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We are delighted to report that the school you helped build and open has become accredited by the

University of Cambridge as a Cambridge International School.

This means we are part of the network of Cambridge Assessment International Education schools and are one of only 6 on the coast of Kenya and the only one in our area. It is a proud moment for all of us and our first students and faculty and it is a proud day for you who helped us get here. So thank you!

What this means for our students is better summed up by the Cambridge folks than by us and so:

“Cambridge programmes and qualifications set the global standard for international education. They are created by subject experts, rooted in academic rigor and reflect the latest educational research.

The four stages of the Cambridge Pathway lead seamlessly from primary through secondary and pre-university years. Schools can shape the curriculum around how they want students to learn.

Cambridge Assessment International Education prepares school students for life, helping them develop an informed curiosity and a lasting passion for learning. We are part of the University of Cambridge.”

Look Ma! I’m on TV - Our School on Kenyan TV News

That’s right...that ‘K24′ you see at the top left is the logo of the local news station. Our school was profiled as being a place of creative and exploration based education. Our curriculum combines the best inquiry-based learning techniques from the USA and UK and Germany and combines with the Kenyan curriculum to provide learners with an experience they will not get anywhere else. Even the news says so.

LONG RAINY SEASON

We get rainy season every year on the coast but this year it was long and late and unusually wet. The good news is that the small farms of our neighbors will benefit in the long run from the water in the soil for the crops. The bad news is that it has temporarily slowed to halt the building of our boys homes. It is too risky to construct when the rain is so heavy. Both in terms of the safety of the workers and the integrity of the building work. But we’ll be back at double speed (or as near to it as we can) when the dry comes soon.

Would you like to use your influence to equip a generation of children to confront and defeat the poverty and injustice around them?

Many Hopes is building our first-ever Junior Board. and the application process opens today.

If you are:

i) in your 30's and under

ii) interested in joining a select group of influential young professionals to serve with your voice, time, talent and energy (or know someone who is)...

...visit manyhopes.org/juniorboard to learn what it means to be a Junior Board member and submit your application.

We will hold info sessions in late July and early August after applications are reviewed.

We would love to do good with you!

Our School opened for its' first full academic year on January 6th and our auditorium has a bright new roof for next semester. Yes it's that colorful bit you see in the foreground of that colorful photo above shot from a drone a few weeks ago.

Why is mentioning a roof important?

Because everything about Mudzini School has been architected to create an environment of joy and exploration where learners have fun learning. And we can't say it better than one of our 2nd graders:

"This is not school, this is heaven"

THANK YOU for your part in making this happen. If you would like to provide education and home to a girl every month of the year, we invite you to join 'The Family,' our monthly giving community. Subscriptions start at $10 per month.

Press Alert: 4 Runners Take on the 122 nd Boston Marathon ® to Raise Money for Many Hopes

Press Alert

BOSTON – April 10, 2018 – On April 16, 2018, nearly 30,000 runners will start the running of the 122nd Boston Marathon ® . The 26.2‐mile route extends through Hopkinton, Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline and Boston.

The four runners preparing to run for Many Hopes are El Cerrito, California resident, Jason Draut; Richmond, Virginia resident, Maria Cabanas; Keller, Texas resident, Steven McCullough; and Jim Cleary.

WHAT: 122nd Boston Marathon ® WHO: Many Hopes Volunteers –Maria Cabanas, Jim Cleary, Jason Draut, Steven McCullough

https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/manyhopesincboston2018

WHEN: Monday, April 16, 2018 WHERE: Boston, Massachusetts

These four are running for Many Hopes through an entry provided by John Hancock. Each year, John Hancock donates guaranteed entries to select nonprofits, which use these entries to recruit individual runners to raise money for their cause.

Last year, John Hancock nonprofit runners raised more than $12 million for over 140 different local organizations. For over 30 years John Hancock has been the principal sponsor of the Boston Marathon®. The Company’s continued support of the Boston Athletic Association, which has directed the race since 1897, ensures that the race will continue to be a world‐class event and an important facet of Boston’s culture and heritage.

