RichardAgler.com

december 2022

2022 has been an eventful year at TAGS. If you haven’t had a chance to keep up, read down this page for a few of the highlights. We thank and honor you for traveling with us and as we enter 2023, we will continue the Tali Fund’s mission of

Saving the World—One Life at a Time

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Education Update

The Kenyan school year has ended. And what a year it has been! The girls at TAGS completed four school terms—instead of the usual three—in order to make up lost time from COVID. Among other things, it meant that there were four tuition, room and board payments to make in order to keep the girls learning. Thank you to one and all who helped make it possible for the girls to continue their educations. There is no better path to a fulfilling life than this, we know.

Special congratulations to the eleven girls who have successfully completed the primary grades and are now moving up to “Form One” (the equivalent of freshman year in High School.) Onward and upward!

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The Building Fund

We are grateful to report that the Building Fund Campaign is nearing a successful conclusion. We have raised approximately 93% of the $500,000 USD we need to purchase the home outright. We expect to raise the remainder within the next few months. To be a part of it, and to dedicate a piece of the home in honor or in memory of a dear one, click here to see the opportunities. Thank you!

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Our work featured on the BBC!

Yes, that’s right—for the second time! See “What Happened to the Housegirls,” a followup three years after three young women were rescued, spent time at TAGS, and were helped along the next stage of their respective journeys. The original program was seen over five million times on YouTube—and countless more on BBC broadcasts. The new one has been seen over 180K times so far.

The program includes a lengthy interview with Edith Murogo, CDTD's CEO and TAGS' Founder, beginning just before the 19:00 mark. You can see Edith describe some of the vocational training that TAGS' girls receive through the CDTD.

Note that this is not necessarily representative of the paths that most of the girls from TAGS take--but it was one that could be safely publicized and broadcast.  

A spoiler alert (but not really). Much has gone well but not everything. We understand that this is the reality with all educational and charitable work. 

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Tags Education Committee—Nairobi Chapter

This is a group of friends and sponsors of the Shelter from Nairobi. Several members recently visited to offer both moral and material support to the "Talias." (Their name.) Here's a short video (0:28) to give you an example of the spirit they share with the girls.

Thank you once again—and we’ll look forward to seeing everyone in 2023!

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October 2022

Come with us on Safari!

If you haven’t heard, we’ve announced our Safari to Africa, August 13-22 in Kenya. Of course, TAGS is on the itinerary, along with the animals that are in this part of the world and few others. Further information is at this link. Check it out and let us know if you are interested. We’d be thrilled to have you join us!

A Visitor to TAGS

Our friend Linda Kaplan, Esq. visited TAGS this month. Linda shared with us that when she asked the girls about their dreams for the future, she was amazed at the ambition they showed. Given where they have come from, it is clear that it was instilled in them in their new surroundings. i.e., the Talia Agler Girls Shelter.

Thank you, Linda, for this wonderful message. We’ll be back with more soon!

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june 2022

Edith Murogo writes Op-Ed For The Nation—

Kenya’s largest newspaper.

Edith, the Founder and Director of CDTD–TAGS, had this op-ed published on June 16. In Kenya as in most countries, domestic workers are at the bottom of the power hierarchy. As such, they need to be protected from predatory employers—and worse. Edith’s success in this work moved Tali to sign on as her intern during her college semester abroad in 2006. As always, we remain honored to partner with her.

From our visit to Kenya in April:

The BIG NEWS is that two days before we arrived, the girls moved into the new, and we trust, PERMANENT HOME of the Talia Agler Girls Shelter. This would not have been possible without the support of EVERYONE who has contributed to the Tali Fund since its inception ten years ago. So, if you have participated in our effort to “Save the World—One Life at a Time”, know that your gifts have helped do just that!

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Here are a couple of pics of the new Shelter—which is still in the process of being fitted out. (You know what it’s like to move into a new house. Now imagine you’re doing it with fifty girls!)

The GREAT NEWS is that we have received a second major gift—of $125,000 USD!—and have now paid more than half of the balance needed to own the new Shelter building outright! (Mortgage rates in Kenya are between 12%–14% so don’t even think about it.) Please continue to be generous as we are looking to raise the remainder within the next sixteen months. Watch this space for more opportunities to participate soon.

