Locals out to save village

It may be true that it takes a village to raise a child, but it only took eight local women to raise a village — to believe that by taking “one child, one village, one tribe” at a time, they could make a difference a continent away.

The Ndebele Art Project is a nonprofit Costa Mesa-based organization formed by those eight women to help and support the Ndebele people, who live in the Jabulani village in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

The Ndebele are tribal artisans whose livelihood depends on the large giraffe wood carvings they fashion out of hard African mucwa wood, using the simplest of tools in a village without electricity or running water.

Ravaged by AIDS, malaria and a declining tourist trade due to the 1,600% rise in inflation there, the Ndebele people are no longer able to carve, and the villagers are in danger of becoming extinct along with their craft.

And yet, the Ndebele are the happiest people the art project members have ever met.

Beginning with a simple newsletter detailing the needs of the villagers, the group was able to invite friends, family and the community to join them in their fight to improve conditions in Jabulani.

“We don’t want to just give them the food, clothing and money — we don’t want to enable them. We want to empower them,” Jennifer Kemper of Newport Beach said. “We want to teach them to take care of themselves. There’s not a single person there looking for a handout — they’re looking for a lift up.”

Through donations of money and supplies, the group — whose members are from Newport Beach, Corona del Mar, Long Beach and San Juan Capistrano — has funded a small preschool and provided limited medical treatment to the village’s people.

Now, the project has taken on its most daunting task to date — the Jabulani village needs water.

The project’s first fundraiser, Water is Life, will take place from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Sunday at Aire, 2937 Bristol St., Costa Mesa.

The Aire restaurant at the Camp is donating all profits that night to the village fund, and the Ndebele Art Project will use that money toward the purchase of a windmill and water tank that will supply water to the Jabulani village.

Aire became involved in the project after Mire Molnar, one of its employees, overheard the women describing their project over dinner one night and knew both she and the restaurant could help.

The Ndebele Art Project is a small group with big plans. Their mission is to “carve a brighter future” for a distant village close to their hearts, according to the group.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Ndebele Art Project Fundraiser

WHEN: 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., Sunday

WHERE: Aire, 2937 Bristol St., Costa Mesa

INFO: To make reservations, call (714) 751-7099 or go to www.aireglobal.com. For more information on the Ndebele Art Project, visit their website at www.napafrica.org.