Hi everyone,

Please forgive me if you've seen this fundraising request already on one of
the WOSONOS chats or elsewhere, but I think this request is important to
ensure a diversity of voices, experiences, thoughts, and actions at
WOSONOS 2026.

OST practitioner and friend, Joel Otieno Otiang, who many of you met at
WOSONOS 2025 in Kenya, needs some help making his way to Eindhoven. Joel
was one of the chaperones who traveled with the children from Siriwo
(western Kenya) to Brackenhurst, along with their teacher, Irene Akello.

Joel is a board member at the childrens' school, St. Paul Siriwo Mixed-Day
Secondary School, as well as a member of the KOBAT Youth Development
Program Community Based Organization. St. Paul’s is the only school in the
Siriwo community.

Earlier this year, Joel, Irene, and the children all facilitated the
school’s first open space. Principal Coletta, parents, students, government
representatives, the assistant chief, and of course, many community members
attended. It helped everyone understand the real challenges the school
faces right now, and began a plan to address those challenges. Like any
other open space, there was a lot of discussion and deep listening.

The dedicated work the team in Siriwo is doing is immensely important to
the childrens' and the community’s future. Siriwo is a community of
subsistence farmers, desperately in need of resources. Most children can’t
afford to attend school, while others go hungry. The challenges may seem
insurmountable, but they aren’t, and the children have made it clear they
would like ALL of the children in their community to have an education.
Seeing them open space is a testament to how effective OST is in any
setting. They took the OST practices they learned at Brackenhurst and made
them work in their own community — right away.

Unfortunately, Joel may be the only person from Kenya in Eindhoven. I feel
strongly that we need some representation from Kenya at this year’s event.
Please help us get him there. Our original goal was to raise $1,700, and
we're getting close to it. So far, we've been able to fund the remainder of
Joel's registration for the conference, ground transportation to/from
Nairobi, train tickets from/to Amsterdam, room/hostel stays,
meals/incidentals, and an unanticipated visa fee.

The only thing left to fund is the rest of his airfare. If you're seeing
this request for the first time, or you've been meaning to send a donation
for a couple of weeks, there's still time. Your donation doesn't have to be
big. Every little bit counts.

Please use the DONATE button on the WOSONOS 2026 registration page
(www.wosonos26.com
http://www.wosonos26.com), and please indicate that your donation is for
Joel in the "Order Notes" field.

The knowledge, leadership, and connections he can bring back to Siriwo will
be significant. What a wonderful reason to practice generosity.

Thanks much,
Gaylin Gardette

206.930.0801 <(206)%20930-0801> *| gaylin.*gardette2@gmail.com
gardette2@gmail.com

FUN FACT: This will be Joel’s first time outside of East Africa. We look
forward to Irene and others joining us next year.

Gaylin,

Thanks for your support in helping Joel make it to WOSonOs. Not just with fundraising but also the logistics and on the ground support when he arrives in The Netherlands.

I’ve happily donated! It will be great to see Joel again. He’s doing such amazing work with Open Space and young people.

Peggy Holman 206-948-0432

Sent from my iPad

On Sep 8, 2026, at 9:49 PM, Gaylin Gardette via OSList <everyone@oslist.org> wrote:

Hi everyone,

Please forgive me if you've seen this fundraising request already on one of the WOSONOS chats or elsewhere, but I think this request is important to ensure a diversity of voices, experiences, thoughts, and actions at WOSONOS 2026.

OST practitioner and friend, Joel Otieno Otiang, who many of you met at WOSONOS 2025 in Kenya, needs some help making his way to Eindhoven. Joel was one of the chaperones who traveled with the children from Siriwo (western Kenya) to Brackenhurst, along with their teacher, Irene Akello.

Joel is a board member at the childrens' school, St. Paul Siriwo Mixed-Day Secondary School, as well as a member of the KOBAT Youth Development Program Community Based Organization. St. Paul’s is the only school in the Siriwo community.

Earlier this year, Joel, Irene, and the children all facilitated the school’s first open space. Principal Coletta, parents, students, government representatives, the assistant chief, and of course, many community members attended. It helped everyone understand the real challenges the school faces right now, and began a plan to address those challenges. Like any other open space, there was a lot of discussion and deep listening.

The dedicated work the team in Siriwo is doing is immensely important to the childrens' and the community’s future. Siriwo is a community of subsistence farmers, desperately in need of resources. Most children can’t afford to attend school, while others go hungry. The challenges may seem insurmountable, but they aren’t, and the children have made it clear they would like ALL of the children in their community to have an education. Seeing them open space is a testament to how effective OST is in any setting. They took the OST practices they learned at Brackenhurst and made them work in their own community — right away.

Unfortunately, Joel may be the only person from Kenya in Eindhoven. I feel strongly that we need some representation from Kenya at this year’s event. Please help us get him there. Our original goal was to raise $1,700, and we're getting close to it. So far, we've been able to fund the remainder of Joel's registration for the conference, ground transportation to/from Nairobi, train tickets from/to Amsterdam, room/hostel stays, meals/incidentals, and an unanticipated visa fee.

The only thing left to fund is the rest of his airfare. If you're seeing this request for the first time, or you've been meaning to send a donation for a couple of weeks, there's still time. Your donation doesn't have to be big. Every little bit counts.

Please use the DONATE button on the WOSONOS 2026 registration page (www.wosonos26.com), and please indicate that your donation is for Joel in the "Order Notes" field.

The knowledge, leadership, and connections he can bring back to Siriwo will be significant. What a wonderful reason to practice generosity.

Thanks much,

Gaylin Gardette

206.930.0801 | gaylin.gardette2@gmail.com

FUN FACT: This will be Joel’s first time outside of East Africa. We look forward to Irene and others joining us next year.

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