I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do that something I can do.
Edward Everett Hale
Ordinary People, Extraordinary Dreams
Possible Dreams International, Inc believe in the power of ordinary people to create change in the lives of others who are oppressed by poverty, disease and hunger.
We know from first hand experience that it is possible to empower individuals and entire communities through positive action, careful planning and the practical application of considered, compassionate thinking.
Our projects range from large community based projects such as the building of large neighbourhood care points for orphaned children and the acquistion and provision of clean bore water for entire communities, to smaller family based projects such as the building of houses for the extremely impoverished or the delivering of food and clothing to the very sick or orphaned.
Listed on the next two pages are a few projects which our members have been involved in over the last several years (divided into community projects and family/individual based projects):
Four of our members, Ms. Jacquelyn Eisenberg (USA), Babe Elliot Matsenjwa (Swaziland) and Doctors Maithri Goonetilleke and Clifford Morrison (Australia) were involved in the fundraising and building of the Moyeni Neighbourhood care point. In Swaziland where 10 percent of the population are orphaned children, there is a paucity of orphanages and a deep need for carepoint structures which allow children a safe place for shelter, informal education and a meal a day cooked by women in the community.
Over the course of 6 months, 32 thousand Australian dollars, was raised which was used to help build the Moyeni NCP.
The photos below tell the story:
The Neigbourhood Care point now serves 120 preschool aged children orphaned to HIV in the Moyeni area of Swaziland.
Water for Mambane
The community of Mambane is one of the poorest in the Lebombo region of Swaziland, with some of the worst access to resources and healthcare in all of Southern Africa.
On a recent trip to Swaziland we discovered that over three thousand people in the community of Mambane were drinking profoundly unclean water from what was essentially a pool of mud. Women and children in Mambane wake in the early hours of the morning and travel long distances by foot (as far as 35 kilometres) to reach the ‘water source’ seen below:
In order to remedy this situation, our team organised the drilling of a bore hole in the Mambane region. Community members dug trenches in which the piping could be laid. We also purchased a ten thousand litre water tank and an electric pump and transformer so that there will be a sustainable source of clean water for the people of Mambane. Below are some pictures of the first clean water source the community of Mambane has seen:
