In the early morning hours on Sept. 27th, eleven yr. old Parker Huffman became the fourth (documented) youngest person in the world to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro. Unlike his aunt Janette and mother Lauren who succumbed to altitude sickness, Parker had no problems with either the altitude or the cold. With the help of his two local guides from Tanzania, Parker summited solo and stayed at the top and took in the view for about 20 minutes before heading back down the mountain. In all, Parker raised over $10,000 and continues to raise both money for Nomad and awareness on HIV/AIDS in Africa. Thank you to Parker and your family for taking part in our 2008 "Climb for a Cause".

Jenn and Janette just got back from a two month trip to Kenya. It was an extremely challenging trip for the two but in that time they were able to open a Nomad Charities NGO bank account in Kenya, update paperwork at the NGO board, meet with USAID and other sources of funding for Nomad's projects as well as work on the completion of Gail's House, which is set to open in February of 2009. The opening of the orphanage was delayed by four months due to Nomad's international Rotary grant being held up due to ling distance paperwork.

Nomad's most exciting news is the arrival of our new full time Project Coordinator in Kenya, Christine Birnbaum from Bend, OR. Rather than commit to the Peace Corp. for two years she decided to work with Nomad and commit to an eighteen month assignment in Kibwezi, Kenya.
Nomad is beyond excited to have her on board and already in the few weeks she's been there she's proved invaluable.

Nomad has some exciting new projects in the works for 2009 so be sure to keep checking our website for various program updates. Asanti Sana!

Parker Huffman is getting ready to conquer Mt. Kilimanjaro in a few weeks. He will be the fourth youngest person in the world to try and summit the largest mountain in Africa.
The construction of Gail's House is running about three weeks behind schedule due to a shortage of water. Nomad will be sinking the pump for the borehole the end of August so there will be a constant water supply. Our American builder Patrick Huffman will be in Kenya the first part of September to install the solar panels for both the building and the borehole.

Nomad Charities is holding its 4th annual fundraiser on June 21st, raising funds to pay for our 2009 operations expenses for Gail's House in Kibwezi, Kenya. The event is being hosted by Lavabelles and catered by Bluefish. Tickets are $35 and you can purchase at the door. Hope to see you there!

"Just wanted you both to know that the bracelet sale has gone well...we have money for you to pick up. Parker's Sofa Cents is receiving numerous donations in the office... that is also going well.
Ane the excitement has caught on! We had a Kindergarten class of girls (about 8 of them) that decided to also create a fundraiser for Nomad Charities by selling little paper fans for five cents each around our school. VERY CUTE! They put the chance into Parker's Sofa Cents container. I think they made way more that 5 cents a fan:)" - Kathy Ludwig - Principal

Jenn and Janette returned from Kenya in early May after completing the drilling of one of the first private boreholes in the entire District of Kibwezi. The orphanage construction project continues to operate on time and on budget. Jenn & Janette have formed a great relationship with the new MP of our district, the Hon. Philip Kaloki. We have formed a partnership Prof. Kaloki with our first project being the construction of the only public library in the District of Kibwezi. The MP will use allotted government funds to build the facility, the land was donated by a local community member and Nomad is shipping 15,000 books to Mombasa for the library.
Jenn & Janette are heading back to Kibwezi on August 16th for a two month stay.