Annual Reports

MACODEF ANNUAL REPORT 2008

Summary of Program Activities

The year 2008 brought unique challenges to our Foundation’s work due to the post-election violence in Kenya. From January to March, most services came to a standstill: shops were closed; mobile phone communication was difficult; public transport was insecure, erratic and expensive; and schools and health clinics were shut down. The cost of food and other commodities also rose sharply. The inflation continues to this day—a 2 kg tin of maize, for instance, previously sold for the equivalent of 40 cents but now goes for $1.25. Fortunately, the violence in Kisumu did not reach into the villages of Vigetse and Vigina, and no MACODEF personnel or projects were harmed. Our local board of governors immediately issued a statement condemning the violence and encouraging all ethnic groups in Kenya to work together for the common good.

In the context of this generally hostile environment, our project coordinator and local board of governors persevered through many hardships to ensure that our projects—focused on health care, education, environment, cottage industry, and agriculture— moved forward as planned. Their hard work, coupled with your financial support, appears to be having a measurable impact. According to a study done by a local government officer, as a result of MACODEF’s activities, the poverty rate in the two villages we serve has been reduced to 42%, compared to an average poverty rate of 52% in Western Province as a whole. Our local board of governors reports that it increasingly hears calls for the expansion of MACODEF to other villages and communities.

Education

Our major school-related initiative this past year was a pilot school lunch program at Vigetse and Vigina Primary Schools for AIDS orphans. We supported construction of kitchens, hiring of cooks, planting of school gardens, and purchasing of energy efficient stoves and basic foodstuffs. The program was so successful that school officials and parents have ranked extension of the school lunch program to all students as one of their highest priorities for 2009. In addition, we bought furniture for a dining hall at Vigina Secondary School and continued our annual support for uniforms and scholarships for students from backgrounds of extreme poverty. Finally, we continued support of the adult literacy program at Vigetse.

Health Care

The health clinic constructed by the Vigetse Women’s Group is now visited twice a month by a mobile clinic. This service has already proved wildly popular with community members—hundreds have visited the clinic to get HIV testing or treatment for AIDS or other illnesses. In June, we received the exciting news of a $20,000 grant from the Donald and Alice Noble Foundation in Wooster, Ohio, to equip the clinic. Having just received the green light on the building itself from the government health inspector, the women’s group has hired security officers and purchased the first round of furniture and equipment for the clinic.

Environment

This past year we continued to facilitate access to clean water by improving community springs, building new latrines and installing rainwater harvest systems. In October, we received the wonderful news that The Rotary Foundation had awarded the Wooster and Vihiga Rotary Clubs a $24,000 matching grant to work with MACODEF in expanding these water projects to a new level. The grant will include a tree-planting component as well. According to community members, the effects of the water projects were noticeable during the dry season—many enjoyed safe, protected drinking water and lines at the springs were far shorter than usual.

Cottage Industry

We continued to support a variety of women’s groups and community self-help groups through micro-loans or small grants for income-generating projects such as the sale of vegetables or the purchase of cows, poultry, or high-quality seeds. We bought more tools for the Timber Group, so that these unemployed youth could earn money by crushing stones or making bricks rather than staying idle at the local market.

Agriculture

New in 2008 was an initiative to encourage sustainable farming techniques. We sent our MACODEF chairman to a two-week intensive seminar sponsored by the Kenya Institute of Organic Farming. Then, working in tandem with the local agricultural officer, the two conducted a series of workshops for community members in composting, tillage, erosion control, and other techniques for improving soil quality. Both primary schools tried these new methods in their school gardens and reported sharply increased yields.

Management and Administration

Our two-tiered administrative structure—an international board of trustees for fund-raising and a local board of governors for project oversight—continued to work effectively this past year. The local board deserves accolades for its commitment to MACODEF’s philosophy of empowering community members while minimizing bureaucracy. Whereas many NGOs in Kenya provide their employees and board members with lavish compensation, vehicles and other incidentals, our governors have given generously of their time with little expectation of monetary reward.

This past year the local board began meeting regularly with leaders from each of the twenty community groups that have been regular recipients of MACODEF funds. By making these “stakeholder meetings” a regular feature of the planning and implementation process, we hope to improve communication between the local board of governors and the community groups we fund. More than 50 people attended the most recent meeting in April to debrief the second visit by the work/study team, to assess project implementation, and to engage in long-range planning.

