![]() Last month Clare Smith, a consultant from The Body Shop at Home organised a fantastic Bollywood event to raise money for our projects. Clare not only raises money through her parties and events, but also came with us to Moldova in the summer to volunteer at our Child and Community Centre. At the evening guests were treated to a performance from Authentic Bollywood Dancers who did two sets of dancing then got the audience to join in. Clare said “This bit was really fun and I was up there trying all the moves!! Very energetic though! I thought I would collapse after 20mins!!”. There was also a raffle at the start in which everyone got a prize. Included in ticket prices was either a bottle of Cobra Indian beer for men or a glass of champagne for ladies! Later on in the evening guests were treated to chicken curry, rice, samosas and bags of Indian sweets. Nearly everyone made the effort to get dressed up and dancing went on until 1.00 am in the morning. The event raised a phenomenal £702 which (keeping on theme!) is enough to pay for 90 refugee children from Burma, living in India to go to school for a month and ensure they have food and medical care. Huge thanks to all involved. If you have any creative fundraising plans get in touch! ![]() Startline - Photo by LIz Thornewill Around 540 people took part in the revived Chichester Half Marathon on a sunny Sunday morning in the city. After a 25-year absence, the multi-terrain race returned to the district, starting at Chichester College and passing through the city centre before heading north to the pinnacle of the Downs. Through the route runners were able to see many of the city’s historic sites, including the Cathedral and the City Walls, and a great view from the top of the Trundle. The race was organised by Children on the Edge in conjunction with Chichester District Council. “This is the first Chichester Half Marathon event for a number of years and we’re delighted that so many people took part in the event. The sun came out for all the runners, spectators and volunteers, making it a great day for all,” says Ben Polhill, Sport and Physical Activity Development Officer at Chichester District Council. Just by entering the event runners contributed to our work with 3,000 overlooked children across the world, living on the margins of society. Ben Wilkes, Head of UK said “Children on the Edge has a global reach and helps some of the most vulnerable children in the world, so it was amazing to see our local community come together not only for a fantastic race, but to support our projects in such a positive way” Scores of runners came in singing the praises of the marshals who were all volunteers from the local area. The goody bags were also a firm favourite, containing contributions from Montezuma’s Chocolates, The Body Shop, Higher Nature and GNC. “It was a fantastic event today and I really enjoyed it” says runner Su Leeming. “The course is superb and the organisation and cheerful nature of all the correspondence has been fabulous. I was really impressed by the number and friendliness of the marshals today and also by the truly high quality good bag” The winner in all categories was James Baker with a net finish time of 1 hour, 15 minutes and 27 seconds and the women’s winner was Laura Allen who came in at 1 hour 36 minutes and 22 seconds. Both Children on the Edge and the council are hoping this will grow into an annual event and one runner, Mark Ponsford stated “This will become an Iconic south coast race.. a must for every serious runner”. Sponsored and supported by Montezuma’s Chocolates, Store Property and Covers and a string of other local businesses and excellently marshaled by over 100 local volunteers, the race was a truly local success. A full list of results can be found on the Chi half page, and the Chichester District Council website. ![]() Throughout this year the British government and media have been focussing on the positive changes occurring in Burma. The government also agreed to the suspension of EU sanctions despite none of the benchmarks originally set being fulfilled. These included the unconditional release of all political prisoners, the end of violence in ethnic states, and allowing humanitarian aid to be delivered without hindrance in ethnic states. The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office published its Human Rights and Democracy report for 2011 on July 10th. Despite some welcome reforms, the paper describes continuing (and in some ethnic states, worsening) human rights abuses in Burma, including villages been razed to the ground, torture, rape, and the continued use of child soldiers. Currently on the Thai-Burma border there is increased government discussion regarding Karen refugees being sent back home. Thailand’s National Security Council said last week that refugees from Burma who have been sheltering on Thai soil for more than two decades could return within a year. Despite this statement, and the growing representation in the media that as things are ‘improving’ in Burma, the situation on the ground remains precarious. Ceasefires are still fragile and do not yet include an enforceable code of conduct; troops still reside in local villages, and although the security council claims to be clearing them, the ground is still littered with land mines. A spokeswoman from the Karen Community Based Organisations (KCBO’s) stated that “We hope that we can go home one day soon, but it is just not possible under the current conditions in Karen areas.” This is especially poignant for the children at our Children's