIMES TWO Challenge!

2010-12-20T17:50:00.011-05:00

Heroes for the Azawak TIMES TWO Challenge

Help students ease thirst and save lives!

The Novick Family Foundation offers a $5,000 Challenge Grant and Matching Gift for the Wells of Love program.

Please help us maximize our fundraising and turn $5,000 into $10,000!

Current Goal for Wells of Love: Students are raising money to bring water to another 25,000 people and animals.

Water from the Kijigari "Well of Love"

Dear Friends,

I hope this season finds you warm and happy as you celebrate and share life's bountiful gifts. The Novick Family Foundation is offering a generous end-of-the-year/new year challenge that is tax deductible, has a double impact and will multiply times two.

Dollar for dollar - up to $5,000 - will be matched between December 17 and January 31, 2011.

The matching grant funds will go towards our Wells of Love youth service learning program that empowers students to save lives in the Azawak of West Africa by partnering with Amman Imman.

Would you please consider helping us turn $5000 into $10,000, and turn students into leaders?

Here's the link to the fundraising page: Heroes for the Azawak TIMES TWO Challenge.

You can also contribute by clicking DONATE on the FirstGiving widget on this page.

As you may know, in 2006 I started Amman Imman's Wells of Love program, as a volunteer, to empower students to help bring water to the Azawak of West Africa. The program has been a great success, engaging over 50 schools around the world. Since then, Amman Imman: Water is Life has drilled two wells, students have raised $120,000, and I am now Amman Imman's Associate Director. Many milestones have been achieved this year including completion of the Kijigari "Montessori Well of Love" and endorsement by hi-profile celebrities. In November, we were approved as a 501c3 nonprofit which will open many doors for us!

Your contribution between now and January 31 will help multiply these results, and support Amman Imman's essential life-saving work.

I'd really appreciate it if you would consider making an end-of-year contribution to maximize our efforts. All donations are secure, tax-deductible and sent directly to Amman Imman Water is Life, Inc. by FirstGiving, who will email you a printable record of your donation. You can donate online with a credit card here:

Heroes for the Azawak TIMES TWO Challenge

Thank you very much for your double gift of empowering students and easing thirst in the Azawak! You can also multiply the impact of this message by sending it to anyone who might like to donate. And please post it on your your Facebook page, blog, etc.

Yours in gratitude,

Debbie

Debra Kahn

Amman Imman: Water is Life

Associate Director

Wells of Love, program director

info@ammanimman.org

Water is Life: An Anthropological Approach

2010-11-23T17:41:00.000-05:00

Intern Zoe Genova

Zoe Genova has been interning at Amman Imman’s Bethesda office since September. Currently a junior majoring in Anthroplogy at George Washington University in Washington, DC, Zoe is conducting an independent research project on the practical implications of anthropology. Zoe interviewed Ariane Kirtley, who majored in Medical Anthropology as an undergradudate at Yale University, to explore how anthropology is used in a nonprofit organization as a tool for international development. Zoe will integrate Ariane’s responses into her paper:

Zoe: How did your undergraduate degree in anthropology influence your future choices as a Fulbright scholar during your research in Africa?

Ariane: Actually, I went into anthropology because I grew up in Africa and was interested in studying how people of different cultures relate to health, medicine, etc. I then went on to study public health with the explicit desire to use my background in anthropology to help design more appropriate health initiatives in the developing world. My work with CARE international.....

READ the rest of the interview on the Amman Imman blog.

Montessori Well of Love: A Dream Becomes A Reality

2010-11-10T09:03:00.002-05:00

Ariane speaking at the conference in 2006

This past weekend I had the opportunity to return to the venue that launched Amman Imman: Water is Life in Montessori schools around the world. Four years ago in 2006, Ariane Kirtley spoke at the Montessori Peace Academy, a yearly conference sponsored by the Montessori Foundation. Through her photos and stories, she told 250 educators about her dream to bring water to the Azawak of West Africa. With students at her side, she described lives on the brink. She passionately asked for help to drill deep boreholes, structures that could reach viable and clean water. Many signed on to help that day, inspired to build Montessori Wells of Love throughout the region that would bring the Montessori community together in a united effort to save the lives of the children of the Azawak.

Their response reverberated as more than 50 Montessori schools around the world heeded Ariane's call. The Wells of Love program was born from that initial presentation, sparking the development of a growing service learning program that now has curriculum resources, presentation materials, fundraising kits, and an expanding brigade of schools and students collaborating together.

I was with Ariane when she made that initial presentation. This time I had the honor of announcing that Ariane's dream is becoming a reality. "With the help of students, Amman Imman has drilled two boreholes. This year a borehole was drilled in the village of Kijigari. It has been named Montessori Well of Love". The announcement was received with a round of enthusiastic applause.

Suzanne at our table

All weekend people came to our table in the lobby to congratulate us. I spoke with many new teachers interested in involving their students. I met many people who I'd been communicating with via email. It felt extremely gratifying and validating to get positive feedback from teachers who have shared Amman Imman with their students, and to know that what we've provided has not only helped them make a difference in the Azawak but has also enriched their lives as well. This is what giving and taking action is all about.

On Saturday afternoon, Suzanne Stork (Aidan Montessori), Bonnie Benthall (Five Oaks Academy) and I presented Amman Imman and Wells of Love in a workshop called "Social Studies, Social Action". Suzanne tied in the Montessori perspective, I shared the story of the people of the Azawak and Bonnie brought in the voices of her students, our Heroes of Compassion.

Debbie, Bonnie and Suzanne present a workshop

We welcome many new schools to our growing movement including: New Morning Montessori, Claremont Montessori, New Gate-Field School, Lakeland Montessori, Village Montessori School, Indian Harbor Montessori and the Queen of Peace Children's House, and several others including schools across the United States and in Canada, Trinidad and Poland. We look forward to sharing their stories with you as they engage their students.

Together we can continue to bring hope, water and life to the most vulnerable in the world!

- Debbie

Ariane launches Amman Imman at the American School of Paris

2010-11-08T07:22:00.002-05:00

This past Friday, Ariane Kirtley returned to the American School of Paris to launch the National Honor Society's year long humanitarian fundraiser. Read the original article on their website here: http://www.asparis.org/cf_news/view.cfm?newsid=502.

Every year our Upper School students choose a humanitarian cause to support - led by members of the National Honors Society.

This year the students have chosen Amman Imman - an NGO founded and directed by ASP Alum Ariane Kirtley - which brings water and life to a drought-ridden and forgotten corner of Africa.

http://www.ammanimman.org/
ASP is delighted to welcome Ariane on campus again on Friday November 5 to meet and work with children from Lower, Middle and Upper School.

The mission of Amman Imman: Water is Life, is to bring water to the people of the Azawak area in Niger where every year hundreds of people die of thirst and disease.

In November last year, she spent a full day presenting to captive audiences in the Lower, Middle and Upper School about her work and how empowered children can be to help other children.

And she returns to continue to inspire our students as they launch their own fundraising efforts in support of Amman Imman.

Ariane, graduated from ASP in 1996, attended Yale University majoring in Medical Anthropology and went onto receive her Masters from the Yale School of Public Health.

After graduation she obtained a Fulbright Scholarship and spent a year traveling across Niger studying the variations among different ethnic groups concerning health behavior, knowledge and resources.

During that time she visited a region called the Azawak and was astonished by the dire conditions she witnessed: “I saw children traveling up to 30 kilometers a day in temperatures as high as 125F searching for water. The children would return with cups of mud, and my visit fell during the rainy season! I returned a few months later to witness for myself how such a terrible situation could worsen. I saw a population of over 500,000 people suffering from a sheer lack of water.”

The rainy season in this area, such as it was with a few minutes of rainfall each day, has reduced from five months to just 30 days over the last 10 years.

But she also brings a message of hope and empowerment. Since 2005 Ariane has established the NGO Amman Imman which means “Water is Life” in the language of the Azawak people, and is raising funds to build bore-hole wells, drilling nearly 1000meters to reach the clean and plentiful water below the desert.

She explained: “Water allows you to grow your own food, build an adobe home and allows a family to stay clean and avoid disease. It also means children can spend their day at school rather than skimming through muddy marshes and the presence of water attracts other NGOs to invest in the region – to build schools and health centers, set-up food relief programs, and combat the environmental degradation of the region.”

http://www.ammanimman.org/

Five Oaks Academy: A Halloween "Hot Chocolate" Hero

2010-11-02T11:52:00.000-04:00

Students at Five Oaks Academy in South Carolina continue to express their compassion for children in the Azawak region by staging their own fundraisers. Teacher Bonnie Benthall sent me this today:

Here is a picture of one of my kids who did a hot chocolate stand on Halloween to raise money. He made $55!! It was the sweetest thing! Remember me telling you about the little girl who brought in $199 and another child being upset because he had nothing to give? He and his mom decided that he could do something to raise money and they decided on the hot chocolate stand. He was so proud of himself when he shared yesterday!!!!

Also, we recently had a little girl sell art work at her yard sale two weekends ago!

We at Amman Imman are so proud of these students! They have taken the tribulations of the people of the Azawak to heart.

By learning about the crisis in the Azawak and connecting with the people through the Wells of Love program, they have started to realize what it must be like to suffer the conditions of not having any water. They also have gained an appreciation for the water resources that are so readily available to them by simply turning on a tap.

Their deeper understanding and natural empathy compels them to take action by participating in fundraisers at their school and raising money on their own as well. They understand that their actions can make a difference, and that what they do matters.

They are the true manifestation of what it means to be a Hero of Compassion!

Thank you to the teachers, parents and students at Five Oaks Academy!

Your initiative inspires us all!

NEW Resources and Tools website!

2010-10-29T18:00:00.000-04:00

Our service learning program, Wells of Love is growing! Teachers and students have adapted the Amman Imman: Water is Life presentation for their community's involvement, integrated our curriculum materials in their classrooms and used our fundraising kits to raise money towards building a borehole-well that will bring life-saving water to thousands upon thousands.

Now, a new website, www.wellsoflove.info, makes these resources easily available to you!

Please visit Wells of Love Resources and Tools website and explore! It's very easy to navigate:

On the main page, you will find a link to an online form that you can fill out to join Wells of Love. We ask you to officially join so that we know who you are, but even more importantly we want to be connected with you! We hope that as your students learn about water scarcity, climate change, and work towards solutions to these problems in the Azawak alongside Amman Imman, we can work alongside you.

What We Do tells a little bit about Amman Imman and a short history of the Wells of Love movement. You can visit our website to learn more, or even arrange for someone (like me!) to come to your school, conference or event and make a presentation. Just call or send us an email.

What You Can Do provides a three-step framework to help you get started. Our job is to educate and support so that you can engage and empower. You can use this website and the materials provided to let your community know about the Wells of Love opportunity.

Resources and Tools provides links from where you can download supporting materials. You will find the latest presentation about Amman Imman's work in the Azawak, including slides about our new borehole in Kijigari. The accompanying script tells the story of Amman Imman in its entirety; you can tailor it for your audience. You can also download curriculum materials like geography lessons, cultural cards, books that explain Amman Imman for young students, and more. There are also links to videos on YouTube, some that even feature Ariane Kirtley, Amman Imman's founder and director, talking about her first-hand experience and connection to the people of the Azawak. We'll be adding to these resources as materials are developed.

I really hope that you will take the time to visit this website and explore the Resources and Tools that we've worked hard to develop. There is an important story to tell and work to be done. We invite you to be a part of it!

Tammy Brennan: A Run for Water Inspired by Children

2010-10-21T17:44:00.001-04:00

Tammy will be running in the Army 10 Miler in Wash DC on Oct. 24

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 24, 2010) Tammy Brennan is inspired. As a mother of three school-aged children, she is already committed to putting the needs of others first. Tirelessly serving as a positive and compassionate role model has extended beyond her own family, as she is also dedicated to saving lives of children in the Azawak Valley of West Africa. The Azawak is a region in the Republic of Niger devastated by persistent drought that has destroyed the cattle and goat herds of half a million nomads and forced their children to walk up to thirty miles in search of water.

To fulfill her dream, Tammy is putting on her running shoes and will participate in the Army 10 Miler on October 24 in Washington, D.C. She is dedicating her run to the children of the Azawak - and to her own children, Mika, Lukas, Alex, and their classmates, who have been raising funds through a service learning program at their school.

Tammy has reached out to friends and acquaintances, asking them to symbolically join her run, by contributing money to help finance the equipment needed to run the latest borehole-well built by Amman Imman: Water is Life, an organization that has brought water to the Azawak over the past four years, using advanced machinery to drill deep beneath the earth’s surface.

Tammy's goal is to raise at least $5,000 for the families there, contributing significantly to a sustainable livelihood for them. Once there is water, many other opportunities arise -- in the form of schools, health centers, tree planting, etc. Tammy also hopes her Run for Water will inspire others to get involved.

Children raise funds through their school

"We are so blessed and fortunate that it can become easy to forget about the least of our brothers and sisters," says Tammy. "My goal is to raise $5,000 in order to raise awareness about the water security issues in the Azawak valley and inspire other parents to get their children’s schools involved with the Amman Imman’s service learning program, Wells of Love."

Not that long ago, the Azawak Valley was lush and fertile, with 5-6 months of rainfall. Over the past decade, the Azawak has become a wasteland that receives only short bouts of erratic rainfall for a month or two each year. The people there have nowhere to go, and water gives them hope for a better tomorrow.

Amman Imman: Water is Life, one of the only organizations working in the area to address the water crisis, recently drilled its second borehole in Kijigari Village. Tammy’s run will help pay for the remaining costs of the infrastructure, including the pumps, water fountains and animal troughs. This borehole-well provides clean and abundant water to more than 30,000 people and animals.

Read more about Amman Imman, its efforts in Kijigari Village and how you can support Tammy's run.

Learn about Amman Imman's A Run for Water campaign, and how you can get involved, info@ammanimman.org.

The Privilege of Having a Bathroom Pass

2010-10-15T11:03:00.005-04:00

Kevin Simone, Operations Support and Development Intern at Amman Imman's Bethesda, Maryland office, blogs about water for Blog Action Day:

Kevin at the Raising Clean Hands launch at AED

My name is Kevin Simone. This fall I am interning with nonprofit organization Amman Imman: Water is Life. We work to bring water to a remote part of Niger called the Azawak.

As I work there I learn more and more about how hard it is for people to live without water, a resource that I believe most people take for granted.

From health to sanitation and even livestock health, everything begins with a sustainable source of water.

"Bathroom Pass" exhibit at AED in Washington DC through November 19

Recently, I have been exposed to how important water is to education in developing countries. From grade school through college, I never even thought about what it would be like without a bathroom or water fountain. In college there was at least ten of each in whatever school building I was in.

Just thinking about this I realize that if I didn’t have a bathroom or water fountain in my school, I probably would not have learned anything in school, if I would have gone at all. Can you imagine having to try to concentrate in school if you were thirsty and had to walk miles away just for the possibility of getting water?

I wouldn’t even last a day!

So, don’t forget to be thankful every time you use the bathroom at your house, at work, or at school. There are some people who do not have this privilege.

Kevin with Debbie (AI Associate Director) and his fellow interns at Bathroom Pass exhibit and the Raising Clean Hands launch

"Bathroom Pass: A Hands-On Exhibit On Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Schools"

at AED, 1875 Connecticut Avenue, Washington, DC, through November 19, 2010.

Every child has the right to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in their school. In this kid-friendly exhibit, visitors experience WASH in schools through the stories of four children from around the world: Adán, age 12 from Honduras; Mamisoa, age 10 from Madagascar; Nathan, age 17 from the United States; and, Sarita, age 15 from Nepal.

Find out how WASH in schools ensures students reach their full potential.

For more information, please contact Zoe Plaugher, zplaugher@aed.org or 202-884-8618.

The exhibit is free.

Location: AED | IDEA:EXCHANGE, corner of Connecticut Ave. & T St., 1875 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009

Greensboro Montessori: Harvesting the Fruit of Action

2010-10-09T11:28:00.003-04:00

Our Heroes of Compassion at Greensboro Montessori

Again and again I discover that steady and persistent effort, held together by patience, makes a difference. Our actions have an effect, even if the immediate results are not obvious. What we do matters! If you plant seeds where the soil is fertile, roots grow and a seedling sprouts, eventually yielding fruit.

In fall 2007, Ariane and I, along with our dear Dennis Hamilton, attended the Global Citizenship Action Project conference in NYC. Ariane eloquently presented Amman Imman to over 100 middle school students who were there to learn about global issues, tour the United Nations and take action. Different projects were presented at GCAP as opportunities for these student activists. Over the course of time, several have taken up the cause of the people of the Azawak:

Starting in 2008, The Boyd School middle school students began to heed the Amman Imman call. Since then, The Boyd School has raised thousands of dollars, most recently staging A Walk for Water and Amman-a-thons for over 600 students.

In 2008, Berkeley Montessori School middle schoolers staged a One-Act Play fundraiser, raising over $2,000.

Additionally, River Valley Charter School, Bowman School and Coral Reef Montessori also got involved as a result of GCAP.

We thought we had savored all the wonderful blossoms from the GCAP seedling, but recently a new branch has harvested some luscious fruit. North Carolina's Greensboro Montessori School sent us a check for $1,353 raised at their summer market along with this story:

Each year the Greensboro Montessori School in N.C. holds a camp called the “Montessori Market.” This camp provides children with the opportunity to use the School’s extensive gardens to raise money for other children who need support. The campers harvest produce from the gardens to make goods such as fruit jams, pesto, vegetable and fruit breads, tarts, herb blends, rosemary skewers and sachets. They also spend time making crafts. The children take their wares, along with flowers and fresh produce from the gardens, to a local farmers’ market to sell.

In 2007, one of the School’s teachers had learned of the Amman Imman Project at the Global Citizenship Action Project, an annual youth conference held in NYC to educate middle school students about the workings of the United Nations. Touched by the story of the people of the Azawak, she hoped that Greensboro students would take on the project, but the students were busy helping with other important causes. Then, this year she showed the children videos from Amman Imman's website. The campers enthusiastically decided to donate their profits from the market to the Amman Imman Project. They raised $1,353. They even had the opportunity to educate one of North Carolina’s senators, Kay Hagan, about the project while she was shopping at their stand.

One of oldest campers, Abby Waldron, will present the Montessori Market fundraising concept and how they took action for Amman Imman at this year's GCAP.

Who knows what additional Amman Imman branches the GCAP tree will grow!

How Students have Saved Lives: One Step, Dribble, Hoola-hoop and Jump Rope at a Time

2010-09-17T06:41:00.000-04:00

Click here to watch this short video!

Take Action to Save Lives by Joining our Heroes of Compassion!
Become a Hero of Compassion! Rally your school to join the Amman Imman Crusade!

click here to fill out our online registration form

write to debbie@ammanimman.org for more information

Match the money raised by a Wells of Love School. Challenge a school to raise funds and match your pledged donation.

click here to see a list of schools you can support

Support Anya as she runs to save lives in memory of her father!
October 31, 2010: Anya runs for water in the Marine Corps Marathon

click here to go to Anya's website

A student at Hershey Montessori walks for water, 2010.

A Walk for Water, Salmonberry School, Orcas Island, 2007.

A Walk for Water, Lake Frank, Maryland, 2010.

Boyd School students, A Walk for Water, 2010.

Students practice for their Amman-a-thon.

Crafts for sale, made by students, for their Well of Love.

Dear Friends of the Azawak,

In my last installment, I thanked our powerful Heroes of Compassion for their dedicated efforts toward building the Kijigari Well of Love. Today, I want to tell you how they accomplished this amazing humanitarian feat. I will describe our most successful annual fundraising events, which include our Walks for Water and Amman-a-thons, as well as other activities taken on by individual schools. And near the end, I will also share with you some inspiring stories from some of our youngest Heroes of Compassion.

A Walk for Water
This May, I had the honor and privilege of joining two A Walk for Water events for the first time since they began in 2007. The first I attended was organized by the Boyd school in Northern Virginia, where 100 students from all seven campuses came together in solidarity for the Azawak (in the meantime, 500 younger students were busy raising money through their Amman-a-thon event). I also took part in the 4^th annual Lake Frank Walk, which united six schools and several local organizations all sharing one goal: to honor and help the children of the Azawak.

As I walked alongside students and parents, I realized how significant this simple symbolic gesture of hope was to the students as they empathized with their friends in Africa. While some students complained of the heat and humidity, others reminded them that the children in the Azawak walk over 30 miles a day in 120 degree heat. One small student proclaimed, “With every step we take here, we are one step closer to building our well of love.” And one parent poetically compared her steps with flowers in Spring: “With every step we take, life is sprouting from our feet.” It was riveting to witness the compassion and empowerment emanating from the students as they walked to help people that no one had even heard about five years ago. They knew that they were saving lives and bringing hope to friends they had not met, but for whom they felt deep love and understanding… people that had otherwise been forgotten by the world.

For those of you unfamiliar with A Walk for Water, it is a community-building sponsorship event, which has been held in such diverse locations as the city streets of Wellington, New Zealand, a school ball field in New Jersey, Orcas Island in Washington State, on a rural Ohio farm school, on a wooded path around a lake in Maryland, and in a park in Virginia. This walk is usually just a few miles, but it symbolizes the 30-miles that children in the Azawak travel every day in search for water. Students participating in the walk ask for sponsorships from friends, family, neighbors, and even local companies to raise money for building Wells of Love. Since 2007, we have raised over $50,000 from our annual Walks that take place across the world.

Amman-a-thons
Amman-a-thons are skill-building events that combine athleticism and philanthropy. Students are sponsored for each hoola hoop, basket ball dribble, jumping jack, jump rope, etc. that they do. Amman-a-thon events began at the Oneness-Family School in Maryland, where an average of 30 first- through third-graders, ages six to nine, have continued to participate each year. Schools across the nation have adopted these Amman-a-thons including the Boyd School, Five Oaks Academy and Cornerspring Montessori. These events are particularly well adapted for our youngest Heroes of Compassion, as they can raise awareness and funds right on the school grounds while having a bundle of fun.

This May, I witnessed the six to nine year old students at the Oneness-Family School jump rope, hoola hoop, and dribble for their friends in the Azawak. They took their Amman-a-thon very seriously, and even dedicated many practice days to prepare. In past years, they had already astonished their sponsors by doing many more hoops and jumps than expected and they wanted to beat their past records this year. Amman-a-thons have raised over $17,000 since they began in 2008.

Other fun and creative awareness and fund raising events
Students at Yale University held a benefit concert and created a male beauty pageant, paralleling the traditional Guerwul festivals of the Fulani people of the Azawak. Other schools participated in A Month without Water, during which families contributed a month’s amount of their water bill. Yet another school held a student-written one-act play festival fundraiser. Some Heroes of Compassion began a student-run soap making company, of which a portion of the profits went to Amman Imman. Several schools have created gala and auction fundraising events. Girl Scout troops have held bake sales. A few schools have raised money, and obtained matching grants from local Rotary Clubs. Still other Wells of Love schools have participated in our annual Hand in Hand campaign, where they have made crafts to sell to raise money.

Compassion Inspires Children of all Ages
As iterated by the Director of Salmonberry School, “Teachers and parents often underestimate children… when actually they are capable of such deep understanding and such wisdom and compassion.” Upon learning about the plight of the children in the Azawak, one six year old echoed these thoughts, explaining to his parents that he needed to design a system of roads to better transport the diesel and materials for digging the boreholes. Another seven year old drew plans for a robot that could dig our boreholes without the need for expensive equipment! A five year old begged his dad for a very big box. When his dad finally inquired, “Why do you need this box?” he replied that he was going to pack up bottles of water to send to Niger and that they would need the box to return the empty bottles so that he could refill them and send more! Yet another five year old boy smiled for the first time in school after hearing the story of the Azawak, knowing he could make a difference. He went home and sold rosemary to his neighbors, raising over $100 in just one day for his newfound friends.

These combined efforts of each and every of our inspired and devoted Heroes of Compassion have resulted in a beautiful Well of Love in the village of Kijigari. Every single child’s persistence and determination helped place each mud brick, faucet, and tube on our borehole infrastructure. Thank you, Heroes of Compassion, for being powerful and saving lives! Thank you for joining hand in hand with children and students across the world, and for continuously being my greatest source of inspiration!

Yours for the Children of the Azawak,
Ariane

Super Heroes of Compassion raise over $100,000 to build Kijigari’s Montessori Well of Love

2010-08-23T09:36:00.002-04:00

Kijigari Montessori Well of Love, 2010

Take Action to Save Lives by Joining our Heroes of Compassion!
Become a Hero of Compassion! Rally your school to join the Amman Imman Crusade!

   write to debbie@ammanimman.org for more information

Match the money raised by a Wells of Love School. Challenge a school to raise funds and match your pledged donation.
    click here to see a list of schools you can support
Support Anya as she runs to save lives in memory of her father!

