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Letter
Letter
Dear Friends and Family,
I am excited to announce that this January I will be leaving the United States to live and serve as a
volunteer in Kenya. In partnership with Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB) and Notre Dame
Mission Volunteers (NDMVA), I will have the privilege of spending a year working with young children in
the small village of Malava, Kenya. This new partnership with CMMB and NDMVA will give me the
opportunity to help children affected by HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, physical birth defects, and a
multitude of other infectious diseases.
Kenya is located in Sub‐Saharan Eastern Africa and boarders Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania,
Lake Victoria, and the Indian Ocean. As of 2007, 1,100,000 Kenyan children have been orphaned
because of the death of one or both parents due to AIDS. In the same year, 73,000 Kenyans died of
AIDS. In addition, less than 5% of children under the age of five are sleeping with treated bed nets to
protect against malaria carrying mosquitoes. Sadly, if the child does in fact get malaria, only 1/4 of
children receive medical treatment. In Africa, 2/3 of all deaths occur in children age 5 and younger. Of
those children, 2/3 occurs within the first week of his or her life and 2/3 of those children die in the first
24 hours of life.
While in Malava, I will have the opportunity to work at either the local orphanage or the St. Julie’s
Programme for Disabled Children. At the St. Julie’s center I would be involved with the children it serves
who are in rehabilitation for numerous problems often linked to birth defects. Sadly, these defects are
due to lack of adequate prenatal care and insufficient availability of basic medicines. The orphanage will
serve the town’s children who have either lost parents due to illness or been abandoned by parents who
most often did not want to care for an infant with HIV/AIDS. In fact, many children throughout Africa
are abandoned by their parents and left for dead in trashcans. Those who are found alive then must live
in the local orphanage.
As part of my volunteer commitment, I have been asked to raise $3,000 to help offset the costs incurred
by CMMB and NDMVA. However, since it will cost $15,000 for CMMB and NDMVA to allow me to serve
next year, I am striving to raise all of the $15,000. All money I raise will go directly to supporting my
work over the course of the next year. These costs include my basic living expenses, health insurance,
transportation, and medical supplies. During this exciting time in my life, I am asking for your financial
and emotional support as well as your thoughts and prayers throughout this next year.
As a way to help me and the people of Kenya, please consider making a tax‐deductible donation to
Notre Dame Mission Volunteers on my behalf. NDMVA is a non‐profit 501(c)(3) organization that
provides, in partnership with CMMB, services and delivers aid without regard to creed, race, sex,
nationality, or political circumstance. Every dollar that you will donate will go to directly support my
service and me this year. Upon exceeding my goal, ninety‐seven cents of every dollar will go directly to
the CMMB healthcare programs throughout the world. I encourage you to learn more by going to the
website for NDMVA (www.ndmva.org) and CMMB (www.cmmb.org).
Since I am aiming to exceed my individual costs, I would like to encourage everyone to contribute. Some
have already begun to support my service efforts with pledged contributions that range from $20 to
$500. I would greatly appreciate any amount you are able to contribute, and it will be meaningful to
have all of you as partners in this worthwhile effort. Please make your check payable to “Notre Dame
Mission Volunteers” and be sure to write “Tom Murphy – Kenya” in the memo line so NDMVA will
allocate your donation accordingly. If your company offers matching funds for charitable contribution,
please also consider exercising this option as a way of increasing your contribution.
To maximize my campaign and stay in touch with everyone at home, I have come up with a few ways
that you can join me in partnership this year. I have begun a blog that I will use to chronicle my
preparation and year in Kenya. For those who are unable to give, you can also help me raise money by
simply visiting my site. I have decided to add advertisements onto my blog. When you go onto the
page, the advertisers count your “view.” The more “views” of my page that take place the more money
I will get from the advertisers. In two days, with just over two hundred views, I have raised over $40. I
have set the goal of attaining 100,000 views by the end of next year. That is just 274 a day! By just
taking a few seconds once a day every month, you can help. All you have to do is just go onto my site
once a day and you will be contributing to my year of service.
You can also help by telling your co‐workers and friends about my upcoming year in Kenya. Please feel
free to forward or give this letter to anyone that you believe would have interest in my year of service,
and encourage him or her to share as well. If you know a group or school that would like to become
involved or hear me speak upon my return, please encourage them to contact me. Although I will be
going to Kenya without you, I want to bring you along through your support.
My departure date is set for January 7, 2009. Although I have a lot to do before I go, I look forward to
seeing or hearing from you before I leave. If you have any questions please call, write, or email me at
the addresses provided.
Thank you very much for your help and support of any kind! I will certainly keep you posted on the
progress of this big new step in my life.
With heartfelt thanks for all your support,
Tom Murphy
Address ‐ 72 Prospect St Bernardsville, NJ 07924
Email ‐ e.thomas.murphy@gmail.com
Phone (cell) – 908 938 0386
Blog – www.aviewfromthecave.com
Donate electronically by indicating “Tom Murphy” ‐ http://www.NDMVAa.org/Donate/index.htm