![]() As registrations pour in for the Chichester Half 2013, to add a bit of fun along the way we’re giving out Next voucher prizes, courtesy of Chichester District Council, for each hundredth runner. Our number 300 is Kayley Hackshaw; she’s been running with friends and as part of a running club for a couple of years now, and loves how much energy she gets from it. “I always feel like it clears my head” says Kayley, “and it's a great way to wind down after a long day at work”. Having participated in a few 10k runs before, a Race for Life last Saturday on Clapham Common and the Leatherhead Rotary Club Bluebell Run for the last couple of years, Kayley wanted to track her improvement and stretch herself by entering a half marathon. Although she’s London based now, she grew up in Chichester and loves the area, so decided it would be great to run here and benefit from the support of her Chichester family and friends too! Kayley describes how the work of Children on the Edge is close to her heart, as while she was at university she went to Manila in the Philippines and worked with a charity that had set up a brilliant school programme in the slums of a rubbish site in Tondo. She says “I really had no idea of the poverty and destitute living conditions that some children grow up in until I walked into that school! Children on the Edge has very similar projects for improving the quality of life of children and I would love to be involved in fundraising!”. Since signing up for the Chichester Half, Kayley has set up a JustGiving page to get sponsored for her run and raise money for her projects. We’d love as many runners as possible to follow her example! If you’re running this year and think you can get sponsored then please do consider fundraising for our work, every little really does help. Find out more about our projects, sign up for the Chichester Half and get sponsored! ![]() On Tuesday 30th April, Osmund Company at St Mary’s Calne School in the Wiltshire Downs, raised over £400 for Children on the Edge by inviting Peter Wilson MBE to speak at a fundraising dinner. Peter is the gold medal winner for Double Trap Shooting at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Following a delicious supper with pupils and staff, Peter gave an entertaining and enlightening talk about his experiences leading up to the double trap final. Peter’s obvious enthusiasm for the sport, his commitment to hard work and practice, and his ultimate ambition to make his dream come true, were inspirational for the young and not so young alike! Bringing along his gold medal provided an ideal photo opportunity for many of the pupils and many autographs were signed! We are hugely thankful to both Peter and Osmund Company at St Mary’s Calne who, in addition to this event, have raised £250 through their ‘bob a job’ campaign and mufti day. Altogether the amount they raised will pay for rent on a classroom and a hot meal each day for 100 working children, for three months at our Learning Centres in Bangladesh. If you or your school would like to fundraise for our projects then please do get in touch. ![]() We’d like to say a big thank you to Deb and Will Egleton, who completed the 2013 ‘Just Walk’ event at Goodwood to raise money for our projects. Starting and finishing at Goodwood Racecouse, Just Walk is an exciting sponsored UK charity walk for anyone wanting to fundraise for the charity of their choice. The event offers enthusiastic walkers the chance to experience a breathtaking charity walk over the picturesque South Downs in West Sussex. We’re really grateful to Deb and Will for choosing Children on the Edge and would like to congratulate them on walking 40k in 8.5 hours! Deb says of the event, “We were exhausted! But we really enjoyed the walk and are amazed and chuffed to see our total went over £500! We also hugely enjoyed over 70 miles of training walks... So thanks for the inspiration! We really believe that Children on the Edge is just that”. If you’d like to fundraise for our projects, don’t hesitate to get in touch! ![]() President Thein Sein of Burma is visiting Barack Obama in Washington this week. He is the first Burmese head of state to visit the USA in over 47 years, yet his visit has roused protests outside the White House and beyond. Human Rights campaigners feel that, considering the negative state of human rights throughout Burma, the visit is too premature. In some ways this trip reflects the evolution of some positive changes in Burma, but although there are fragile ceasefires, the release of many political prisoners and a representation of the National League for Democracy in the parliament, there is a very long way to go if Burma is to establish real reform. The Irrawaddy states that, ahead of this White House visit, many ethnic leaders in Burma have expressed anger about how the United States are not doing enough to support a proper peace process. The Guardian has described the disappointment that many groups have felt at President Obama’s use of the title ‘Myanmar’, instead of Burma, in his statements during the visit. This is a name that has been previously avoided as it is used by the military junta and not inclusive of all the country's ethnic groupings. Many repressive laws in Burma remain unchallenged and serious human rights abuses continue unabated throughout the country. Military offenses against the people of Kachin State have displaced 100,000 civilians and burned down over 200 villages. Children on the Edge have provided essential aid for these displaced children living in temporary camps and are fundraising to provide crucial early childhood development support for children in 12 camps. The Rohingya who have lived in Arakan State, Burma for generations are still labelled by the government as ‘illegal Bengali immigrants’. They are persecuted and abused by the authorities and the communities around them, and have become the most marginalised group in the world. In the same week that Thein Sein left to visit President Obama, authorities in Arakan State created a two child only policy for the Rohingya people. We have been working with this people group for the last three years in Bangladesh, where thousands of Rohingya have fled and are living in makeshift camps. Here, they are not recognised as refugees and have no chance of help for their children. We are currently providing education to 1,800 children in makeshift refugee camps and are looking to expand to meet the increasing need. This article in the New York Times, co-authored by Benedict Rogers of CSW, provides an excellent overview of the situation in Burma and the international response. Read more about our projects with the Kachin and Rohingya people of Burma, and please consider donating. ![]() We'd