Bikes Shipped to Kenya

In 2011, Serve a Village received a donation of hundreds of  used bicycles.  Almost two dozen volunteers showed up, with gloves, tools and willing hearts and hands, to collect the bicycles, prepare them for packing, and load them up on a tractor/trailer donated by SAV volunteer Chris.  Chris stored the bikes for several months while SAV volunteers raised money to ship the bikes to Kenya. 
 
Then once again, last fall, volunteers pulled up their sleeves and worked all day to transfer the bikes from Chris' tractor/trailer to a shipping container bound for Mombassa, Kenya.  After several months on the sea, the bikes arrived in the port on Christmas Eve.  
 

Darla Marburger first became involved with Serve a Village when she joined its Summer 2011 South Africa expedition. She collected children’s clothing, school supplies, first aid provisions, hygiene supplies, and baby blankets that she distributed amongst the impoverished in Stanford, South Africa. While she was there, she also volunteered in soup kitchens, taught and made structural improvements in a boarding school, spent time with the children in two impoverished youth programs, provided care to the elderly and bed-ridden, and planted trees to improve the environment of the village.

Motivated by her feeling of accomplishment upon return from South Africa, she was anxious to help the families in her hometown, Bastrop Texas, when it was hit by the wildfires in Fall 2011. Working with Serve a Village, Darla initiated, led, and executed the Rise from the Ashes Drive charitable event. She coordinated the efforts of 30 volunteers collecting household goods to help the victims of the wildfires.

Serve A Village public health intern Bradley, has been volunteering at the Sparrow Village for orphans in Johannesburg, South Africa since the beginning of 2012.

Sparrow Village is a South African non-profit that provides care and comfort to adults and children who have been infected or affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. They are both a Hospice for the terminally ill and a Children’s Home for those vulnerable children who have become homeless due to the death of one or both of their parents. 

Bradley will spend 3 months as a Serve A Village intern designing and implementing programs for the children at Sparrow. After assessing the needs of the children, Bradley is creating exercise, homework, and motor skills programs. She is also assisting with a vaccinations program.  In addition, Bradley is working one on one with infants by helping them learn to walk, develop social skills, and speak English.