(Seguin) — Some students at Texas Lutheran University are looking to kick up some support for some orphans in need of your help. The Watoto Project at TLU is part of a learning module that helps students, faculty and community members to come together to organize and raise money to support orphans in Tanzania. The Watoto Project uses a kickball tournament here in Seguin, Texas to raise money that will then be used to buy goats for the children in that African nation. The goats serve multiple purposes for these children, and it’s one of the reasons why it has become such a popular fundraiser in Seguin.
Will Kennemer, a senior communications major, says serious cause, but they use a fun game, like kickball, to raise the money for these kids.
“Watoto means children in Swahili. What this does is, we raise money, we do this project for a couple of months, and we form this kickball tournament. We get things together to host this kickball tournament. The money that we raise from that goes to these orphans in Tanzania. What they use the money for, is to get goats. So they use these goats for many different things. They use them for the milk that they get from the goats. They use them for the meat that they get from the goats, and they also take the skin and they use it for clothing. So they have multiple needs (that are met) from these goats, and they take them and they use them so that they can live and survive,” said Kennemer.
The students have been hard at work, raising money on campus and throughout the community. Cailey Young, a junior social entrepreneurship major at TLU, says most people have been eager to help them raise funds for the goat project. She says there’s still time for people to sign up for the tournament or just to find another way to give.
(Recently), we as a group collected $100, at least, by just asking students to pitch in a dollar. I feel like that’s what the community really needs to recognize, is that there’s a direct impact. These kids are going to get what they need to live a happy normal life. You can do that by signing up for this kickball tournament, or you can create a donation jar at maybe an organization that you go to on the daily, or if you want to come by TLU’s cafe for some coffee and maybe drop a few coins in there — anything helps,” said Young.
Julio Navarro is a sophomore dramatic media major, and he says he drawn to the project when he first heard details about it. He says these are the kinds of things that he likes to do, and he hopes that others will join in and help raise money for this worthwhile cause.
“When I heard about this module, my first thought, my first instinct was — ‘I love serving and I love volunteering.’ That’s my calling. There’s no other way to put it. Within the church, I always do that. I volunteer any way possible. This project really is impactful, because you can know God’s love for the children and everything. You can give your heart to the children there,” said Navarro.
Kennemer says he knows the privileges that he current enjoys, and it’s one of the reasons why he felt compelled to give back in this way.
“Seeing this project and seek this available, I really wanted to come here and help, because I know that I have been given (a lot). I’ve had a lot of good things happen for me. I know that those orphans over there, they don’t have it so good. So knowing that we can do something to help them and make their lives better — we don’t know if we are ever going to see those orphans, but we know that we are making a big impact from whatever money we can raise. So knowing that I’m helping those kids survive and live good lives, it makes me feel really good,” said Kennemer.
The Watoto Project was started by Dr. Rodrick Shao, an associate professor at TLU. Dr. Shao grew up in Tanzania and he started this as a way to address the kids who were orphaned, due in large part to the AIDS crisis in the east African nation. Since that time, students, faculty members, churches and the community-at-large have all come together to support the project.
Morgan Klaser, director of the Jon and Sandra Moline Center for Servant Leadership at TLU, says they preach civic engagement all the time to students at the university. She says the Watoto Project certainly falls right in line with that message.
“We want our students, while they’re here at TLU, to have opportunities to connect with the greater community and learn about how they can use either their personal call in life — what they want to do with their careers — to make a difference in the world. So projects, like the Watoto Project, are just a great opportunity for students to engage with the community, and learn more about people, other than themselves and see how they can give back. After they finish at TLU and graduate and go on and to be active citizens, they are really able to practice those same community building skills out in there in the world,” said Klaser.
Those who would like to support the Watoto Project can sign up for the kickball tournament, or they can go online and give via the group’s gofundme.com page (https://www.gofundme.com/f/9zjrru-watoto-children). The group is also looking for volunteers who are willing to assist with the kickball tournament. Folks who would like to help can call the Center for Servant Leadership, or send an email to volunteer@tlu.edu.
The Watoto Kickball Tournament is slated to run from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday at the Seguin Softball 4-Plex on Nelda Street, next to the Guadalupe County Fairgrounds.