Our Story
The below was written 5 years ago. We have blossomed, grown, morphed into so much more since the beginning.
“Judi Davis founded and ran the Sunflower Kids School in Laramie, Wyoming. Nutrition, kindness, and quality time were core elements of what Judi infused into her program on a daily basis. She fed the children that attended her daycare with food from her organic garden, practiced yoga and baked bread with them. She read to them, fostered their creativity, and taught them patience. Judi was family to everyone.
Ready for her next life adventure, Judi left Laramie and climbed Kilamanjaro and then on to a Tanzanian day/care nursery school in the summer of 2013. It is here where she began a temporary volunteer position, sharing her gifts and her loving spirit with approximately 60 children on a daily basis.
Judi has made it part of her mission to make sure her kids are well nourished, but this has become particularly challenging, due to budgetary constraints. The school has enough funding to serve each child one meal per day, and in many cases, that is the only meal that child receives. And it shows. These children are suffering… skinny, with little energy, and lacking smiles on their faces. Judi’s goal is to be able to feed every child breakfast every day that she is there, and to set up a program so they will continue to be fed this important meal, long after her temporary assignment is over. These fundraising efforts are being done on a 100% volunteer basis, and every cent will be used to feed a child in need. Every penny matters, every child matters.”
“Judi Davis founded and ran the Sunflower Kids School in Laramie, Wyoming. Nutrition, kindness, and quality time were core elements of what Judi infused into her program on a daily basis. She fed the children that attended her daycare with food from her organic garden, practiced yoga and baked bread with them. She read to them, fostered their creativity, and taught them patience. Judi was family to everyone.
Ready for her next life adventure, Judi left Laramie and climbed Kilamanjaro and then on to a Tanzanian day/care nursery school in the summer of 2013. It is here where she began a temporary volunteer position, sharing her gifts and her loving spirit with approximately 60 children on a daily basis.
Judi has made it part of her mission to make sure her kids are well nourished, but this has become particularly challenging, due to budgetary constraints. The school has enough funding to serve each child one meal per day, and in many cases, that is the only meal that child receives. And it shows. These children are suffering… skinny, with little energy, and lacking smiles on their faces. Judi’s goal is to be able to feed every child breakfast every day that she is there, and to set up a program so they will continue to be fed this important meal, long after her temporary assignment is over. These fundraising efforts are being done on a 100% volunteer basis, and every cent will be used to feed a child in need. Every penny matters, every child matters.”
That was then (2013)....and this is now
Where are we now?
We are a registered nonprofit.
We provide close to 25,000 meals annually, employment for local folks, pay rent to landlord, provide emergency family support, and maintain sponsorships for +35 older students attending English Medium School!
Our concern is the immediate. We want to make sure that the hungry kids are not hungry. Breakfast was the first step. The next step was to introduce brown rice instead of white; a more expensive and nutritious alternative. We serve two nutritious meals each weekday. We discovered that many of the children did not have regular meals on the weekends. We began the weekend meal program—“proper meals” as Elizabeth says. They consist of rice, meat, beans, and vegetables. The children get as much as they can eat and no child is turned away. Currently, we are serving 30-70 kids each weekend and holiday. All of that cooking resulted in more work. The teachers and volunteers were spending a lot of time cooking and doing dishes when their time should be used educating children. Five years ago, we hired a “mama” to help out—now she has money to feed her children regularly and the teachers have more time to teach. Mama Yohana is been with us for over 5 years now...she is the solid back-bone of the operation.
Each month, we are providing salaries for 3 teachers, a head teacher, the founder/director, the cook, the guard, and a woman who is the lead person creating beautiful products to sell in our wee shop. All proceeds from the sales go to feed and educate our kids and pay rent. Salaries are paid only to Tanzanian staff. No one, in the USA, receives compensation.
Just as a matter of perspective and interest--teachers make about $150 USD each month....with that money, they are able to feed their own children, pay rent, and be a working/contributing member of their community--it’s a big deal, even though it doesn’t seem like much. That money trickles around the neighborhood.
Sunflower Kids partners with two incredible, brilliant women who created, oversee, and do all the “on the ground work” at Hill Crest Nursery School/Community Center. Elizabeth founded the school. She has vision and dreams to create a safe and supportive space for children in her community. Her vision is now a reality and she just keeps dreaming and making it better. Hilda is Elizabeth’s good friend and the head teacher. She is our bookkeeper and organizer. She makes things happen. Together, we make a great cross-cultural team.
Where are we now?
We are a registered nonprofit.
We provide close to 25,000 meals annually, employment for local folks, pay rent to landlord, provide emergency family support, and maintain sponsorships for +35 older students attending English Medium School!
Our concern is the immediate. We want to make sure that the hungry kids are not hungry. Breakfast was the first step. The next step was to introduce brown rice instead of white; a more expensive and nutritious alternative. We serve two nutritious meals each weekday. We discovered that many of the children did not have regular meals on the weekends. We began the weekend meal program—“proper meals” as Elizabeth says. They consist of rice, meat, beans, and vegetables. The children get as much as they can eat and no child is turned away. Currently, we are serving 30-70 kids each weekend and holiday. All of that cooking resulted in more work. The teachers and volunteers were spending a lot of time cooking and doing dishes when their time should be used educating children. Five years ago, we hired a “mama” to help out—now she has money to feed her children regularly and the teachers have more time to teach. Mama Yohana is been with us for over 5 years now...she is the solid back-bone of the operation.
Each month, we are providing salaries for 3 teachers, a head teacher, the founder/director, the cook, the guard, and a woman who is the lead person creating beautiful products to sell in our wee shop. All proceeds from the sales go to feed and educate our kids and pay rent. Salaries are paid only to Tanzanian staff. No one, in the USA, receives compensation.
Just as a matter of perspective and interest--teachers make about $150 USD each month....with that money, they are able to feed their own children, pay rent, and be a working/contributing member of their community--it’s a big deal, even though it doesn’t seem like much. That money trickles around the neighborhood.
Sunflower Kids partners with two incredible, brilliant women who created, oversee, and do all the “on the ground work” at Hill Crest Nursery School/Community Center. Elizabeth founded the school. She has vision and dreams to create a safe and supportive space for children in her community. Her vision is now a reality and she just keeps dreaming and making it better. Hilda is Elizabeth’s good friend and the head teacher. She is our bookkeeper and organizer. She makes things happen. Together, we make a great cross-cultural team.
What are sponsorships?
Sponsoring is a gift that makes a life-changing impact. It is a significant, long-term commitment that makes a huge difference in a child’s life… forever. It positively impacts the child’s current and future family. Our kids, who have sponsors, come from challenging situations. Some don’t have parents or a safe place to live, some have single mama’s who can barely scrape by, some have parents with substance abuse issues, and some have been hungry most of their lives. We sponsor children to both day and boarding school--it just depends on what is needed. If you have questions about how that works, please, get in touch!
Sponsoring is a gift that makes a life-changing impact. It is a significant, long-term commitment that makes a huge difference in a child’s life… forever. It positively impacts the child’s current and future family. Our kids, who have sponsors, come from challenging situations. Some don’t have parents or a safe place to live, some have single mama’s who can barely scrape by, some have parents with substance abuse issues, and some have been hungry most of their lives. We sponsor children to both day and boarding school--it just depends on what is needed. If you have questions about how that works, please, get in touch!