Fund for Mark Agwonah's mother: the Mama Mark Fund

[Guest]

.

[Diane R]

VERY QUICK NOTE:

Jill and I just received an email response from Irene Kamau at AN:K.  It contains several things:

• the bank information I will need to transfer funds
• the fact that Mama Mark had visited with Irene and talked over a number of things including the dream she and Mark had of buying land for a home, which would also include a children's home (and I don't know how far our fund amount will go towards that purpose, but I will communicate with Irene again and see if she has a feel for how this might help)
• the fact that AN:K has submitted several new loans (which have not yet been released by Kiva, but be watching for them!) -- one of them was close to Mark and we should be watching especially for his loan to arrive:  Daniel Wainaina Ngata -- if someone sees his loan appear, please PM me and I will get the email and can hurry over to help fund his loan
• and finally, the fact that she has encouraged Mama Mark to "seek legal redress", and that she has "taken up a lawyer who is following up on the case".

I do not have the sense for how far the $ 560  in the Mama Mark Fund will stretch for her needs, but I am sure it is far more than she was ever expecting.  I will also ask Irene if Mark's loan will be forgiven.  I believe given what we've read recently that this will be the case.

Thank you again, everyone, for your generosity and spirit.

--Diane.

(EDITED:  I meant to say I would ask *IRENE* about Mark's loan status.  Sorry for any confusion!)

[wind5001]

Diane,

thanks for posting this information. It's good to know that Irene is communicating with us and I am particularily glad that they got a lawyer involved.

Oli

[Diane R]

Update, Sunday, Aug. 19th:

Total received in Mama Mark Fund as of 10am PDT:   $  690

This generous amount came from 18 contributors.

I have not received a response back from Irene Kamau concerning Mama Mark's needs and how far our contributions could go toward enabling them, and I will be very busy with family affairs for the next ten days, so I will leave the fund open until SEPTEMBER 1, after which I will initiate the bank transfer.  I am also hoping to have heard more from Irene before then.

Thank you so much again, everyone!

--Diane.

[Diane R]

Update, Sunday, Sep. 2nd:

Total received in Mama Mark Fund as of 2pm PDT:   $  750

This generous amount came from 20 contributors.

Irene Kamau from Action Now: Kenya (AN:K) responded to my query asking about the price of the land and building which Mama Mark hoped to erect for her children's home. While our fund will not cover this large expense, I hope she will be able to raise the rest of the money through other means, perhaps in conjunction with training and guidance from AN:K.  Irene's latest email to me included the following:

... the piece of land would cost about Ksh. 150,000 (About USD 2300) ie using and exchange rate of about 65Ksh. per dollar, and it would cost her about Ksh. 500,000 (About USD 7700) for the building. However, even her she says she is not too sure, so she just gave me estimates. However she says that whatever the lenders manage to get, she will greatly appreciate it, and it will help her secure her future and her dream. She has also managed to get a lawyer going, and he is following up on the case, though in our country sometimes these things take quite some time, but we hope for the best.

As you can see, a lawyer has begun to help with the investigation and follow-up concerning Mark's death, and we will hope for a just outcome.

Since there will be some exciting further publicity about Kiva this coming week (The Today Show on Mon. and Oprah on Tues.), I expect we will have some new visitors here, and some may learn of the Mama Mark Fund.  Given that fact, I plan to leave the fund open until SEPTEMBER 10, in case any new readers would like to add their contributions.  Thank you so much again to everyone who has participated; this is a very meaningful contribution, and I hope it will help Mama Mark provide a new future for her family.

--Diane.

[Laurie]

Diane, once again I want to say THANK YOU for all your work on this.  I doubt if we could have accomplished it without your offer of expertise and time.

20 donors... tell me, do you know whether all are Kiva Friends?  Or did you receive donations from outside this circle?

Safe travels,
Laurie

[Diane R]

Laurie, there were several loans from names that were not familiar to me as regular posters on kivafriends, but this is the only place we have talked about it, so everyone who's contributed must have learned about it here.

--Diane.

[wind5001]

Diane,

this is plain right

AWESOME!

[Laurie]

Diane, I have a post on my blog about the Mama Mark fund: http://laurieandodel.blogspot.com/2007/08/follow-up-mama-mark.html.  I also have links on my blog to my family and friends who I know are lenders.  I imagine others here have done the same - and hoped it might have some impact... so wondered whether there were names you did not recognize.  Could be some of our friendly lurkers, though.   

Safe travels,
Laurie

[Odette]

Good job, Diane. I'm sure Mama Mark will appreciate any amount sent to her as it will be unexpected to receive money from strangers in memory of her only son.

[Diane R]

REMINDER:

I will be closing the Mama Mark Fund on Monday, Sept. 10, and starting the process of transferring our collection to her through Irene Kamau at Action Now: Kenya .  If anyone would like to make a final contribution before we close the fund (for this round, anyway), please do so this weekend or send me a private message and I'll hold it open longer.

THANK YOU, everyone, for your generous and very meaningful contributions.  I will keep you informed as things progress.

--Diane.