food
water
shelter incorporated (fws) is a not-for-profit organisation: an Australian, non-denominational, non-governmental organisation that builds and runs eco-friendly children's villages with education, social, health and community facilities for children in developing countries.
Yes, but who are we, really?
Well, we're simply five Aussie women who want to make a difference. We're in our late 20s and 30s and all met in Tanzania, East Africa in 2003, while volunteering at different schools.
When our volunteering roles came to an end, we shed some tears, headed home to our various Aussie states and realised we still shared something in common. Each of us nursed an over whelming desire to somehow continue helping the many desperately poor but wonderfully hopeful children we’d left behind.
Easily fixed, said Rebecka (the organised and bossy one).
She then went about establishing the organisation fws. By the end of 2005, she had sorted it and rang Kelsey (the creative and kooky one), Anne and Edwina (the energetic and helpful ones) and Shona (the grounded and all-knowing one).
Rebecka said: "Come on girls, this is it. This is how we're going to help kids in developing countries. I've established this organisation, see,and it will build and run eco-friendly children's villages with fabulous 'early learning' programs that get kids ready for school...and life! We'll build and run these children's villages wherever they are needed".
Kelsey said:“That would be all over the developing world! But great,let's start with Africa – Tanzania namely – because we’re all familiar with it”.
Anne said:“I’m in. I reckon some of our current contacts in Africa could help us too. Think of the people we know in Africa who run schools and learning programs, who run children's villages, who work in hospitals and who run HIV-AIDS programs…”
Ed said:“And we’ve got some great contacts in Africa who know all about setting up eco-friendly projects – keeping cows for biogas, farming goats for milk, growing coffee beans to sell!”
Shona said: “Agreed, we’re in a prime position to make this happen. So let's go fundraise!"
And that's exactly what they've been doing…See our current projects.