• We are looking for a company who wants to team up with us to design and/or construct the work box portion of the truck. This would involve meeting with the Vox team to lay out the design and spatial requirements.
• We also need all of the helpful gizmos that we will use to live and work out of this truck. There is an extensive list of items that needs to be researched further, donated, and sourced.
• Electrical design needs to be done. The plan includes power inverters, work lights, and various other electrical items that all need to work together. Starting with a good schematic and a sound plan will pay huge dividends in the way the truck functions over many years.
• International shipping of the truck is another immediate way to get involved. We need to coordinate a shipping container to take the truck from the US to the best destination in Africa.
• Mechanically, we are in need of people familiar with air systems and diesel engines to give the truck a good servicing to ensure that it is work ready.
• Since our goal is for many people to use and interact with this truck, we need to write a comprehensive operations manual that teams can follow while in the bush.

An entire village participates in the installation of a Community Well which usually ranges anywhere from 15 meters (50ft) to 20 meters (65ft) deep. Certified well technicians finish the job by assembling and adding the pump kits.

Community Well projects are often recommended by local leaders in this area because of the long-term ownership that is created during the process of installation. As a result, community wells often have a high sustainability rate.

There is a huge need for more community wells in this area of Mozambique. You can help bring sustainable, clean water to a village in Mozambique.

Mpho Putu, who gives oversight to the Education initiatives in Soweto, South Africa, has spent the week in West Michigan. His schedule has been non-stop, speaking to various groups, schools, churches, businesses and fundraisers.

Mpho and the Vox team worked together on outlining a new plan that will scale up our education efforts. Right now there are 39 college students in South Africa attending University on Vox scholarships. Mpho shared some really cool stories of how Vox scholarship recipients have graduated, secured paying jobs and are now providing for their families and giving back to the community in some capacity (which is part of the scholarship requirement).

We’re excited about the work that is getting done, however there is so much more we can do to help educate and empower the next generation of African young people.

Funding for this education initiative takes place through the Books+ program, which provides books, plus scholarships to students in Soweto, South Africa. Learn more

Mike and Stephanie Karas, owners of Salt and Pepper Grill and Pub in Holland, MI, and their staff are dedicated to providing great food, good times, and genuine hospitality for their customers. However, for those who know them there is yet another aspect that keeps them coming back. During its two and a half year existence, Salt and Pepper has generously given to many charities and organizations. Vox United is grateful to be one of them.

Salt and Pepper first partnered with Vox United in January 2012. With the help of their customers, Salt and Pepper raised their goal of $2,500 for what they called the “Eat[well]” campaign. This money was invested halfway around the world where it repaired a well in Nanga, Mozambique in November of the same year. It provided an estimated 1500 people with a source of safe, clean water. Salt and Pepper is proud of this accomplishment, and the certificate (including the GPS coordinates of the village benefited) is now hanging prominently on the wall of their waiting room as a thank you to all their customers who made the difference.

But they didn’t stop there; Salt and Pepper’s latest campaign is literally turning wine into water. The “Wine[well]” campaign which ran this past November, is aimed at impacting thousands more lives. How? The first thing that catches your ear as you enter Salt and Pepper is the pleasant sound of trickling water. Above the charming little water fountain, customers can read about the clean water mission in Africa and how they can help. During the month of November, wine connoisseurs among us may have been drawn in by a special selection of wine, which a percentage was donated for the cause. Then there are some of us who just plain wanted to give. Salt and Pepper made this incredibly easy. For every $5 given to the Wine[well] campaign S&P gave a certificate for $5.00 off the next visit. That makes giving $5.00 easy and painless.

Mike and Stephanie believe their customers want the satisfaction not only of a great meal and a full tummy, but of knowing that their money is going to a good cause. On a personal level, he is motivated by a simple rule, “To those whom much is given, much is required.” He lives by the idea that to invest your money well, you need to know the players (the people behind the organization).

Vox would like to thank Mike, Stephanie, and the Salt and Pepper team for caring about the needs of the world and doing something about it.

A second Unimog cab from Canada arrived at the Toy Barn in West Michigan last week. The guys cut out the floor, added temp braces and set markings for future welds. If you’ve ever watched shows like American Chopper or Monster Garage, then you get the picture. There’s lots of metal, lots of sparks, and lots of testosterone.

