SUMMARY OF OUR WORK

In Zimbabwe, the focus is on programs that advance the health, education, and welfare of women and children.

In The Gambia HopeFirst Foundation is exploring rain water harvesting, reverse-engineered milling machines to ease the workload on girls and women, and educational projects to include distribution of teaching aids such as posters, microscopes, math and science tools.

In the United States, HopeFirst Foundation provides cultural exchange opportunities and instruction in marimba, mbira, song, and dance rooted in Zimbabwean musical styles.

In the work we do, we aim to enhance cultural competence and cross-cultural acceptance and understanding.

HISTORY

Zimbabwe is a country of rich musical traditions and extreme poverty. Over the past decade it has been ravaged by social turmoil, political unrest, disease, and economic ruin. Millions of children have been orphaned by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which at its height is estimated to have infected one in four adults. Village life panoramas reveal elderly grandparents tending to their dying adult children, while simultaneously looking after orphaned or soon-to-be-orphaned grandchildren.

HopeFirst Foundation came into existance out of a desire to create opportunities for hope where little exists. The belief is that one must first have hope in order to have the desire to accomplish anything, for, without hope, motivation does not exist.

HopeFirst Foundation began its nonprofit work in Zimbabwe, starting with The HopeFirst Backpack Project, which provided school supplies and nutritional supplements to students in a remote village school.

Rather than dwelling solely on the negative, the goal at HopeFirst Foundation is to celebrate the strengths of each country and to provide within each, opportunities that strengthen community. HopeFirst Foundation is a culmination of the desire to see the cultures of the United States and Zimbabwe come to a mutually sustainable sharing of the best each culture has to offer. For Zimbabwe, it is the joy of singing, dancing and celebrating a rich, vibrant musical heritage despite social and economic hardship - with the possibility that the power of music might transform even the most difficult of circumstances into opportunities for social change. For the United States, it is the indefatigable pioneering spirit and drive, as well as the abundance of resources that lend us the opportunity to make the most of our lives, regardless of the background into which we were born.

In 2008, HopeFirst Foundation expanded its reach to The Gambia. The underlying thread of projects in The Gambia is the education of girls and exploring ways to encourage that process.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Kimberly A. Foley, MSN, RN, President
Kim Foley has worked in educational technology for twenty years and is a licensed registered nurse and published author. Her work has garnered accolades from Scientific American, New Scientist, National Academy Press, National Science Teachers Association, and USA Today. She earned her Master of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Master of Science in Nursing as a family nurse practitioner with a specialization in public health. Her areas of interest are infectious disease (tuberculosis) and providing health services in the U.S. and Africa to those who cannot afford care.

Diana Chamrad, PhD, Treasurer
Diana Chamrad currently works at US Agency for International Development (USAID), Office of HIV/AIDS, Orphans and other Vulnerable Children. She has worked as a clinical psychologist in a rural community on Whidbey Island, Washington, for over fifteen years. She is also Adjunct Faculty at Antioch University Seattle with particular interests in international public health, the psychological effects on children functioning as heads-of-household, and the role of psychologists in international settings. Diana has been interested in Zimbabwean music and culture since 2000 when she was introduced to marimba and mbira music.

Janet Cahn, PhD, Secretary
Janet Cahn arrives with 20 years of academic and industry experience in speech and language technologies, and advanced user interface design.  She currently manages the Voice User Interface design team at Versay Solutions, and previously worked on multilingual solutions for automotive and cell phone applications.  Her research on expressive synthesized speech has been profiled in the printed media, including the New York Times and the MIT Technology Review, and has been incorporated into commercial prototypes of robots and animated characters. Dr. Cahn is a published author in academic and industrial publications, and a reviewer for journals and conferences in speech and language technology. She has been an invited speaker and panel member at academic and professional organizations internationally, and has consulted on Web and speech technology for the Lighthouse Project in Thailand. She holds a doctorate and masters degree in Media Arts and Sciences from the Media Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a bachelor's degree in computer science from Mills College.

ADVISORY BOARD
Molly Carney, PhD

FOUNDING MEMBERS
Kimberly A. Foley
Diana Chamrad
Paul Mataruse

SITE CREDITS

Photos: Photos courtesy of Jan Christensen and other contributors. Many thanks.
Web design: Persistent VISION.