CHILDREN OF AFRICA: ONGOING FUNDRAISING EVENTS 2010

1. Donating calendars:

We are designing some wall-calendars with beautiful photos of Kenya and we are planning to give them to people at Christmas if they dinate 5 euros.

2. Photo exposition:

Laura Pujol is trying hard to organise a photo exposition with her beautiful photos taken in Kenya. We will provide with mor einformation about the near future.

3. 2nd Hand Market:

Near my birth village there is another small village, Castelló d'Empuries, where they have a 2nd hand market every Sunday. To obtain a space in the market from the government costs 10 euros per day. So we will pick a few boxes and fill them up with all kinds of items that we have at home and we don't use anymore (books, clothes, accessories, shoes, toys, etc). We will also prepare some nice posters and a small place with the book where we have all our projects written and set up a "solidarity stall" during one or two Sundays. And see how much money we can make.

4. Handmade jewellery:

5. Christmas cards:

Susana Monedero is making some Christmas cards to sell and fundraise. She will expose them on her blog where people can order as many as you want. http://regalosolidario.blogspot.com/

6. BIG solidarity concert:

And last but not least, the big challenge, I want to organise a big BIG solidarity concert maybe in May. The main idea is to bring a famous singer who would sing along with other minor singers or groups that we could convince to sing for us to fundraise. We will also have to ask the government about a public place for them to perform, but it cannot be an open area because then it's very difficult to fundraise and to sell tickets. As you can see we are sttuborn, and very dreamy hehhehehheee,, But nothing is impossible if we try. So up to now, I'm dreaming of bringing AKON to Barcelona! hehehhehehhe yes, yes, maybe next week I will hit my head on the floor after dreaming, and I will go down to a lower-category singer hehhehhe.... But dreams are for free, aren't they?? I already sent an email to a woman whose husband is supposed to know Akon's manager. But she has not replied yet. please if you have any contacts, or any ideas about this, let me know. It would be great that we could organise "The June's big Children of Africa Concert" for the children of kenya!!!!! hahahhahahaha....
Well, this is all the fundraising events we have up to now. You can include more and more, and more of course.... We will all cooperate to make them become true and useful!
In the end, it was not Akon, but we had a lot of fun with M'Bore and The City's Last Noise!

THE ESSENCE OF VOLUNTEERING

"Volunteering abroad is not an opportunity given to the rich and developed citizens of occidental countries in order to experience an extraoridinary adventure. In fact, I think it's unacceptable that we allow ourselves the luxury of dreaming about sensational experiences, while the people of the needy countries we want to visit can only allow themselves to dream of some piece of bread in their mouths.

A volunteer workcamp is not a selfish opportunity to satisfy our egos or our cravings for travelling; a volunteer workcamp is an opportunity that the volunteer himself provides in order to offer inconditional assistance and support, time, economic resources and efforts to the most needy ones; an opportunity to change a small, tiny piece of the world.

Therefore, a volunteer should never allow himself to become an extra burden for those he's trying to help. It would be simply nonsense. A volunteer must be a relief, water on top of fire, sugar on top of the bitterness that rules their lives, a streched hand, a balm for the open wounds, a whisper of peace...

Then, we cannot expect that a home, where we are planning to spend some time and where they already have problems enough to bring 50 children to school and provide them with food, water, clothes, etc., opens its doors for us only for love's sake, just becoming another mouth to feed. It is not the same being a volunteer in our own country or being a volunteer in a different continent in somebody else's home. Here, we can offer our time and efforts and later go back home where we are catered with everything. In Africa, to become an assistant requires something else.

When we arrive at an orphanage, we become part of it, another member, which means more food, more water, more electricity, more dirty clothes, more washing-up liquid, more bed covers, etc. It is clear that the romantic idea that Occidentals have of bringing our big love and tenderness to those people, of spending time by their side and exchanging our knowledge with them is highly praisable. But there is something that we should never forget: LOVE ON ITS OWN DOES NOT FEED CHILDREN.

I've been moving in and out of Kenya for almost four years now, living with those incredible peoples, and I swear that they really appreciate the time we spend with them, the moments we listen to their problems, the time we play with their children... But, no matter how strong you might me hugging them, if in that moment their stomachs are empty, and there is nothing to bring to their mouths, our big love will be vanished to ashes. And it is normal and understandable: human beings can only allow themselves the pleasure of loving and dreaming when the basic human needs are covered (drinking, eating and sleeping).

As a consequence, with my full belly, I allow myself a dream: to fill their bellies so that they can also dream. And among many others, the best ways to achieve such a dream are those where governments will never invest enough, building up strong and long-lasting infrastructures, with auto-sustainable projects which can bring them autonomy and better life standards and, ABOVE OF ALL, improving the whole institution of education by building up better schools, with better materials, improving teachers formation, and working on the basis of universal values and human rights.

Susanna

CHILDREN OF AFRICA

ONGOING FUNDRAISING EVENTS 2010

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