Help Under The Baobab Tree Malawi Non Profit: Chapter 1

Welcome to Under The Baobab Tree’s blog. We are excited to share our story of the trials, tribulations, and successes of bringing a volunteer nonprofit organization, dedicated to help Malawi and the students struggling with abject poverty, with you. By offering our thoughts and continuously updating you on our process, we hope to better unify and harmonize our own efforts and build support of the global community through the sharing of ideas and the passion to create change. We look forward to embarking on this exciting adventure with you. Please visit our website for further information, to donate, or just to say hello at www.underthebaobabtree.org.

The Baobab Tree (A quick note about pronunciation: There are several different pronunciations of the word, “baobab.” The pronunciation that we have chosen sounds like “bow-bow.” Note that “bow” rhymes with “cow,” however you may choose whichever pronunciation you like best) contains within its branches a life of its own. Also known as “the Tree of Life,” these self-sufficient native trees dot the landscape of Malawi, Africa, maintaining their own sustainable ecosystems and providing shelter, food, and water for both humans and animals of the African savannah. The baobab tree is unique. Its full, plump trunk, shiny bark, and short, stubby limbs resemble roots pointing towards the sky when the tree has no leaves, lending to its nick-name “the upside down tree.” We like to keep this image of the “upside down tree” in our minds. It stands as a symbol and a message to the earth’s people that even the simplest beginnings, the roots of a sapling, have the capabilities to sustain not only themselves but also a thousand men, women, and children. Just as the baobab tree has exposed its roots, its origin of life, for Malawi to perpetually nourish and grow, we too would like to get back to our own roots and maybe even have some fun while we’re at it. Please visit us at www.underthebaobabtree.org to see what our charitable nonprofit organization is all about and how you can help us help Malawi.

The tale of Under The Baobab Tree reads like a book. It is an adventure story whose pages are rich and detailed yet only in the simplest and purest form. We hope that you will help us write the future pages of our book and continue the tradition of the “upside down tree,” a tree of everlasting life that isn’t afraid to show its true roots.

Sow a Seed and Watch It Grow:
An Introduction to Our Organization

Under the Baobab Tree, Inc. started small. Much like a tiny seedling, the vision of the children gathering under the baobab tree sprouted roots. These roots structured a foundation that has been growing and developing since 1997 when the Patel family decided to turn a vision into a reality. The Patel Family spent their summers on Namaso Bay in Lake Malawi, Africa. Don’t be discouraged if you have no luck trying to search for the bay on MSN Maps or Google Maps. You probably won’t find anything (we still can’t). The reason for the lack of publication on Namaso Bay is (not because it doesn’t exist, but rather) because it is a sub-bayMonkey Bay, which is well known (especially for its hippo sightings). After watching the village children of Malawi, Africa continually gather under the shade of the baobab tree to learn with such excitement and enthusiasm, the Patel Family volunteered their resources and time and built the Namaso Bay School. of Under The Baobab Tree, Inc., 501 (c) 3 a Nonprofit Organization, was created to help Malawi enhance the school and community of Namaso Bay. Though the foundation had been set long ago within the roots of the baobab tree and the onset of civilization in Malawi, construction of facilities soon went underway and the seeds were sewn.

Chapter 1

It wasn’t until November of 2007 that the roots took on a new form. During casual conversation after a meeting concerning business matters, Yo Yoshida, Lisa Bernard, Ric Robins, and Dr. Patel decided to take the project to a new level. After hearing about the Patel’s plan, Raj, Lisa, Yo and Ric decided that perhaps it was time to bring the message of Malawi’s struggle to the global community. The idea of setting up a volunteer program came into full swing before dinner could even be finished, and the roots of our project to help Malawi strengthened as awareness soon grew.

The 501 C 3 status for a NGO (non-government organization) was filed in January 2008 and what started as a small family project suddenly transformed into a joint collaboration from a much larger family of concerned citizens who had little in common except that they all wanted to help the children of Malawi. The Board of Directors attracted individuals from all walks of life and a myriad of varying professional fields. Members include: Dr. Patel who holds a Ph.D. from the University of the Pacific, Stockton, California and has lead numerous research projects as a consultant and manager within the pharmaceutical industry. Yo Yoshida, who has a multi-faceted array of experience in numerous industries, has assisted in the founding of Under The Baobab Tree and will continue to play a key role in the unfolding of our nonprofit organization. Lisa Bernard, an industry leader in the development of corporate strategic alliances, will serve as the backbone of our fundraising mission. Dr. Paul Batmanis, MD, an emergency room doctor in the Los Angeles area, will play a key role in the logistics behind the construction of the medical clinic for the students in Malawi. Donald Stern, an inventor with over forty granted patents and strong start up experience will help us with the implementation and production of contraptions for everyday use, such as water purifiers.

The dynamic group has worked together to approach the project at hand. The mission is to spread the idea of volunteerism and the vision of the “Tree of Life.” Yo Yoshida explains that part of the objective as grounded on the simple philosophy: “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.” (Chinese proverb) We are purposely not blindly buying the village materials and handing over resources shipped from Target and Best Buy. That sort of volunteering is not a long-term healing solution. It is merely a quick band-aid fix in our minds. Instead, “The idea is to supply them with the resources so that they can generate their own sustainable village,” says Yo. For example, instead of buying the students desks, the program will provide the resources, the tools, and the education to build desks. By implementing these principles, the people of Mallawi will have the capacity to reach a point of sustainability. We will act as one with the environment. Contraptions such as water purification systems will be installed with the help of Donald Stern. These systems will be unique in that they too have the ability to manage themselves, thus providing an outlet for the villagers to use and distribute purified water in order to alleviate risk of water contamination-related disease. Solar power and natural energy sources will be employed as much as possible as well. The process of sustainable development will teach the people of Malawi and help them to operate on their own terms, in union with the environment and Mother Nature. We believe that this will lead to a long term result as opposed to simply handing over exhaustible resources. It is our intent that food, water, shelter, and other everyday supplies will become readily available because the people of Malawi will be able to grow and produce on their own. With the establishment of cottage industries throughout Mallawi, we will help the people of the village learn how to start their own businesses so that they can spread the benefits and sell their produce to the surrounding villages. By operating on a “green” lifestyle of sustainability, Malawi has a chance to create an ecologically efficient environment to grow and learn.

*A note to our readers: This blog entry should actually date April 28, 2008 for actual time and date purposes.

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