We continued to benefit from several generous in-kind donations this year. William Davis served as our web site coordinator and spearheaded a major effort to update our site. Roger Collier continued to assist with our printing needs. We are very grateful for the assistance of these two individuals.The Vigina Secondary School Board of Governors let us maintain an office on the school compound, though the office is increasingly needed by the school for various functions. As a result, we have begun the process of looking for another option, either renting office space or purchasing a small plot of land on which to build a new MACODEF office.

To mark the fifth anniversary of MACODEF we have planned a three-day conference in Holland, Michigan this summer. Samuel Amukono, chairman of our local board of governors, and Joyce Adisa, our project coordinator, will attend as representatives of the Vigetse and Vigina communities. We look forward to a stimulating and productive weekend as we evaluate the first five years of our work and chart the way forward.

Finances and Fund-Raising

Thanks to the generosity of many supporters, our annual campaign not only achieved its goal but surpassed it. The grand total raised in 2008 was $50,721. In spite of this very positive outcome, there were signs that the economic downturn affected donations. The number of individual donors dropped from 80 to 70, and individual contributions were down from $19,612 a year ago to $14,696. Donations from corporations fell from $2950 to $375. Fortunately, foundation gifts rose from $12,225 to $35,650.

In 2008, we were extremely fortunate to receive strong support from several foundations. The Donald and Alice Noble Foundation provided a $20,000 grant for furnishing and equipping the health clinic. The Wooster Rotary Club’s effort to fund water projects on a larger scale came to fruition when we received notice of a $24,000 matching grant from The Rotary Foundation. Both the Noble Foundation and the Wooster Rotary Club provided support for a second work/study team that visited Western Kenya in March 2009. We’ll have more on that visit in next year’s report. The Korver-Huisman Charitable Foundation also gave us a generous grant at the beginning of the fiscal year, and the Microsoft Giving Campaign provided matching gifts for their employees who contributed.

This past year a government-certified auditor completed an official audit of all the books kept by our local board of governors for the past four years. The finances were found to be in order and copies of the report for fiscal years 2005-08 were sent to Kenya’s NGO Coordinating Board. We also retained the services of an accounting firm in Wooster, OH, to assist with our federal and state tax returns as a 501© (3).

Breakdown of Income and Expenses in 2008

TOTAL INCOME AND REVENUE $50,721
Individual contributions $14,696
Foundation gifts $35,650
Corporate donations $375
EXPENSES:
Program Services $20,921
Administration and General $7796
Fundraising $736
TOTAL EXPENSES $29,453
NET ASSET BALANCE $35,223

MACODEF ANNUAL REPORT 2007

Summary of Program Activities

Though the post-election violence put a damper on the final days of 2007, many worthwhile projects were completed during the year. Overall, we funded 14 community organizations in the villages of Vigetse and Vigina. Taken together, the completed projects directly or indirectly improved the quality of life for hundreds of adults and children living in the area.

Water Projects

Our biggest outlay of donor funds went to two community-based environmental groups that are working on clean water projects. Five community springs were “rehabilitated,” a process which includes laying down natural filters of stones and charcoal, installing new pipes and steps, and enclosing the springs to prevent contamination from livestock. In addition, six rainwater harvest systems were installed at the homes of poor and disabled members of the community so that they could supplement spring water with water collected from gutters fitted on their tin roofs. Finally, 11 new brick outhouses with cement floors, ventilation pipes and screens were built, replacing mud or leaf structures over holes in the ground that had no way to keep out flies and other insects.

As part of the implementation of these water projects, MACODEF worked with the Wooster Rotary Club and The College of Wooster to send a work/study team of 12 individuals to Vigetse in March. The trip included village homestays, hands-on work with the water projects, and educational sessions in which community members taught us about local culture and history. We are currently in the final stages of application for a $24,000 matching grant from The Rotary Foundation that will allow us to implement the water projects on a wider scale in 2008.

Health Clinic

A milestone reached in 2007 was the completion of the building that will serve as a rural health clinic. Though the process of construction has been slow, it is a remarkable achievement for the members of the Vigetse Women’s Group, most of whom are semi-literate and speak no English. This group is now making plans for equipping and staffing the clinic and is working with the health inspector to ensure compliance with government regulations. To bring the clinic to the point where it can begin offering services, we are seeking a $20,000 grant from the Noble Foundation. We expect the combined impact of the clinic and the water projects to go a long way towards improving sanitation and reducing illness and death in the community.

