DECEMBER 2015
I M P A C T I N G A N D
C H I L D R E N
C O M M U N I T I E S
Impact
The office will be closed from the 18th of December to the 29th of January.
May Peace be your gift these holidays and your blessing all year through. AGM Report At our recent AGM held on Tuesday 6th October we welcomed two new projects to World Families Australia. The KEDI Project is a community development project based in the Kalahari Desert of South Africa, Lea Sander is the Project officer. We also welcomed Steve Hodgson as the Project Officer for the Shalom Children’s Home in Sri Lanka. We are also very pleased to welcome three new Project Officers. Peter Mann has taken on the Vietnam project Lai Tieu Montegnard, Jennifer Minck has taken on India projects Minjur and Mithra and Brooke Matcham has taken the projects in Fiji, St Christopher’s and Dilkusha. We would like to thank our new Project Officers who answered our request for assistance with these projects. We are still looking for a Project Officer for four small projects in Sri Lanka and one in India. As was reported in the last Impact we have changed our banking from Bank SA to the Commonwealth Bank. We will save money on bank fees and telegraphic transfer fees.
Our new bank details for depositing donations: World Families Australia Inc.
BSB: 065 149
A/c No. 10342470
Commonwealth Bank
After many years I will be stepping down as President and have enjoyed the experience. I would like to thank all the office staff for their tireless work and continuing commitment to WFA. Thanks too should go to all the people who act as Project Officers, without their work WFA could not function. I will continue my involvement with World Families Australia. We congratulate our newly elected office holders: PRESIDENT: Morgan Smith VICE PRESIDENT: Christine Hoffman SECRETARY:
Bert Michels
TREASURER: Glenn Smith Diane Amato Past President, World Families Australia
KEDI – SOUTH AFRICA The gardens of earthly delights in the Kalahari!
Gardens are now growing in the Moshaweng Valley, in the southern region of the Kalahari Desert, South Africa, and it’s SO exciting…. Less than ten years ago it was difficult to find a vegetable garden in any of the villages. The Tswana people are herders by tradition, familiar with raising domestic animals but not with raising crops. Elders Australia partnered with Kalahari Experience Development Initiatives (KEDI) in 2013 by sponsoring one of their horticulturalists to deliver training programs amongst the villagers. Owen Rich taught soil management, mulching, fertilising, best watering practices and more. Since then KEDI has commenced a program of building gardens, the type and structure determined by the needs of the recipients. In all locations there is adequate water supply from nearby bores. A tunnel shade-house was built for an orphanage in 2014, creating an environment for intensive horticulture which now supplements the meals of 30+ children with vegetables all year round. In July 2015 a large garden was built for Moshaweng High School (see photo). It will be more than a food garden for the students. Agricultural Science classes will function collaboratively with the garden’s production program, generating hands-on participation for effective learning. In 2016 a community education program will commence amongst the villagers, hopefully inspiring more gardeners to emerge. Lea Sander Project Officer for World Families Australia - South Africa www.worldfamilies.org.au https:// www.facebook.com/WorldFamiliesAustralia Co-ordinator - Kalahari Experience Development Initiatives (KEDI) www.kalahariartsnetwork.org Tel: +61 (0)431 834 913
Email:
[email protected]
IN REMEMBERANCE Margaret Joyce, a long time WFA donor, has recently passed away and left a bequest to World Families Australia in her will. WFA was contacted by Margaret’s daughter, Nicki Dare to fulfil her mother’s wish. As Margaret hadn’t chosen a specific project to direct her bequest to I presented several projects from different countries and Nicki selected the new KEDI project in the Kalahari Desert. We have now received the bequest and the funds have been sent to the KEDI Project. This kind bequest will make a huge difference to the children and community of the Kalahari We thank the family of Margaret Joyce for helping to fulfil Margaret’s wish and send our sincere condolences to Margaret’s family .
Philippines report July 2015 Philemon Academy Foundation inc. Bruce & Elaine Smith Project Officers
What a difference six months can make!
Now we have an auditorium more than double the size and six extra classrooms!
Ballet Class Kyokushin Class Computer Room The School we co-partnered the Philemon Academy Foundation Inc. has increased from 120 2014-2015 year to 150 R to 10 students 2015-2016 year! Their school year goes from July to end of May! The new auditorium and classrooms are giving us room to spread out and do extra activities! We now have proper computer, library and science classrooms and most extra curricular activities can now be done at the school! This has given us added security for students and teachers and savings on transport costs!
Drama Class
Maths Class
Senior Class
Kinder Class
Bonga Barta School Latrines As can be seen from the pictures below, the Bonga Barta School is in desperate need of new latrines. This one toilet is serving the needs of nearly 1,000 students. We wish to raise $25,000.00 so that a male toilet block can be built plus a female toilet block which will include showers. A huge septic tank will also be installed. Providing these facilities will help encourage students to attend school and improve the health of the whole community. Donations of any amount can be sent as described below: Send a cheque made out to World Families Australia and post to PO Box 11, Hope Valley 5090 with a note attached saying it is for BBL with your NAME and ADDRESS to get a receipt as donations/sponsorships are tax deductible. Or by direct debit with BBL as the reference, If paying by internet put your name and at the same time EMAIL to the WFA office
[email protected] so that a a receipt for the donation can be sent to you. World Families Australia bsb number: 065 149
Please email me for further
Account number: 1034 2470
information
Bank: Commonwealth
Christine Hoffman, Ethiopian Project Officer WFA,
[email protected]
CHRISTMAS CARDS This year we are offering new cards for Christmas from WFA. The cards will be avalible in sets of 10 for $12. Call the office on 8258 7909 to order and the cards will be mailed to you after payment received. The inside of the card is blank for you to write your own greetings. Funds raised will be used to run the day to day workings of World Families Australia.
