Beccky updates on fundraising for St Stephens orphanage

Becky continues her efforts to raise funds for St. Stephens orphanage in Nakuru in Kenya. Becky and Ben Lock are former volunteers who went away with Changing Worlds last year. Becky writes via Facebook:
Hi David,
hope you are well.
Things are going well with fundrasing now.
Myself, Ben Lock and a few friends and family completed the London-Brighton cycle on sunday, it was good but very tough.
Once i have collected my sponsorship from that as well as another event at church i should have around £1000 which is my target to have by july when i go back to kenya for 4 weeks.
I also know that some of the others have had/ have coming up fundraising events for the orphanage and Zoe's Nakuru workers feeding programme.
The only concern that many of us still have with the orphanage is the issue of running it. We dont want to put a few more thousand into the building if there are going to be no children living there but we definitely dont want to waste the money already gone into it.
It is difficult to communicate with Karanja about this because he is so busy do you know any more about this issue?
In addition to this i am in the process of setting up a link between my mums school in worthing and Kiamaina. I did 2 assemblies there yesterday and hopefully the children are going to write letters and raise a bit of money.
Becky
We wish Becky continued good luck with her fundraising. If you feel you would like to mkae a donation, however small, it would be appreciated. Let me know via e-mail to:
david@changingworlds.co.uk

Zoe is jumping from a plane for Kenyan kids!

Zoe Kelland is fund raising for the children at Nakuru Workers. Zoe worked as a volunteer for six months at the school and identified a very important issue.

Zoe writes via Facebook:
Hello!
In May or June I will be skydiving from a plane somewhere above Nottingham and hoping to dear God that I don't just plummet into a tree.
I am doing this for the school in Kenya that I spent 6 months teaching at last year. 70 children at the school only eat one meal a day and I don't think this is fair.

ALL money raised from my skydive will pay for free lunches for these children.

• 25p pays for one child's lunch.
• £15 will feed a child for a term.
• £45 will feed a child for a YEAR.

The kids are the friendliest, loveliest, most hard working people you could ever meet, and they deserve better than one meal per day. The kids who don't eat enough cannot concentrate at school and achieve so much less than they could if fed properly.
Please help them have a fair chance at doing well in school and achieving a better future for themselves.
If you could donate anything you can I, and the children in Kenya, would appreciate that so much. Just the amount we'd spend on a night out makes so much difference. To donate go to http://www.justgiving.com/Zoe-Kelland

Thank you so much :) Zoe xxx

I hope you feel you can make a donation towards Zoe's fundraising efforts. A donation, however small, will be well received.

Zoe is aiming to get UK£1 000 for the children at the school through her sky diving.

Changing Worlds has played our small part by donating UK£45 to the cause - I hope you can too!

I will keep you updated with Zoe's fundraising efforts.

Livvy completes the London Marathon and raises funds for the children in Kenya

Huge congratulations to Livvy Partington for successfully completing the gruelling London Marathon last week.

Livvy writes via Facebook:
Hope you are well, I did the marathon on Sunday and I have got £1000 for the orhanage from it so hopefully with all our fundraising we'll be able to get it off the ground this year! Speak soon, Livvy'

Livvy, a former Rugby School student, went to Nakuru last summer with Changing Worlds. She spent three months working in an orphanage for street children.

Such is the impact these kids had on her life Livvy is determined to not only give her own time but to continue to work for their benefit.

Well done Livvy!

Ross reports back after his adventures in Ghana

Ross and James continue to enjoy their time in Kumasi in Ghana. They are both completing a medical placement in the city.

Recently they have been travelling north to the Mole National Park. The park is famous for its elephants - as captured by this photograph:

Ross writes:
Hi David,
yes thanks, we are both settling into the routine well
now. everything is great,
please find the photos attached, ones
in mole and the other was taken when we were travelling by land rover
from mole park to the hippo sanctuary 6 hours or so away. it broke down
in a small desolate village full of kids and i decided to give them a
long english lesson in the dirt! well, anyway, they were the two photos
ive chosen.
hope all is well in the uk,
ross
p.s.
we understand there are other gappers coming out soon? when are they
coming? francis wasnt overly sure with exact dates. would be great to
know so we can make plans.

Unfortunately I did get a photo of the broken down land rover - I hope to receive this soon!

Iwan and Gareth are putting in the new goal posts

You may recall in a previous mail some weeks ago that Iwan and Gareth, two of our volunteers in Nakuru in Kenya, were busying them selves putting in goal posts at one of our orphanages.

