Think about the last time you walked down the street and saw a nickel lying on the ground.  Did you pick it up?  Probably not.

Now imagine this.  That nickel could buy TWO school lunches in the African country of Gambia.  Crazy, right? But here’s the sad part: many of the villagers in the Tendaba village can’t even afford $0.02 a day to pay for school meals. I know, it’s hard to believe, but it’s true.

When Doug Hausladen, 27 visited  the Tendaba Village in 2009 as part of a trip with Dr. Buba Misawa of Washington and Jefferson College, he learned these facts and was completely taken aback.  He wanted to do something to change it, so upon returning to the US he decided to organize a community event in his hometown called the Run for Tendaba Village.

The run, which will take place in New Haven (CT) this September “aims to raise enough money to pay for school lunches for a year for the entire village's school-aged children,” said Hausladen. And if additional funds are raised, they’ll be used to buy new uniforms for the students.

“Dr. Misawa highlighted for me the simplicity of giving back to a community,” said Hausladen. “He donates countless hours to educate his students on the realities of the ground in the Gambia and post-colonial Western Africa. In a community such as Tendaba Village, a little bit of money and effort can go a long way...the cost of doing nothing is too great.”

To find out more information about the Run for Tendaba and how you can help, contact

Doug Hausladen

Run for Tendaba Village, The Gambia

203.676.8330

douglas.hausladen@aya.yale.edu

PO Box 206979

New Haven, CT 06520