Projects

CHANGE 2007

An Evening with Milele and Friends

Dear Friends,

We are delighted to be pressing forward and making strides with Milele's annual 'Change Africa' event.

Last year, with your support, the 'Change Africa' 2006 concert in Kenya was a great success. We had initially arrived in our home country to hold a concert, bring awareness around AIDS-related issues and launch the Milele Family Homes project. However, upon arrival, we were faced with the urgent issue of a severe famine ravaging a large number of Kenyans. It was not an issue to be ignored; therefore, we decided to add a famine relief dimension to our event to benefit the crisis at hand. We urged concert attendees to come bearing foodstuffs in lieu of paying a ticket fee. As a result, we rallied Kenyan people to collect four tons of food which we were able to transport to areas most in need. We were also able to introduce the Milele Family Homes idea which was extremely well-received by the public and endorsed by the Kenyan Vice President. It was an empowering and unifying experience. It is our only hope that we may continue to annually make positive steps forward with our music as the vehicle.

Objectives for 'Change Africa' 2007

Our plan for the 'Change Africa 2007' event is to hold a soiree-type musical event entitled 'An Evening with Milele and Friends'. We aim to invite selected influential members of Kenyan society such as heads of corporations and church leaders who have leverage to spread our message and cause. We plan to collaborate in performance with other Kenyan artists who alongside their musical stature have an undertone of humanitarian causes and who utilize their success to press for social justice.

We have several objectives that we aim to achieve by holding this event. Firstly, our intention is to hold a yearly Milele 'Change Africa' event in Kenya to reassert the necessity of raising awareness regarding the social ills that ravage society in Africa. By holding these events in Kenya, we feel we fill the essential function of empowering Kenyan people to feel that they are also capable of making a significant change within their own country for their own people. The sentiment will be to promote unity by rallying people with influence towards the cause.

Secondly, our objective will be to officially launch the Milele Family Homes project. This project will act as a new movement in foster care in Kenya to lessen the societal burden of the vast number of children who are affected for life by becoming orphaned at the hands of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The Milele Family Homes project couples adoptive parents with orphaned children. The newly formed families will be given family homes in order to give the children an opportunity to grow and be nurtured in a non-institutionalized setting. Ultimately, giving orphaned children a chance at a brighter future.

With elite and influential members of Kenyan society attending our musical event, we will also introduce the fact that we have teamed up with inspirational youths in the Kibera slum who have made unbelievable strides in creating avenues to secure funds to provide food for needy families. In one year, with less than $3,000, we have been able to collaborate with these active youths in providing food for approximately 100 families. To support their cause, and extend their outreach, we have decided to announce for the first time, the 'Adopt-A-Slum' concept. We will give members of society with financial leverage the incentive and idea to adopt a segment of Kibera and demonstrate corporate social responsibility. They will also be given the alternative option of adopting one of the Milele Family Homes by financing one or more of the homes fully.

Proposed Budget

In order to execute our annual Milele 'Change Africa' concert and meet and exceed our expectations in delivering awareness and aid, we have compiled a detailed list of budgetary requirements:

Date and Venue

The proposed venue for the event is The Grand Regency Hotel, Nairobi.
The proposed dates for the event will be December16th /17th, 2007 or January 6th/7th, 2007.

Partnerships

We propose to partner with the following to collaborate with us on this event.
Additional supporters will be announced as confirmed.

• Mavuno Church
• The Orange Company – Event Planning
  
• Kibera Boys
  
• Soul Influence
  
• Eric Wainaina
  
• Joseph Hellon – Saxophonist
  
• Aaron Rimbui
  
• Kevin Wyre
  

With your prayers and blessings, we have demonstrated that our outreach has been a great success in the past. We seek your support and appeal to you to make outstanding changes take place in the lives of those afflicted by injustice and poverty.

Faithfully,

Christian Mungai
Missions Director for Milele