We believe that some forms of giving can go farther -- distance, time, and even generations.
Fola, or Fountain of Life Africa, is a Christian non-profit organization run by a volunteer board and individuals in the US and Zambia, relying on personal and corporate donations to fund infrastructure projects, employing local labor and sourcing all supplies and materials from the community where available.
With an operating overhead of less than 10% (fully funded by the volunteer Board), we pledge that 100% of your donation goes directly to our projects and provide full transparency of financial allocation.
Thanks to our supporters, thousands of children are attending school for the very first time, hundreds of mothers and babies are surviving childbirth, and communities are thriving due to clean water. We are making great advances in all of these areas, breaking the cycles of poverty, disease and gender inequality.
What we are committed to...
OUR FOCUS AREAS
1) WATER
Diseases from dirty water kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Studies have shown that 43% of those deaths are children under five years old. Access to clean water and basic sanitation can save around 16,000 lives every week.
2) EDUCATION
Education is a fundamental human right for all, not just the privileged few. Globally, twice as many girls as boys will never start school. However, each year of education delivers an additional 20% increase in wages for girls (compared with 10% for boys).
3) HEALTH CARE
In rural areas, medical facilities are desperately needed to reduce the risks of malaria, HIV infections, and malnutrition. In Zambia alone, 40% of children under five have stunted growth, while 15% suffer from malnutrition.
How we go about doing it...
OUR PROCESS AND PRINCIPLES
1) FUNDRAISING
We rely on individual and corporate donations to fund infrastructure projects. We operate Fola through a volunteer, working-and-giving Board, so that 100% of donor funds can go to projects, not overhead. We go out of our way to ensure that our generous donors can have the confidence that every cent they give is directly applied to an identified project or one of their choosing.
2) CONSTRUCTION
We employ local labor and source all supplies and materials from the local market, where available. We set a target of 10% of construction costs to be funded by the benefactor community, usually achieved by contributions to unskilled labor or basic materials, in order to build ownership and commitment to the new facilities.
3) HANDOVER
We partner with the local community and governmental leaders to select sites, speed project completion, and identify sustaining plans. We then transfer ownership of all new facilities to the local community along with government commitment to the proper staffing of new, qualified personnel, such as teachers, nurses, doctors, aides, and administrators.
Please make a donation today.
If you would like to designate where your donation goes, e-mail us at info@folafrica.org.