October 31, 2010: Anya runs for water in the Marine Corps Marathon

    click here to go to Anya's website

Five Oaks Academy, 2010

“Water is here, water is there;

If you can’t reach it, I will reach it for you.

If you can’t seek it, I will seek it for you.

At last the water you’ve been trying to get is here for you.”

Seventh grade Hero of Compassion, Ayisha

Dear Friends of the Azawak,

This installment, as well as the next I’ll be sending is dedicated to the amazing students across the world that have raised over $100,000 since 2006 to bring water to their thirsty friends in the Azawak. These students, moved to join our Wells of Love program through love, compassion, and a deep understanding for humanity, are saving lives among the world’s most vulnerable. David, a dedicated eighth-grade Hero of Compassion iterates, “You may work a mile, and you can have life, or walk a mile and give life.” This simple yet intrinsically powerful phrase encompasses the philosophy that motivates our Heroes of Compassion.

With our Wells of Love program that heralds our army of Heroes to action, Amman Imman does more than simply raise money for the Azawak. As Debbie, Wells of Love Director says, “The potential here is greater than raising money. We are raising kids. We are raising kids to understand that their effort impacts the world, that what they do, even if they can do only a little, goes a long way… But it doesn't end there...we are also giving a chance for children in the Azawak to reach their potential, and their dreams.”

What is a Hero of Compassion?
Eighth grader, Sebastian, defines himself and fellow students "Kind of like a super hero, super heroes use their super human strength to save the lives of ordinary people. Heroes of Compassion give their best to help people, and by helping they discover their own super power."

Today, our Heroes of Compassion, by successfully building their Montessori Well of Love in the village of Kijigari, have proven that children of all ages can make the seemingly impossible real when they unite their compassion and ideals with action.

Who are our Heroes of Compassion?
With over 60 schools partnering with Amman Imman over the last four years, Amman Imman’s Wells of Love program has developed an army of Heroes of Compassion across the world. Upon hearing about the thirsty yet beautiful children of the Azawak, students across North America, the Caribbean, Europe and Oceania have raised awareness and funds for their friends in Africa. With thousands and thousands of students uniting hand in hand to bring water, hope and life to the Azawak, I wouldn’t even know how to begin recognizing and thanking each and every one of them individually as they should be. Please visit our schools’ blog here to read about all our Wells of Love schools and read the inspiring stories of the students, parents, teachers, and administrators that have provided an invaluable contribution and made a significant impact in the Azawak.

A Few Examples of Wells of Love Schools
In many schools, Amman Imman has been an integral part of the school culture since 2006. The most obvious example is the Oneness-Family School. As spear header of the Wells of Love movement, it was the first Montessori school to make a long-lasting commitment as Amman Imman’s partner.   Still today, Oneness holds year-round Amman Imman activities; from the craft making Hand in Hand project in the Fall to Amman-a-thons and A Walk for Water in the spring. Oneness Heroes of Compassion have raised over $20,000 since they joined the Amman Imman crusade. Far from being alone, Oneness has been joined by the Boyd, Barrie, Hershey, and Aidan Montessori Schools that have also chosen to make Amman Imman an essential component of their school curriculum over the past couple of years.   The united efforts of these Wells of Love schools have raised over $40,000.

Small schools like the Montessori School of Maryknoll, have also been a key component of the Wells of Love movement. Involved since 2007, these young students have consistently raised a couple of hundred dollars through their bake and plant sales. Schools like Palm Harbor Montessori, also involved since 2007 have raised $3,700 in just a month by collecting change in water bottles.   This year again they have committed to collecting change for Amman Imman over the entire school year.

Click here to see the list of all the schools who have helped!

Some of the Most Committed Began through the Passion of One Individual
Some of our most committed schools have partnered with Amman Imman thanks to the passionate initiation of one student. For example, Cornerspring Montessori first enlisted as a Wells of Love school thanks to eight-year old Odin who shared the story of the Azawak after viewing our “Water Scarcity in the Azawak” video on the internet. Dedicated Hero of Compassion, Sophie, rallied the Madeira School to join this year’s Walk for Water at Lake Frank. East Catholic High School raised close to $15,000 after high school student, Gabby, presented the plight of the people of the Azawak to her classmates.

And then of course, there have been schools that have raised thousands of dollars thanks to the initiation of one committed parent or teacher.   Teacher Bonnie from Five Oaks Academy rallied her entire school to conduct fundraisers year round, and with an Amman-a-thon as a finale, raised over $4,000 in just one year from her small school. Rodney has been leading the Boyd School’s seven campuses to conduct yearly Walks for Water. Sara, Bob and Cathy at the Barrie School have supported a myriad of student fundraising activities from bake sales to Walk for Waters to sports competitions, raising over $10,000 since 2007. Parent Elicia brought the Montessori School of Louisville together to contribute $5,000 of the school’s auction to Amman Imman. Dedicated teachers like Nicole and Christine have taken Amman Imman to their new schools, Sunset Hills Montessori and Scattergood Friends School. They have already started cultivating an entire new crop of Heroes of Compassion.     These are only a few examples of many whom singlehandedly roused the compassion and help of entire school communities.

Stay tuned for my next installment where I will tell you more how our Heroes of Compassion have raised over $100,000 in just a couple of years.

Yours for the children of the Azawak,
Ariane

For a list of schools that you can support, click here.

Join the Amman Imman crusade this fall!

2010-08-19T12:09:00.000-04:00

As the summer season dwindles and students, teachers and parents prepare themselves for a flourishing return to school, I provide you with these inspiring images of our Heroes of Compassion, working together to bring water to their thirsty friends in the Azawak. Since December, 2009 when we started our campaign to raise the necessary funds to complete construction of the Kijigari borehole, students have raised over $24,000 in Walk for Waters, Amman-a-thons, and creative fundraisers of various sorts.

In June, 2010, the Kijigari borehole, the Montessori Well of Love, began to provide water to the 6,000 residents of Kijigari and surrounding communities. Over 35,000 people and animals will gain the opportunity for life from this oasis. Click here to see the video of Kijigari students thanking Ariane and Denis.

