Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Restoring the Heart of Bumpe

It is said that the heart of any home is the dinning room. It is where the inhabitants can share a meal, a discussion, and some quality time together. The Kposowa Foundation had this and so much more in mind when they took on the project of rebuilding the dinning hall at Bumpe High School. With a private grant and the support of the Institute of Human Development, the dinning hall was completed and furnished this summer. Students and staff are now able to fellowship and enjoy arts programs in a beautiful space. The hall also provides a valuable resource for the community as it can be rented for weddings, conferences, and other events that additionally benefit revenue sources for the school.

In addition to the dinning hall, there has been major progress in completing the bathrooms. This is tremendously exciting, especially for female students who need proper facilities to feel comfortable in their learning environment. Although toilets and plumbing have not been installed, Bumpe students and staff are enthusiastic about the progress. Thanks to everyone involved in this project!


Newly Constructed Bathrooms

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

The Kposowa Foundation in Hermosa Beach, CA for Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars Concert!

Hi Family,

The California branch of The Kposowa Foundation will be represented at the Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars concert in Hermosa Beach, CA - Wednesday, August 10th!

Come out and support the foundation and this amazing Sierra Leone/Liberia group!

Time: August 10, 2010 at 9pm.
Location: Saint Rocke
Street: 142 Pacific Coast Highway
City/Town: Hermosa Beach, CA
Website or Map: http://saintrocke.marqueehq.c…


Purchase tickets for the show and get more information here: http://refugeeallstars-audience.fm/events/hermosa-beach-ca

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

A Big Gift from a Young Donor

Mackenzie, 13 years old, decided to share her birthday with the students of Bumpe. Rather than receiving gifts, Mackenzie asked her friends and family to donate to the Kposowa Foundation. With the help of her loved ones, Mackenzie purchased two sewing machines for the Home Economics block at Bumpe High School. Now the students can learn a valuable trade and share their skills with the community.

We thank you Mackenzie and your friends for opening your hearts to the students in Sierra Leone!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Success with Bumpe's Pen Pal Program

This year Bumpe students were able to find distant friends with students at Vistamar School in California. The pen pal program allowed students to connect with one another on a personal level as they shared their interests, hobbies, and daily lives. The students received the letters via email, and for Bumpe students, whose lives have been ravaged by civil war, the letters were a real snapshot of life here in America.

We are grateful for the success of the program and hope to continue the correspondence between students here in America and Sierra Leone. We would like to especially thank the students, faculty, and staff of Vistamar for their involvement and participation.

Rotary Helps with Clean Water

Back in 2009, Jim Culberson, a North Rotarian in WV, and Kim Zook, a Bremerton Rotarian in WA, partnered with the Rotary Club in Bo, Sierra Leone to establish a water project that would bring clean and accessible water to the residents of Bumpe. Together the partners secured a $50,000 grant from the Rotary Foundation to fund the construction of new water wells. Today, the project has completed 8 wells in various communities including:
·       Bumpe
·       Mongayba
·       Mojibba
·       Gibbu
·       Solima
·       Bo

Thanks to the generosity and partnership of the Rotarians, the residents of Sierra Leone can be confident that they are receiving safe water within their own community. Parents can live without the worry of water borne diseases killing their children and children can enjoy their health and childhood. The Kposowa Foundation would like to extend a special thank you to all that were involved in this project!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

A Message from Sarah Culberson



Miracle -
The Kposowa Foundation and Rotary Club partnered, and as a result my dad Jim, Kim Zook, and many other Rotarians raised $50,000 for wells in Bumpe Chiefdom.  My father Joe in Sierra Leone said "Oh Sarah, the women in a neighboring village are dancing and singing because they don't have to drink dirty water any more.  They don't have to walk miles for clean water anymore.  Their children don't have to die because of water born disease."  This all happened because my dad in West Virginia and my birth father in West Africa did this by working together, and because of Rotary Foundation Matching Grants!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Brownie Troop Donates!


We are so proud of the Brownie troop who donated $200.00 from their cookie sales to help to rebuild a school in Sierra Leone, West Africa.

Stay tuned for the story next week!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Body O Soul Fundraising Event

Body O Soul Fundraising Event
5233 E 2nd Street
Long Beach, California
(562) 856-1600

Friday, February 26, 2010
6:00pm - 10:00pm
* DJ * Door Prizes * Food & Beverage *

Body O Soul is hosting a fundraising event to benefit The Kposowa Foundation. 10% of all sale proceeds will go toward the Foundation. Be part of our party to benefit a good cause - shop, eat, drink and join the fun!

Monday, February 1, 2010

Bumpe School's First Pen Pal Program

Several months ago a few students and faculty members of Vistamar School collaborated a simple pen pal program involving their freshman with the freshman students of Bumpe High School. Under the direction of humanities and economics teacher, Blair Bowman, the students of Vistamar wrote their first drafts in October of 2009.

After a few weeks of correspondence with The Foundation office, it was agreed that the safest and speediest way to send the letters was through email. Final letters were then scanned and sent to the attention of Joe Kposowa in Bumpe the beginning of December 2009.

Last week, The Foundation office was overjoyed to have received the first wave of pen pal letters from Bumpe students to Vistamar students. The first circle of the pen pal program was complete.

We are grateful to the students and faculty of Vistamar who initiated this idea. We are also very excited for the freshman students of Bumpe High School. Pen pals are typically exciting for students of any academic level, but in Sierra Leone, where war had been prevalent for so long, an outreach like the pen pal effort Vistamar had put into place is a special treat to our students in Africa.

We encourage more schools to become involved with Bumpe High School and hope this will be a staging point for other students across the nation to share a correspondence with a student in Africa.

For information about how to get your school involved, please contact the Foundation office at (562) 432-7019. We will be happy to share and receive any ideas you may have.

Friday, January 29, 2010

The Angel Rock Project Book of the Month - A Princess Found!

Check out "A Princess Found" as The Angel Rock Project book of the month! The Angel Rock Project is an online e-village promoting volunteerism, social responsibility and sustainable change. The founder and director is Malaak Compton-Rock, wife of actor and comedian, Chris Rock.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

A Princess Found Book Signing in the Long Beach Area!


Friends of Signal Hill will host "A Princess Found" book signing in Signal Hill, California this coming Monday, January 25th at 7:00pm. Below are the details.

Monday, January 25, 2010
7:00 p.m.
The Signal Hill Community Center
1780 E Hill Street
Signal Hill, CA 90755
Call (562) 989-7323 for more information


Monday, January 18, 2010

Happy New Year from The Kposowa Foundation! May you all be blessed with good health and abundance at the start of this new and exciting decade.

The Kposowa Foundation is off to a fantastic start! Over the holidays we mailed out an "opportunity to give letter" and since then have been receiving donations on a weekly basis from all across the nation. No words can ever express the gratitude we feel when we receive a donation from a new or returning donor. Every donation, whether it is a large or small monetary contribution or an in-kind donation, makes such a tremendous impact to our organization and to the students of Bumpe High School. We can't thank you enough for your support!

The Foundation website has been updated with a new online donation processing system. For an easy, instant and secure transaction, you can donate directly to the Foundation by going to the "How You Can Help" tab on our website.

http://www.bumpefund.org/How2Help.html

Otherwise be on the lookout for these topics in the near future:
  • A Princess Found booksigning in Long Beach, California
  • Pen Pals from Vista Mar to Bumpe High School
  • An update from Lena Cox as she makes her second shipment to Bumpe