Agra, India Our goal is to lead and train the children in skills based eduChildren at Robin’s Nest Home cation to become good citizens by maintaining and educating vulnerable (orphaned, abandoned, destitute) children, including those with HIV/Aids and to receive them into the Home providing them with board, lodging, clothing, medical needs and that it will be continued until such time as they are able to be employed or become self-reliant. Currently we have 34 children living in the Home with one Caretaker who supervises the home, two house parents, one cook and one Buffalo caretaker. The home or the shelter is a rented building with enough space for all of the children with a plush compound of 4 Acre lands. They are attending school regularly and go for coaching or tuition with their respective school subject teacher especially encouraging the higher class students. They also attend church and Sunday school once per week in Jhansi town with their house parents. All the children are getting daily nutrition like milk, rice, chapatti, vegetables, cereals and fruits. And we organized hygiene teaching and distribute hygiene kits to them from time to time for their health. Our current goals are to develop a broader sustainable Dairy project, begin with five she goats which will produce baby goats twice in a year. The children will likewise be able to make their own butter, milk, whey, cheese, curds, use in cooking and sell at market prices. We are planning to make profit by selling the goats and the dairy milk that will bear the expenses of this sustainable project into the future. The children have come to the Home down many roads, here is one story of a fairly recent arrival: Both of Nisha’s parents died at an early age. She and her brother took refuge in their elderly uncles home. However, their uncle couldn’t afford to provide for them or pay for their education because of the hardship he faced himself. Then someone told him about our Robins Nest, so he brought Nisha and her brother to RN. When she came to stay in RN Home she was in poor condition health-wise and was mostly deaf and mute. She had been isolated in her birth home and never left, hadn’t attended school and appeared depressed with no reason to smile. When she first came to RN she was very content to stay the in RN home and at first quietly enjoyed just watching the other children. It didn’t take long before Nisha was venturing out, joining in with activities and then she started school with the other children. She is now a happy girl, who loves school and eagerly participates in all activities. We took her to the hearing doctor to get grommets in her ears. She got her hearing back and now she has blossomed again and gained so much confidence that now she loves to talk, always striving to use clear articulation with the most positive attitude. She has changed and grown a lot though RN and shows how important a home like this is to children like Nisha. In the photo she is sporting a beautiful green outfit her generous sponsor gave her and is so excited and proud to wear it. All the other children from Robin’s Nest are pretty excited to be getting new clothes as well.
Robin’s Nest
02 4946 5914
Project Officers for WORLD FAMILIES AUSTRALIA
ETHIOPIA BGW
Morgan Smith
8523 4245
ADDIS
Kate Drogemuller
08 8948 0623
JIMMA, LIWAN,
Speakers are available to tell groups about the work of W.F.A. Please contact us through the office.
BONGA, LALIBELA Sandi Petersen
8370 8965
BONGA Rural
Emma Lewis
0415 978 066
BONGA Feeding
Christine Hoffman 8265 5256
BONGA Women’s
Telephone: (08) 8258 7909
Development
Kate Drogemuller 0438 439009
LAST DAY FOR YOUR
SAMERRO
Gemma Pilcher
GIFT THIS QUARTER
WOLAYITA
Please pay by the1st December
2015
Katie Davis
03 6425 1563
LOVE & HOPE
Dee Hudson
0404 454 390
FIJI
Brooke Matcham
[email protected]
INDIA Chennai
Jennifer Minck
Robin’s Nest
Robin Byrnes
Missions to the Nations
Please Note
07 5438 0953
0415 311 860 02 4946 5914
Office
8258 7909
INDONESIA
Any articles for the next newsletter should reach us at the office by 29th January 2016
Opinions expressed by contributors to Sponsorship News are not necessarily those of World Families Australia Editor: Diane Amato
Java
Office
8258 7909
Bali,
Donna Peters
9402 3442
Mission Uplift
Mavis Pardede
KENYA
Mike Potter
Robin’s Nest
Robin Byrnes
[email protected]
8283 0728 02 4946 5914
PHILIPPINES Elaine & Bruce Smith
8264 8861
STH AFRICA
Lea Sander
SRI LANKA THAILAND VIETNAM
Office
82587909
Kevin Lynch Peter Mann
8361 7005
[email protected]
0419 841 894
FINANCIAL ENQUIRIES TO FINANCE MANAGER Elaine Smith
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” Winston Churchill
[email protected] Sponsorship Coordinator—Kerry Walker
[email protected] OFFICE
Open Tuesdays and some Fridays Phone 08 8258 7909 Voice mail can be accessed anytime and emails
Postal address: P.O.Box 11, HOPE VALLEY 5090
Email:
[email protected]
www.worldfamilies.org.au
