Bookmarks for Babes are back!

Last year, you may remember that the beaded bookmarks kicked off the fundraising efforts for the orphanage. At that time, I was trying to figure out how I might raise $500 to bring to the orphanage on my volunteer trip. Turns out, people ordered the bookmarks in droves and $4,000 was raised. And so the Nzirambi Fund was born!

A year in the making

I’m a little more prepared this time around and have been working on them all year. I also have a small army of really awesome volunteers who have been helping me make them (@nancyjt), helping to put ribbons on (Monica, Cindy, Marie-Helen), and others helping to sell them. Barbara Strang took some amazing photos (like the one posted here), and Lawrence designed a new card to attach to them.

Hundreds of bookmarks have already been delivered – we have Aynsley Morris (@aynsilly) selling them in Ottawa, Jessica Taylor in Calgary, Tenesha Clarke in Brampton and Nancy in Niagara. Our friends at Honey Fig will also be selling them at the Yonge Street store.

Want to buy one now?

You can order bookmarks on this blog by using the paypal box in the right column. Let us know what colour you like – they come in pearls, pinks, blues, greens, purples or mixed colours. Or say: “surprise me” and we’ll pick something out for you. Be sure to include your address so we can mail them to you.

Boomarks are a $10 donation. Each one will have a card on it that says: “All of the funds raised from the sale of this gift will go toward the boys and girls at the Nzirambi Orphans Talent Development Centre. Thank you for your support.”

Last year, people bought them as gifts for friends, colleagues, teachers, family, etc. They’re also really great stocking stuffers!

Want to sell bookmarks?

If you are keen to help us sell some to your family, friends or co-workers, please do let us know.

Where your donation goes

All of the money raised will go directly to the orphanage and pay for the children to go to school. By helping these children obtain higher levels of education, they will be able to escape the cycle of poverty. We're helping to make dreams come true for these children.

Thanks, as always, for your support.

A letter from Veronica

I recently received this letter in the mail from one of the older girls at the orphanage. Her name is Veronica and she's getting ready to apply to university next year. I'm going to write her letter out in full to share it with you. It's very sweet!

Hello Karen,

How are you and how is work and your life in Canada? Well, back here in Uganda, I am doing ok. I am at school busy reading my books since I am soon doing my final exams in November that will register me for university.

I really thank God for the time we spent together here in Uganda and I would also like to come and visit you in Canada since we had a good time here. How is Monica? Do you normally visit her and go for coffee together? Send my sincere greetings to her and tell her that we lover her so much.

I have been communicating to Auntie Milly via phone and I have always been informed about what has been taking place at home. I really miss those children at the orphanage. (**fyi, Vero has been doing her final school year at a boarding school in Kampala.)

I have chosen the right courses that I would like to do at the university with the help from my teachers. They have advised me about the courses that best suit my subjects that I am doing here in Senior 6. These are some of the courses-- law as my first choice and accounting as my second course. My results from my final exam will determine the course I will be doing in university.

After my results are back in February 2011, I will be going to university in August 2011.

I will be soon going for my long vacation in November after my exams on the 24th, I will be going back to Kasese and be with the children. I am also going to start my computer studies and I will open up an email where I will be communicating to you.

In my vacation, I will be helping with the work at home, playing with the children and helping Auntie Milly with her work in the office.

Lastly, I would like to send my greetings to all of your friends in Canada and I with you a nice stay and hope to see you again here in Uganda.

Greetings from all of my friends here at school like Rhoda, Martha, Esther and Faith.

With love,

Veronica Nabasinga.

Amazing Race Maps

Did anyone see the Amazing Race last night? They were racing in Ghana and one of their challenges was to correctly identify the Ghana on a map of Africa. (What?! You mean Africa is not a country??)

Just today, I had to dig up some maps of Uganda and Kasese, where the orphanage is, as part of our application for charitable status. And then I had an "Amazing Race moment" and realized that people who read this blog and know about the orphanage may not know where it is.

Here's a map to put things into perspective. It also shows where Gulu is - many of us are aware of the long-standing war in Northern Uganda - and its proximity to the Congo and Sudan.

Look south on the map and you will find Kasese on the Congo border, surrounded by lakes, mountains and forest. Actually, the orphanage borders on the land of a national park and one night that I was there, the elephants came onto the property in search of food and water. I didn't see the elephants, but heard the gun shots of rangers trying to scare them off the land.

Hope

I recently received some sad news that two of the babies from the orphanage, Caroline and David, have passed away. Both of these babies came to the orphanage after I was there in January, so I didn’t get to know them.

David
David was born Feb. 20 of last year and when he was just four months old, his mother became mentally ill and unable to care for him. With seven other children, David’s father was not taking good care of him.

