100 Days 100 Dollars (with Video)

Recently I took the opportunity to pass a few questions to Luke Winslade. Luke heads up a great campaign that The Humanitarian Chronicle is right behind- 100 Days 100 Dollars. Here’s the conversation:

(Frank) To kick this off, give us a brief run-down of how 100 Days 100 Dollars got started…

(Luke) The whole 100 Days concept kind of came completely out of nowhere. In 2006 we found ourselves standing in the midst of 1 million people living in their own filth and hopelessness in one of the worlds densest living areas, Kibera Slum in Kenya.

Whilst there we met some amazing people who were running this awesome lil school right in the heart of the slum and they told us their dreams of one day getting rid of the lil mud huts they were using and replacing them with real buildings. Ones that have bigger rooms, better light, and an overall better environment for the kids to learn effectively in.

Upon returning back to New Zealand we thought “Hey imagine if we could get just our mates to donate $100 each so we could raise a bunch of cash that could go a really long way over there in Kibera”. From that, the idea kind of grew and it turned into “Hey imagine if we could get not just our mates, but a whole bunch of strangers involved” and from there it kind of just spread. We wanted the 100 Days campaign to be really simple and something that people could really jump on board with and take on. Being a small indie charity with next to no budget we’ve realized that our best weapon is ‘word of mouth’ so that’s what we try and do…tell people about the need and offer them a chance to help out.

We want people to feel like they are investing into a real life building. We want them to know where their money is going and what its achieving. And from that the 100 Days 100 Dollars campaign was formed.

(Frank) You’ve built a school in the Kibera slum after a successful campaign last year – how does it feel knowing you’ve affected the lives of some children so significantly?

(Luke) Seeing that money go into building that school building is a really rewarding thing and knowing that the kids that go to that school are now going to be able to learn so much easier definitely makes you feel good about what we achieved. But I guess we’ve moved on from that small case of ‘pride in our achievement’ into a new sense of determination to do more. Seeing how thankful those kids were for their new school building and then comparing it to the kids that don’t have the chance to go to school has definitely inspired us to do more this year. And the crazy thing is we didn’t actually do that much last year and we somehow ended up with just over $55,000. With a little bit of work here in New Zealand our money can go a MASSIVE way over in Kenya and we really can have a HUGE impact in the lives of the kids that live there.

(Frank) Establishing educational facilities has long term effects, what difference do you foresee these facilities making in the future lives of the children who become a part of what you’ve done?

(Luke) Nelson Mandela really sums it up perfectly “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world”. Everyone in the Hope Foundation strongly believes that statement and that is what we are all about. We’re lucky enough to be able to get an amazing education here in New Zealand that really does set us up for life. For a lot of kids living in Kibera they don’t have that luxury and security. We wanna fix that.

You talk to the kids who live in Kibera and you ask them “What do you wanna be when you grow up” and they respond with “I wanna be a…..pilot, teacher, doctor, nurse, and even the President of Kenya”. For these kids school isn’t considered a drag or something they wanna skip. For them school is the coolest most rewarding thing in their lives.

We hope that by building these school buildings we are going to enable the teachers to be able do their job better, the kids are going to be able to learn better and more children will be able to set themselves up for life with an education.

(Frank) Kibera is one of the biggest, if not the biggest slum in the world. Your work and vision extends to toilet facilities and water pipes. I would imagine that some of these are bigger and long term projects – how long do you envisage being involved with Kibera – is this a case of long term advocacy?

(Luke) At the moment we are keeping things really simple. The need in Kibera really is HUGE! And what we are doing is merely a drop in a massive bucket of needs so we’re trying to just keep our endeavors really focused.

Last year we raised just over $55,000 and that has gone into the construction of a 6 classroom building, 4 toilets and a new water pipe for a school in Kibera. This year we are working with the same school and are wanting to build another 6 classroom building, more toilets, and hopefully purchasing some more land to give the children of the school enough room to run around and play in.

Obviously all of this depends on how much money we can raise but we see this years campaign and the money we raise from it going into finishing that school and setting it up for the future. The programs they are running and the teachers and staff they have on board are doing a phenomenal job and we just wanna help them by providing some better facilities for them.

What the future holds for 100 Days 100 Dollars is still to be determined. But the beauty of the 100 Days 100 Dollars campaign is that it can be used anywhere in the world and all that will change is the story and needs behind it.

We are excited to see where and how far this thing will go but for the time being we just wanna do as much as we can for Kibera slum and finish off the school that we have started.

(Frank) Your work in the slum will have a trickle down effect, benefiting many people in the slum beyond the immediate children you’re working with, but it can also have a trickle effect back home with people who get involved in the campaign. What has the reaction been like to the work back here?

(Luke) To be able to help out a bunch of kids living in Kibera and give them an education really is a cool thing to be a part of but to be able to do it alongside mates and a bunch of strangers who care about the same sort of stuff makes it so much more valuable. Its been such an awesome experience finding and meeting all these different types of people from around the country who have somehow found out about 100 Days 100 Dollars and are so passionate about helping out. It makes the task at hand feel far less daunting knowing there’s real support out there for the work we’re trying to do. We just wanna grow the family!

Some of the highlights have definitely been meeting younger people who are really passionate about this sort of thing. Like seriously young kids (13-15) who know so much about a wide range of different causes and are actively searching out solutions and answers. Kids that are asking and challenging us on some really awesome questions about aid development that you typically wouldn’t hear from people so young. When I was their age all I cared about was Playstation, so to be able to work along side those kids is really rewarding.

(Frank) I’m guessing that you have some memories of the children in your head that are going to live with you forever. Are there any children/stories that really stand out to you?

(Luke) Hanging out with the kids in Kibera and asking them what they want to be when they grow up totally blows your mind. Despite the environment and circumstances they live in, they still have so much hope for the future and who they want to become. Whether it be doctors, teachers or even the president. For example one of the kids that goes to to the school, Alvin, dreams of one day becoming an international soccer star. Now when you ask him about what he wants to be when he grows up there is no hesitation in him listing off his favourite players and his desire to one day be up there with them. Judging by his passion alone you would be a brave person to bet against him.

Another great story was of a young girl called Theresa. Her dream is to one day find the cure to AIDS. You hear the stories of how AIDS has ravaged Africa but until you hear it from a young girl it never really hits home. Theresa had to pull out of high school because her mother got very sick and could no longer work and afford to pay her school fees. Thankfully John Blaiklock (Chairman of the Hope Foundation) decided to sponsor her and pay for her school fees and she is now back in high school and hopefully on her way to one day finding that cure.

(Frank) Would you say this has changed you?

(Luke) It’s definitely made me look at the world in a completely different way. We live in an age where we have so much power at our finger tips and how we use that power is totally up to us. We can do some amazing things if we put our hearts and minds into it and we can save lives at the same time.

I also now have a bunch of friends that live in one of the worlds largest slums, who I really care about and wanna help out. The people in Kibera are the nicest most welcoming people I’ve ever met and despite the situation they find themselves in, their hearts are so pure and their love for justice has inspired me like nothing else.

(Frank) 100 Days 100 Dollars finishes in November – how can people get involved and help out?

(Luke) We can’t do this thing without the help and support of people so we would love to invite people to join with us and help us finish the work we have started in Kibera and build a school in that dreadful slum. Joining up is as simple as laying your hands on $100 and deciding you want to make a difference in the lives of some really needy kids. That’s it! Pretty simple really.

But as well as donating we want your voice. We don’t have the budget or even the desire to do big ad campaigns so instead we’re relying entirely on people spreading the word and rounding up people to join us. Tell your friends, your family, your grumpy neighbor or even the girl at the checkout at your local supermarket. Whatever you do just tell them that kids in Kibera slum in Kenya are desperate to learn and we wanna help them.

Head on over to our website www.100days100dollars.com and check out all of the videos, sign up to mailing list and join the family.

Get involved and help us to raise awareness of the plight of the incredible kids who are stuck in this awful slum, and how easy it is to give them the gift of hope and education.

A hundred bucks – to us it’s nothing but to them it’s a future.