I asked for a photo of them in action and here it is:

Iwan, in his Changing Worlds t-shirt, digging!

Can't wait to see the finished product!

Richard asks for help - starting a pen pal scheme!

Richard went to Kenya in September 2008 with Changing Worlds and did some volunteering. He has since this time returned and clearly is keen to keep links with this East African country.

(This is Rich in Kenya!)

He asks for help from our present volunteers based in Nakuru in Kenya. He writes:
Hello,

'I have been talking to David Gill, I am a past volunteer for Changing Worlds and spent my gap year in Kenya aswell. I was a volunteer at Kagoto Primary school and St. Stephens orphanage. I worked there throughout my time in Kenya and since returning home have decided to set up a pen pal scheme between any of the children you are working with in Kenya and children I work with here.

The children and Young people I work with in the UK are all Looked after and in Foster Care of some form. They have all wrote letters, which I will be sending out to Karanja this weekend again as I have a feeling they may have got lost in the post last time I sent them.

I have attached a letter from myself to those letters with a return envelope in with my business address on. I would really appreciate it if one of you does not mind using the letters and getting the Kenyan children to reply to a specific young person and co-ordinate the returns for me.

One other thing, would anyone of you mind writing a letter that gives the YP an idea of what you are doing in Kenya and what life is like? Could you please post it to Richard Hartley, Access Service, East Durham Education Centre, York Road, Peterlee, SR8 2DP, UK as soon as possible please?

I know that’s a lot to ask as I don't even know any of you, but I am really keen to set up a penpal scheme that will enable children on both sides the chance to learn about another culture. I also know that the Kenyan children are forever interested in talking to people from England.

Whoever is interested in doing this or does not mind, could you please reply directly to this email to let me know?

I will ensure all costs are covered so that you do not incur a penny!

I really do appreciate any help you can offer me, please send on my regards to the family/ children and Karanja.

Thanks,

Richard'


Richard is presently work with disadvantaged children in his home town of Durham in the North East of England.


I await a response from our volunteers - what an exciting projects for all those children wherever they are in the World.


Carry on the good work Rich - help make the World a better place!

Ross and James settle in to new life in Kumasi, Ghana

Ross and James went out to Kumasi in Ghana a fortnight ago. They are doing a medical placement with us. I was keen to see how they were settling in. Ross replied:
'Hi David, Apologies, we have been meaning to send you an email, but we've been quite busy and getting settled. Everything so far is great.
The family we are staying with are lovely. James and I are slowly being allowed to wash up and contribute to the household tasks contrary to what they insist!
We paid a visit to Kumasi market today, managed to get home alrite on the tro tro but with a slash of worry about getting lost- all turned out ok though. We have a phone and francis's number.
Francis (the rep) is also awesome, cool bloke.
Thanks though for telling us about Ghana maybe time (GMT), as francis certainly seems to operate by it at all times! We had fu fu today at the hospital cafe, not overly keen, but all other food has been scrumptious.
Many thanks for everything you and shirley have done in organising this placement.
We look forward to going to Mole national park in mid march with the girls/francis. We'll let you know how we get on,
All the best, Ross / James :)
Looks like they are getting in to the lifestyle...but perhaps not so much the food at this early stage!

News Update - read the February 2010 Changing Worlds newsletter

Find out about our exciting new developments at Changing Worlds.

News updates include our new martial arts programme in China and a video of a Great White shark off South Africa.

Find out more at:
http://www.changingworlds.co.uk/Home.aspx?vurl=%2f%2fRoot%2fContent%2fNewsletterFebruary2010

Enjoy!

Iwan and Gareth get working on the soccer field

Iwan and Gareth are clearly working hard in Nakuru in Central Kenya. They are working at a school.

Iwan writes:
Hello David!!!!
Placements are going really well! Gareth and I are buliding goals in pistis this week. We dug the holes on Tuesday and are going to cement and put the posts in tomorrow! weather is a bit iffy at times.
We were wondering last night if there are going to be any new mzungu's joining us in a few months?
All is well apart from that.
(Note: Mzungus = Europeans)

I have had asked for photos taken before and after - I await a response.

Chloe in Ghana reports back

Chloe got out to Ghana just over two weeks ago. She is teaching in Kumasi in Central Ghana. Her first report back is most positive. She writes:
Hey David
hope your well! Everything is fab out here. We are all fine and have settled in really well.