like to introduce you to our friends at Bell Tent Parties. These friendly, Chichester based folks provide a beautiful bell tent with handmade themed decorations, available to hire for all sorts of parties and events. Not only this, but a donation from every event they do comes straight to Children on the Edge! This Saturday they had their first ever event at Oving Scarecrow day. Here the Bell Tent team got lots of children involved in a competition colouring in scarecrow pictures inside their lovely tent, as well as having great fun with the dressing up basket and pirate treasure box! This simple competition raised £18 for our projects and a lucky five year old girl from Bosham won a prize of a bucket of yummy Montezuma's chocolates. We'd like to say a huge thank you to Bell Tent Parties and we look forward to working with them in the future. If you think your business can support us in this way then don't hesitate to get in touch. ![]() After raising £7,000 last year for our work, the girls at St Christopher’s Prep School in Hampstead decided that they would like to run another fund raising activity in 2013. The girls of Bronte house, decided that an Alice themed tea party would be just ideal, and with the addition of a second hand clothes exchange into the mix, it was the perfect recipe for what Head teacher Suzie West described as “a hectic, entertaining and profitable afternoon”. All the girls dressed up as a character from Alice in Wonderland, ate cakes, drank lemonade and enjoyed a screening of the film, whilst parents chatted and enjoyed a cake or two themselves! Whether or not these girls believe in ‘six impossible things before breakfast’ we’re not sure, but they did raise an incredible £2,000 for our project in Bangladesh in one afternoon, which is a nigh impossible feat and one to be very proud of. We’d like to say a huge thank you to them and the staff and parents at St Christopher’s. If you think your school could raise money for our work, then please get in touch. ![]() This past week Children on the Edge held its first football camp for migrant Burmese children living in Thailand. Working with local partner organisation Social Action for Women (SAW), 64 children aged 8-18 took part in the two day event in Mae Sod. Six volunteers helped host the camp which was led by former Leeds United Youth Team player Chris Hasting, who now plies his trade in the Thai professional league for Lamphun Warriors FC. The two day camp aimed to provide migrant children, without parental care, to have a memorable experience during their holidays. “We decided to hold the camp during the Burmese New Year break,” explained SAW social worker Thwin Linn, “as most of the children who stay with us during this time have no home to return to.” The success of the camp could be seen on the beaming faces of the children throughout the day. In spite of temperatures that pushed up to 40C, their enthusiasm didn’t wane in the least. “The children arrived an hour early each morning just to be there. We gave them an hour for lunch, but they just wanted to go straight back out on the pitch and play. Their energy was incredible,” noted volunteer Lee Stevens, Athletic Director at Nakorn Payap International School in Chiang Mai. “The joy on their faces after each goal was fantastic.” The camp was also sponsored in part by UK-based company Cherrytech Group who have had a presence in Thailand for over 15 years. Company President Stuart Knight says “We are aware that so many of these kids have had a difficult life, and we want to do our part to help give them a positive experience”. It appears that the experience was one that will not be forgotten soon by the kids. “We usually play on a dirt field with many cows around,” remarked Than Lyun age 16. “We have never been able to play on a real field, with real shoes, and be trained by a professional … it’s been great.” As about a third of the participating children owned only sandals, Children on the Edge was able to provide a pair of athletic shoes for many of the kids. As the camp came to a close, the focus was already being turned to the next time. “This event has definitely been the highlight of their break. They already want to know when we can do it again. These kids are crazy about football!” remarked SAW Child Crisis Centre manager Yiyi Win. Find out more about our work in Thailand, and consider donating to the project. ![]() At the moment our news stream is just full to brimming with the sporting endeavors of fabulous runners, and so grateful we are for them too! If however, the thought of running leaves you cold, we want to encourage you that there are plenty of other ways to raise money for our projects, be yourself and have some enjoyment at the same time. Naomi Welch, Chief maker at Redeem Creations says “I just love Children on the Edge and the way this small, but groundbreaking charity is working across the world with the most vulnerable and marginalised children. I don't do marathons or jumping out of aircraft and I wouldn't be great at sponsored silence either, however, I can make pretty things”. She certainly can. In the last year Naomi has raffled off an Olympic themed cake, a beautiful handmade doll and is currently running a competition for an ‘Enchanted Wood’ themed satchel to raise money for our projects. Naomi is also involved in an informal craft group in Petworth called Makespace which brings people together to create and have fun. At these gatherings Naomi has given out vintage fabric in exchange for donations to Children on the Edge, another member, Charlotte Loukes who runs The Cotton Wool Store in the town, has donated fabric to enable each person attending to create something (see bunnies in photo above) and in turn give a donation to our work. Photographer Liz Andreozzi, who also attends the group, put together a birthday Easter Egg hunt for her boys and their friends, with a 50p donation per entry, also to raise money for our projects. We’d like to say a big thank you to the Makespace ladies for thinking of us and raising valuable funds for our projects in simple ways. We’d also like to encourage readers that these small contributions and donations really do make a difference. It’s great when people run marathons for us, but it’s also great when people are generous with the talents they have, both through special events and in everyday life. We’ve had lots of amazing people raising money for us in different ways. From street dances, Bollywood nights and lunch parties to selling paintings, jewellery and cakes. We hope you feel inspired to do something to make a difference, in the way that suits you best. As always, let us know how you get on. We love to tell your stories! |
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