9 minute read
forever projects
Images Tara Lee Photography @taralee_photography; Bear Hunt Photography @bear_hunt_er; Sarah King @imthebluedo
When Mark and Anna Dombkins from Cordeaux Heights moved to Tanzania in 2010 with their two kids in tow and a dream to provide a home for children who didn't have one, they never imagined their story would become bigger than them. But it did… in brave and beautiful ways. The couple’s act of kindness and care was the catalyst for what would be Forever Projects – a not-for-profit foundation creating lasting change for families in Africa, backed by a community of generous and like-minded folk, simply giving ‘what’s in their hands’ to help in whatever ways they can.
“When our son Jackson was six months old, we were watching a doco about children being abandoned in China,” says Mark.“We were watching this and looking at our baby, who was warm, loved and fed, thinking, ‘This doesn’t sit right with us’.That was the first seed – Anna and I thought, ‘What can we do as family to help children who don’t have families?’”
That first seed sprouted into a years-long adoption journey. The couple started looking into options to help vulnerable children in Australia, but the notoriously complex process pushed them down the inter-country adoption path.
“At that time, we were wrestling with our own story. I was working as a Maths teacher at TIGS, and we were plodding along – but this desire to open up our family, and add a little spice to the story, had taken hold,” says Mark.“One day, we were walking at Belmore Basin and Anna just said, ‘What if we moved to Africa?’ It was the right question at the right time, and I immediately agreed.”
So that’s what they did.They had a heart for Africa, and Tanzania was picked as it was safe, they could work there – Mark as a teacher, and Anna as a school counsellor – and importantly, if they were to become a part of the adoption process, the Tanzanian laws aligned with Australia’s, meaning they could immigrate home with their children if it eventuated.
“The night we touched down to live for at least two years, it was pitch black. By then, we also had one-year-old Jemima, and Jackson was four, and for sure, we questioned our decision. You say yes to this story, but you don’t really know what you’re stepping into,” Mark remembers. “But it was amazing. There’s famine and war, yes, but there’s also a vibrant, rich culture and this indescribable atmosphere of hope. Life’s highs and lows are more accentuated. It’s an incredible place, and it grabbed us straightaway.”
The couple immediately started investigating adoption organisations who were aligned with their values and believed in family preservation at the core – where kids were only placed in care if all other solutions to keep families together had been exhausted. They found Forever Angels and felt completely in tune with their focus. It was from here where Mark and Anna adopted their three children, Shay, Charlie and Jabari, and the Forever Projects story really started to take shape.
After living and working in Tanzania for three years while the adoptions were finalised, the family of five returned home to the Illawarra in 2013 as a solid unit. But despite their story of hope, their eyes had been permanently prised opened to a heart-shattering truth: Tanzania is a country where 31 children can no longer be cared for by their family every day, and there are 3.1 million orphans living there. Where others may have, Anna and Mark refused to turn their back on this cruel reality.
“We learned that about 20 women die every day during childbirth. We saw their children being left behind without access to milk,” says Mark.“We also met a woman named Lucia who was unable to lactate so her baby, Adamu, was malnourished. Forever Angels Baby Home were able to intervene, providing nutrition for Adamu and setting Lucia up in a business as a seamstress. So instead of that malnourishment becoming an issue and separating a family, she had dignity because she could care for her son. Ultimately, it kept them together. When we got back, we really started to think about what we could do to help more families like this before problems became too big.”
Mark and Anna decided to get some friends together at Wollongong’s beloved Lee & Me, who generously hosted the event without charge, and plaster the walls with real stories and images of African families, with dreams of a better future. They hoped this exhibition would connect the loved ones in their lives to the stories of Tanzania, and invite them to give what they could, without any pressure. Those 60 friends raised $16,000 in one night! And 100 per cent of that money went to teams in the field.The next year, they ran the event again, and this time the stories that hung from the walls were those of families who had been so kindly touched by the donations made the previous year.
“There was a huge amount of trust because they’d seen our story unfold. Those early days really taught us about the powerful impact of storytelling,” says Mark.“And around those stories, a tribe began to form.”
