African Childrens Haven’s goal is to help small, grassroots organizations help local kids lead healthy and productive lives. We invest in a variety of projects, but place special emphasis to education, especially for girls at risk. Our belief is that Africa’s future rests with its children and that projects developed and run by local communities will produce long-term results.

African Childrens Haven supports community-based projects that help African children, both rural and urban, without regard to tribe, religion or ethnicity. Our motto, “Africa’s Future is its Children”, guides all that we do.

Aids Orphans: In Western Kenya, an area with one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the world, we support children affected by the AIDS pandemic. Just $10 per week provides shelter, food, clothing, medical services and education for a child in need.

Homeless Kids: On the streets of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, we help finance programs for the city’s thousands of homeless children, children victimized by poverty, war, and HIV/AIDS. Each week volunteers scour the city providing food, entertainment, education and spiritual support. Just a few dollars per week helps a homeless child to participate.

Education: To the greatest extent possible, all of our projects focus on education. In addition, at many locations – as in Tanzania – we provide full scholarships for girls’ secondary education. It costs about $1500 to send a teenage girl to middle school or high school for a year. Eventually, we will provide scholarships so that the very best students can go on to university.

Agriculture: Africa is primarily rural and the majority of the children we support will eventually engage in some form of farming. Working through the Farmers of the Future program in Niger and similar projects in Malawi and Ethiopia, we finance initiatives that help youngsters become commercial farmers, helping them avoid the dilemma of traditional subsistence farming that condemns their families to lives of poverty.

Environment: The majority of our projects have a strong environmental component. This is especially true in the agricultural sector where farming and environment are closely linked. For example, in Malawi and Niger we help farmers plant trees that produce their own natural fertilizer. The trees stimulate crop production, stabilize the soil, and can be pruned back for firewood. The practice reduces pressure on nearby woodlands and forests and reduces drudgery for girls and women.

Gender: Lastly, African Childrens Haven, gives a high priority to projects that support girls and mothers. Africa is traditionally male dominated, but that’s changing as women rise to positions of influence and as women become empowered to support their families, enter the cash economy, and become community leaders.

Edward W Sulzberger is an international fund raising and public awareness consultant specializing in agricultural and environmental projects. A former Peace Corps Volunteer (Colombia 1972-74), Mr. Sulzberger worked extensively with public sector agencies and non-profits in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. His career has been closely associated with the World Bank’s Consultative Group on International Research. He continues to work and travel throughout Africa and is currently engaged in climate change projects involving smallholder farmers and pro bono projects for AIDS orphans in sub-Saharan Africa.

Michele Avery, Treasurer

Michele Avery is a surgical trauma and neo-natal nurse with a long-time interest in developing country child health issues. She holds a BSN from the University of Texas and is certified as a forensic investigator.

Virginia Boylan, Secretary

Attorney Virginia Boylan represents American Indian Tribes in the areas of gaming, tribal recognition and energy law. Before going into private practice, she served as Deputy Staff Director and Senior Counsel to the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. In addition to her activities with African Children’s Haven, she is a member of the Executive Committee of the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS) and is Chair of Agroforestry Council International

Linda Ercole-Musso, Chair

Linda Ercole-Musso is a teacher and artist with many years of experience working in early childhood education, both in the United States and abroad. She holds a Masters degree from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria’s premier teaching university. She currently mentors at-risk children in after school programs on Galveston Island, Texas.

Edward W. Sulzberger, Executive Director

Ethiopia, Gambia, Kenya, Malawi, Niger, Rwanda, Tanzania, United Republic of

4012 Pirates Beach
Galveston, TX 77554
Phone: (409) 737-1388
www.africanchildrenshaven.org
EIN: 30-0467989