If you are passionate about bringing HOPE to the future of rural communities and folks in Africa, join us for a special mass followed by Reception and Dinner as we recognize the legacy of Lalmba’s Founders, Volunteers, and East African Directors who have been bringing hope to the people of East Africa for 60 years, and launch into a brighter future.* There are a limited number of Reception tickets available for Purchase online at:
https://lalmba-bloom.kindful.com/e/lalmbas-60th-anniversary-party
Details:
1:00 PM Catholic Mass at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church 969 Ulysses St. Golden, Co 80401
2:30 PM Reception and Dinner at Table Mountain Meetings and Events 16035 Table Mountain Parkway Golden, Co 80401
Guests will Enjoy a welcome cocktail, dinner reception with Ethiopian and American food, cash bar, silent auction, and dessert.
Contact information:
call 720-260-6785, email: Lalmba@lalmba.org, or write to: P.O. Box 2516, Monument Co 80132
Here’s how our long and beautiful story started…
In the early 1960s the founders, Deacon Hugh and Marty Downey, moved from the United States to Keren, Eritrea where they started a journey that turned into a life-time commitment of spreading HOPE through concrete humanitarian aid, medical services, education, and empowerment. All this started by one act of kindness when a young man, Hugh Downey, offered to teach villagers how to build a sturdy school outside of Keren, Eritrea in September 1963.
Details in their book “On Hearts Edge” https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29242005-on-heart-s-edge
The founders, Deacon Hugh and Marty Downey are a lovely couple in their 80s, who currently live in Westminster although their hearts are often in Africa. They love sharing stories about their children, many of whom are grown and successful adults! They also love envisioning a brighter future for Africa and emphasize it is only possible when we are dedicated to empowerment.
As Lalmba’s new president, I love spending quality time with them so that Lalmba can build on their legacy while launching into a brighter future. We’re committed to empowering folks, caring for children, and providing basic medical care so that we become more than a place of HOPE, we aim to become a people of HOPE who ignite a brighter future!
Their courage inspired hundreds of Lalmba volunteers, Africans, and thousands of donors to join them in caring for orphans, desperately poor refugees displaced by conflict, and providing medical care in many East African communities.
Through these 6 decades, Lalmba has grown into an organization with multiple clinical operations, public health outreach programs, community-based care for vulnerable children, and much more in Kenya and Ethiopia. Thousands of orphans became RCAR children, and many of them have grown into successful adults who are breaking the cycle of poverty. We are not only meeting immediate needs, we are committed to bringing sustainable change to rural communities. Our mission is to empower people in Africa to provide their own people with high quality basic health care, effective public health initiatives, elder care, micro-finance, and support for vulnerable children to ensure that they have the ability to go to school. We have a special love for children who we see –not as a burden—but as a part of a brilliant future for Africa.
Our commitment to spend individual donations on programs:
Lalmba has no big office in the US – in fact, we work from home to keep costs down. That commitment to keeping finances focused on the programs in Kenya and Ethiopia is one of the reasons we have been lovingly called “the world’s smallest relief agency” with a HUGE impact! That’s right, in the 80s and 90s Lalmba was recognized for touching a MILLION lives during the Great African Famine.
Each year, Lalmba’s clinics and vulnerable children’s programs in Kenya and Ethiopia continue to save patients’ lives and provide essential medical, food, and educational assistance to thousands.
Our name is synonymous to many as “A place of hope” because we believe in being a people of HOPE. Please join us in celebrating this beautiful legacy of “Bringing hope to the people of East Africa for 60 years.”