“For a third year in a row, Many Hopes is honored to have been chosen to participate in John Hancock’s Charity Partners program for the 2018 Boston Marathon ® ,” stated Many Hopes co-founder Thomas Keown. “Our 2018 Boston Marathon ® team of 4 charity runners is raising $50,000 to provide 5 teachers for 125 students for 2018 in our school in coastal Kenya. We are grateful that Jason, Jim, Maria and Steven are taking on this incredible challenge. Their sacrifice and the donors who support them will be remembered long after they cross the finish line.”

The Boston Marathon ® ranks behind only the Super Bowl as the largest single day sporting event in the world. More than 1,100 media members, representing more than 250 outlets, receive credentials annually.

Approximately 500,000 spectators line the 26.2‐mile course annually, making the Marathon New England’s most widely viewed sporting event, according to estimates by police and public safety officials from the eight cities and towns along the route.

This is Jason’s fifth Boston Marathon ® in six years and his third run for Many Hopes. This will be Maria’s third Boston Marathon ® in three years and her first run for Many Hopes. It will be Steven’s first Boston Marathon ® run.

For more on the Many Hopes runners and to donate, visit: https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/manyhopesincboston2018

Follow the Boston Marathon ® on Twitter @bostonmarathon and with #TogetherForward and #Boston2018.

About Many Hopes

Many Hopes is a long-term strategic solution to extreme poverty. We rescue girls and boys from abusive situations and raise them with an imagination for justice and the tools to act on it. We provide loving homes, excellent education, and legal advocacy to raise networks of influential adults equipped to defeat the poverty they were born into. Our innovative “Justice Framework” is being piloted in Kenya before replication. Each project is 100% self-sustaining in 10 years.

For more information, visit www.manyhopes.org or follow on FaceBook or Twitter @many_hopes.

Media Contacts: Tracy Wemett, +1-617- 939-3631, [email protected] Ashley Wheeler, +1-617- 572-0315, [email protected] All trademarks recognized.

Every Dollar Doubled

Subject: Every Dollar Doubled Today!

Dear NAME,

I need your help today.

I believe that local children can defeat the causes of extreme poverty and injustice in a way that charity alone cannot.

So I’ve partnered with Many Hopes and the JOIN THEM 2017 campaign to raise money to provide a loving home for girls who have suffered injustice!

Today every single dollar I raise will be matched!

Will you plan on donating to my page today (Tuesday, Dec. 19th)?

I am raising (FUNDRAISING GOAL) to provide a loving home for girls in Kenya, and you can help me get there by donating here (insert link to your fundraising page).

Three things you need to know:

1) 100% of your donation goes to mission because a group of private donors cover overhead costs

2) Each site will be self-sustaining within 10 years.

3) If you donate to my page today your dollar will be doubled, which means you can have twice the impact on the lives of these young girls I’m supporting!

The money we raise together will provide a loving home for children who will grow up to defeat the causes of extreme poverty and injustice around them.

Will you join me by donating to my page here (insert page link again), and helping me reach my goal of (INSERT GOAL HERE)?

Double the dollar, double the impact!

Thank you!

(Your name)

“Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity, it is an act of justice.” -Nelson Mandela

See the Power of Your Kindness

Today is World Kindness Day

So I wanted to personally thank you for your kindness to children you have never met. When girls first come into Many Hopes, they are hurting. Often broken and beaten down and calloused and trusting nobody. Their experience of human beings is not love but abuse. You equip us to show them kindness. When girls see, and feel, and receive kindness, it is magical and redemptive and transformative beyond words. Kindness breaks in and breaks through:

Girls who feared men now want to be married one day.

Girls who feared friendship are popular at school.

Girls who were shattered are helping younger girls to heal.

Thank you. I hope that together we will continue to #choosekindness.

-Thomas Keown, Many Hopes Co-Founder

#kindness choosekindness

Instagram Images for JOIN THEM 2017

Share these images and suggested captions on Instagram!

