Out of AfriKids
November 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
A welcome dance at the Zuarungu Children’s Centre School
‘Experience... life with AfriKids Ghana’ - SPECIAL EDITION During October, AfriKids took 48 Deutsche Bank employees to Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region of Ghana. For three days and three nights, they were completely immersed into one of three typical family lifestyles in rural Africa: market trading, farming and teaching. They lived their lives, worked their trades and became part of the community, gaining a real life experience of the significant everyday challenges villagers face. They were also able to visit a number of AfriKids Ghana’s innovative child rights and community development projects in the region, meeting a whole host of incredibly inspiring individuals along the way.
This newsletter is going to take you on a journey of Ghanaian stories...
Ann Pepper, Deutsche Bank I am very proud and grateful to have been part of a group who through staff sponsorship and support were able to participate in the AfriKids ‘Experience Ghana Challenge’.
What was the food like? With my host family I learnt how to make ‘Ampesi’ for breakfast with ingredients of cassava (a root), cocoyam, yam and plantain boiled with onion and fish, then pounded and boiled twice more. Okra Stew, consisting mainly of onions and chilli peppers (the seeds were ground to a paste). Forowe, which was a fishy tomato stew. There was lots of millet (grain), yams and rice thrown in at meal times too. I also enjoyed Fufu round at a friend’s house (this consisted of boiled plantain pounded with a large mortar and pestle ground into a round ball). It stays hot in the middle and burns your fingers when you eat it, much to the amusement of my hosts! What impact has this had on you? It has been an absolute privilege to affiliate myself to
What was the Experience like for you? A real eye opener. I learnt that I can live for a week without any real possessions. That if you’re tired enough you can sleep anywhere and that some of the things we hold most dear are really not all that important. And yes, the toilets left a lot to be desired, but you can get used to anything!
AfriKids. I am very lucky to have been given the chance to see first hand how the monies raised will be spent in targeted locations, providing intensive support to families and their children to ensure access to education and healthcare, as well as financing and delivering sustainable children’s rights projects.
What was it like staying with the host family? Monika and Simone were gracious hosts with two beautiful, well mannered children. I thought I could pack a lot into a day until I went to Ghana! I found it a challenge, getting up at 4.30am and finishing late (wuss I know!). Preparing breakfast, lunch and dinner all before 7.00am when we left the house to walk for an hour carrying books to school. The children at the St Peter and Paul’s School were so warm and welcoming throughout my stay. The class consisted of 48 children, aged between 7 and 15. Not all children had desks or seats, and text books were scarce. Their enthusiasm to learn was tangible. By way of a cultural exchange I hand delivered 83 letters written by children from Northway Community Primary School in the UK addressed ‘Dear my Friend in Ghana’, and next week, I will have the pleasure of returning 90 letters including photographs addressed to ‘Dear my friend in England’. That was a particularly rewarding lesson.
Many companies these days can write out large cheques as a Corporate Donor, giving a budgeted sum to charities each year. But very few companies operate in the way Deutsche Bank does by promoting staff participation, where you are encouraged to devote time, money and effort, backed with a real sense of ‘mission’, camaraderie and accomplishment. It demonstrated to me that we can provide real value – that sponsorship isn’t a diversion of funds from the ultimate beneficiary, but rather a way to ensure that funds go to the intended beneficiaries. And upon reflection... My trip gave me the chance to experience a completely different life, if only for a short time. I learnt first hand that charities like AfriKids provide real opportunities for the future, not just hand-outs and aid. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world!
Greg Ship
Marylyn McQuaide
Herman Fung
Monica Infelise
Daxesh Patel
Graham Hodgkin
Bushra Akhtar, Deutsche Bank I didn’t really plan to do this. I had only been with DB for less than six months when I saw an advert with the opportunity presented to me. It seemed like a great experience and a very worthwhile cause to support so I took the plunge and signed up.
What was the best part of the trip?
What did you do when you were there? I stayed with two families (3 days each) to experience their lifestyle including doing their trade, eating their local food and spending time with them and their families. I worked as a market trader selling dried fish amongst other food products!! The family lived in a compound with no running water, electricity and toilet.
The people! Ghanaian people are very hospital and that more than made up for the logistics of staying in basic conditions. People are always happy and in there is this sense of unity in the communities I have never experienced anywhere! In one of the compounds I stayed in, there were Muslims, Christians and local Tribal people all living in one unit like brothers and sisters helping each other out on the day to day running of their household!
What was the most difficult? Leaving the people, I formed some very good friendships. Also the local food did take getting used to! As I had extra time, I got the chance to bond with the girls at the orphanage. It was very difficult to hear the stories on how they got there. It bought to light what a worthwhile cause AfriKids is and the great work they are doing in the region.
My second family I stayed with a young girl who sold cloth from heavy container on her head – I nearly got heat stroke after 15 minutes. It was such an eye opener on how hard both ladies from the two locations worked for so little As I had an extra four days, I spent time with the children at the orphanage and took two of them out to a local Crocodile Park. I also spent a day teaching at a local school and over the weekend went back backing with one of my hosts to Mole Park.
Adrian Gibbins
Keith Theodore
Colin Grassie
Bill Cunningham
Deeba Hudda
Dave Brown
Fundraising Deutsche Bank run the Royal Parks Half Marathon On Sunday 10th October 2010, fourteen dedicated supporters from Deutsche Bank ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon for AfriKids. Paul Johnson, Glynis Johnson, Sarah Horsley, David Wayne, Ross Wright, Mark Braley, Sarah Dutkowski, Jason Napier, Jennifer Mccaleb, Niall Daly, David Lock, Dawn Loo, Laura Powell and Kate Stephens collectively raised over £10,000 for AfriKids which is a fantastic achievement. On behalf of AfriKids we would like to say a huge thank you to the runners who participated, their sponsors and supporters. If you would like to find out more about running a marathon in support of AfriKids (we currently have places for the Brighton Marathon) please contact Ama Atteen at amaatteen@afrikids.org
Joe Reid and Marcus Letts go that extra mile (or 14,000) for AfriKids again! You may remember in our July Newsletter we made special mention of AfriKids supporter Joe Reid; he ran a staggering 63 miles in order to raise funds for us. He has now teamed up with Marcus Letts (who also took part in the epic run) to form a charity cycle team called ‘Brake the Cycle’. Together, the duo plan to cycle from Camden to Cape Town – an awe-inspiring 14,000 mile cycle that will see them cross Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Their reason? To challenge inaction, inspire positive change and raise £30,000 for investment in social enterprises through AfriKids and The Otesha Project UK. Setting off on the main challenge in September 2011, the pair have a number of events and smaller challenges coming up in advance; most notably a launch event for Brake the Cycle on November 28th, and a Lands End to John O’Groats cycle in Spring 2011 for which they are currently looking for fellow cyclists. If you’re interested in hearing more about their events and their admirable efforts, all details are on their fantastic new website http://www.brakethecycle.org.uk/ You’ll be hearing a lot more of them here as their challenge approaches!
Keep an eye out for the AfriKids Christmas catalogue The AfriKids Christmas catalogue is nearly ready and will be on it’s way to you shortly. Make sure you look out for it as it is our best range yet and you won’t even have to do any other Christmas shopping this year! We’ll have hampers to suit everyone, Christmas cards, selfless gifts, little gifts, big gifts... all in a Bolga basket. Rest assured it’ll all be fair trade with the best quality around. Let’s make it a Merry Christmas for everyone here and out in Ghana!