Out of AfriKids
June 2010
AfriKids is a Child Rights Organisation working to improve life for Ghana’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged children in a holistic, inclusive and sustainable manner
Mary with her youngest sister, Gifty
AfriKids made an urgent appeal on behalf of Mary and her sisters a couple of months ago. Their story was an extraordinary one of misfortune and hardship. We can now report on happy times of the family thanks to the generosity of a handful of our supporters. Mary has got her smile back standing in front of her new door (below) and sharing the smile with her sister under their newly woven outdoor roof (above)
AfriKids made an urgent appeal just two months ago after Mary and her three sisters were introduced to AfriKids Ghana. Mary’s father had sadly passed away and, as the only breadwinner, had consequently left Mary and her remaining family in dire poverty. Mary carried on with education for as long as the family could manage but inevitably had to drop out and start work. Her sisters did the same. Sadly, the situation deteriorated further with Mary being physically beaten and sexually exploited by those she worked for and her younger sister, Emannuella, migrated south to Kumasi in the hope of finding work. She fell into a very similar trap but luckily managed to make it back up north to Bolgatanga. The three sisters were then begging on the streets for survival. This is when AfriKids Ghana learned of their plight. AfriKids Ghana put together an emergency budget of just £2,900, which was all it would take to set the family’s fortunes on a steadier track. This budget included food for the family, microfinance support for Mary’s mother, education for all the girls, essential house renovation works and household items. Within two weeks of hearing of Mary’s situation, this money was raised immediately by the ‘Big Dreams Trek’ group climbing Mt Kilimanjaro this December (see page three). Mary and her family still have a long way to go but are taking the first steps towards a much better situation thanks to the prompt and generous help of AfriKids supporters here in the UK. They will continue to be monitored by AfriKids and have so much to look forward to. Thank you.
Operation Mango Tree: Mama Laadi’s Foster Home
Operation Bolgatanga: Next Generation Home
Half of our UK team has just got back from a trip to Ghana. They visited people from all of our projects and here are just a handful of up-to-date photos from the partner projects.
Operation Zuarungu: Zuarungu Children’s Centre School
Big Dreams Trek Andy Thornton, Director of AfriKids, and a team of 20 take on Mount Kilimanjaro in aid of AfriKids Dan Salmons summarises his aims for the trek on his fundraising page on JustGiving: In December 2010, I will be leading a team of 20 in climbing Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. At 5892m, Kilimanjaro is one of the highest peaks in the world, and a significant physical and mental challenge. We’ve called it the “Big Dreams Trek”. Our objective is to raise over £50,000 for AfriKids. AfriKids are and extraordinary, entrepreneurial charity that supports sustainable, commercially viable projects in rural northern Ghana, helping people there to change their lives, and those of their families and communities. I’ve found their work and their approach truly inspiring and hope you do too. If you are inspired to contribute, you can be assured that every penny you give will go immediately into AfriKids’ award-winning projects, led by a local team who have the insight and experience to really make it count “on the ground”.
A brave team of 20 have come together to take on Mount Kilimanjaro in December this year. Our very own Director, Andy Thornton along with committed supporter and leader of Climbing Kilimanjaro is a big dream for me, and more importhe pack, Dan Salmons are all set for the climb. They will be tantly, the money we raise will enable a lot of young people to embarking on this well known trek in a bid to raise a staggerhave big dreams too. ing £50,000 for AfriKids. So far they have raised a highly impressive £10,000 which has already been put to use. As seen on page one, Mary’s life has been radically changed. She now has a future to be excited about, thanks to the Big Dreams Trek group and their fundraising.
Andy Thornton, Director of AfriKids, tells Mary all about the climb and the challenge that has changed her life (above)
Dan Salmons, on a recent expedition with sellotaped walking boots— hopefully he’ll have a new pair in time for Mt Kilimanjaro! (above)
Andy Thornton has taken on numerous fundraising challenges to date for AfriKids. This is his latest trial and we know he will If you would like to sponsor Andy and the Big Dreams Trek team, please go to Andy’s JustGiving page. do his very best, pushing himself to the limit. Www.justgiving.com/Andy-Thornton
Out of AfriKids inside stories Nich Kumah, Director of AfriKids Ghana, comes to the UK Partnership Launch Nich Kumah, Director of AfriKids Ghana, visited the UK to attend the official launch of the Afrikids / Southampton University Hospital NHS Trust (SUHT) / Ghana Health Service (GHS) partnership for health. The signing of the tripartite agreement on Monday 27th May represents a significant step in the improvement of the healthcare in the Upper East Region, with the development of healthcare provision at the forefront of the partnership. The GHS has coined the strap line No woman should die giving life and Dr Ollie Ross, chair of the Southampton-AfriKids-Ghana Steering Group said, This Partnership will enable us to support hard-pressed healthcare workers, providing hospital care to the people of the UER in Ghana and we are all very excited about the possibilities that lay ahead. Nich made a powerful presentation, along with other speakers, discussing the mutual benefits of health partnerships and progress made in Ghana so far.
The AfriKids / Deutsche Bank ‘Living With’ Challenge Amongst Nich’s full schedule, he squeezed in a visit to Deutsche Bank to give a presentation on the ‘Living With’ challenge taking place in October this year. Staff members from Deutsche Bank will embark on the greatest challenge of their life; flying over to Ghana to live the life of local people in Bolgatanga. They will live with teachers, market workers and farmers, learning what life entails and seeing how hard people work to survive. They will work the trade during the day, then go home to help with the cooking, cleaning the compound and with the preparations for the following day’s work. A true challenge worthy of plenty of sponsorship! An extract from the presentation: Walking miles to work through searing heat at dusk and dawn, carrying loads, from water to charcoal to sheanuts, doing physical labour through the day, sleeping in a remote compound in a specialist tent and of course being thrashed by some of the best young sportsmen in the world!... You’ll be far from family, living in basic conditions outside of your comfort zone. You’ll see first hand, what it really means to live below the poverty line and how much work needs to be done just to keep the family alive. There were plenty of questions for Nich to answer and this project is set to be very successful—we will keep you posted!
We’ll do it better when we work together — Child Protectors AfriKids Ghana regularly holds stakeholders workshops on child rights issues. As part of a Comic Relief funded evaluation, they recently hosted a workshop in Bolgatanga, northern Ghana, aimed at evaluating and assessing the impact of the activities AfriKids has undertaken since 2005. Nich Kumah spoke of the success AfriKids has had in withdrawing children from the mining sector, the work done to combat child migration to southern Ghana (children travel south to find work but are often exploited and then unable return home) and the rescues of ‘spirit children’ (the belief that some children were not meant for this world, thus making them vulnerable to abuse and abandonment) . The workshop was featured in the regional news of Ghanaweb, a website of Ghana-based news, information and entertainment. Stakeholders at a day’s workshop observed that the best way to deal with child migration, child labour and child abuse in the Region was through a multi-sectoral approach… It attracted stakeholders from the Ghana Education Service, Ghana Health Service, Dept of Social Welfare, the Security Agencies and other NGOs working in the interest of children’s rights in the Region… [they all] called for a child rights network organization to tackle this issue head on. This is incredible work done by AfriKids Ghana, with well deserved recognition and involvement. The full article can be read here.
Fundraising You are all invited to...
Dust off those football boots, get a team together and come along to compete for the winning title, then reward yourself with beer and a BBQ! Contact: joannastewart@afrikids.org
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HELP! If you are able to source or donate any prizes for our pub quiz raffle, we would be truly grateful! Contact: joannastewart@afrikids.org