Moringa Community: History

Where we've come from and where we hope to go.

Please take just a second to study the picture header at the top of this page

Even having lived it, it is hard to believe that such a small un-endowed NGO has accomplished so much on so very little funds in such a relatively short time. All should understand that we only formed this NGO by incorporating in September 2008, and we dug our first foundation footer for the Moringa Community School of Trades (MCST) in January 2009. Through primarily only private donation, the spirit of volunteerism, and the full vesting of sweat equity by recipients of this remarkable outreach program, Moringa Community has raised a fully functioning trade school raised up out of thick (in country) African bush in just just three short years. Using only Mr. Jeffry’s Third World Machine Shop (originally run by generator) to construct our wooden brick molding box forms, and to saw the wood for door frames and roof rafters, no other machinery was used or available to do this work. Instead the work was done entirely by the villagers themselves, all volunteers, completely by hand labor. Village children gathered the stones for the aggregate for concrete one stone at a time. All our cement was hand mixed by hoe and trowel (no mechanical mixer). All excavation done completely by hand with pick and shovel. This wonderful and stunning outcome was done entirely by the heart and hand labor of man, woman, and even children in the interest of hope for a better and dignified quality of life for an extremely impoverished community, the depths of which few Americans have ever witnessed.

For the historians among you, our full history of where this project came from, where it originated, where we've been, and where we hope to be going by 2013, please click on the black and white photo below which will take you to an in-depth article published in the magazine Works and Conversations in 2010. Although we have made enormous progress since this article was written, it will give the reader an understanding of the spark that ignited the Moringa Project and from what our unique NGO has been wrought.

Jeffry Lohr, (that would be me in the middle) my wife Linda, and Abubakar Abdulai on the right, are what some have referred to as "The Three Person Peace Corp" a title, which has some merit.

Over the past two years I have traveled to Ghana in both 2010 and 2011 to help put the project onto the path of self sustainability. After clicking on photo at left and hopefully getting some background historical info about Moringa, please click on the various menu items on the upper left of this page which will take you to pages that describe key rites-of-passage and a few mile markers in this project. I apologize in advance if my links and info are not as well organized as they could be and for any holes in content. I do my best. It does need to be understood that none of us on the USA side of the Moringa Community organization are paid for this work so it gets done by working tirelessly in what ever off hours we can grab to keep the project on track. I so need help with running the web site as I struggle with keeping it up on top of my normal administrative duties, my roll as the primary fundraiser, publicist, and NGO manager so I do what I can as webmaster.

The True Uniqueness of Moringa as a Public Charity

Unlike so many other charitable efforts, Moringa is not nor has it ever planned to be a forever charitable project with an endless appetite for millions of dollars. Our goal from the outset was to put training and infrastructure in place to fight poverty through job creation, self employment opportunities, and create an environment where indigenous peoples are enabled to provide for themselves over time and not forever rely on the handouts from others. To that end "Moringa is not a handout organization" but rather "Moringa is leg-up organization". We have made enormous and remarkable progress in this direction but need despite our accomplishments, we desperately need your help to see us through to our goal of full self sustainability.

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