Broken down in Tanzania, Morris and Radloff worry about the fate of One Sky Project, whose mission is to enrich African communities by connecting with local nonprofits and teaching its clients to fly.Mufindi Orphans
Mufindi Orphans is a nonprofit organization located in Tanzania that provides shelter, nutrition, education and medical care to children and families affected by the HIV/AIDS crisis. According to UNAIDS.org, as of 2014, between 550,000 and 1,800,000 Tanzanian children ages 0-17 have been orphaned due to the disease. Founded in 2005, Mufindi Orphans also does community outreach to help curtail the spread of HIV.For more information visit mufindiorphans.org.Ikhaya la Themba, which translates to “Home of Hope,” is an after-school program in Cape Town, South Africa. Many local schools in the area are overcrowded and understaffed. The mission of Ikhaya is to bolster children’s education. Subjects are re-taught, a hot meal is provided, and children are given a safe place to play with a jungle gym and soccer fields.For more information visit iklethemba.co.za.Amani ya Juu, which means “peace from above” in Swahili, was founded by Chattanooga native Becky Chinchen. With locations in Uganda, Kenya and Liberia, the organization was founded to teach marginalized women practical business skills such as design, stitching, management and bookkeeping. The women produce handbags, jewelry, stationary and more, handwriting their names onto each tag. Then, the goods are sold online or shipped to Amani’s Chattanooga storefront at 420 S. Willow St. As Morris explains, “We were able to take $10 and feed over 20 women. When someone buys a dress for $100, that will feed 20 of these women for a week and a half.”For more information visit amaniafrica.org.
Brian Morris and Marc Radloff spent most of March stranded in Tanzania, their broken-down Land Rover saddled with film equipment, parachutes and hang gliders. Fortunately, they were able to find a place to sleep for $7 a night.
Still, they were running out of money and were 1,300 kilometers from Uganda, which was supposed to be their next destination.
In Uganda, the plan was to connect with Amani ya Juu, a nonprofit fair trade organization that teaches African women to design and produce handcrafted goods. Proceeds for the products help support the women, many of whom have lost their families to war or disease.
Morris, a hang-gliding instructor, and Radloff, a paraglider pilot, had a less conventional approach to enriching the women’s lives: They planned to take them flying. This was but one component of One Sky Project, a yearlong African venture founded by Morris and Radloff.