In response to the overwhelming level of support, I am changing my original approach. In the first two months alone supporters have given over £600 online and another £600 to be added shortly via donations from my work colleagues and employers. This has been in response to the Zambia project, so I feel it only appropriate to donate that £1200 to that cause. From March onwards I will support Haiti and aim to raise the remaining £1200 for that cause.
Project 2 - Haiti
I would like to raise £1200 from the remaining races, for the work Horizons International is doing in Haiti.
Horizons visited Haiti for the first time in June 2015. It was one of the toughest trips we have ever been on, which is saying something! The extreme heat and lack of basic facilities and hygiene combine to present a level of living that is far from pleasant, the intense poverty being the worst we have ever seen (and that takes into account the old days behind the Iron Curtain and having stayed in remote African villages).
Amidst this we found an orphanage and school that became special to us - the Loving Hearts Children's Home. It's not big, but really needs our support to help feed and clothe the children. They are only able to provide a small breakfast when they can afford to. They always try to provide a main/hot meal at 2pm, but even that is sometimes skipped due to lack of funds. They also endeavour to make sure each child has two sets of clothes, usually only replenishing when the organiser gets to go to the States and pick up a new load of free clothing from thrift stores.
There are 3 nannies who look after the 28 children rescued from the earthquake in 2010 (in which hundreds of thousands of people died and homes destroyed). They are often overlooked by funders due to their small size. I would like your support to change that.
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| Tucking in to an ice cream treat from a supporter |
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| The orphanage houses, feeds, clothes and teaches the children |
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| Christmas! |
Project 1 - Zambia - complete!
My first 3 races have raised £1200 for the work Horizons International is doing in Zambia.
Since 2006 the charity has been involved in stabilising and improving the Luminary School in Lusaka, Zambia's capital city. Working with resident American colleagues, Horizons have helped to transform the school from being in rented buildings (where its teachers hadn't been paid for over a year) to a fully owned purpose-built school with appropriate resources. The charity provided various levels of assistance, from helping to buy the land and build the school, to furnishing the school with educational resources and paying teaching staff.
Luminary has since doubled its intake and now caters for around 750 poor children, including many orphans - these children are classed as OVC, Overtly Vulnerable Children. The simple provision of furniture improved the morale and conditions for the teachers as well as for the students, so it is great to have been able to help in this small way.
Horizons have also helped some of the older children pursue their studies into further education. While working with the Luminary School, the charity were also able to help furnish a second, smaller school in Kakolo bush village, in the north of Zambia.
Thank you for your generous support in raising money to help provide meals for the Luminary School children, putting food on the table and helping these children live and learn well.
