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Mandela’s son- in- law attends Gala Night for Kenyan Girls’ home

His Royal Highness Prince Muzi Dlamini of Swaziland, center, with Thomas Keown ( right) founder of One Home Many Hopes (OHMH), and Colm Allen, a close friend and a volunteer and supporter of OHMH and during the Boston Inaugural Gala for the charitable organization that has been helping girl children from the streets of Mombasa , Kenya.Pic by H.Maina, Ajabu Media.

By Jasmine Mutuku, Ajabu Africa News, posted June 2, 2011

BOSTON, Mass.,_They came from all over New England, students, professionals, retirees, etc. all united for one purpose-to rescue girls; to bring hope to a generation of girls that would otherwise have none.

The event- the Boston Inaugural Gala for OHMH held on May 19th at the French Cultural Center (FCC).When asked why he would want to be a part of the event, although it was not in his U.S. itinerary, His Royal Highness Prince Muzi Dlamini of Swaziland said that he loved Kenya and its people and believed in the cause at hand.

“As a continent we need to start looking beyond country boundaries to work together in charitable causes to bring development in Africa”, stressed Prince Dlamini.

He was in the US briefly accompanying his mother-in -Law, Winnie Mandela to a graduation ceremony at Johnson C. Smith University in North Carolina where she was the commencement speaker. Mandela received an Honorary Doctorate degree.

After the ceremony, while Mandela who is also a member of the South African Parliament, went back home to take part in the political process, the Prince made a detour to meet friends in Boston where he had attended his undergraduate and graduate education at Boston University.

Unlike other African dignitaries who bring an entourage when attending public events, Prince Dlamini attended the Gala event alone with a close friend from Boston, Colm Allen, a consistent volunteer and supporter of OHMH, in essence saving South African tax payers thousands of Rands!

During his opening remarks, Thomas Keown, the Founder of OHMH, expressed his gratitude to all the attendees who had chosen to believe that they could make a difference in spite of the enormous, almost impossible task presented to them.

Introducing Anthony Mulongo, the Kenyan Founder and Director, whose vision has translated to OHMH today, Thomas said that one thing that continues to encourage him is Anthony’s humility, continued self sacrifice and intellect!

Beginning his address to the guests, Mulongo got the crowd laughing by apologizing for his accent, saying that English came on a ship to Kenya! He said he was humbled that the guests had taken time out of their busy schedules to attend the event, stating that although the girls in Kenya sacrificed a lot, the supporters in the U.S. also sacrificed a lot to give these girls hope and make their dreams a reality.

Talking about his journey, Mulongo said that before he became a journalist he had a ‘shielded’ look at life, but journalism opened his eyes to a whole new perspective on life and its challenges, as far as the less fortunate members of the community were concerned.

Thomas Keown (left) founder of OHMH, Dr. Alexandra Haagensen, and Anthony Mulongo of Kenya.

Statistics say over 200,000 kids younger than 17 years old are orphans and live on the streets of Kenya.

Mulongo befriended some street kids in Mombasa while working as a journalist, and unknowingly his journey to bring hope began. Armed will only resources to cater for one person, he took in one 6 year old girl whom he had found on the street carrying her dead baby brother on her back (he was sick, and she didn’t know he had already died), gave her food, shelter and clothing and later enrolled her in a boarding school.

Today that girl, Gift, is one of the oldest girls in the home and she refers to Mulongo as ‘Uncle’, a term commonly used by most African children as a sign of respect for an older man that may or may not be related to them. The home, called Mudzini Kwetu, currently houses 32 girls and has room for more.

Mulongo said OHMH was providing choices to the children. He applauded the guests for choosing to invest in the ‘future’. He noted that when one chooses to invest in life, the return is not always fast. Giving an example, he said, “Many children live with their parents until they are 18-21 years old. The process of equipping a child to be successful in life takes time, and it surprises me when sometimes a 3 year equipping plan is set by some organizations for kids that are less fortunate. Many of these plans fail”.

He said the strategy that OHMH had taken to invest in a school for the girls is long term and would ensure that on graduation the girls would be well prepared mentally, socially and economically to face the challenges in life.

Plans are already underway to design the school that will cater to over 700 students. The organization raised over $245,000.00 in 3 months late last year. Their fundraising strategy has been “word of mouth - lots of small things do very, very great things”, said Keown.

The home currently supplies water to the region around a 20km radius. There is also a fish program in place whose main purpose will be to sustain the home financially.

Asked by a guest to chart the course that OHMH was destined to take, Mulongo said that everything was being done in phases:

Phase 1- Was to meet the immediate needs of the girls; food, clothing, shelter and love to make them feel like children.

Phase2 - Building a school where the girls will graduate with people of the same mindset and same desire to be successful.

Phase 3 - Building a home for boys because there is a great need in the area for this as well.

Twice a year, a trip is organized for volunteers, donors and other well wishers. Most of the people at the Gala event had either been to the home in Kenya or were planning to visit.

Among them was Alice Vejins, a 17 year old Junior at Concord-Carlisle High School who has plans to travel to Kenya in January 2012. She is not only smart (graduating early in January), but is also a seasoned traveler with a heart to serve. She has been to 5 different countries, including El Salvador and China.

Talking to Ajabu Africa News, the young girl's father, Mr.Vejins, said that as a parent he has tried to instill the sense of servant hood in his children, based on his religious beliefs. Other students who attended came from BU and MIT. Volunteers like ‘Mama Anne’, who spent a year in Kenya at the home, were excited to receive live reports from Mulongo about the girls with whom they had formed close bonds.

OHMH is on the move; its positive effects are already being felt in the surrounding community. Many of the girls now have attainable objectives of becoming doctors, teachers, nurses, etc. They have hope, thanks to a group of ‘unreasonable’ people who came together believing that though the problem was beyond them, they could still do something no matter how small.

This article is a sound of drum beats to gather Africans, especially Kenyans, to rally behind Anthony Mulongo to support his vision. Through this we will encourage other ‘Mulongos’ who dare to dream, to do so without fear. Let us make a mark in our communities together. Please visit http://www.onehomemanyhopes.org/ for more information and become a part of something bigger than yourself.

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Kenyan Humanitarian visits Boston

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Amy Carrier (extreme left) with former Fenway High School students, Anthony Mulongo and Thomas Keown, founder of OHMH during the gala night recently in Boston.