WHAT IS RAISING MALAWI?

It is Michael Berg’s vision to eliminate chaos in the darkest parts of the world. What better place to start than in one of the most challenged places on the planet, the African country of Malawi. Malawi is the second poorest country in the world, suffering from famine, drought, poverty, and diseases like HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and cholera.

OUT OF A POPULATION OF 12 MILLION, 1 MILLION ARE ORPHANS.

OUR SOLUTION:

· The Raising Malawi: Orphan Care Initiative is providing physical assistance (food, medical care, clothing, clean drinking water, and schooling) to 32,000 orphaned children through seven community-based organizations in Malawi.
· We will be training local Malawian teachers to offer a curriculum based on the principles of Spirituality for Kids (SFK), formulated to address the specific challenges in Africa.
· We will be building The Kabbalah Community Orphan Care Center, which will be a place where children can come to eat, learn, read, and play in a safe, nurturing environment. This will also be the headquarters of our activities in Africa and the location where the children will be taught the principles of the SFK curriculum.
· Volunteers from all over the world will be part of the effort to support both the direct-physical assistance and the spiritual support of these children through the various community-based organizations with whom we are working.

This June, I will be leading a delegation of The Kabbalah Centre Charitable Foundation to inaugurate the Raising Malawi: Orphan Care Initiative. We will be visiting and hand-delivering thousands of gifts to Malawian children living in the orphanages and orphan care centers that we are supporting.

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN.

We are now actively working to gather the items listed below. Our deadline is May 1st, 2006. If you can donate, or if you have contacts at large companies who can — or if you have any good ideas as to how we can receive high-volume donations —
please contact Philippe van den Bossche

· Games, quantity 2,000 (Memory, Connect 4, Chess, Backgammon, etc.)
· Jump ropes, quantity 1,000
· Toothbrushes and toothpaste, quantity 7,000
· Children’s clothing, quantity 7,000
(any brand, any size, t-shirts, dresses, shorts, caps, coats)
· Children’s shoes, quantity 7,000 (any size, any brand)
· Soccer balls, quantity 1,000
· Blankets, quantity 7,000
· Toys/Dolls, quantity 3,500
· Hair accessories, quantity 2,000 (such as barrettes or scrunchies)
· Musical instruments, quantity 1,000

We are also currently seeking donations from organizations large and small, such as Wal-Mart, Target, Toys R Us, Office Depot, and others. We would like to include you (or your contact) on our list of donors as well.

Thank you for considering this request. Again, if you can help us either by donating or by providing a unique way in which we can meet our goal, please contact Philippe today.
With Love & Light,

Michael Berg
Co-Director
The Kabbalah Centre