Sept 2011: Quick news update available on The Project page

At Zandondo the weekly Go Go’s (Grandmothers) lunch club has continued with discussions including HIV/AIDS, family issues and child rearing.

To find out more please visit The Project page.

May 2011 – where we’re at

1. During 2010 the Swazi Children Trustees concentrated on getting charitable status, submitting grant applications to a range of charities and general fund raising. Through this process we discovered that the big funding agencies like Comic Relief aren’t keen on institutions (such as creating childrens homes) or capital projects (such as building childrens homes). Although we’d like to have made a lot more progress during 2010 we have learned many valuable lessons.

2. Our vision and aims haven’t changed in any way. We are still working towards the vision that the children will remain in their own community, will grow up being loved and secure and will not join the abandoned children on the streets, begging and worse, to live.

3. However, how we practically go about supporting the orphaned and vulnerable children in Swaziland has changed. We’ve had to think long and hard about how we can still make a direct & practical difference to those HIV/Aids orphans and as is ever the case it’s the ideas of people already involved directly that work the best. We have been extremely fortunate that an initiative with similar aims has already been developing in the Zandondo District in Swaziland. We are keen to support and build on this work as it grows organically responding to the needs and wishes of the people who will benefit from it most. Supporting and funding this work will be the Swazi children focus for 2011. To find out more about this work please visit the The Project page of our website.

4. The generous donation of land from the Chief at Emkhontweni still stands and while we wait to formalise this donation we will work with everyone to agree how best to use this land to support the Emkhontweni community affected by HIV/Aids. The work in Zandondo is an extremely valuable learning experience which can be transferred to Emkhontweni when we are ready to progress, and to other communities where the needs and opportunity to work together arises.

E-news June 2010: download our newsletter here.

Lucky numbers!  Fantastic news for the Emkhontweni Children's Home. We have received Charities Commission Status and our lucky numbers are:  1134746.

PROGRESS FOR Emkhontweni Children's Home 

Seriously underway! The application to the Charities Commission was submitted on Saturday 6th February 2010.

This marks a huge step forward as not only have we got a full fleet of signed up Trustees with all the i's dotted and t's crossed, but the Charities Commission registration will enable us to be a bona fide Charity with legal status. This means that people all over the world can trust us with their donations to build the family based children's home for these little ones to grow and be cared for in their own community.

NEWS ON THE CHALLENGES

A loud and clear reminder of the serious situation facing the Swazi population came with uptodate figures from USAID. With an estimated adult prevalence of 25.9 percent, based on recent data from the 2006–2007 Demographic and Health Survey, Swaziland has the world’s most severe HIV/AIDS epidemic. These figures pose a serious challenge to the country’s economic development. Further information on these latest figures is

available here: http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/global_health/aids/Countries/africa/swaziland.html

FUND RAISING September October 2009

GOOD NEWS!!

A lot has been happening, thanks to some very good people

On 29th August my neighbours put on a traditional English Tea in their garden. It cost about £70.00 to put on, and raised around £700.00! Thanks to very generous tea drinkers!

At that do was the Director of a local theatre company called Pepper’s Ghost. Rosemary Hill, as well as offering to be a Trustee, has offered Pepper’s Ghost as a supporter of Emkhontweni Children’s Home making donations from its productions.

www.peppersghost.uk.com

Go to their shows!!

Equally exciting, a glass re-cycling company based in Cornwall made an immediate donation of £2000.00 to help us reach the initial £5000.00 target for negotiation with the Charities Commission. On top of that the company will make a donation for every order received on its website. The idea for the company came from Swaziland and the husband and wife team who set it up – Glen Slade and Jo-Trail Thomson, have a special feeling for that country and the problems its children are facing.

www.greenglass.co.uk

Order your beautiful glassware from them!

We have another potential donor(s) in that another old friend from Africa days – from Botswana days – has been in discussion with me about a ‘substantial’ donation from him and his wife + another Quaker friend of theirs.

That is in progress at the moment but he has promised to furnish us with a letter of promise which we can use with the negotiations for charitable status with the Charities Commission, along with the promises of Green Glass and Peppers Ghost.

The UK-Swaziland Association have given us a donation of £500.00. It also gave us the raffle money from the recent Association lunch - £180.00.

We have held two car boot sales which raised £213.80

The daughter of a next door neighbour has offered to institute a ‘swear box’ in the building construction office/site where she works.

Another has offered the proceeds from a charity quiz night soon to be held.