Education

Our support for education remained strong as well. Through the Bunyoli Fund, we again outfitted AIDS orphans and children from backgrounds of extreme poverty with school uniforms, sewn by a local seamstress. In addition, two dozen secondary school students received partial scholarships to defray the cost of school fees. Two of these recipients scored among the top 100 students in the area on recent national exams. We also began an adult literacy class in Vigetse for community members whose formal schooling had been cut short. Finally, MACODEF built a new, multi-stall latrine for Vigina Secondary School after the health inspector threatened to shut the school down because of inadequate restroom facilities.

AIDS Outreach and Self-Help Projects

We also continued to give high priority to outreach to people living with AIDS. More than 20 women and men from our AIDS support group, Savoma, turned out for a 5 km. walk to Mbale on World AIDS Day. At the conclusion of this event, the group was publicly recognized (with the gift of a sewing maching) as a model in Vihiga and Sabatia Divisions of Western Province for its efforts in ensuring that people with AIDS eat nutritiously, take anti-retroviral drugs regularly, and move quickly to thwart opportunistic diseases.

Finally, we supported a variety of self-help groups in income-generating projects. Seven members of the INUA group received $200 micro-loans to purchase cows, while several others initiated poultry-raising projects or stocked small shops. We continued to support the Timber Group with tools for crushing rocks and making bricks. Assistance to these unemployed young men, accustomed to drinking and loitering in the market, was cited by community members as one reason that Vigetse and Vigina Villages remained calm during the post-election violence.

Management and Administration

The composition of our international and local boards remained intact in 2007, ensuring consistent and quality governance throughout the year. To accommodate the growing number and complexity of tasks, however, we made several administrative changes. Perhaps the most significant was the establishment of a Dutch affiliate of MACODEF to enhance our fund-raising capabilities in the Netherlands, where some of our donors and board members reside.

Local Board of Governors

Our local board of governors, under the capable leadership of Samuel Amukono Kidini, remained the cornerstone of our operations in Western Kenya. Due to the increasing volume of work, however, the local board began holding meetings every two months instead of each quarter. We also increased the work load of our project coordinator, Joyce Adisa Bunyoli, from three to four days per week. In addition, we hired Eric Mahagwa as a part-time office assistant. Eric has been instrumental in systematizing the filing in our local office and in assisting Joyce in a variety of tasks. Finally, Ken Opissa replaced Jane Agama on an interim basis as treasurer of the local board. We are deeply indebted to Jane, who will continue as a regular board member, for the many hours she devoted to keeping the books accurately.

Security

Our efforts to enhance security in the transfer of money were very successful this past year. Money is now transferred electronically from Standard Chartered Bank in Kisumu to a local credit union, Vihiga Financial Services, where our client groups have bank accounts. This process requires far fewer trips to Kisumu for our board members. Because email and computer access were becomingly increasingly expensive, we also supported a local entrepreneur with a no-interest micro-loan for a computer for his internet business. In return, he is providing free access to email for our project coordinator and free computer classes for our board members.

In-Kind Donations

As in the past, MACODEF has benefited from several generous in-kind donations this year. The Vigina Secondary School Board of Governors allowed us to maintain an office on the school compound. William Davis served as our web site coordinator, and Roger Collier assisted with our printing needs. Gloria Wilson provided advice on tax matters. Alaina McConnell assisted with layout and design of the annual newsletter. The Wooster Book Company generously donated children’s books as gifts for students and teachers at Vigina and Vigetse Primary Schools.

In sum, our management style continued to reflect a “bottom-up approach” to development that emphasizes listening to the views of community members and ensuring that donor funds go directly to projects rather than to building MACODEF’s bureaucracy.

Finances and Fund-Raising

Thanks to the generosity of many supporters, our annual campaign not only achieved its goal of $25,000 but surpassed it. The grand total raised in 2007 was $34,787. This represents an increase of about $8,000 over last year’s efforts. The number of individual donors remained steady at 80 and was evenly distributed among the various levels of giving. Grants from foundations and corporations were up in 2007, accounting for 44% of our total revenue.

Individual, Corporate and Foundation Donors

Individual donors across the U.S. and from several other countries still form the backbone of our organization. In 2007 many Earlham College alumni and friends continued their generous support of our efforts, as did several Davidson College alumni who worked in the Vihiga area in the 1980s. Our trustees continued their strong financial support of MACODEF as well. We are grateful to Peggy Schmitz for organizing a “Kenya dinner” as a fund-raiser for our projects.

Several foundations and corporations were instrumental in supporting our work in 2007. The Wooster Rotary Club made a substantial donation to water projects and organized the work/study team that traveled to Vigetse in March. Special thanks go to Bob Gorman and Doug Drushal for spearheading this effort. The Korver-Huisman Charitable Foundation gave us a generous grant at the beginning of the fiscal year, as did ABR, Inc. The Microsoft Giving Campaign and JP Morgan Chase provided matching gifts for their employees who contributed.

Breakdown of Income and Expenses in 2007

TOTAL INCOME: $34,787
Individual contributions $19,612
Foundation gifts $12,225
Corporate donations $2950
EXPENSES:
Program Services $23,611
Administrative Expenses $4391
Fund-Raising $650
CASH IN BANK $6135

In 2007, 96% of our revenues went directly into the local economy in Maragoli, and 77% of funds went directly to program services. The latter figure is slightly lower than last year and reflects increases in salaries and administrative expenses in Kenya, which saw a 10% inflation rate last year, as well as a rise in banking and wiring fees in the U.S. The costs of fund-raising, primarily printing and postage, remained low.

This past year we also received permanent designation from the Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt charitable organization. Because we have many $25 and $50 donors, our public support percentage was 75.9%, well above the 33% required by the IRS.

MACODEF ANNUAL REPORT 2006

Summary of Program Activities

This past year was noteworthy for the ways in which we began to see the cumulative effects of multiple projects in education, health care, environment and micro-enterprise. From the water projects to support for the local schools, our projects touched virtually every individual in the two villages of Vigetse and Vigina in some small way. In the process, the unlikely acronym MACODEF has become a household word throughout the area.

Following a stakeholders meeting on the environment that drew nearly 100 participants, community members identified the improvement of sanitation and water quality as one of their highest priorities. The Lusiola Environmental Group was formed, and work began in 2006 with the rehabilitation of two of the eleven community springs. Installation of household rainwater harvest systems and reconstruction of latrines is also underway at the homes of some of the poorest village residents. When completed, the water projects should significantly reduce infant mortality rates.

In addition, MACODEF continued to support the Vigetse Women’s Group in their construction of a rural health clinic. Flooring, window frames and doors have been installed, but work remains on electrical fittings, water supply, latrines, and ceilings. Once furnishings and equipment are in place, government health inspectors will visit the clinic to determine how they might assist in staffing the facility. We expect the clinic and the water projects to go a long way towards improving sanitation and reducing illness in the community.

One of the most inspiring stories of 2006 has been the emergence of our AIDS support group named Savoma. As a result of MACODEF-sponsored seminars, the group has grown from 8 to nearly 30 members, most of whom are HIV-positive. Because the government recently began offering ARVs at no charge, many of these women can now lead relatively normal lives as long as they eat nutritious meals and effectively combat opportunistic diseases. Stigma is ever-present, but these courageous women (women have disproportionately higher rates of AIDS than men in Kenya) are leading the way towards a new outlook on AIDS.

Meanwhile, our support for education remained strong. Through the Bunyoli Fund, we again outfitted AIDS orphans and children from backgrounds of extreme poverty with school uniforms, sewn by a local seamstress. More than twenty secondary school students also received partial scholarships totaling over $1000 to defray the cost of school fees. Vigetse Primary School classrooms were upgraded with doors, windows, gables, and cement to replace the floors of mud and dung; and Vigina Secondary School completed the gas piping for its science laboratory. Finally, the Vigina Meeting Hall saw a busy life this year, serving as the main venue for community events such as voter registration, school assemblies, weddings, PTA meetings and entrance exams.

MACODEF gave grants and loans for income-generating activities to a number of self-help groups this past year, but the results for the Timber Group were particularly impressive. This group of unemployed young men, accustomed to drinking and loitering in the Bukuga market, purchased tools with a MACODEF grant and embarked on a plan to make bricks and gravel as a means of economic livelihood. Many villagers have noted that instead of creating a public nuisance, they are now embracing a more productive lifestyle.