Images

Sample Instagram Captions

These are a few sample captions you can use for Instagram. Don’t forget to put your fundraising page link in your Instagram bio!

“I believe that local children can defeat the causes of extreme poverty and injustice around them. But we must join them! I’m raising money to provide young girls with a loving home where they will grow up with an imagination for justice and the tools to act on it! I invite you to donate by clicking the link in my bio. #manyhopes #jointhem2017 #justice #hope #peace #kenya #rescue #educate #advocate #dogood #fundraiser #change #activism #nonprofit #campaign #philanthropy #donate”

“One girl rescued from abuse and raised in a loving environment will help counsel the next girl who in turn counsels the next and then the next. This is how we raise a generation of local children that will defeat the causes of extreme poverty and injustice around them! I’m raising money to provide a loving home for these girls. Click the link in my bio to donate today! #manyhopes #jointhem2017 #justice #hope #peace #kenya #rescue #educate #advocate #dogood #fundraiser #change #activism #nonprofit #campaign #philanthropy #donate”

“”How we raise our children is what our country will become.” -Anthony Mulongo, Many Hopes Co-Founder. I agree, which is why I am raising money to provide a loving home to girls that will change the world around them. I invite you to join me by donating to my page. Click the link in my bio to donate today! #manyhopes #jointhem2017 #justice #hope #peace #kenya #rescue #educate #advocate #dogood #fundraiser #change #activism #nonprofit #campaign #philanthropy #donate”

Facebook Images for JOIN THEM 2017

Feel free to post these on Facebook to invite your friends to donate to your page!

Facebook Cover Photo

MUDZINI SCHOOL UPDATE

For many years this school has been a dream, but because of your generosity Mudzini School is now a reality!

We are no longer breaking ground or building floors...we are now breaking barriers and building minds!

This is truly a school like no other, and to demonstrate that we want to give you a glimpse into the classroom to see what the students of Mudzini School have learned in their first month of classes.

ICT (Information and Communication Technologies):

Classes 1-3 have been exploring the parts of computers and their functions. To support their classroom work, they’ve also used technology to watch and listen to stories and then practiced retelling those stories. Classes 4-6 are becoming programmers! They’ve looked at what programming is, features of the Scratch program, how to animate Sprite and inserting background and sound.

Check out our philosophy on homework by clicking here!

KG1: KG 1 students are exploring numbers, letters, and colors.

KG2: The KG2 class is involved in an inquiry-based exploration of Mudzini School. Each day they get to learn about the physical structure, the community groupings (classes), and the purpose of learning. Using this theme, KG2 students have practiced how to use various school spaces (like toilets and the dining hall), practice searching for and counting various physical elements of the building, and improved their vocabulary by incorporating school related words into daily use.

KG3 and Class 1: These young students have been learning about 2D shapes; recognizing, naming, drawing, sorting shapes and finding everyday objects that have 2D shapes. The children have demonstrated and understanding that everything around us is made up of shapes. It is quite amazing that, through their own initiative, they have extended the learning beyond the class walls. For example, during recess they point out that the egg in the bowl or the spoon has an oval shape or the biscuit has a circular or rectangular shape

Class 2: Class 2 has been learning about landforms and bodies of water. They have examined and learned the names of our world’s largest landforms and bodies of water: continents and oceans.

Class 3 and Class 4: These classes are immersed in a study of weather and climate. They are tracking the daily weather in Kikambala, where the school is located, and will use their data to predict future weather patterns.

Class 5: Class 5 students have been exploring strategies used by proficient readers. They have learned how to use inference to determine how fictional characters are feeling, what they are thinking, and the motivation behind their actions. They are building skills in collecting textual evidence to support their inferences.

Class 6: Mudzini School’s oldest students have been learning about maps – their purposes, how to create them and how to use them for navigation. In Kiswahili they have been learning the form and content of formal letter writing. Both topics are core aspects of the curriculum, but are also useful life skills.

