![]() “Standing on top of Mont Blanc is a major event in any mountaineer's career and is particularly challenging if you are attempting it within a week” says Andrew. This is something of an understatement, considering the context in which Andrew is taking on this challenge. Any attempt to reach the summit of Monte Blanc is a huge undertaking, particularly in mid September when the conditions can become almost Himalayan towards the top. Andrew will be constantly roped up with crampons on and ice axe at the ready, but there are a few other reasons that make this challenge particularly formidable. 20 months ago following a routine blood test, Andrew was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Since then he has been using a combination of natural diet and exercise to combat the disease. A few weeks after his return from Mont Blanc he will be celebrating his 65th birthday, and as a more ‘seasoned climber’, it will take a lot of extra training to achieve the level fitness and energy that he will need to be successful. To mark this achievement, Andrew has decided to raise money and awareness for Children on the Edge. He has made the connection between the challenges he is facing in life, with the children we work with who, he says ‘through no fault of their own, have appalling challenges just to survive’. One of the areas that we are currently working in is Kachin State, Burma. Here, together with local partners, we are providing Early Childhood Development for 1645 children who have been displaced by violent conflict in the last few years. Andrew describes how he found this project particularly moving: “In this mountainous region children are caught up in a conflict that has left them displaced, without warm clothes and even food to survive. When I think that I will be in the mountains swathed in a duck down jacket to protect me from the elements I feel I must do whatever I can to create awareness of these children’s plight and help to clothe and feed them appropriately. I can’t do that on my own but with the help of friends, family and anyone who hears about this, in partnership with Children on The Edge we can make a real difference to these children’s lives”. We’re hugely grateful to Andrew for taking on this challenge, and will be updating you with tales of his adventures in September. You can support him by donating on his Just Giving page, or texting MONT65£5 to 70070 to donate £5. ![]() Kick starting with a Christmas Charity Fair, Form 6 at Cranleigh Prep school have been busy fundraising for Children on the Edge this school year. Bea and Sam, the school’s Charity Prefects told us a little bit about what they got up to: “In the weeks leading up to the Christmas Fair we made many things to sell to raise money for Children on the Edge, such as fudge, Chocolate crackle (with many different flavours), apple chutney from the apples in our orchard and greetings cards. One of our teachers kindly made friendship bracelets from coloured bands. On the day of the fair all of the charity committee took part in a rota to man the stall as it was very busy. In the end we made £500 for Children on the Edge and had a great time!” In addition to the amazing amount raised at the fair (pictured below left), there are more plans in the pipeline to help raise even more vital funds for our projects around the world. A Krispy Kreme donut sale will be tempting the other students at school to part with their cash as well as a summer fayre, mufti day and an end of term service and concert. We can’t wait to hear the updates as the school year progresses! One of the Housemasters at Cranleigh Prep is going one step further and has decided to support Form 6’s fundraising endeavours by taking on a huge challenge of his own. Dudley Manning (pictured below right) is taking part in the Hardmoors 160 run which is an endurance race of epic proportions. The challenge is to run 160 miles in just 48 hours. Dudley explained why he has taken on the ultra marathon: “This may seem tough - but it is nothing in comparison to the life long suffering that millions of children around the world are going through right now. This year, Form 6 have chosen to support the “Children on the Edge” charity, which exists to help forgotten children, living in barren and dangerous places across the globe, and helps restore the ingredients of a full childhood by generating hope, life, colour and fun. This is part of our attempt to raise awareness and help young boys and girls all around the world.” If you wish to support and encourage Dudley in his challenge, please visit his JustGiving page. A huge thank you to Form 6 at Cranleigh Prep School as well as the rest of the staff and students. The money and awareness that you are raising really does make the world of difference to forgotten children living in some of the most vulnerable communities. ![]() Montezuma’s Chocolates have raised an amazing £12,898 for our work this year with their ‘Bags of cash’ scheme. Our good friends over at Montezuma’s Chocolates have been supporting us in many different ways for several years now. From sponsoring our annual Easter Trail event in Priory park, to a dizzyingly fun-packed charity week, to both sponsoring, running and stocking the goodie bags for our Chichester Half Marathon, they’ve made a tremendous difference to the children we work with across the world. In addition to these events, one of the ways Montezuma’s have been raising money for our work is through their ‘Bags of Cash’ initiative. In each of their five stores, staff have been highlighting the plight of the children we support in Soweto Slum, Uganda, and asking customers to donate a few coins to us when they use a carrier bag. Over the last year, through this simple scheme, the five stores have raised a whopping £12,898, which is enough to pay for 70 children in Uganda to benefit from pre-school education for a year, with daily breakfast and lunch, and regular support from a trained social worker. Carrie Burton, Area Retail Manager at Montezuma’s says “We are so proud to be able to help such a fantastic charity and are continually amazed at the generosity our customers show when donating for our paper bags or supporting our charity weeks. I was fortunate to experience this first hand when a customer donated a cheque for £1000 pounds for paper bag! I'm still amazed every time I think about it. Whether it's 1p or £1000 every single donation makes a huge difference and we're proud to help in any way that we can”. The ideals that Montezuma’s started out with have stayed with the company and are firmly rooted in every part of what they do. Montezuma’s is a business where ‘substance wins over style, where sustainable and organic business growth wins over greed and where a Trading Fairly Policy sweeps a path of ethics covering everything..’. Esther Smitheram from Children on the Edge commented, “We are so privileged to benefit from Montezuma’s commitment to values, and in our own small way, be a part of their expression of ‘substance’. We’d like to say a huge thank you not only to their generous chocolate loving customers, but to the Montezuma’s staff who continue to support and promote Children on the Edge so ably”. To find out more about the magic of Montezuma’s and learn more about the work they are currently focussing on in Uganda. ![]() This year’s Easter Chocolate Trail, sponsored by the wonderful Montezuma’s Chocolates will be celebrating a decade of spring time fun and learning. If you come down to Priory Park on Easter Saturday (19th April) you’ll find a fun-filled Easter Trail with a difference. We have organised this popular family event each Easter Saturday in Chichester for the last ten years. Each year has presented local children with a different theme, twist or challenge, and this anniversary event is no exception. To celebrate 10 years of the event and 10 years of us being based in Chichester, we are using the trail to highlight 10 children’s rights that we support around the world. All the work of Children on the Edge is guided by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, a treaty which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989. Through an array of interactive stands at this year’s event, children can explore and learn about their own rights, find out about the lives of other children around the world and collect delicious Montezuma’s chocolates along the way. Alongside the trail there will be the usual array of treats and refreshments including O’Hagan’s sausages, fete games, bouncy castle, tombola and much more, both indoors and outdoors, so come along rain or shine! Primary School children around the area will also be designing their own Easter Eggs for Montezuma’s Chocolates, in order to win an egg with their design on it. The two winning entries will be presented with their eggs at the Easter Trail. If your child would like to enter, just download the flyer which includes the egg shaped entry form, and send their designs to us at the office, or drop them into the Montezuma's Store in Chichester. Entry fee for the trail is £4.00 for 1 child, £7 for 2 or £10 for 3. Do call the Children on the Edge office with any queries on 01243 538530 or e-mail [email protected]. ![]() If you are a keen walker or even a gentle ambler, you may be interested in joining one of our Ambassadors, Dr Chris Taylor, on a series of walks through stunning Dorset scenery, to be held between the 4th and 6th of April, in loving memory of Georgina Maxse. They are a wonderful way to experience new walks with old friends and to make new friends on the way, choosing exactly how far you want to walk. All money raised will be supporting both Children on the Edge and Cancer Research UK. Day one will be taking in the sites around Berwick St John, Alvesdiston, Win Green Hill, Swallowcliffe Down and the Ox Drove. The second day is a glorious downland circuit via Zig Zag Hill, Charlton Down, Win Green