During the visit, our “new best friend” from the Florida Keys, Erin Shattuck, with lead sponsorship from Pastor Marlin Simon’s Spirit and Truth Ministry in Islamorada, FL, put on a more than memorable program for the younger girls at Camp Rapids in Sagana, on Kenya’s Tana River. Included were activities dedicated to self-awareness, personal and spiritual growth and healing, water challenges, team building, journaling, art therapy, trust walks, and more. The photo below is just a sample. You can see a full report, including more pictures, here. (Dropbox account may be required. Write me if you can’t access and I’ll send you a full PDF.)

TAGS is becoming better known among the locals in Kenya. It has long been a go-to venue for the government’s very limited social service sector when it comes to referrals but a new group has taken the Shelter under its wing with the express intent of raising funds for the girls’ education.

On April 9th, 2022 (the 37th anniversary of Talia’s birth) Nairobi’s “TAGS Education Fund” held a fundraising walk in the Karura Forest. Over fifty people walked and raised over $2000 USD—enough to pay full university fees for three students in the new term!

During our visit, we were also able to speak about the work of the Shelter to a number of local citizens who are in position to be helpful. Several were impressed enough with the importance of the work to offer to help build support going forward. We’ll keep you posted as we expect to see these efforts develop in the months ahead. And thank you, to one and all, for journeying with us.

January 2022

Major Gift, Major Milestone, Major Project!

January 27, 2022 marks the tenth anniversary of Talia's passing. The Talia Agler Girls Shelter was founded during this same month. Over the past ten years, as we have continued on our journeys, miraculously, so has she. Her legacy continues to bless, and motivate, the "Talias" of TAGS and all those who support them. Here's a video with a little bit of the story.

An anonymous donor family who visited the Shelter in 2021 was deeply impressed by the work of Edith Murogo and her staff. When they asked Edith what she most needed next, her answer was a permanent home. (TAGS has operated out of leased quarters since its founding.) To the speechless delight of all concerned, they made a commitment for $130,000 USD.

This major gift is a call to secure TAGS' future. Edith and her staff have shown that they can reach, rescue, and rehabilitate so many girls who would have otherwise had no chance and reintegrate them into society. Now it is time to make the Shelter a permanent home.

The financial arithmetic is roughly as follows. Once again, the major gift is for $130,000. $500,000 is the purchase price for the hoped-for new facility—an existing home on half an acre that includes eleven bedrooms, three living rooms, and space for kitchens, recreation/playground, library/resource centre, childcare unit, and more. Edith tells us it is well-suited to serve as many as one hundred girls! Fit-out costs are estimated at approximately $100,000. And of course, an operating cushion would be nice. So we are looking to raise, in round numbers, $500,000 within the next twelve months.

That is a large number—for most of us, I would guess. So, two things. The first is that ALL contributions to the Talia Agler Girls Shelter Permanent Home Campaign, whatever the amount, are welcome and will be recognized on a permanent plaque to be prominently displayed at the new Shelter in Kenya. Everyone who contributes will also receive a suitable certificate of appreciation. We know that no one gives in order to receive these things, but it never hurts to remind ourselves that we have helped "Save the World, One Life at a Time."

Second, if anyone receiving this personally knows either a person, a family, a foundation, or an institution that is passionate about the scourges of human trafficking, female genital mutilation, domestic rape, and sexual slavery—or who believes in empowering girls through education, either in Africa or anywhere else, and has the capacity to make a major gift or would like to leave a priceless legacy, please let us know! Naming opportunities are of course available. We will follow up together and make the case for building a permanent home for TAGS.

Of course, our ongoing needs continue. So, through the Tali Fund, there are now two opportunities for support: TAGS EDUCATION and TAGS BUILDING. When donating through the online link, be sure to click on ADD NOTE and tell us which of the two projects you would like this contribution to support. On checks made to the Tali Fund, write either EDUCATION or BUILDING on the memo line. Every gift, of course, does an incalculable amount of good.

As always, we thank you for journeying with us. With abounding gratitude,

Richard and Mindy Agler
Co-Directors
The Tali Fund, Inc.