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Providing hope through relationships and using a holistic approach to community development, CTC is empowering our world.

Aware of poverty’s complexity and of this unique time in our world’s history with such great attention surrounding international aid, CTC is meeting the needs head on by addressing poverty at its source. Issues such as integrity, identity and our basic human need to belong and to have purpose are the fundamentals CTC is addressing to empower global citizens to fight for justice and freedom.

Beginning our journey in 2000 we are currently in our 11th year and hope that you will join us as we seek to work alongside communities empowering one another as we increasingly become aware that our well being lies in the service and love we give to one another.

Peace,

Zane Wilemon Executive Director

Kenya

Maai Mahiu

Holistic Approach

In congruence with the hand and our holistic approach, CTC is implementing a new methodology to combat the cycle of poverty. The entry point of this new cycle begins with the fundamental element of hope. Restoration of hope in individual lives provides people with a sense of identity. This restored identity, when channeled through communal efforts such as our economic, education, community, environment and health initiatives, brings empowerment and therefore transformation.

VisionOur logo serves as a template for our 5 initiatives: Education, Environment, Economy, Health and Community. Like the fingers on a hand, all 5 initiatives are interrelated, reminding us that what we do through one initiative directly impacts all other areas of the community. This is why CTC’s approach to community development is holistic, recognizing that we cannot address one area adequately without addressing all areas equally.

We are all human, all connected and all interdependent on one another.

2000 - We meet Jeremiah Kuria, the director of a local orphanage, and begin learning about the need in Maai Mahiu’s community.

2002 - After returning to the US and sharing stories with friends, we discuss the possibility of positive change in Kenya.

2003 - A team of nine travel to Kenya and begin our first project, the construction of the Maai Mahiu Polytechnic School.

2004-2007 - CTC’s holistic approach to community development is born after years of cultivating relationships and realizing the interconnectedness of the community’s needs.

2008 - (top) After working alongside the disabled community, CTC builds the only school for children with special needs in the area. (left) CTC hires a full time Kenyan staff and establishes headquarters in the community of Maai Mahiu. (right) Maai Mahiu Polytechnic School is recognized as the most improved trade school in the country.

2009 - (top) After receiving his master’s degree in the US, Jeremiah Kuria returns to Maai Mahiu as CTC’s Kenya Director; (center) CTC partners with Kansas State University and Paris’ Ecole Spéciale d’Architecture to develop a Community Center in Maai Mahiu; (bottom) CTC establishes its first US office in the community of Austin, TX.

2010 - (left) With the help of a generous grant, we launch our HIV/AIDS Clinic and Counseling Center; (right) The LIFE Bag is featured as the official gift bag for over 1,000 attendees at the Washington D.C. Summit Series.

2011 - (left two) Partnering with Well Aware, we will provide a water well for the CTC Community Center; (right) CTC’s Official Headquarters opens in Austin, TX, providing event and meeting space for local non-profits.

L.I.F.E. Line (Livelihood, Investment, Future, Environment) Handmade in Kenya by a special group of women called Malaika Mums, the L.I.F.E. Line provides the opportunity to earn an income for their families, support an education for their children, and create products that improve the environment.

Carry a piece of the L.I.F.E. story and you carry a family to a place they never thought possible.

Understanding the need for agricultural education, CTC started the Environmental Club. Operating at Ngeya Primary School, the most impoverished government school in the region, the meal students receive at school is often the only food they eat all day. The goal of the Environmental Club is to eventually supplement each student’s diet with healthy meal alternatives at school and to teach their families more sustainable farming methods at home.

With so many children having lost their parents to AIDS, many grandmothers in the community are now left to take care of their grandchildren. Cucu (sho-sho) Shamba is Swahili for “grandmother’s garden”, and CTC has educated these women on sustainable farming methods . The women manage the CTC Demonstration Garden, which serves as an educational tool to the community on the best practices such as drip irrigation, water harvesting methods, composting etc. Each harvest is used by these women to feed their families.

Realizing the intense struggle facing children with disabilities in Kenya, and their forced community exile, we created Malaika Kids, a school for children with special needs. Believed to be cursed, the Malaika Kids would never have had the opportunity to interact with other children or learn how to manage their disabilities. Since the program started, some have learned to walk, or how to write, or simply how to live in a positive healthy environment with other children. A few have even graduated, and currently attend public school.

Rafiki Link is a program facilitating direct communication with classrooms across the globe. The students engage in meaningful, curriculum-based interactions such as essay contests, art exchanges, and video talent shows. As a result of Rafiki Link, hundreds

of students in Kenya have learned to use a computer, email, and collaborate with fellow students around the world.

One of our first projects, Maai Mahiu Polytechnic School, was constructed in a local orphanage in 2003. Growing from two classrooms to six, the award winning technical school now teaches over 160 students (with over 600 graduates) courses such as tailoring, carpentry, leather works, cosmetology, computer skills and knitting.

Disability does not mean inability!

HIV is one of the greatest burdens facing the African continent today. In communities like Maai Mahiu, it is a devastating illness fracturing families and leaving thousands of children orphaned. In a partnership with Kijabe Hospital, CTC’s HIV Program is mobilizing communities living with HIV through education, medical attention and income generating activities. By addressing HIV in a holistic fashion we are building a sustainable infrastructure for these communities to thrive and live abundant lives.

Most health problems are preventable with a basic understanding of nutrition and personal hygiene.

Ubuntu Day is a community wide “clean up” day every month, to combat the overwhelming environmental and sanitation issues in Maai Mahiu. We partner with local schools, churches, NGO’s and the local government - recycling, disposing of trash, and planting trees to beautify the community.

So many needs in developing countries exist because of the lack of infrastructure. Our vision for a Community Center is to provide local residents with opportunity, but also a physical structure that inspires them to see beyond poverty and into the fullness of their potential.

After realizing the lack of activities for our young residents, CTC saw the opportunity to start a Youth Club. Participants gather together each day, improving their talents, learning life skills and supporting one another to reach their fullest potential. These daily gatherings give students the opportunity to discuss the grueling issues facing their community and discover ways to positively support one another.

We are committed to bring willing and hopeful volunteers to help us continue the cycle of change in Kenya as well as providing internships and other volunteer opportunities here in the States. Over 300 volunteers have traveled with us to Kenya. From students, to accountants, to soccer coaches, to grandmothers; people from all walks of life have made a difference in the community of Maai Mahiu. And so can You! Please visit our website www.ctcinternational.org to get involved, or email questions to info@ctcinternational.org Become AWARE, get INVOLVED, create the CHANGE.

1102 East Cesar Chavez Street, Austin, TX 78702 T (512) 769 - 4127 www.ctcinternational.org

describes the interconnectedness of all humanity. I am because we are. When our brothers and sisters are struggling - enduring oppression, disease, and hunger - so are we. When our brothers and sisters are given opportunities to thrive and live abundant lives, so are we.

CTC believes in the interdependence of

all human beings; that we are tied together by a

network of mutuality. We are a global community affected by the

lives and actions of one another.