In 2004, our Girl Scout Troop 1576 was interested in doing more local and international community service. We were also interested in learning about other cultures.  One of our Girl Scouts has family in Nairobi, Kenya that was familiar with the Kibagare Good News Centre Orphanage (KGNC).  While on vacation in Nairobi, the Girl Scout met with the KGNC Director, Sr. Leah, and discussed how our troop could assist KGNC.  Our initial goal was to help by providing some basic necessities such as food and school supplies.  Our troop also wanted to learn more about the children at KGNC and, therefore, we established a pen pal relationship with some of the children.  As our relationship grew with KGNC, our mission also expanded to focus more on educational needs, specifically technology education.  We believe that by teaching basic technology skills including word processing, spreadsheet, database, electronic presentation, and web design/development,  the children of KGNC will have a better chance of breaking the cycle of poverty.  These skill sets will enable the children, as adults, to be more employable and increase their chances to continue and compete in higher education.

Our troop would like to sincerely thank the children and staff of KGNC for the privilege of working with them.  It is an honor and a wonderful learning experience for our troop and we look forward to a continued relationship with KGNC. We also sincerely thank all of the wonderful donors, which are listed below, for their kindness and generosity.

Ongoing Projects Include:

• Fundraising efforts through which we are able to provide food, school supplies, a scanner, computers, and educational software
• An ongoing intercultural exchange through a pen pal relationship
• The design and development of this KGNC website

Future Vision:

• The development of a technology education lab consisting of 50+ computers, educational software, and a training curriculum 

Donors:

• First United Methodist Church of Round Rock, Texas, USA
• The Esparza, Henry, Mayo, and Nogales families from St. William's Catholic Church of Round Rock, Texas, USA
• Gina Ford of Houston, Texas, USA
• Janie Mock of Round Rock, Texas, USA
• Liz Murphy and Quyen Pho of Austin, Texas, USA
• Todd and Maribel Allan of Austin, Texas, USA
• Craig Raiburn of Office Max in Round Rock, Texas, USA
• Don Gruca of Office Depot in Round Rock, Texas, USA
• Mr. and Mrs. Clark and Jackie Erskine of Austin Craters and Freighters in Austin, Texas, USA
• Steve Laukhuf and Lauri Zachry of the Round Rock Leader Newspaper in Round Rock, Texas, USA
• Our GS Troop would like to thank all our families and friends for their loving support in helping the children of KGNC.

If you would like more info and/or would like to donate to our KGNC projects, please contact:

Margarita Flores-Sicich

GS Troop Leader 1576

sicich@sbcglobal.net