Management and Administration

This past year we continued to develop our distinctive approach to “capacity-building”. Whereas most NG0s build capacity by growing their own bureaucracies, MACODEF has taken a “United Way” approach in which existing community groups are funded and supported by our project coordinator and all-volunteer board of governors. This past year we funded 10 community groups, ensuring access to donor funds by a cross-section of community members.

The steady growth of MACODEF has demanded a lot from our local board of governors. As a result, we have increased the work load of our project coordinator, Joyce Adisa Bunyoli, from three to four days per week and have tried to find small ways to recognize the substantial volunteer contributions of our local board members. Fortunately, the composition of our international and local boards remained intact in 2006, which ensured consistent and quality leadership throughout the year.

The enhancement of security in the transfer of money was another major accomplishment. We were extremely fortunate that Vihiga Financial Services, a rural credit association, opened an office near the Bukuga market. The proximity of this bank to our project sites has benefited us in several ways. First, we are now able to transfer money electronically from Standard Chartered Bank in Kisumu to the village instead of carrying it by hand. Second, members of groups that need to be paid in cash can now pick up grants or loans directly from the credit union. Finally, client groups can open a bank account at VFS with minimal expense and travel.

We continued to benefit this past year from several in-kind donations. We remain indebted to the Vigina Secondary School Board of Governors, which allows us to maintain an office on the school compound. William Davis provided expertise on our web site, and Roger Collier assisted with our printing needs.

MACODEF has been fortunate to enjoy a good working relationship with local government officials and other non-governmental organizations in the district. One of the tangible successes of the Kibaki administration has been the Constituency Development Funds (CDF); for the first time since Independence in 1963, taxpayer money is systematically trickling down to rural areas. Kenyans are optimistic that in the long run these funds will erase rural poverty altogether. In the meantime, much work remains, and our board of governors is careful to recommend only projects that do not duplicate government efforts.

In September of 2006, MACODEF representatives visited the United Nations Millennium Development Project in Sauri, a test site for the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals. The results of nearly $1 million in inputs were impressive, but our officials all commented on the relative lack of grassroots participation in what is essentially a top-down development project. As our chairman, Samuel, pointed out, MACODEF officials don’t ride in expensive cars or get huge salaries; rather, they walk and live amongst the people they serve. Our “bottom-up approach” to development is one reason that the connections between project goals, means, and outcomes have been strong during the first three years of MACODEF’s operation.

Finances and Fund-Raising

Thanks to the generosity of many supporters, our annual campaign not only achieved its goal of $20,000 but surpassed it. The grand total raised in 2006 was $26,787. This represents an increase of more than $10,000 over last year’s efforts. Although the number of individual donors was down from 112 to 89, the average size of each donation doubled, from $153 to $300. Twenty donors gave $500 or more, and 45 donors gave at least $100. Grants from foundations and corporations accounted for 25% of our total revenue.

We are very grateful to Bob Gorman and Doug Drushal of the Wooster Rotary Club for their efforts to partner with MACODEF to improve water and sanitation in Vigetse Village. As a result of their vision and tireless fund-raising, the Wooster Rotary Club not only raised money to send a work team of 12 individuals to Maragoli in March, 2007, but also raised more than $14,000 for water projects. More detailed information will appear in next year’s report.

As in the past, Earlham College alumni and friends continued their generous support of our efforts. We owe a special thanks to Mason and Jennifer Bender who orchestrated a presentation on MACODEF to Microsoft employees, which yielded nearly $2000 in pledges and matching gifts for 2006-07. Finally, we continued to receive excellent support from the board of trustees, who contributed one-fourth of our total revenue.

A breakdown of income and expenses for 2006 is as follows:

TOTAL INCOME: $26,787
Individual contributions $19,562
Foundation gifts $6,500
Corporate donations $725
EXPENSES:
Program Services $15,278
Administrative Expenses $2988
Fund-Raising $625
CASH IN BANK $7896

In 2006, 97% of our revenues went directly into the local economy in Maragoli, and 80% of funds went directly to program services. The main administrative expenses included our project coordinator’s salary, and the high fees charged in Kenya for communication expenses (internet and cell phones). Expenses for fund-raising, mostly for postage and printing, remained low. Because several large gifts arrived unexpectedly at the end of the year, our cash in the bank as of December 31, 2006, was much larger than in the previous two years.

