Hello! Things are going really well here at Mama Maji! These past few weeks have been filled with grant proposal writing and media work. So far, I have learned how to find grants to apply for using a database as well as the administrative steps that follow before the application is ready to submit.
First, I learned that it’s important to complete a grant profile before deciding if it is worth applying for. Additionally, this profile helps while answering the questions by outlining the foundation’s priorities and funding history. Next, it’s important to go through the application and write the questions on a separate document. Because I’m applying on behalf of a lot of the Kenyan organizations, there have been a lot of questions that I can’t answer myself. For this reason, the separate document helps to mark up what questions I’ll need to ask the leaders in Kenya when we get to video chat. On that note, another insightful lesson I’ve learned is how valuable the rare moments are when we get to communicate face to face with our Kenyan counterparts. Due to connection restraints, video chats need to be planned days in advance. This is why it’s so important to have questions prepared prior to these conversations.
So far I have found and profiled two potential grants. I have also completed the questions for another grant. In between these projects, I have been working on creating “memes” for Mama Maji’s social media accounts and a montage video to showcase what I’ve been doing this summer. The video also seeks to encourage more students to volunteer at Mama Maji. I’ll attach some “memes” here! I am still trying to figure out if WordPress will let me upload the video, so keep an eye out for that! For now, I look forward to learning more about grant writing and media production for the next couple of weeks!! 