When finished, the Mog will boast a custom dual cab and have the capacity to transport 10 field workers at a time. We’re really excited about this project and look forward to bringing you regular updates on the build here at voxunited.org. Stay Tuned.

The teachers sent each of their students home with a Tootsie Roll Coin Bank, decorated with book stickers, to fill with coins every time the students read with their parents. The children also prayed for the children in South Africa as they put in their coins. At their class December Christmas parties the students brought in their collected coins, totaling $598.64!

A HUGE THANK YOU to the teachers, the students, and parents in these classes, and to Rose Park Christian! Your dedication to the students in Soweto, South Africa is seen and heard, every nickel and penny makes a difference!

Patrick Kelley and Eric Kruszewski donated not only their time and money but also their comfort, to go along on the hot, dusty, 14-day journey by land cruiser through the wilderness of Cabo del Gado province of Mozambique. They accompanied the Vox team in the successful rehabilitation of 34 wells, servicing over 50,000 people.Their mission? To capture the impact of water on the community of Mozambique.

In order to learn a bit more about the men behind the camera, we interviewed them a little over a month after their return.

Patrick Kelley, owner of Patrick Kelley Worldwide Photography in Minneapolis, MN, is no novice to the world of photography. He has a fine art photography degree and his works have been shown in The National Geographic Magazine and exhibits around the world. His photography often focuses on natural scenes, and are exceptional in their rich emotion and depth of color.

His self-described passion is storytelling. Having traveled to many countries, he focuses on creating a visual narrative of the places he sees through his camera lens. When he heard about Vox United and the water crisis in Africa, he decided that this was a story worth telling. Jumping all in, he invited his friend and fellow photographer, Eric Kruszewski, to accompany him on a trip with Vox United to the heart of the water story in Mozambique.

Eric Kruszewski has a degree in Mechanical Engineering and worked for 10 years with Bechtel in multiple locations. He was sent overseas in 2005 to be a senior engineer in Kazakhstan. It was here that he bought his first camera, simply to capture some of his memories abroad. Little did he know, this would spark a 180-degree life change. Asking himself what he was contributing and feeling stifled behind his office desk, he wrapped up his employment as an engineer and took up the camera. He traveled to India to shadow three artists for 18 days, and in 2011 he attended an Eddie Adams workshop in New York, after which he decided, in his own words, to “go all out for photography”.

Eric views photography as a form of storytelling which is pure, emotional, resonate, and spoken in a universal language to any viewer. He believes a picture has the ability to take you out of your world, and put you into some one else’s; to see through their eyes and have a front row seat to emotion.

These two motivated photographers partnered together to tell the story of lives deeply impacted by the availability of clean water. Their impressions? Eric said, “There were villages in the middle of the bush, with literally nothing around. Yet people live there with hardly anything. It really makes you ask yourself ‘What’s really important?’” He was particularly touched by the impact of a renewed well on the villagers’ spirits. He described their initially lethargic faces as being uplifted instantly, the renewed water bringing deep relief and hope to their faces.

Patrick was moved by the peoples’ resilience. He related that without access to a working well, they struggled daily. They were digging holes, some that were deeper than 10 ft in the dirt, to get water. Repairing the wells provided a giant step forward, even though the fix was sometimes so simple. When the water was flowing again, there was excitement in the air, and a shared sigh of relief.

With their photographs from the November trip, Patrick and Eric have compiled an exhibit entitled “Faces of Change” from which all print sales are donated to Vox United.

Patrick’s parting message to his viewers is simple, “The people are real, see them, share their story. We have so much information but sometimes we miss out on what’s really important and valuable.” He hopes his pictures will create a curiosity in people, inform the public, inspire participation in the solution, and open up our perceptions beyond our own lives to dire issues in the world that need to be addressed.

Eric relates a similar goal. He wants people to realize that there is a need and issues that need to be resolved. “There are efforts in place and great things are happening, but there is still a long road ahead…After you know, look at yourself and ask what can you do to help?”

See the “Faces of Change” abbreviated gallery