This fall I invite you to rally your community, become a Hero of Compassion and join our Amman Imman crusade! Here's how:

Match funds raised by a Wells of Love school or Challenge a school to raise funds to match your pledged donation. Click here for a list of schools.
Join Wells of Love! Enlist your school in our service learning program. Contact Debbie at debbie@ammanimman.org to find out about our expanded program and new opportunities.

A Walk for Water 2010, Lake Frank, Derwood, Maryland

A Walk for Water 2010, Boyd School, Chantilly, Virginia

Amman-a-thon 2010, Oneness-Family School, Chevy Chase, Maryland

Amman-a-thon 2010, Five Oaks Academy, Simpsonville, South Carolina

How the Kijigari Community Contributed to Building their Well of Love

2010-08-09T07:33:00.000-04:00

Dear Friends of the Azawak

Please contribute to Kijigari's community empowerment by supporting Amman Imman's life-giving work in the Azawak! Here's what you can do:

Empower students by matching funds raised by a Wells of Love school event. Contact Debra Kahn, debbie@ammanimman.org.
Help get our Wells of Love program into schools in your community.
Run, bike, swim, climb, or do your own creative event for water today, and raise funds for Amman Imman. Read about Mary’s 12 hour run here.
Forward this message to a friend and ask them to subscribe and contribute!

I apologize in advance, because I have decided to postpone our entry about our Heroes of Compassion until next week. This week, I will follow up on last week’s installment to explain to you how the Kijigari community helped build their Montessori Well of Love. Having successful stewardship of a borehole is not simply about managing it properly once it has been built; it is also about contributing to building and establishing the borehole within the community as the borehole is being constructed.

What did Kijigari contribute toward the construction of their Montessori Well of Love?
The villagers of Kijigari contributed close to $1000, over 50

men in manpower for two month’s time, and built over 4,000 clay bricks with local sand and gravel. With these resources, they constructed an adobe shelter for the borehole’s engine, as well as a 40 meter long and 8 meter wide wall that surrounds the borehole. The wall protects the borehole from possible damage that animals and villagers could cause. It also keeps the area around the borehole clean. Eventually, the women plan on growing a vegetable garden within the wall parameters. Men also provided labor to the hired construction companies, in order to reduce our overall construction costs.

How did the villagers come up with their contribution?

As I alluded to last week, Kijigari is an amazingly well organized village. The village itself is separated into 6 quarters, or neighborhoods, if you will. In order to decide how the village would come up with its contribution, all the villagers gathered in community meetings for several nights in a row. They decided that each neighborhood would donate an equal amount of money, bricks, and manpower for labor. Then the women and men of each neighborhood divided their contribution equally, where the women gave a certain number of bricks and money, and the men gave equal amounts. However, only men contributed labor as the tasks necessary required a great deal of physical strength.

Why is a Village Contribution Important for the Sustainability of a borehole?

To some of you, it may seem odd to request a village contribution when you know that the people of the Azawak have so little. What possibly might they have to help build their borehole? The simple answer is that they can and did do a lot. Having the villagers participate is crucial for ascertaining the longevity of their borehole. Contributing their own precious resources helped them understand the worth of their infrastructure, above and beyond its life giving ability through water. The villagers’ sacrifice gave their borehole added value and esteem. It also gave the community a great sense of pride, as they knew that they had made a precious personal investment in their infrastructure.

Stay tuned to read our weekly summer installments on the Kijigari Well of Love! I look forward to sharing with you the amazing stories of our Heroes of Compassion next week!

Sincerely yours, for the children of the Azawak,

Ariane

A Management Committee for Longevity and Sustainability

2010-07-29T20:06:00.000-04:00

Please contribute to Kijigari's community empowerment by supporting Amman Imman's life-giving work in the Azawak!

Here's what you can do:

Click here to give your personal donation today.
Empower students by matching funds raised by a Wells of Love school event. Contact Debra Kahn, debbie@ammanimman.org.
Help get our Wells of Love program into schools in your community.
Run, bike, swim, climb, or do your own creative event for water today, and raise funds for Amman Imman. Read about Mary’s 12 hour run here.
Forward this message to a friend and ask them to subscribe and contribute!

Dear Friends of the Azawak,
Many people have asked me how long a borehole can last. This answer is entirely dependent on how well the borehole is managed. In fact, establishing the proper stewardship and management of the borehole over the long run is arguably one the most challenging and rewarding components of our work. It is also one of our top priorities.

Depending on how well a borehole is managed, it can last anywhere from a century or more, to just a couple of years. To help ascertain the longevity of the Kijigari borehole, Amman Imman helped establish a Water Resource Management Committee (WRMC) of responsible and trained Kijigari citizens. These individuals were elected democratically by the villagers, but were first chosen based on established criteria.

Electing Committee Members
Denis (our Niger Program Director), Moumine (our Operations Coordinator in Niger), and Abdoulkarim of the Department of Hydraulics first held a meeting where all the men and women of Kijigari were invited to participate. During this meeting, they outlined the characteristics and criteria for each management committee member. The most important was the trustworthiness of all, and that the officers had to have literacy training. They also insisted on the active involvement of women.
In Kijigari, our task was simplified thanks to the fact that villagers are already well organized and accustomed to managing things in their village. The women have been managing their garden cooperative, grain banks and sewing cooperative for years. The men have great experience managing the school, market and business cooperatives. Many of the adults have already received literacy training and have a basic understanding for writing and counting.

After this initial meeting, all the villagers gathered for several nights in a row to reach a consensus about who they would choose as committee members. Kijigari is divided into 7 quarters. While choosing the members of the committee, village leaders made sure that at least two individuals were represented from each quarter in order to promote equal representation and avoid jealousy.

