As I promised, here is the update on where I am at. I want to use this opportunity for all to give us an update on where they are or what they would like to do based on our needs.
Let me start off by listing the participants of OTF .
Officers
Mike Whalen, founder and President of OTF.
Fred Rossi - Ph. D. His title is Chief Operating Officer He is the Author and Operations Manager of OTF's Agriculture Programs.
Robyyne - Robyyne's title is Project Director. She is currently authoring a program related to Women Education and Business Opportunities.
Staff/Volunteers
Shannon Johnson - Fundraising - Grant Proposals (this girl is amazing- where does she find the time. It is her heart for Rwanda. She is amazing..
Courtney Doughtery - Manager Health Initiative Programs
Chris Hull - Web site and building construction consultant
Morgan Painvin - OTF Public Relations
Zahra J. Khosrovi - Legal Representative - Law Clerk Debevoise & Plimpton LLP.
Sam Dargan - Consultant for Rwanda OTF NGO status and other Rwanda NGO relations and partnerships.
Mitch VanPage - Mitch is the Farm Manager at a very large experimental farm in Florida and will be involved in executing the agriculture program in Rwanda.
Ananias Sentozi My dear friend of 7 years gives so freely of his time to be my "ON THE GROUND LIAISON" I do nothing without Ananias's approval. I can go on for ever explaining his reputation in all of Rwanda as well as many communities in USA that love and respect all he stands for. I am so privileged to be counted among his friends. He is in upper management with World Vision Rwanda.
Scott Wagner Scott works in Rwanda and is very effective in his coffee industry program. He is amazing and is a friend of OTF. He will provide oversite of Kizi Hill Community Farm as well as the Coffee Hill program..
Board Members:
Jennifer Evans MBA Jennifer has experience in Rwanda, works in the Financial industry and is a professional Project Manager and Trainer.
Mike Whalen - Founder and Chair of Board
Fred Rossi Ph. D. Research/Development Economist - Dr. Rossi will be OTF Boards technical /development expert.
Robyyne Bruckenstine - Robyyne's vast experience and sensitivity in Rwanda culture along with her years of experience in evaluating effective programs worldwide give the Board invaluable strength.
Larry Dean Smith - For those that have not heard of Larry Dean Smith , I hope you all meet him soon. There is not a subject that he has not been involved in when it comes to making a difference in Rwanda. If you want to know or be introduced to any high official at the UN or any Public Official including the President, Just ask Larry Dean . He has invested many years in Rwanda and presently works for Rick Warren as Rick's Project Manager for Hospital Building and Health Industry advancement in Rwanda.
PROGRAMS
Health Initiative Programs- I have asked Courtney to coordinate and manage our efforts in Rwanda. On my last trip, I met with the Country Director, Rwanda "The Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative" Mr. Pascal Bijleveld and Mr. Donatien Bajyanama from the Minister of Health who is the administor of the "Nyamagabe District Health System Strengthening Plan". Hopefully Pascal, Donatien, Mayor Fonz and World Vision will see OTF as a partner that can help in the planning, directing and training of this initiative. If so, we will send Courtney to Rwanda as our representative.
We have Smitha still in Rwanda that I am sure will be helping Courtney in this effort.
Kizi Hill Community Farm - We have written the program and I will defer to Fred to bring us up to speed on where we are. I am proud of Fred's work. We hav collaborated with many experts in Agriculture in writing this program all from Rwanda with the exception of Fred. We have Sam Dargan and Ananias helping us with the 40 acre land purchase. Robyyne , Fred and I have met with the National Director of WFP more than once and they have an interest in helping us with the KHCF program. They have also engaged with partnering us in this initiative with the Minister of Education which has recently written a national policy to provide school lunches. They like our idea and I am looking forward to meeting with them and WFP soon to from a partnership. We have had the help of World Vision's Agriculture Expert, Symon Nyabwengi. Symon gave us guidance in "soil erosion control techniques and bio-intensive gardening". We also was blessed with having Mr. Vicky Ruganzu Ph.D. who is a researcher at the University of Rwanda and is a consultant for many top Agriculture organizations in Rwanda including USAID, ISAR, World Vision etc.
We have also collaborated with the Mayor's Secretary of Agriculture. The point I am making is that this is a program that OTF is truly partnering with Rwanda with.
Fund Raising Status: Shannon and Fred will give you an update on what they are doing. If anyone has an idea on who we should be approaching please reach our to Shannon, Fred or Jennifer..
Corporate and 501c Status
Zahra (Debevoise & Plimpton L.L.P.) has the precess underway and we are thankful to her and Debevoise & Plimpton for providing this professional service. Zahra heard through Shannon I was trying to do this on my own and came to my rescue. Thank you Zahra.....
Presently we are looking for a Fiscal Sponsor to cover our contributions until we get our 501c. We have potential contributors that are ready to provide seed money but need a 501c to cover us. Any ideas anyone...
NGO Status -
Sam Dargan and Ananias are meeting with the Mayor and preparing the NGO Design Document. Having these two guys on the ground with their connections, respect and experience is so amazing. OTF is engaging ins a very unique relationship as a NGO in Rwanda by truely being helpmates of the local Disgrict Mayor in helping him with his programs, needs and challenges. His name is Mayor Alphonse Munyantwari..
Coffee Program
The Mayor has a program he has been given by the President to develop a "Hill" for the purpose of producing coffee. I met with TechnoServre thanks to Sam Dargan. They have a fantastic reputation for there expertice in the Coffee Sector and are funded by the Gates Foundation.. Theu can't officially work with us but Sam is working on getting them to work on the mayor's coffee program. The plan is to approach OCIR (the Rwanda Govt. coffee authority). OCIR has had their scientist trained by TechnoServe. We are working with Mayor Alphonse for him to get OCIR to approve of the Mayor's coffee plans. Once that happens we can get TechnoServe trained coffee scientist down to our district to help us plan and execute a successful coffee program. We also have a secret weapon, Scott Wagner who has been working for years in Rwanda in the coffee industry experimenting on more effective coffee washing stations and production..
I know I have missed some things but this will get it started. I encourage you all to provide help/advice and encouragement as we go forward..
Fred, Robyyne, Courtney, Zahra, Shannon, Sam Dargan , Ananias, Jennifer, Larry Dean, Scott and all, please jump in with updates you might have for us all.