This past year also saw the end of our advance ruling period as a tax-exempt organization, which required showing the IRS our track record as a publically supported foundation. As a result of our broad base of support in the form of many $25 and $50 donors, our public support percentage is 75.9%, well above the 33% required by the IRS. We are certain to receive a more permanent designation as a tax-exempt charitable organization.

MACODEF ANNUAL REPORT 2005

Summary of Program Activities

Consistent with our five-year plan and our integrated approach to community development, our major accomplishment in 2005 was the expansion of program services into two new areas—health care and micro-enterprise. At the same time, we were able to maintain our commitment to education in the form of support to village primary and secondary school students and teachers.

Our most ambitious project this year was the planning and partial funding of a rural health clinic. Coordinated by the Vigedze Women's Group, which contributed in-kind donations, the clinic has been roofed and interior work is underway. When finished, it will provide essential services such as prenatal care, immunizations, and treatment for malaria, TB and typhoid fever, as well as health education related to AIDS, nutrition, and sanitation. Our goal is that this facility will not only be a stopping point for the government's mobile health clinic, but will be run entirely by local health care providers.

Our second new initiative in health care involved HIV/AIDS prevention and outreach. In order to reach the high risk group of young males, we provided funds for the Vigina United Football Team to purchase soccer uniforms and equipment and to hold an AIDS awareness seminar given by a doctor from Mbale. We also gave direct grants of $120 each to eight individuals who are HIV-positive for purchase of medicines and start-up funds for income generating activities.

To promote economic self-sufficiency, we began a micro-loan program for individuals unable to qualify for bank loans. For the initial loans, we supported projects proposed by existing mutual aid societies, which are informally organized groups of people who meet regularly to pool their resources and provide encouragement to each other. Because these self-help groups have a functioning leadership structure and can provide oversight of projects, they are effective vehicles for implementing a micro-loan program. Thus far, repayments of loans are on schedule.

Our first micro-loan went towards the establishment of a village grain bank. In Maragoli, middlemen typically buy maize—the staple crop in Maragoli— at throwaway prices during the harvest season and then sell it at highly inflated prices during times of scarcity. The Granary Self-Help Group applied for a loan to enable its 10 members to buy l arge sacks of maize at the cheaper prices. They dry and store the maize and then sell it back to community members during the off-season at a modest price. The grain bank thus improves food security and gives the poor access to affordable food.

Another mutual aid society that we funded is comprised of physically challenged individuals. These persons face stigma in their daily lives and are sometimes taken advantage of because of their impairments. Most are capable of engaging in small business activities, however, such as selling fruits or vegetables. We provided individuals in the Physically Challenged Group with loans or grants of approximately $75 each to for income-generating activities. A third group named Inua received loans for the purchase of high grade cattle.

Our support for education continued to focus on the needs of students and teachers in the village. Early in the year, we helped complete flooring, painting and window installation at the Vigina Meeting Hall, which can now accommodate school assemblies. Through the Bunyoli Fund, we outfitted over 50 AIDS orphans and children from backgrounds of extreme poverty with school uniforms, sewn by a local seamstress. More than twenty of these secondary school students received partial scholarships totaling over $1000 to defray the cost of school fees. In addition, primary school students received 40 new desks that were built by a local fundi (carpenter).

Management and Administration

Our greatest strength continues to be a collaborative administrative structure comprised of an international board of trustees and a local board of governors made up of a cross-section of community members. Our local project coordinator, Joyce Adisa Bunyoli, has been very effective at getting community input and monitoring project implementation. The chairman of the local board, Samuel Amukono Kidini, has represented MACODEF to both internal and external constituents in a fair and balanced way, and the treasurer, Jane Agama Mtange, has provided us with highly professional financial reports, ensuring the transparency that is essential to our efforts.

Our strategy of keeping overhead low, putting small amounts of money in the right hands, and monitoring project implementation through photos, receipts and reports seems to be working well. The local board of governors reports that MACODEF has achieved a very strong reputation in the Vihiga District for all of the above reasons.

