Dear Friends,

Thank you for your interest in African Reflections Foundation. It is with the cooperation and support of people like you that we are making a difference in the lives of impoverished people in Eastern Africa. We are providing humanitarian assistance to communities to Villages in Mkuranga District, Tanzania where we are presently working. We are making changes in providing, water wells, education and healthcare, and most importantly, helping communities change their standard of living.

Inspiration

I am from the Seychelles Islands, 1,000 miles off the East African Coast and twenty years ago fate brought me to Tanzania where I now reside and hold a position as the Consul General of The Republic Seychelles. Having traveled across Africa, witnessing its breath-taking beauty as well as its misery, I was struck by the difficult living conditions of millions of people living in dire poverty. I began to ask, how could I help improve their lives?

I am blessed through my business in Tanzania for the past twenty years; I believe that blessing is to give back to the people around you. I am blessed to have an extended family in Mkuranga District where African Reflections Foundation has taken the task to help build communities, assist women in changing their lives by encouraging them in self development, contribute towards better educational environment by rehabilitating schools and provide school supplies. I was encouraged to work for this cause when I first met the women in Mkuranga to see how lives can change when you touch people who are eager to work when help comes their way.

How it all started.....

I was at a roadside market in Harare, Zimbabwe lined with countless craftsmen and I began negotiating for a magnificent statue and we were haggling at a price of around $200. I was about to walk away when the man said, “I need to buy food for my children. I have been sitting here for weeks waiting for one sale!” It hit me then and there that this was how I could help this talented craftsman – by bringing their work to the Western market place and paying the craftsman a fair price for their beautiful work.

African Reflections – A Fair Trade Company

we launched African Reflections in 2005 as a fair trade company designed to provide a viable income for African crafters. Since our launch, we have paid 28 (twenty-eight)groups of craftsmen a total of over $100,000 (one-hundred-thousand) dollars – in a region of the world where it is common to make less than a dollar per day. Now the craftsmen can count on a steady income from our business as well as support their families and build stronger communities.

African Reflections Foundation – Providing Clean Water and Better Schools

In addition to the company, we have also established African Reflections Foundation, a non-profit 501c3 organization receive proceeds from the African Reflections Corporation, as well as individual or corporate donations, to build wells and provide better educational environment by rehabilitating schools, provide schools supplies. We work and empower women to change their living conditions and those of their children.

We work collaboratively with other non-profit organizations, such as Freshwater Project, to carry out the charity work and help communities in Tanzania and Malawi develop a higher standard of living. In villages where people were previously dying of water borne disease, they now have clean water, thanks to contributions from African Reflections Foundation. With your participation we can help the people of Africa build a vibrant and prosperous future – whether you purchase a piece of beautiful hand-crafted artwork, or make a personal donation, you are directly benefiting the people of Africa. Your kindness makes a world of difference.

Asante Sana.
Maria Pool