Impact A Village
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"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." ― Anatole France Suzy English, along with being a life-long animal lover and hair stylist extraordinaire, was a close friend of Kelly’s and remains close to the KABF board. She first learned about the Thai Elephant Conservation Center (TECC) from world-famous cellist Jami Sieber, and after learning more, Suzy knew she needed to be with these magical creatures.
As Jami explains on her website, she was first invited to TECC to play music “for and with” the Elephant Orchestra in 2001. Jami describes the experience of witnessing the elephants enter into the world of sound and music as “life-changing.” As she played her electric cello in an open field, she was amazed to see the elephants experience the music, swaying their massive bodies, heads nodding in perfect rhythm, their trunks lifting and lowering. They even added their own vocalizations. You can watch the elephants with Jami by clicking on this video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duSgIcEqUzQ
Inspired by this amazing experience, Suzy has since traveled to Thailand multiple times to volunteer with the elephants and their caretakers, known as the Mahouts. Wanting to continue her support even when she couldn’t be there in person, Suzy reached out to the KABF board and educated us on Impact A Village. Impact A Village’s mission is to “support projects that improve education and healthcare in at-risk communities around the world. Impact A Village supports both indigenous teachings and modern education to improve spiritual, mental and physical well-being of communities.” An integral part of how they make these projects successful is their use of “cultural ambassadors.” Each volunteer ambassador is passionate and knowledgeable about the village they work with. |
Their role is to collaborate with their community to help complete projects with funding and guidance from Impact A Village. Current projects are located in Thailand, South Sudan, Kenya, Ecuador, Peru, and Cambodia. In 2020, they also donated $10,000 to “Feeding Good,” which supports local food programs during the Covid pandemic.
In Thailand, Impact A Village’s focus is on helping the children of the Mahouts get to and from school. Through the Mahout Village Project, they provide transportation for 50 village children to safely and reliably get to the local government school. Many of the parents of these children had to stop school after the 6th grade. By funding the transportation to and from school, it reduces the financial burden on the families and helps ensure children can continue their education. KABF is grateful to Suzy for her love of animals and for bringing the wonderful work of Impact A Village to our attention. We are thrilled to give this grant in her honor, for which she wrote us a heart-felt thank you note: Dear Kelly Ann Brown Foundation: Thank you so much for the very generous donation to the Mahout Village Project. I am so grateful! When I saw the letter and how it was in my honor it brought me to tears and does everytime I read it...which is often. I am so happy for the children and their Mahout families. I believe deeply that education is the key out of poverty and a chance at a life with more avenues for success in whatever form that takes. Maybe one day we can all go...wouldn't that be fun! All my love, Suzy To learn more about Impact A Village and the wonderful work they do around the world, visit their website. |