Our intense focus on internal checks and balances, however, drew our attention away from an external security concern—the possibility of robbery. I am saddened to report that in early January 2006, four men in a car stole approximately $1900 from our treasurer as she was making her way from Standard Chartered Bank in Kisumu to a meeting for disbursement of funds in the village. This event was extremely traumatic for local board members, who spent many hours assisting in the police investigation, which has thus far yielded no arrests.

The robbery prompted emergency meetings of both boards to draw up a new set of security measures. We have now implemented these steps—including more frequent disbursement of smaller amounts of money, payment by check in all cases where recipients can afford to open a bank account, trips to the bank in pairs, minimizing publicity when money is to be disbursed, and paying for a police escort when larger sums are withdrawn—and there have been no further incidents.

We want to assure our donors that we take this security breakdown very seriously. Our top priority is to be responsible stewards of donor gifts, and we feel very keenly the loss of these funds. At the same time, board members were unanimous in their resolve not to let this one setback mar the substantial accomplishments of the past two years. We will closely monitor the security situation and provide updates as necessary.

Finally, this past year saw several changes in the makeup of our two boards. Elizabeth Omega, a nurse, joined our local board of governors, and Bernard Kidiya was replaced by Kenneth Opissa, the new principal of Vigina Secondary School . Jan Kees den Bakker took over from Matthew McElrath as president of the board of trustees, while Karen Janila Sango assumed the vice-presidency. We are extremely grateful to outgoing officers and board members for their efforts on behalf of MACODEF.

We continued to benefit this past year from the generosity of Vigina Secondary School , which allowed us to set up our local office on the school compound. Nate Nash maintained our web site on a pro bono basis, and Roger Collier lent his time and expertise to our printing needs.

Finances and Fund-Raising

This past year was a very good one for fund-raising. Thanks to the generosity of more than 100 donors, we exceeded our annual campaign goal of $15,000. A total of $16,599 was raised during the fiscal year running from January 1 to December 31, 2005 .

A number of trends in our fund-raising efforts are noteworthy. First, we were able to expand the number of individual donors nearly 200% (from 57 to 112). In every single category, donor participation increased. For example, the number of muhavini ($500 and above) donors rose from 9 to 16, the number of mukonyi ($100-$249) donors rose from 6 to 15, and donors in the mulina ($0-$49) category rose from 19 to 43. Second, we received our first two grants from foundations (the Korver Huisman Charitable Foundation and the Lader Family Foundation) and our first matching gifts from corporations. Though small in number, these gifts accounted for nearly 10% of our total revenue. Third, the percentage of 2004 donors who renewed or upgraded their gifts was very high (84%).

Several groups deserve special mention for their role in our campaign success. Earlham College alumni and friends, including many who participated in the EC Kenya Program, overwhelmed us with their generosity. A total of 59 Earlhamites donated $5100. We are also extremely grateful to a group of students at the College of Wooster led by Emily Irvine and Megan Snider who raised nearly $1000 from a 24-hour fast and fund-raiser. Finally, we had excellent support from the board of trustees, who contributed one-third of our total revenue.

A breakdown of income and expenses for 2005 is as follows:

TOTAL INCOME: $16,599

Individual contributions $15,174

Foundation gifts $1000

Corporate donations $425

EXPENSES:

Program Services $12,510

Administrative Expenses $2633

Fund-Raising $647

CASH IN BANK $809

Another important accomplishment in 2005 was that 96% of our revenues went directly into the local economy in the Vihiga area, and 76% of funds went directly to program services. These figures represent a considerable improvement over last year, when start-up expenses consumed a larger portion of our budget. Moreover, our spending on fund-raising was down from 19% in 2005 to only 4% this year (primarily because we did not print brochures). Yet we were still able to double our donor base and increase donor gifts from $10,025 to $16,599.

MACODEF ANNUAL REPORT 2004

Summary of Program Activities

Thanks to the generosity of donors and to the strong commitment of board members, in just one year MACODEF has gone from the germ of an idea to a small but vibrant organization officially recognized as an NGO by the Kenyan government. Though we faced challenges confronting any new organization, our overall accomplishments in 2004 exceeded expectations. Consistent with our Year One Plan to prioritize education, we were able to fund four important projects in the village of Vigina (Vee-gee-na).

