Mothers Without Borders

From Whitney T. Mackintosh, President, Denver Chapter of Mothers Without Borders

When I learned about the devastating impact of the tsunami on the welfare of countless children, it was a reminder of how fragile a child’s life can be and how much their well-being depends on acts of kindness from those who will never know them personally. This reminder was my impetuous to learn how to help these and other children in Asia and Africa. My search led me to Mothers Without Borders (MWB), a family-service organization.

Mission of Mothers Without Borders: to nurture and care for the orphaned and vulnerable children of our world as if they were our own through support for local, community-based programs that provide safe shelter, nutritious food, clean water, education, health care, vocational training and access to caring adults.

Scope of Projects: MWB is currently helping orphans and vulnerable children in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, Canada, and the United States.

Significant relief efforts in sub-Saharan Africa: As you may already know, the AIDS pandemic in Africa is creating orphans on a scale unrivaled in world history. There are 15 million children orphaned by AIDS in the world; 13 million of those children are in sub-Saharan Africa alone. For many of these children, access to even the simplest things, such as food, shelter, clean water, education and medical care, is not possible. MWB is helping with local initiatives that provide orphans and vulnerable children with these basic needs in a safe, nurturing environment.

Personal Commitment to Mothers Without Borders: It is evident to me that MWB is making a critical difference in the lives of these children so I want to demonstrate my support for its valuable work. Recently, I made two commitments to help MWB: in May, I will spend three weeks as a volunteer for their project in Zambia, and I am opening the Denver Chapter of MWB. While in Zambia, I will have the opportunity to help wherever the need is greatest each day. Some of my time may be spent teaching in a community school; helping children at drop-in centers; comforting infants and toddlers in a hospital or orphanage; and, teaching HIV/AIDS prevention at a clinic. While I know these experiences will be difficult at times, I also know the work is vital to the well-being of every child I meet. It is with this knowledge that I write to ask for your help.

How to Support MWB Projects: You can have a significant impact on the lives of the orphans in Zambia by making a contribution to MWB. My goals include raising enough money to fund scholarships so these children can go to school and investing in the development of a women’s cooperative to sew their school uniforms. We recently learned of a village with six hundred orphans, 450 school-age children and 150 pre-school age children, who need our support. In order to attend school, the children need to have the required supplies, books and uniform. Your monetary donation establishes scholarships to enable these children to go to school and provides the funds to create jobs for the local economy. We want to purchase foot-powered sewing machines and the fabric in Zambia so we can teach the women how to sew the uniforms for the children. This approach not only stimulates the local economy but also contributes to self-reliance.

For More Information: Visit the MWB Web site at www.motherswithoutborders.org for details about our current projects in Zambia. You can also contact me at 303.932.9687 or wterrymack@aol.com if you have questions or want to join the Denver Chapter.

Mothers Without Borders
Whitney T. Mackintosh, President, Denver Chapter

I want to thank the Holland and Hart Foundation for supporting my volunteer efforts on behalf of Mothers Without Borders. The foundation asked me to introduce Mothers Without Borders to the staff because of the unique opportunity it provides to participate in international relief efforts for orphaned and vulnerable children.

There are two significant ways to make a difference in the lives of the orphans in Zambia: donate supplies for our on-going projects and make a personal or corporate, tax-deductible donation.

Supplies: We currently need the following items:
Writing Pens with Caps
Crochet Hooks - Sizes 2-3 . . .G,H
Toothbrushes/Toothpaste
Kitchen Hand Towels
Medical Supplies: Ibuprofen, Children's Chewable Aspirin, Ace Bandages, Cough Syrup, Band-Aids
Men's Bib Overalls (all sizes)
Seeds: Chard, Cabbage, Carrot, Green Beans, Green Peppers, Okra, Eggplant
Carpentry Tools/Equipment: Chisels, Sash Clamps, Planes, T-Squares, G-Clamps, Hammers, Screw Driver Sets, Hand Saws, Hand Drills

Personal or corporate, tax-deductible donations: Monetary donations enable us to support the local economy in Zambia and avoid shipping charges. MWB is a 501(c) 3 non-profit corporation, so your donation is tax-deductible as allowed by law, and 100% of the money you donate goes directly to volunteer efforts and program supplies. Money is needed for the following uses:

$250 buys one foot-powered sewing machine to help make school uniforms for 450 orphans
$150 creates a scholarship for an orphan to attend school for one year
$100 provides a micro-loan for an orphan or family to start a business and become self-reliant
$ 75 provides tools, seeds and training to grow a family garden to feed orphans
$ 50 supports an orphan in school
$ 30 provides blankets, charcoal for cooking, and soap for child-headed households
$ 25 feeds a child for one month

Please make your check out to Mothers Without Borders (Memo: Whitney Mackintosh -Zambia) and mail to: Mothers Without Borders, 125 East Main Street, Suite 402, American Fork, Utah 84003. You may charge your donation by calling 1-801-796-5535; please indicate you are supporting Whitney Mackintosh’s volunteer efforts.

Please contact me at 303-932-9687 if you have questions or want to join the Denver Chapter. Our chapter provides assistance to children in the Denver area, as well as on-site at the Mothers Without Borders projects throughout the world.