They continued to run these events, which were gaining traction, and in turn providing support to the Forever Angels Baby Home. But Mark and Anna realised that to effect the change they hoped to see, they needed to connect with a community bigger than their family and friends. After enlisting the talent of graphic designer Ben Hawkins, who travelled to Tanzania with Mark to capture footage of the place Mark’s family held so dear, Forever Projects was officially launched in 2015 with a banquet and 280-square metre replica of a Tanzanian market in the middle of Yours & Owls festival.
“By bringing the sight, smells, sounds and stories of Tanzania to a different audience, we inspired a whole new group of people,” says Mark.“I’m forever grateful to the Yours & Owls boys, Adam, Bal and Ben, for gifting us that chance and trusting us to align with their brand and values.”
After the success of Yours & Owls and the growing interest in the narrative that was transpiring, Forever Projects set about implementing a business model that would support the team in Australia to keep supporting the team in Tanzania. They built a core community of 58 donors who fund 100 per cent of the foundation’s overheads in Australia, so 100 per cent of public donations go directly to the work on the ground in East Africa. With runway costs covered, this allowed the charity to do what they do best – telling the real stories of real families, both heart-breaking and hopeful, stories of change that grow from small acts of kindness, and inspiring the community to use what’s in their hands.
Austinmer local Andrew ' Wadey' Wade was one person touched by this narrative. In 2018, he set out to climb Sublime Point 20 times in a week. Doing this achieves the equivalent
elevation of Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. He did this to create a connection to the work of Forever Projects he was raising money for in Tanzania. The next year, Wadey was able to take his whole family to Tanzania. They could see where every single dollar of his supporters' generosity went. After seeing the life-changing impact firsthand, he had to do it again.This time he asked others to join him – 221 people did. Together, they climbed the equivalent of Mt Kilimanjaro 68 times, raising over $150,000!
Eden Brewery’s Jacob from Mittagong, offered what he could by brewing a beer where 100 per cent of profits went to work in Tanzania. Good Ale was born and has now energised a whole community of people to enter into the conversation.
“Bars, bottle shops and restaurants are being invited into a story where they use what they’re good at and passionate about to make a change in the world,” says Mark.
And therein lies the absolute power and magic of Forever Projects, where small gestures are just as worthy as big ones – five-year-old Penelope donated her pocket money, Brendan did a sponsored 10km swim, Todd busks in the mall. What’s in your hands?
“We believe that everyone in our community has something in their hands that they can use, whether it’s money, time or talent,” says Mark.“It might be $20 a month, it might be a community of runners getting together to do What’s Your Kilimanjaro? this October. We have the potential to strengthen community in the Illawarra by giving people the chance to do something that’s for the benefit of others together. I’d just encourage people to engage with our story and reach out.”
This simple yet powerful tactic has made a tremendous impact since the not-for-profit first launched. When Mark and Anna adopted from Forever Angels in 2010, there were 65 children living there, and now there are consistently less than 30. There was also a malnourishment ward in the hospital that was always full, and now it’s empty. Systemic change is taking place. Instead of it getting to a point where a woman in crisis turns up with a malnourished child and is forced to make a choice about potentially leaving her baby, intervention and assistance is offered early. Mothers now enrol in the project with the Forever Angels team and are given the opportunity to provide for their family with dignity. Forever Projects believes that when a family is self-sustaining they can control their future. It starts with the most immediate need – a malnourished newborn – but it continues to help women and their families thrive.
“Every Tuesday, 60-70 women come and do some training in nutrition, health, and business, with some travelling over three hours to get there, but the most heartening thing is that it’s become like a mothers' group,” Mark says. “The friendships formed between these women who have experienced extreme loneliness and despair, has been the most surprising, yet positive thing to come out of it.” Mark’s ultimate goal for the project is as brave and beautiful as his story. In trusting that the team on the ground has a vision of the future, his hope is that they can execute that vision with two eyes on the task, and not one eye on where the money's coming from.
“We realise that as well as running big events, having a consistent stream of money each month creates big change,” says Mark.“We are currently working on a subscription program, like Netflix or Stan, for $20 a month in exchange for storytelling. We’ve worked out if we can grow our subscriber base to 1000 by the end of 2021, we’d completely meet the current costs in the four adoption homes we work with as they stand.”
From one couple’s compassionate desire to help children less fortunate than their own, a community of change-makers has flourished – a tribe of energised people and inspired creatives, thoughtfully led by Mark, committed to connecting with families who are worlds away. “Using what’s in your hands can have a forever impact,” Mark says.