First, at the local primary school, we built two new latrines and repaired the water tank. Both of these additions will go a long way to combat the spread of disease; the new latrines are far more sanitary than the existing ones, and though there is still a need for more latrines, our contribution averts a developing crisis in sanitation. The repaired water tank allows teachers and students to use rain water instead of water from the stream, which contains a high level of microbes. Second, we selected the first recipients of the Joshua and Salome Bunyoli Scholarships at the primary and secondary schools. Named after two prominent educators in the Vihiga area, these scholarships go to AIDS orphans and children from backgrounds of extreme poverty. At the primary school 19 students were selected to receive new school uniforms and games kits (for physical education). We are especially pleased to support a local tailor, Rachel's of Vigina, in providing these uniforms. At the secondary school, a similar number of scholarships were given out towards partial defrayment of tuition.

Community members contributed a substantial amount to the third project we funded, partial flooring for the local church/meeting hall. In much of sub-saharan Africa , villages are defined by the presence of a church, which also provides a venue for community events. Members of the local Quaker church had already raised a new building but lacked money for flooring. Everyone is very excited because they can begin holding such events as school assemblies, weddings and women's group meetings in the new building.

Finally, we augmented a community fundraiser ( harambee ) for new chemistry and biology classrooms by contributing to the purchase of lab equipment and storage cabinets at the secondary school Without lab equipment, students at this day school have a difficult time competing with boarding school students on the science portions of national exams and thus are rarely selected for university. Scientific knowledge that comes from lab experimentation is also important in combating misinformation about the origins and treatments of diseases such as AIDS. The teachers and principal were extremely grateful four our gift, which was further augmented by a sizable contribution from the Kenya Charity Sweepstakes.

In addition to these projects, we worked hard on establishing a systematic process for eliciting project proposals from local groups. As a result, we are poised to fund additional projects in education as well as new projects in health care in 2005.

Management and Administration

Our most important administrative achievement of 2004 was the formation of a six-member local board of governors to complement our international board of trustees. Consistent with our philosophy of prioritizing local input and decision-making, this group has met numerous times to discuss MACODEF's goals and strategies. The three top officers—Samuel Amukono Kidini, Jane Mtange Agama, and Joyce Adisa Bunyoli—have worked tirelessly to identify local needs and projects and to introduce MACODEF to local officials.

Another major achievement was getting certified on June 17 , 2004, as a non-governmental organization operating within Kenya . Navigating the red tape of Kenyan bureaucracy took many months and lots of patience, and we owe a huge debt of gratitude to Alfred Amisi at the NGO Coordination Council for lending his support to this effort. NGO certification is important because it makes us eligible for government grants and for participation in training programs for our local board members.

The employment of Joyce Adisa Bunyoli as our on-site project coordinator remains our single most important administrative investment. Joyce keeps in weekly email communication and serves as a crucial liaison between us and the local community and board. We have benefited this past year from the generosity of several other individuals. Vigina Secondary School has allowed us to set up our MACODEF office in Kenya on the school compound at no charge. Nate Nash has set up and continues to maintain our web site on a pro bono basis, and Roger Collier has lent his time and expertise to our printing needs.

Finances and Fund-Raising

Our entire income this year ($10,025) came from individual contributions. Our first-year goal for fund-raising was $10,000, a sum which we exceeded in the final month of the year. As pledged, board members contributed roughly one-third of that sum, but especially gratifying were the generous contributions from 50 other individuals. With the cooperation of Earlham College , we approached EC alums who had participated in the Kenya program over the past 20 years, and nearly 30 people responded with approximately $2000 in gifts. A rough breakdown of income and expenses for 2004 is as follows:

INCOME:

Individual contributions $10,025

EXPENSES:

Program Services $5168 Administrative Expenses $2989 Fund-Raising $1868

Over 80% of total revenues went directly into the local economy in Maragoli, and just under 55% was used for program services. This latter figure may seem disappointing given that the Better Business Bureau ( www.give.org ) recommends that 501 © (3) organizations use 65% of income directly on projects. The BBB does allow, however, that new organizations will face higher administrative expenses; indeed, we spent over $1200 in one-time expenditures setting up our local office, obtaining NGO registration and opening our bank account. Now that we have set up our local office, we should be able to channel over 70% of income into program services in 2005. At 19% of revenues spent on fund-raising, we were well below the BBB recommendation that no more than 35% of donations be used for fund-raising.