A sickly severely malnourished baby, he was regularly in and out of the hospital for his first four months. A nurse, having heard of the Nzirambi Orphans Talent Development Centre made arrangements with the probation officer and the orphanage for him to live there. Slowly, after six months he began to recover, showing strength in his legs by kicking and playing.

Just recently, doctors began to suspect that David had spina bifida. He came down with pneumonia and, despite the best efforts of the house mothers, doctors and nurses, he didn’t survive.

Caroline
Caroline was born November 18, 2009 and brought to the orphanage in June after her mother died of malaria. Again, the father was unable to adequately care for his child and Caroline was removed from his care and brought to the orphanage after being hospitalized for pneumonia.

This little girl became quite ill over the summer and required a blood transfusion. However, none of the hospitals in the area had blood supplies to donate. In Uganda, a person must have an HIV test every six months in order to donate blood and none of the house mothers had this test done and could not donate blood. They decided to transport baby Caroline to the Kampala hospital, but she died along the way.

The reality
The reality of the situation is that neither of these children likely would have died had they been given the care we can expect for our children in Canada. The housemothers and hospitals did everything they could, but there are so many limitations, especially when a child is born into these incredibly stressful, life endangering situations.

Hope
In so many ways, it’s frustrating to hear that two of our children have passed away. But, it’s not time to lose hope. There are more than 80 children there now, some now in their late teens, haven grown up and survived these difficult circumstances. The death of these little ones inspires me even more to stay focused and continue my goal to raise $10,000 per year for the next three years so that we can give the older children a real chance through education.

Thank you so much for your steady support.

Pilates for Men

Our Pilates4Babes was so much fun in the summer, but there was only one man in attendance!

So, why aren’t more men doing pilates?

Pilates was, after all, started by a man – Joseph Pilates. He was a boxer and trained athletes. And there is nothing wimpy about Joseph! (That's him in the photo!)

It’s challenging, but not impossible; you don’t have to be flexible like yoga; it gives you awesome abs and the classes are full of hot, fit women. What’s not to love about Pilates?

So, we decided to call the men out for their own class. Hosted by Sandra Brunner (aka @Wallabina) at Chang’e Studio,1114 Queen Street East in Leslieville, the class will be held Sept. 11 from 2-3p.m.

Come have fun, work out and support a charity, all at the same time!

We'll also have some great raffle prizes available – including tickets to the Leaf/Senators Fans First game on September 21.

With the proceeds we hope to be able to raise enough money - $700 - to send one child to school for a year.

Class size will be small, so please let us know asap if you want to sign up. You can purchase your ticket in advance by making a donation on this blog using Paypal .

Garage Sale Mania

Over the weekend, Monica and I drove to the Midland/ Wasaga area to visit my Aunt Lynn who was holding another garage sale to raise funds for the orphanage. It’s the third sale she’s hosted with the help of some other family members.

To date, she’s raised over $700 doing it. Her goal is to raise $1,000. There’s no question, she’ll reach her goal. I think she’ll surpass it.

So, how does this work? Well, friends and family have donated all kinds of stuff they don’t need or want anymore; children’s clothing, fishing tackle, books, kitchen stuff, etc. And then she puts on a garage sale. When she’s all garage saled-out, she’ll haul everything to a charity store. So, it’s a win-win. She’s doing another one in September, so if you’re in the area, please do stop by.

The $700 she raised is already enough to pay for a year of school for one of the children.

The best part is that she is coming to the orphanage with me in January, so she can meet first-hand the children she will be helping to put through school.

I’m so blown away and so grateful for all of my aunts and family – Lynn, Barb, Judy, Susan, Nancy, my grandmother, my mom, Tammy, David, Jeff, Gary and everyone else who has been helping to make this happen.

Thank you!

The quest for the perfect space

The team working behind the Ugandan Orphan Education Fund has been toying with the idea of holding a special event in November – something that would become a signature event of sorts to look forward to every year and raise funds.

For this year, we are planning a very special concert with a group of youth with very big voices. Along with the choir, we will be hosting a silent auction (the quest for raffle prizes is also on, so let me know if you have an idea or something you would like to contribute).

Right now, to make all of this possible, we need a venue. Something that’s not going to break the bank and has enough space for a small concert and a cocktail reception. Ideally, we’d love to have a sound system in place and if we are lucky enough, we’d even have chairs. The natural fit seems to be a church. But, we’re turning up some dead ends in being able to find space available on or around Nov. 13.

Do you have any suggestions on where we might find a venue suitable for this event? Drop me a line or leave a comment here. All suggestions welcomed!