Committee Members and their Roles
The management committee is composed of the following members:

President – Adam, the former school director, was chosen for this role. He has long been respected as a wise village elder. Even before he was elected, he had a vision how to use the money raised by the borehole wisely. The money could be divided into three different banks, so to speak. One bank would be used to properly manage, take care, improve and repair the Kijigari borehole; the second would be used for developing and improving the village; and the third would be used to one day help pay the construction of a borehole in another village. We hope that his dream becomes reality!
Secretary – Ibrahim, the man elected for this position, will take notes during committee meetings, and will represent the president when he cannot be present at a meeting
Treasurer – Halima, the woman elected for this position, would be responsible for gathering the funds raised during the day every night, counting and keeping track of the money, and taking it to the bank in Tahoua once a month.
Fountain “Keepers” – These are the eight women in charge of the four water fountains. They serve the water and collect the money from water fetchers. They also keep the fountains clean.
Trough “Keepers” – These are the four men responsible for selling the water at the troughs. They count the animals, and sell the water according to the number of animals. Both the trough and fountain keepers take their collection of money to the treasurer at the end of each day, after having first made a report to the president.
The mechanics – Two men were chosen to run the engine, conduct its regular maintenance; and ascertain that there is a continual flow of water in the water tower.
Watchdogs – There are eight watchdogs – three of which are women – that are not active members of the committee, but serve to make sure the committee functions properly. They make certain that the funds are being managed properly and also serve as liaison between committee members and the population.

Training the Committee
Once the committee members were elected, they took part in a series of training sessions. Additional training sessions will be held throughout the year.

Our local team, with the participation of the Department of Hydraulics, conducted two days of intensive training for the officers. This training session focused primarily on proper financial management and record keeping. Our local team then stayed an additional three weeks to follow up with this initial training session, and perform direct training with the fountain and trough “keepers”, also in financial management, and also in hygiene and sanitation. The mechanics underwent two months of intensive mechanical training with a specialist from the borehole construction company, in order to understand the basics of maintenance and mechanics.

Our local team continues to conduct follow-up training and visits twice a month, and Abdoulkarim from the Department of Hydraulics, will conduct visits every one and a half months. These visits will not only serve to do additional training, but will also help evaluate the efficacy of the WRMC, and help advise changes if deemed necessary.

Successful WRMC So Far
In the little time that the borehole has been operational, activities have been going well. The committee has raised over $1,000 through selling water to villagers and visitors from other camps and villages. After the first month, the committee voted to pay the fountain and trough keepers, as well as the mechanics. They work all day under the beating sun, and deserved some compensation. 10% of the money raised through selling water is distributed equally between the committee workers as pay.
The watchdogs conducted a two-day study to test the functioning of the committee. They sat with the trough and fountain keepers, and observed how money was collected. They examined the accounts, to make sure that money had not been misused. And they conducted interviews with the populations to analyze their appreciation of the borehole. They shared the issues that water fetchers had brought up, in order to find solutions and improve how things have been run so far.

Our local team and Abdoulkarim have already conducted additional training, and have already helped make some changes to improve the operations of the WRMC.

We don’t expect things to run perfectly this year. However, the WRMC as well as the villagers are highly motivated to take care of their borehole. They dream that their Well of Love will provide life giving water for generations to come.

Stay tuned next week to learn about our Heroes of Compassion and how they helped build the Kijigari Montessori Well of Love.

Yours for the Azawak,
Ariane

Kijigari's Running Faucets Bring Jubilance, Pride, Relief and Responsibility

2010-07-22T23:53:00.002-04:00

Dear Friends of the Azawak,

Please help us raise the 16K we still owe to the construction company, and begin raising funds for a new life-giving borehole. We need your support, and here’s what you can do:

Click here to give your personal donation today.
Empower students by matching funds raised by a Wells of Love school event. Contact Debra Kahn, debbie@ammanimman.org.
Help get our Wells of Love program into schools in your community.
Run, bike, swim, climb, or do your own creative event for water today, and raise funds for Amman Imman. Read about Mary’s 12 hour run here.

Forward this message to a friend and ask them to subscribe and contribute!

The Kijigari borehole tale continues as the Montessori Well of Love begins to operate. If you missed the first installment, you can read it here. Read below how you too can help provide the gift of life.

On the day the new water faucets opened in Kijigari, all the villagers stood, waiting impatiently carrying as many jerry cans as they could manage – tied to their waist and balanced on their heads, and more hooked onto their donkeys. With a little gurgle and then a swoosh, the first faucets came to life, purging their pipes of the life giving liquid. Whistles of jubilance bellowed through the crowd.

Children, adults, and even the livestock drank and washed in the pure and plentiful water. Families from neighboring communities rode in on donkey carts to fill their numerous empty household jugs. Hope emanated from their eyes as they brushed off spider webs and layers of dust from their containers – proof of the long months that they had sat empty. They too knew they would no longer face the daily fear of thirst.

Later in the day, Kijigari school children gathered around their beautiful water tower to celebrate their new gift. In front of all the village members, they read to us their letter of gratitude. They then danced and sang a song that they had written and choreographed for the Amman Imman team. Click here or on the video box on the right to get a glimpse of this amazing scene of celebration.

The people of Kijigari and the surrounding communities have received a beautiful gift of life – their Montessori Well of Love. Their awe and pride has now been replaced by a great sense of responsibility. They realize that they have the power to cherish or waste their superb treasure. Amman Imman will work hand in hand with them to create the foundation for proper management so that their borehole may provide water for generations to come. Next week, I will describe to you how the management committee was elected, and how they have been running the borehole since it opened.

Yours for the Children of the Azawak,

Ariane

Construction is finished! Water Flows from the Kijigari Well of Love!

2010-07-15T22:05:00.001-04:00

Dear Friends of the Azawak,

This Spring our Heroes of Compassion in the USA and France proved mightier than a world recession, and more determined than the plight of hunger and drought facing the Sahel. As students dutifully walked, dribbled basket balls, hoola-hooped, jumped rope, and jumping jacked in A Walk for Water and Amman-a-thon events, our team in Niger launched the construction of the water tower, faucets, and troughs in Kijigari. With this year’s drought in Niger proving more devastating than previous years, and families relying on eating dirt to fill empty bellies, the gift of water, hope, and life arrived in the nick of time for the Kijigari community.

Every step, dribble, and jump established the foundation for a new brick or piece of equipment, as slowly the long awaited structure of life rose above the parched marsh and thorn-covered acacia trees, ready to bear life giving water. By the end of June, the miraculous day happened when newly elected Zalika, of the Kijigari Water Management Committee proudly opened the first operational water faucet.

As quoted by Adam, the president of the Water Management Committee: “Amman Imman and Heroes of Compassion worldwide made the unbelievable real”. Student’s untiring efforts worked magic, as they raised over $22,000 in just a few months tobuild their Montessori Well of Love.