Teacher Profile: Calsan Simiyu

Teacher CL 5, CL 6: Kiswahili, CRE, Math

EXPERTISE: Secondary; 8-4- 4 and International

PASSIONS: Writing, Movies

ABOUT TEACHING: “As far as I am concerned, nothing shapes the future of societies more than knowledge that is constructed in a school setting. Teaching is my calling and not a job. It is work that I cherish.”

To learn more about our teachers, click here!

The Teachers of Mudzini School

Mudzini School teachers were selected from hundreds of applicants based on their level of expertise, dedication to children, a passion for teaching, growth-mindedness, and commitment to professional development.

Many of our teachers have relocated to the Mombasa area from throughout Kenya. Their backgrounds are diverse, and they bring a wealth of experience to their work. Prior to the start of school, the teachers participated in an intensive training in creating positive classroom cultures, evidence-based pedagogy, and the Mudzini School curriculum and program. See images below of staff training and team development.

Throughout this term, they will receive further training in teaching conflict resolution skills, using technology to enhance teaching and learning, and in the application of inquiry-based learning in language arts and mathematics.

The students are being cared for and guided by a group of educators that is among the best in Kenya.

Homework: The Mudzini School Philosophy

We are raising a generation of leaders that will grow up with an imagination for justice and the tools to act on it. The way we develop homework assignments reflects the culture and pedagogy of Mudzini School; we don’t believe in busywork and we don’t do anything without intentionality, strategy, and supporting research.

At Mudzini School, before assigning a specific homework task, teachers ensure that the task meets the following set of criteria:

1.) A clear purpose: Assignments should serve to facilitate one or more of the following purposes a. as additional practice of something learned in class b. preparation for learning to occur in the following lesson c. studying to consolidate learning d. to extend what has been learned

2.) Efficiency: Students should spend 95% of the time that it takes to complete an assignment engaged in achieving the purpose of the assignment. This means that if the purpose is to practice handwriting or copying skills, having students recopy problem sets from textbooks is appropriate. However, if the purpose is to practice mathematics skills, then 95% of the time on task should be directed toward doing math.

3.) Competency: Students should be able to independently complete 90% of a homework assignment. Assignments for which students need significant help do not achieve the purpose.

4.) Ownership: Students should assume ownership over their homework assignments. They should not merely complete homework because a teacher told them to do so. Students should understand the purpose behind an assignment and realize and own the benefits of completing the assignment.

5.) Time: Cumulative homework assignments at each class level should follow child development guidelines. Generally, this is approximately no more than ten minutes for class level, a. KG – no homework b. Class 1 = 10 minutes total/day c. Class 2 = 20 minutes total/day d. Class 3 = 30 minutes total/day e. Class 4 = 40 minutes total/day f. Class 5 – Class 8 = 60 -90 minutes total/day

USE THIS FOR YOUR EMAILS

Hey Many Hopes family, Levi here with some fundraising help. I’ve written a sample email that you can use to send to your friends and family.

Simply copy, paste, and personalize! If you have any questions, give me a call! (303) 880-0433. My email is [email protected]

Family and Friends,

I need your help.

I believe that local children can defeat the causes of extreme poverty and injustice in a way that charity alone cannot.

That is why I am partnering with Many Hopes and the JOIN THEM 2017 campaign to raise money to provide a loving home for girls who have suffered injustice.

I am raising (FUNDRAISING GOAL) to provide a loving home for girls in Kenya, and you can help me get there by donating here (insert link to your fundraising page).

Many Hopes makes two bold promises to you:

1) 100% of your donation goes to mission because a group of private donors cover overhead costs

2) Each site will be self-sustaining within 10 years.

By 2020 fees from the new Many Hopes school will fully fund these girls homes, making Many Hopes 100% self-sustaining. But until then they need our help providing a loving childhood to the 60 girls who live there!

The money we raise together will provide a loving home for children who will grow up to defeat the causes of extreme poverty and injustice around them.

Will you join me by donating to my page here (insert page link again), and helping me reach my goal of (INSERT GOAL HERE)?

