DONATE TO OUR PANDEMIC RELIEF EFFORT FOR THE PEOPLE OF GUINEA BISSAU

COVID-19 UPDATE: Due to the pandemic, 60% to 70% of the people of Guinea Bissau are or will face starvation. Our current fundraiser at this time will be used to empower the Bam’faba Council to conduct the responsible business of the welfare of Balanta people and funds will also go to the relief effort on the ground led by Tadja Fomi (“Avoid Hunger”) the initiative of volunteer Guinean citizens who have joined together to collect food in order to contribute to reducing the difficulties that vulnerable Guinean families are facing at this time. Melissa Rodrigues who coordinates this “Campaign for Raising Food Goods” has been working with NGOs to map the areas of the most needy. But their efforts will not be enough. Their Facebook page is

You can read our Appeal for Emergency Food Aid For the People of Guinea Bissau  and forward it to your Congressional representative.

UPDATE #2: On Friday, April 24th, the Balanta B'urassa History and Genealogy Society in America raised its first $1,000 and made its first $500 Pandemic Food Relief transfer to the Tadja Formi Covid-19 organization which provided a balanced basket for 400 beneficiary families averaging 9 people per family for a total of 3,703 people served during their phase 1 activity from March 30 to April 11.

UPDATE #3 On Wednesday, May 6th, we transferred US$1,000 to the Bam’faba Council in Guinea Bissau.

UPDATE #4 Our food distribution on May 17th in the Balanta village of Tchokmon, in Guinea Bissau, was successful and was covered on Guinea Bissau TV. 750 kgs of rice, 15 buckets, 2 boxes of bleach and 2 boxes of soap were returned to 76 households in Tchokmon. Of which, 250 kg of rice and 05 buckets were sent to the community of Bairro Militar, a total of 35 households.

Update #5. Another $1,000 was sent to Bam’Faba Council in Guinea Bissau for distribution in three more communities in the Ingore sectore.

Update #6

June 3, the Balanta B’urassa History and Genealogy Society in America (BBHAGSIA) made it’s second food distribution in Guinea Bissau. 24 bags of rice (50 kg) were distributed in the Tande, Sintcham, and Samodje villages in the Ingore sector of the Cacheu Region in northern Guinea Bissau.

Update #7

On August 3, 2020 we submitted a Concept Paper for USAID Assistance Application requesting $115,900 for Phase 1 of an emergency distribution program in each of the country's 39 sectors.

Today, USAID rejected our modest request to help a million people in a country that the United Nations Development Programme ranks 174th out of 189 countries.

Meanwhile, USAID sent $15 million to Lebanon, including emergency food aid.

NO ONE IS GOING TO HELP US SO WE MUST HELP OURSELVES. Please ask all of your family and friends to donate to our campaign now.

READ THE DISTRIBUTION REPORT

PREVIOUS FUNDRAISERS

Currently, we have raised $4,500 in our first year of operations.

Fundraiser #1

“In 2021, I will be 50 years old and I want to break the world record in the 50 meter freestyle. I want to say that I am the fastest in the 50 at 50  ever in the history of humanity!

Can I do it? I think so. I am currently 4th on the FINA Masters Swimming Top 10 Times for the Men's 45-49 SCM 50 Free with a time of 23.58. I missed the world record by 0.29 seconds, but I did manage to break US Olympic Champion Matt Biondi's US Master Swimming National Record of 23.65. 

In the LCM 50 Free, I swam 24.63, which is the 11th fastest time ever in the event for the Men's 45 to 49 age group and the 5th fastest America. 

The world record for the SCM 50 to 54 age is group is held by Rowdy Gaines at 23.38 and the LCM record is held by Brent Barnes at 24.08. To break the world record, I will have to swim faster than I have ever swam before!

I'm ready to start my two year preparations and return to competition, but I am going to need money to travel around the world, train and compete. 

There are a lot more opportunities for professional swimming, and a lot of money is coming in to the sport, but none of it is for Masters swimming. There are few sponsorship, no travel stipends, and no prize money. To be a professional masters swimmer, perhaps the first ever, I am going to need support. 

On October 4th and 5th, the Heliopolis Sporting Club in Cairo, Egypt will be hosting the 1st International Swimming Masters Championships. Genetic testing and a lot of research shows that my paternal ancestors were among the original inhabitants of the city of Cairo, which was first called Iunu and later called "On" in the Bible and "Heliopolis" by the Greeks.

To kick off my "Fastest 50" campaign, I want to compete in the city of my ancestors as part of a spiritual pilgrimage to honor them and receive their help to start my campaign.”

RESULT OF THE CAMPAIGN

The $3,000 fundraising goal was reached and Siphiwe Baleka, President of the Balanta B’urassa History and Genealogy Society in America, traveled to Cairo and dominated the competition, winning 6 gold medals. The event turned into a massive public relations campaign for the Balanta people and made the BBHAGSIA President a hero in Guinea Bissau. It also created the opportunity for Siphiwe Baleka to represent Guinea Bissau in the upcoming Olympics in Tokyo.

Fundraiser #2

On January 8, 2020 Siphiwe Baleka, a founding members of the Balanta B'urassa Language Preservation Society in America (BBLPSIA) traveled to Guinea Bissau in West Africa to meet with the Balanta (B'rassa) people. 

The purpose of this campaign was to enable him to bring 100 Balanta - English Vocabulary Books to deliver to the Balanta children that live in isolated areas and do not have access to books in their own language. 

The cost of 100 books, which was produced and published by BBLPSIA, was $833. An additional $500 was requested to purchase a laptop for the BBLPSIA representative in Guinea Bissau and the remaining $167 was to cover miscellaneous expenses during the ten day trip.

The books, laptop and router all were delivered.