We are all working at the orphanage. Im finding it a little hard to adjust to the way they do things but will hopefully be able to make some suggestions and change things for the better.

Host family are great, everyone is very welcoming, no issues to mention. Went travelling for the weekend with Francis, had a fab time!!
Speak soon
Chlo
The pace of life in Ghana does take some time to adjust too! Infact we suggest to volunteers not to bother with a watch. Get used to G.M.T. - Ghana Maybe Time!
I am more than confident that Chloe and her fellow volunteers will soon adjust to their new way of life.

Ethical Volunteering Overseas

An advertisement for financial assistance has appeared in the Society Guardian section of the The Guardian newspaper on Tuesday 03 February 2010.

The advert writes:
ETHICAL VOLUNTEERING OVERSEAS
£500 bursaries now available!
ICYE is an international volunteering charity organising placements across the World. Two £500 different bursaries are offered. One is towards the programme fee for a voluntary placement to Latin America and the other will go to a placement in Africa.
Placements must begin on or before 21 June 2010 and last for a minimum of eight weeks.
Application deadline: Monday 08 March 2010
Contact short-term@icye.org.uk or call 0207 681 0983

Claire's parents are happy!

Claire recently left the UK to start her teaching placement in Nakuru, Kenya.

I spoke to Claire and the others and they were all settling in to their new life and work.

Mr and Mrs Claire very kindly dropped us a line this week to say:
Hi David

We have received a couple of texts and an email and Claire is enjoying herself and settling in well . Thanks for your help.

Anne and Alby Stevens

My reply was simple - its early days yet so lets see how things go. Be waned - week three there is a reality check!

Jon, our first volunteer to South Africa, reports back

Our first volunteer to Umtata in South Africa reports back:
David,

I cant begin explaining how amazing it is here!! Mr Unni is extremely welcoming and Siliziwe is showing me round fantastically,

Jon
Jon is suffering with thirty degree heat...he got no sympathy!

More details to follow!

Claire has success with her fundraising

Claire is off to Kenya shortly. She is going to do some teaching and orphanage work in Nakuru. Claire has worked very hard at her fund raising and writes:
Hi David,
I just thought i would send you a little email to keep you updated on my fundraising. Yesterday morning i held a coffee morning at my church with a raffle and cake sale and raised over £500!!

So thankyou very much for the promotional material you sent me a few weeks ago.

Hope all is well, see you on the 26th/27th!

Many Thanks, Claire Stevens

Well done Claire.

If you are after some help and advice about fund raising then do let me know. Drop me a line to david@changingworlds.co.uk and I will reply with lots of useful ideas.

Abby's Christmas plans in Kenya

This is what Abby is doing for Christmas - certainly different!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TOOOO!!!!

thanks so much for everything, got so much to do before i leave.

Will just let you know what we have been up to, we did a huge street feed for 100 boys 2 days ago, we are taking cookies and presents to all the orphanages we know, we redecorated an orphanage a few weeks ago and we babys at 4 orphans for the night from a lady named sherry who has her own orphanage/rescue home, we plan on taking food to the mums and children on ward 6 on christmas eve too!

xxxxxxxxxx

Carry on the good work Abby and have a wonderful Xmas!

James provides an insight in to life and work in Ghana

James has just returned from his teaching placement in Kumasi, Ghana. He writes:
'It was a long journey and heading out on my own was one of the scariest things I had done so far in my life. However arriving in Accra International Airport and meeting my contact, Francis, at arrivals went smoothly and before long I was on my way to my family house. The journey was not as relaxing as I had hoped as the road was not surfaced and we had a sermon that lasted several hours. However it did start to gear me up for what was to come, and I got my first real shock when I saw a man on the the side of the road with no clothes and just standing against a wall crying. We drove straight past on the bus and I thought to myself that people must see this all the time and that is why they do not appear to care.

That perhaps gives a bad view of what the people of Ghana were like, yes they were tough and they had to be to survive but on the other hand I have never been exposed to such a close and intense community spirit. The people really do look out for each other and you see it everyday when someone will give a hand to a complete stranger, not because the person has asked for it but because the they have noticed that they need help. This is not something that happens much in our society and though it was strange at first I quickly adapted and it was not long before I was helping push carts and even cars along the street when they got stuck or helping ladies carry water and baskets around the city.

My host family was lovely and I instantly felt like part of the family, I got on very well with their daughter who did most of the house work as in Ghana the younger you are the more you seem to have to do. Once I started school and the orphanage I just got immersed in it all. It was a long day starting at 6am to get to school on time and then finishing at 6pm when all the kids at the orphanage had been fed and were starting to get sleepy.

