What if the Kondwa Children’s Foundation earned a penny every time you searched the Internet? Or how about if a percentage of every purchase you made online went to support our mission? Well, now it can!

GoodSearch.com is a new Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch the donations add up!

GoodShop.com is a new online shopping mall which donates up to 37 percent of each purchase to your favorite cause! Hundreds of great stores including Amazon, Target, Gap, Best Buy, ebay, Macy’s and Barnes & Noble have teamed up with GoodShop and every time you place an order, you’ll be supporting your favorite cause.

Just click the banner above or this link to go to http://www.goodsearch.com/?charityid=864906 and our name should already be chosen as the charity.  If not, when you go to goodsearch.com, type “Kondwa Children’s Foundation” in the Charity Box.

Bookmark this page to search with and help the KCF grow! And, be sure to spread the word!

Also think about these other ways to start GoodSearching:

Add GoodSearch to your IE, Firefox, or Mac toolbar

Make GoodSearch your homepage as well as the homepage on all of the computers in your company or school.

 as well as the homepage on all of the computers in your company or school.

Angela Malik, founder of the Kondwa Day Center in Zambia, was concerned for the well being of the widowed mothers whose children did not qualify for admission to the Kondwa Day Center and took it upon herself to do something about it.  She helped organize a women’s support group who meets periodically to learn and share about effective parenting skills and ideas on how to support their families needs. Together, they pursue various small business ventures like basket making, sewing, tie-dye and batik printing, and other crafts.  They share profits and losses, always reinvesting a portion into the business.

Although the immediate needs of the women are economic, they will tell you they gather for the spirit of oneness.  They acknowledge that they do get lonely and appreciate being with women who share similar burdens.  They call themselves Empowering Women in Development and their group currently numbers twenty-three.

EWD shares a small cinder block building with the Assissi Day School for children with special needs.  They meet together on Tuesday afternoons and Saturdays to work on crafts which they sell and then share the proceeds. The merchandise available during KCF’s Summer 2007 visit included beaded necklaces and bangles, tie-dyed and batik cloth in four-meter segments, beaded net table coverings, rag rugs, and coasters in the national colors of green, red, gold and black.

The primary source of income at this time, however, comes from two portable knitting machines. They are simple structures about four feet long, sit on a table and appear to be lightweight.  One was provided through the Kondwa Children’s Foundation and the second from another donor. One of the women received training on the machine from another agency and taught a second widow how to use it.  They can each turn out five school sweaters a day.

Sweaters (paid for by a donor to Kondwa Day Center) were made for all 90 Kondwa Day Center children during the Summer 2007 visit.  At that time it was winter in Zambia, which lies just south of the equator, and sweaters were definitely in season.  The sweaters included the child’s first name on the front and the words Kondwa Center on the back.  The names are there in order to identify the owner when the sweaters are tossed into a stack during recess!  EWD also makes bright maroon sweaters for children from Ngombe Basic School, the result of having a good relationship with the School Manager who refers guardians to EWD. They have also made samples of vests for government workers and are hopeful to generate orders as a result.

When asked about their Wish List the knitters were quick to respond that they need a yarn winder and would very much like a “pass up” machine, a device that enables them to change patterns. They also take special orders, so being able to make different patterns would give them a competitive edge over the knitters in the market stalls of Lusaka The Treasurer of EWD also expressed concern about cash flow, as the women cannot buy yarns or other raw materials on credit.

The widows of EWD are enthusiastic about their future as a cooperative, and the songs of welcome we received as visitors clearly conveyed their collective strength. They say that they come from humble beginnings but have the will power to succeed.

Original Article by Linda Hansen