Since January, contributions from people like you, our dedicated supporters of the Azawak, along with the fundraising efforts of Heroes Compassion, have reached $38,000. However, Amman Imman must still raise $16,000 to pay the remaining fee for construction. Please click here to donate today and help us finish paying for the Kijigari Well of Love.

Stay posted for a series of weekly installments to read about the fascinating and moving Kijigari borehole tale. I will share with you the moments of exuberance experienced by the Kijigari community when they first witnessed water flowing in their village. I will tell you how we successfully raised thousands of dollars thanks to our Heroes of Compassion and other dedicated supporters. You will learn how Denis and Moumine oversaw the borehole construction, and participated in electing the members of the Kijigari Water Management Committee. I will also give you an update on Tangarwashane, and how the borehole continues to change the community’s life three years later. And finally, I will share with you our plans for the future and our vision for creating oases of life throughout the Azawak.

Please share our story by forwarding this newsletter to your friends and family!

Sincerely yours for the children of the Azawak,

Ariane

Contribute to Amman Imman! Contact us for more information at info@ammanimman.org!

Click here to give your personal donation today.
Empower students by matching the amount raised by one of our Wells of Love Schools. Contact Debra Kahn, debbie@ammanimman.org, for more information.
Join our Heroes of Compassion by running for water in a marathon or race. Read about Mary’s Run here.
Obtain the support of your community, coworkers, companies, family and/or friends. Forward this message to a friend and ask them to subscribe and contribute!
Host an Amman Imman fundraiser in your home or community.

Walking to Change the World

2010-07-01T21:23:00.004-04:00

On May 15, 2010, Amman Imman: Water is Life held the 4th annual A Walk for Water at Lake Frank in Derwood, Maryland. More than 200 people, from several schools and organizations, walked over 3 miles around the lake in solidarity for the children and families in the Azawak who walk over 30 miles in a day for water.

This year some special guests joined the students and their families. Ariane Kirtley and her son Fassely were in town directly from Niger, where Ariane and her husband Denis had been working for the last 5 months. Her presence meant a lot to the students who had been supporting Amman Imman over several years. Finally, they had the chance to meet the person who has dedicated her time and energy to bringing water to the Azawak of West Africa. By her example, they are learning about their own boundless capacity to change the world.

Through online donations and sponsorships, over $7,600 was raised. The money will go towards finishing the Kijigari borehole, under construction in the Azawak. This borehole structure will supply water to 25,000 people and animals for the next 50 to 100 years.

Watch this video on YouTube to see pictures and learn more about A Walk for Water 2010 at Lake Frank!

Oneness-Family School: Hopping with Enthusiasm to Raise Funds

2010-06-30T00:20:00.012-04:00

Every year the 6-9 year old students at the Oneness-Family School look forward to their springtime Amman-a-thon fundraiser. Teachers Madhavi Ray, Sondra Dorsey and Shawn Harrity keep the enthusiasm alive all year by informing students about progress in the Azawak via Amman Imman's updates. The students learn about the effects of water scarcity and climate change on the population. They understand that they are the foundation of a grassroots movement that is bringing water and making a tremendous difference in people's lives. By the time the Amman-a-thon comes around in May, the students are duly inspired to practice their athletic skills that will enable them to raise funds.

This year the 6 part story of how the people of Kijigari were waiting for their borehole to be finished moved them and motivated their practice. Their enthusiasm was further rewarded by a visit from Amman Imman's founder and director Ariane Kirtley, visiting in the Washington, D.C. area directly from Niger to attend a reception for a gallery exhibit of her photos at the Bing Stanford in Washington Art Gallery and and A Walk for Water events.

Ariane's visit to the classroom happened just before Amman-a-thon week. Her talk with the students and attendance at one of their Amman-a-thon practice sessions reinforced their motivation to do their very best in hopping, skipping and jumping to raise funds.

The enthusiasm extended beyond the two days of Amman-a-thon activities. In addition to the money collected through their sponsors, several of the children held small fundraisers and contributed their allowance.

Altogether the students raised close to $2,400 to help finish the Kijigari borehole.

Thank you, Students!

Sneak a peak at their Amman-a-thon here:

Five Oaks Academy: A Compassionate Community of Givers

2010-06-15T12:39:00.004-04:00

We recently received a donation totaling $4308.65 from Five Oaks Academy in Simpsonville, South Carolina. The dollars raised symbolizes the tremendous spirit of these 42 students, their passionate teacher and their generous community of givers. Throughout the school year in various fundraisers some sponsored by the Wells of Love program, the students raised $614.50. In May, 41 students took part in an Amman-a-thon raising $3,694.60 by turning cartwheels, jumping rope, dribbling a basketball and engaging in other athletic activities. Teacher Bonnie Benthall sent us this letter:

Dear Debbie and Ariane,
It is with great pleasure and a happy heart that I send this donation to you today. I'm extremely proud of my students and all their efforts. They have worked so hard for this wonderful cause. All year long the students have been passionate about helping Amman Imman.

We have sold water at carlines and festivals. Each student made crafts to sell at Christmas time for the Hand-in-Hand campaign, and all but one student was able to participate in our Amman-a-thon. Additionally, many of our students were so moved by this cause that they decided to raise money at home by selling soaps door to door, setting up a road side fruit stand, selling drawings, and selling candy. Other students donated allowances with parent matching their amount. Many students are part of a local girl scout troop, which graciously donated part of their girl scout cooking money to Amman Imman.

The generosity of our students and parents continue daily.

Our school has participated in many other fundraising events, but no other organization or cause has created this large an impact on our students. I speak for all staff members at Five Oaks Academy in saying, Amman Imman and the efforts on behalf of Amman Imman have inspired our students to understand the true importance of philanthropic giving and helping others less fortunate.

I feel blessed to be a part of such a remarkable cause. Thank you both for your support and efforts.

In Peace and Love,

Bonnie Benthall and Five Oaks Academy

Thank you, Bonnie, for being a beacon of light

for your students and the children of the Azawak.

You are an inspiration to teachers everywhere

who want to teach their students

what it means to give and take action.

Here are some photos from the Five Oaks Amman-a-thon through which the students engaged their philanthropic spirit, improved their athletic abilities, and employed their math skills while raising funds.