School was great, the teachers treated me well and I really got into my lessons making sure math’s was fun and teaching the kids music before school so they could sing new songs in assembly. We even went on a few school trips to play football and to a dance contest. The orphanage was hard, I was working with kids ranging from new born babies to 6 year olds. A lot of them were disabled in some way and everyone’s needs were different. Keeping everybody happy all the time was a full time job and I have utmost respect for the sisters and ladies who worked there every day.

It really was an amazing all round experience and I loved every minute of it. I am not ashamed to say there was a tear in my eye as I left. I will definitely be back to visit all the friends I made as soon as I can find the time. Its a cliché to say the words “life changing experience” but its true in every way and I think the thing I learnt most about in my whole trip was me.

James has been an excellent ambassador for Changing Worlds in Ghana and we cannot thank him enough for all his efforts and enthusiasm.

If you would like to contact James then do drop him a line to:
waldomagician@hotmail.co.uk

Do have a look at the Changing Worlds Facebook account where James has kindly sent us his version of the 'Banana Dance'! - makes for great viewing!

David reports in from South Africa

I have enjoyed a fantastic week in South Africa.

Harry, Siliziwe, Leslie and I have travelled over 3 500 kilometres in six days. Our journey started in Cape Town and took us first to Gaasbaii where we experienced swimming with the Great White sharks.

This new placement is a marvellous opportunity to join research scientists and find out about these wonderful creatures. The habits of the sharks are changing and we know very little about them - you can complete a one to three month placement joining the team of dedicated specialists to help understand their migration and eating habits.

From Gaasbaai we headed off to Umtata in Eastern Province where we visited schools and an orphanage for special needs children. Every one was very keen to take on volunteers in the future. Opportunities include the formal teaching of English but also the chances to coach sports, drama, music and dance.

The local children come from poorer parts of the town.

Whilst in Umtata we went to the home of Nelson Mandela and found out much more about this wonderful man.

From Umtata we headed north to Lydenburg where we saw yet more schools in this mining town. A very different type of South Africa from the true African town of Umtata. Lydenburg seemed to be caught in a time lag - racial segregation is still obvious in the town. Nevertheless fantastic opportunities for volunteers to help in English, IT and sports.

More details to follow.

Congratulations to Azafady

Congratulations to Mark Jacob and the Azafady team on this news!

Dear Friend of Azafady,
We wanted to give you a short update on everything going on with Azafady this October. We have some exciting developments with Pictet & Cie, a leading private Swiss Bank, who have chosen to support Azafady as part of their commitment to the Pictet photography prize and global sustainability. The Prix Pictet is an annual search for photographs which communicate powerful messages of global environmental significance under the theme, this year, of 'Earth'. And, for 2009, Pictet & Cie will support Azafady's Voly Hazo project that aims to preserve the earth from degradation and the eventual desertification that is seen so widely in Madagascar, with a programme of tree planting and conservation of the natural forest.

Mark and his team

One of the short listed photographers for the Prix Pictet, Ed Kashi, has been commissioned to visit Madagascar with the Azafady team in order to produce a series of photographs that will highlight many of the issues that we are focusing on in this unique and endangered environment. Ed Kashi will visit Madagascar in January with an exhibition of his work following in the Spring. Please see the press release below for more information on the Prix Pictet.

This is really exciting news for everyone at Azafady, so we hope you will share in our excitement and keep in touch with everything going in Madagascar and with Azafady. We have recently launched a new blog at: www.azafady.us/blog and, if you are not already, please do become a facebook fan of Azafady at: www.facebook.com/AzafadyMadagascar - where there are lots of updates, pictures and news from our projects in Madagascar.

Finally, thank you all for your continued support of Azafady and our work in Madagascar.

Best wishes,

Mark

Mark Jacobs
Managing Director

Azafady Studio 7 1a Beethoven Street London, W10 4LG Telephone +44 (0) 20 8960 6629 Fax +44 (0) 20 8962 0126 Email mark@azafady.org Internet www.madagascar.co.uk
Skype Azafadyoffice

Become a fan of Azafady on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AzafadyMadagascar

Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/azafady

Mark and his team are working really hard to improve the quality of life for the peoples of Madagascar. To find out more about their volunteering options do hit:
http://www.changingworlds.co.uk/default.aspx?qlink=MadagascarOverview

Emma reports from Kenya

Emma has just reported back from Nakuru in Kenya. She sounds like she is very busy. Emma and the others left the UK in mid September. Emma writes:
Hi David!
Just thought i would give you a quick email to let you know how things are going in Kenya!

