Aid Africa

Southtowne was privileged to have Ken Goyer as a member; Ken was “service above self” personified. He lived extremely modestly and spent everything else on getting himself back to the people who needed him in Africa. When he knew he was dying, he wanted most to get back to Africa.

aid africaKen was never able to overlook needs, so he worked on many. While he was delivering bricks to make efficient stoves in resettlement camps (for people who had been chased out of their homes) in the north of Uganda, he found young women with very young babies about to die of MAD (malaria, anemia and diarrhea); he took the mothers and babies to a hospital on the way to his next resettlement camp. He said he could save a baby’s life for just the gas required to get mother and child to the hospital. Since people and kids were getting sick because of water, he drilled wells and then figured out it would be cheaper to fix existing wells. While he was trying to figure out how to efficiently build a factory to make the bricks needed for stoves, he started an orphanage.

People were cooking with wood, but wood was disappearing, so he planted trees for both wood and food. He never stopped helping. Southtowne now annually gives the Ken Goyer Humanitarian Service Award to an individual who has Ken’s passion for helping those in need.

When Ken died, Peter Keller, a long time supporter and friend of Ken’s, took the helm of Aid Africa. Peter’s mission is pretty much the same as Ken’s. Peter tours the U.S. to raise money and goes to Africa to help. They make their money go far; a tiny amount can have a huge impact.

 

Skills

Posted on

February 3, 2016