jmara@bayareanewsgroup.com
Posted: 07/14/2011
Contact Janis Mara at 510-208-6474. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/jmara.
BURLINGAME -- Two orphanages in Cambodia and a school in Afghanistan are helping enrich the lives of impoverished children thanks to the work of five Bay Area mothers who banded together in 2005, appalled by the suffering of children worldwide and determined to do what they could to alleviate it.
"Every child in the world deserves a childhood," said Delfarib Fanaie, one of the co-founders of Burlingame-based Moms Against Poverty. Like two of her co-founders, Fanaie, who is now the group's executive director, has adopted children from an orphanage in Iran. The group helps Bay Area children as well.
"We work to make the lives of the children easier," the Burlingame resident said. When the group first formed, the five moms -- two from Burlingame, two from Santa Clara County and one from Walnut Creek -- decided to do what they knew best to raise money: throw a party.
"We had our first event in 2008. We got a warehouse donated to us for the night of the event, and we cooked the food ourselves -- and 500 people came," Fanaie said. "We raised $60,000."
She attributes that early success to the women's families, support networks and business smarts. All five co-founders are professionals in fields including graphic design and marketing. Fanaie is a real estate asset manager.
"We have no overhead. Everything is donated to us," said Fanaie of the group, which secured nonprofit status in 2008 and continues to give its parties annually.
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Working with an all-volunteer staff of 60 on an all-donation basis for printing, silent auction items and other supplies for the annual event means that 95 percent of the money raised goes to the causes. The group's board still cooks all the food for the party, which will be held Sept. 17 in San Francisco.
This year, the group's donations included $40,000 to create an orphanage in Cambodia, HOPE Children's Home, which opened July 1. So far, there are five children there, and the group ultimately plans to house 30 children.
"We find the children in the street, in the garbage dumps. We are focusing our orphanage on those who don't have a family, whose mothers and fathers didn't want them and moved away," Fanaie said. The group also paid for a roof, a library and vaccinations for children in Aziza Place, another Cambodia orphanage.
Other donations include $13,000 to buy three ultrasound machines, two patient monitors and an EKG machine at three free clinics in Cambodia for children who live at the garbage dump.
On the home front this year, the group donated $20,000 to Child Advocates of Silicon Valley, a group that trains volunteers to serve as advocates for foster children in Santa Clara County. The advocates keep an eye on foster children, promoting their well-being as they interact with teachers, foster parents and biological parents.
An earlier project included donations to Rokshana School in Afghanistan.
"We gave them money for peace education training and the literacy program, so the children can write about peace," Fanaie said. "We focus on health and education."
"They were one of the first groups to get authority to work with Iran," said Patricia Love, Burlingame's economic development specialist, referring to the fact that the group donates to Farkhondeh Home and Shelter, a care center for children in Tehran for abandoned children with mental and physical disorders. "They go right to work and get things done. I think it is amazing what a small group of passionate people can do to help the world," Love said.
For more information on the organization or to donate, visit www.momsagainstpoverty.org.
Posted: 07/14/2011
Contact Janis Mara at 510-208-6474. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/jmara.
BURLINGAME -- Two orphanages in Cambodia and a school in Afghanistan are helping enrich the lives of impoverished children thanks to the work of five Bay Area mothers who banded together in 2005, appalled by the suffering of children worldwide and determined to do what they could to alleviate it.
"Every child in the world deserves a childhood," said Delfarib Fanaie, one of the co-founders of Burlingame-based Moms Against Poverty. Like two of her co-founders, Fanaie, who is now the group's executive director, has adopted children from an orphanage in Iran. The group helps Bay Area children as well.
"We work to make the lives of the children easier," the Burlingame resident said. When the group first formed, the five moms -- two from Burlingame, two from Santa Clara County and one from Walnut Creek -- decided to do what they knew best to raise money: throw a party.
"We had our first event in 2008. We got a warehouse donated to us for the night of the event, and we cooked the food ourselves -- and 500 people came," Fanaie said. "We raised $60,000."
She attributes that early success to the women's families, support networks and business smarts. All five co-founders are professionals in fields including graphic design and marketing. Fanaie is a real estate asset manager.
"We have no overhead. Everything is donated to us," said Fanaie of the group, which secured nonprofit status in 2008 and continues to give its parties annually.
Advertisement
Working with an all-volunteer staff of 60 on an all-donation basis for printing, silent auction items and other supplies for the annual event means that 95 percent of the money raised goes to the causes. The group's board still cooks all the food for the party, which will be held Sept. 17 in San Francisco.
This year, the group's donations included $40,000 to create an orphanage in Cambodia, HOPE Children's Home, which opened July 1. So far, there are five children there, and the group ultimately plans to house 30 children.
"We find the children in the street, in the garbage dumps. We are focusing our orphanage on those who don't have a family, whose mothers and fathers didn't want them and moved away," Fanaie said. The group also paid for a roof, a library and vaccinations for children in Aziza Place, another Cambodia orphanage.
Other donations include $13,000 to buy three ultrasound machines, two patient monitors and an EKG machine at three free clinics in Cambodia for children who live at the garbage dump.
On the home front this year, the group donated $20,000 to Child Advocates of Silicon Valley, a group that trains volunteers to serve as advocates for foster children in Santa Clara County. The advocates keep an eye on foster children, promoting their well-being as they interact with teachers, foster parents and biological parents.
An earlier project included donations to Rokshana School in Afghanistan.
"We gave them money for peace education training and the literacy program, so the children can write about peace," Fanaie said. "We focus on health and education."
"They were one of the first groups to get authority to work with Iran," said Patricia Love, Burlingame's economic development specialist, referring to the fact that the group donates to Farkhondeh Home and Shelter, a care center for children in Tehran for abandoned children with mental and physical disorders. "They go right to work and get things done. I think it is amazing what a small group of passionate people can do to help the world," Love said.
For more information on the organization or to donate, visit www.momsagainstpoverty.org.
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