Everything is going well, so far i have been working at the local hospital in Nakuru (PGH). So far we have visited the abandoned baby ward, pediatrics, maternity, new born baby ward, psychiatric and even theater! I feel it has given me a good insight into medical work and has helped me a lot with medical experiance when i train to be a nurse in 2010.

I have also been working at Workers primary school. I teach Standard 3 Zambia and they are all very nice! My class has 65 students in it and i was very scared when i first went in the classroom and saw loads of little faces looking at me but its going well. I have set up a penpal routine with my local school in England. My class have just sent their letters of so we should recieve letters back from England soon which is very exciting!

ALso since we have been here we have started to paint bedrooms in an orphanage. By ofchance we met a nun called Felistas who is running a childrens orphanage on the outskirts of Nakuru, she has just built and refurbished the orphanage but has run out of money to paint. So we decided to buy it for her and then go and paint it. So far we have completed one room and are yet to complete the other! Its a very bright yellow, the children loved it!

Also Helen, Abbie and myself met an American lady called Sherry. She married a Kenyan man and is know living in Nakuru and has been on and of for 16 years. At her home she has taken in eleven orphans, 6 babies aged from about 0-3 years and 5 teenage girls aged 10-15 one of which being HIV positive. I have been visiting the orphange about 2-3 times a week just giving her a hand and helping her out when she needs it! as you can imagine its quite a hand full to look after eleven children!

As for travelling we have also done quite alot since we have been here. We've visited the giraffe sancutary in Nairobi, elephant orphanage in Nairobi, Carnivore!, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, Climbed Menengai Crater (second biggest crater in the world!), been to the Maasai Mara!, Hells Gate, Thomson Falls, we visited Karanja's parents in Kinangob recently which was beautiful as its up in the mountains and we have evem been horse riding! But we have so much more to do. My favortie place to visit so far was most probably Thomson falls it was so beautiful! Me, Abbie and Helen are staying with Karanja, Mary and Vanessa! We love it!

Everybody here in Kenya is so lovely and I am having an Amazing time!

Thankyou so much for all your help in planning this for us!

Many thanks
Emma Price
I love the pen pal idea with her local school.

Helen reports back from Nakuru, Kenya on her medical placement

I asked Helen to send me a report of her medical placement in Nakuru in Central Kenya. She writes:

The Medical Placement

The medical placement out here in Kenya has been enjoyable whilst very educational and eye-opening!
Every day we go into the local public hospital and first go to ward six, which is for children aged less than two years old. Here we spend an hour or so washing, weighing, dressing and feeding the abandoned babies. The work we do here is so appreciated as the nurses on this ward are so busy that often the babies go 24hours without being changed or fed.

Unfortunately this work can be tough though as these abandoned babies are mostly neglected of their medical needs, and consequently we have already had two babies die in the last six weeks. However this has not been a deterrent for working in this ward- instead this has motivated us to get up early every morning just so we can care for them!
Then after ward six we have been rotating to different parts of the hospital. The first week we spent in the nursery where there are about 30 babies crammed into a tiny (and really hot) room. These babies all need to be washed, weighed and fed which can be very time-consuming! One of these babies is the son of a woman on the psychiatric ward so this placement also gave us the opportunity to visit there; an experience that is like nothing ever experienced before!

The second week we spent in the maternity watching live births! We then spent a week in theatre where we saw a range of operations such as a gall bladder removal, hip replacements, caesarian sections, bone reconstructions, appendix removals etc… The surgeons were all very accommodating and even let us assist with minor things such as cleaning the area to be operated on.
Other weeks we have spent in orthopaedics, paediatrics (for children over two years old) and the voluntary counseling centre for people with HIV and AIDS. For the remainder of our placement we will be continuing our rotations to other wards such as ICU, gynaecology, the laboratory, the pharmacy, female/male wards and so on…

The medical placement so far has been a truly pleasurable experience that has taught us all about a life in the caring profession. There has been a good mix of practical work and observation time, whilst still allowing us the option to do other placements such as teaching and orphanage work. I speak for the three of us here doing the medical placement when I say that it is a rewarding and challenging experience here in the hospital and definitely not one to be missed!!

By Helen Thomson
Changing Worlds September 2009-January 2010

Thanks Helen. I hope this will inspire more medics to jump on board!