Sijambo! Karibu Sana!
Hello! Welcome!
Maji Hope began in 2009 with a small group of people who wanted to do something to help others. When they learned that 80% of the illnesses in developing countries were caused by unclean drinking water and that a staggering 4000 children die everyday from lack of clean water, they decided to do something to change that. After becoming a 501c3 non profit, they began partnering with rural villages in Tanzania to create clean water projects. “Maji” (m-ah-j-ee) means water in Swahili, which is the main language in the areas they serve. The name is fitting because “water” brings “hope.” Click HERE or on the photo to see why we do what we do!
From childhood dreams to reality….
It all started when I was about ten years old, growing up in a small country town in Arkansas, I can remember dreaming of going to Africa. I would say that even back then, it was God who put a love in my heart for the people of Africa. For as long as I can remember, I would begin sentences with the words, “Someday when I go to Africa…”
During 6th grade, one of my church’s missionary families moved back to the United States after doing lifelong missionary work in Zambia. They brought back with them two children that they had adopted. The little girl, Vivian, became my best friend and we were inseparable for years. We spent our days riding bikes all over our small town, swimming in the public swimming pool, spending Sunday afternoons with each other, and being adventurous. Our love for each other crossed all language barriers. I always tried to imagine where she had come from and what her life was like in Africa. I credit her sweet friendship as one more way God imprinted “Africa” on my heart.
The next time I have a vivid memory of desiring to go to Africa, was in college. Some friends of mine were studying nursing and would use their summers to go serve in Uganda at a rural hospital. They would come back and tell me stories of what life was like there. My heart longed to go.
Fast forward to the summer of 2007, It was that summer that my dream finally became a reality when I was given the opportunity to go on a medical mission to Tanzania. While having a short lunch break one day, the doctors informed me that most of what they were seeing would not even be happening if the people had access to clean water.
After 3 years of prayer and research, finally the dream became a reality with the birth of Maji:Hope in the fall of 2009.
Lisa Brodie
www.majihope.org
(The rest of the “Vivian and Lisa” story: while LIsa was doing a Maji Hope presentation at a school one day, a young child asked if she and Vivian were still friends. That prompted Lisa to go home and search online to try and find Vivian and her brother. After a few days of searching, Lisa was able to find Vivian’s older sister and got Vivan’s phone number. The two reconnected over the phone and in the summer of 2020, Lisa was able to travel 10 hours to see Vivian in person. They remain close to this day and have dreams of going together to Vivian’s home country of Zambia to see the place that Lisa dreamed about years ago.)
Give now and make a difference: http://majihope.org/give/