Hill to lunch at Tollard Royal, returning via the very pretty village of Ashmore and Compton Down. The last day consists of country lanes, trails, farm tracks and Roman roads around Gussage Hill, Cranborne and Pentridge Hill. If this sounds appealing, why not sign up for a half day walk, a full day walk, pubbing and picnicking or doing all three days! There’s even an option to take your dog along for the journey. Just have a look through the full information and, if you’d like to partake, download a form and send it to [email protected]. We’d like to say a huge thank you to Chris, Sally Marien and Barbara Roberts (with the help and encouragement of Tony Maxse) for organising such a fantastic event, and we hope the sun shines on you all! ![]() We’ve written a lot about different sporting challenges our supporters set themselves. From running marathons to cycling across countries, but we haven’t ever had anyone row the Atlantic! Until now… Alan Lau, will be rowing solo and unsupported across the Atlantic Ocean to raise money for Children On The Edge. He will be setting off from Gran Canaria early December 2014 and arrive approximately 90 days later in Barbados, covering a distance of 3,000 miles using only the power from his oars. As a motorcycle racer, triathlete, long distance cyclist and a gravity enduro mountain biker, Alan is not unfamiliar with challenges. He has dreamed about crossing oceans in a boat since his childhood and the dream started to become reality in winter 2008 when he was inspired by reading the story of another ocean rower coming to the end of her challenge. In addition to raising funds for our work, Alan is also hoping that his adventure will inspire others to step outside of their comfort zones. The boat “CurryFishball” that will be used for the crossing has been specially built by Rossiter Yachts, a family run business spanning 3 generations of boat builders who Alan has really enjoyed working with; “I feel safe knowing that my boat has been built by Cris Rossiter and his team.” At the moment, his expedition is self funded, with a very lean team helping preparations. During the expedition itself, only the safety co-ordinator will be involved from land, to provide weather information and co-ordinate communications. To engage with the community and to help raise awareness as well as funds, Alan has decided to run several competitions and raffle draws for school children to get involved in. Competitions range from creating the best theme for the boat to be painted with to designing the T-shirt graphics for the team. There will even be an opportunity to win short trips in the boat. In addition, Alan will be promoting the event at the Southampton Boat Show in September 2014. To find out more and to get involved, check out Alan’s Atlantic Challenge Facebook page Children on the Edge is delighted to have been awarded funding by the Big Lottery Fund, to scale up our work with working children in Bangladesh.
Since 2009 we have been working with our partner MUKTI, in Bangladesh, providing a chance for working children in the Cox’s Bazar area to gain an education that would otherwise have been unobtainable. Building on this work, the lottery grant will contribute to the costs of the programme for the next three years and enable us to increase the number of working children in our Community Schools to 900 per year. The grant has also made it possible for us to recruit an additional 36 teachers making a total of 108 teachers across all the Community Schools, all benefitting from full teacher training in child friendly techniques, and the delivery of curriculums which have been specially developed for students who have encountered barriers to education. The Big Lottery Fund is the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding and is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need. Rachel Bentley, Director at Children on the Edge says “Our aim is to create an opportunity for children who have been denied all access to learning, to gain an education and have a chance each day to just be a child. This education is key to breaking cycles of poverty and discrimination and we’re delighted to have the backing of the Lottery in making this a reality for thousands of children”. Over the next five years we will be focussing particularly on the introduction of child based student councils, training children as evaluators and encouraging them to take a lead in monitoring and planning. They will also be meeting with community leaders on an annual basis to voice their opinions. Working children in the Community Schools will be working towards a three year goal of graduation into mainstream primary education. We will be resourcing staff to negotiate these places with local schools and to work alongside parents to raise awareness about the importance of education for their children. Find out more about the Community Schools in Bangladesh. |
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