Thank you!

(Your name)

“Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity, it is an act of justice.” -Nelson Mandela

CLASS IS IN SESSION!

Mudzini School opened to students September 4th after 4 years of planning and building and challenge. And of belief and generosity from you.

Thank you.

Children lined up at 8:20 am and were greeted with handshakes and "welcome" by the principal and then gathered in the dining hall to meet their teachers and head to their classroom. For some, this was the first time they have ever been in a school.

Eventually there will be 900 girls and boys across 44 classrooms. Today we started with 9 classrooms: 3 KG classes and grades 1-6. We hope that these pictures help you see and feel how you have helped create a school like no other. And how you have helped children take their first steps to college. Thank you.

This might seem like a strange photo to include in a recap of the first week of school, but it's actually incredibly important because it illustrates the culture and pedagogy of Mudzini School. Instead of rows of desks and a teacher standing in the front of class, rooms have been intentionally arranged to foster group learning and smaller clusters of students. This models collaboration and treats students as partners in the learning process.

Our Founding Headmaster, Randy Plummer, sets an example of leadership at Mudzini School. Randy has led elite private school schools in the East Coast of the USA for 31 years and cultivates a collaborative and enquiry based learning culture.

At Mudzini School, education is a joyful process. Mudzini School will be known for the sounds of laughter and joyful shouts echoing in the classrooms and courtyard.

Teacher training in August 2017. Mudzini School's teachers are all Kenyan, all passionate about education, and all committed to a style of teaching and learning that inspires children to ask questions and understand theories and concepts and principles.

This is not what the average classroom looks like in Kenya, because Mudzini School is not an average school. Students have small class sizes and engaged teachers that provide individual attention to each student.

For years this school has been a dream supported by a global network of volunteers. We are so happy to show you evidence of teaching finally taking place!

Reception area where parents come and parents go.

Grass and trees and waterways create atmosphere of life. This is the courtyard at Mudzini School. It is a beautiful gathering place.

Four stories high makes Mudzini School higher than the trees. But not as high as the hopes of the girls and boys studying here. This picture was taken a few months ago. To see a recent panoramic view of the trees in the courtyard, click here!

The sun rising over Mudzini School represents a new dawn for the students that are filling its classrooms. As we look to the future we stand committed to raising a generation of leaders with an imagination for justice and the tools and network to act on it.

Want to see more pictures? Check out our Facebook and Instagram!

Use this for the #10KeyChallenge!

Complete the #10KeyChallenge by donating $10 here and starting a “keychain” (a Facebook chain to encourage people to donate $10). Keychains are how we will send kids to school in Kenya!

Step 1. Donate $10 in a friend’s honor. Step 2. Start a keychain on Facebook by picking a fun topic (about anything). Step 3. Add the first key (a 🔑 = a fun fact about your topic), and nominate the friend to donate and add their key for #2.

Copy/Paste below to get your keychain started!

________

“Education is 🔑, and it begins with $10.

That’s why I’m completing the #10KeyChallenge to send kids to school in Kenya!

I donated $10 at www.10KeyCampaign.org to provide a week of education for a child.

This is a “keychain” to encourage others to donate and add their keys (🔑 = fun fact about a topic).

The longer the keychain, the more kids get sent to school in Kenya!

Donate $10 in honor of your friend. Add your key. Tag your friend so they can do the same for someone else.

My Keychain Topic is: [put your topic here e.g. “Living in New York”]

Here are the keys people need to know about (your topic here)!

1. (Your first key here)

(Tag Friend's name) I donated $10 for you to provide 1 week of education for a child in Kenya and your name will go on the honor scroll in their classroom! Copy/paste this post in your status, add your key and donate in honor of a friend. Follow up with a text to keep the keychain going!”

________

Need ideas for a topic? Try these!

-Favorite sports team -The city that you live in, or grew up in -Your favorite kind of food -Your favorite movie or musical artist

#10KeyCampaign fundraising

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