Crisis Centre in Thailand, the majority of whom are Karen refugees, and also those at our Nursery Schools inside Burma. While the situation in Karen state remains unstable a report recently published by Human Rights Watch details the difficult plight of Burmese refugees in Thailand. Ad Hoc and Inadequate: Thailand’s Treatment of Refugees and Asylum Seekers describes how “Thailand presents Burmese refugees with the unfair choice of stagnating for years in remote refugee camps or living and working outside the camps without protection from arrest and deportation”. To be separated from parents in this environment is extremely dangerous for refugee children, leaving them vulnerable to abuse, trafficking and exploitation. Our Crisis Centre gives 72 children support, shelter, education and nutrition until a time when they can be re-united with family. For the Karen child refugees in the Ei Htu Hta refugee camp, there is a high risk of malnutrition. Our Nursery Schools give not only vital early years education, but a nutritious meal each day to 300 displaced children under 5 years of age. We welcome news of positive reforms, but acknowledge that there is still a long way to go before Karen State is stable enough to provide a safe homecoming for these people. Until such a time, our projects in this area will continue to enable children enduring these circumstances to find a place of safety, where their needs can be met, their potential kindled and their sense of childhood protected. Find out more about our Children’s Crisis Centre on the Thai-Burma border, our Nursery Schools in Karen State Burma and consider donating to our work. ![]() Montezuma’s Chocolates have raised a whopping £1250 for our Learning Centres in their fun packed charity week. Last week every Montezuma’s store across the country hosted a week of activities to raise money for Children on the Edge. Each day had a different challenge including ‘Guess the number of Giant Buttons in the jar’, ‘Guess the weight of cocoa beans Montezuma’s uses in a year’, ‘Guess the flavour’ of a new and interesting bar sent to each store and two grand raffles, one for a chocolate filled Montezuma’s hamper and one for an exclusive factory tour and chocolate making session. The most exciting challenge was the ‘Design a Bar’ challenge, where customers could get creative and dream up their own flavour of bar. Each store had a winning customer who received a kilo of chocolate made using their winning idea, with each flavour being considered for launch as a limited edition product. In addition to the challenges the stores sold scrumptious chocolate dipped strawberries with the money going to the our projects. Naturally these went down very well with customers! Montezuma’s are currently raising money which goes specifically towards our Learning Centres for working children in Bangladesh. These have been set up to give 600 working children a place to come each afternoon for education, nutrition and a chance to play and rest for a few hours. The amount raised by the Montezuma's stores, head office and from their online customers will pay the rent for two of these Centres for an entire year, giving a place for 400 children to get an education that would have otherwise been impossible. Montezuma’s Chocolates are also a main sponsor for The Chichester Half Marathon, happening on October 14th. There are still running spaces for the race which promises to be a great event and will raise money for our work. We'd like to say a huge thank you to Montezuma's Chocolates for their hard work and generosity this week ![]() Henry Green, Commercial Director of Covers Timber and Builders Merchant who are sponsoring the Chichester Half Marathon on Sunday October 14th 2012 is already in training to run it himself. The 'Chi Half' is a challenging yet beautiful half marathon through Chichester city centre and the South Downs that aims to raise vital funds for our work with overlooked children living on the edges of society. Henry said: 'This is a great local event and we are proud to be sponsoring Children on the Edge, the Chichester based international children's charity as well as running in the event myself’. By paying an entry fee and running the ‘Chi half’ entrants will already be helping our projects where a little money really can go a long way in the places where we work. Just £5 can provide a hot lunch for 10 children for 1 week in our Learning Centres in Bangladesh. The marathon will be a fantastic way to raise funds to continue this and many other vital projects. Covers joins other local firms supporting the Chichester Half Marathon: Montezuma's, Store Property, Fitness First, Henry Adams, Evans Weir and Carte Blanche. For further information on the event please visit our 'Chi half' page, e-mail the office or call us on 01243 538530. ![]() Moldova is one of the poorest countries in Europe and it’s high unemployment, especially in rural areas, means that often migration is perceived as the only survival strategy. In some villages, more than half of the population has migrated overseas in search of work. Consequently many children are living in poverty and without adequate care and are at constant risk of abuse, violence and trafficking. To tackle these problems where the dangers for children are most evident, we have helped to develop a Child Friendly Space in a small village in southern Moldova. The Centre brings hope to these children by providing after school activities, home work help, nutrition and support. It enables them to be children again. This year four of the most successful fundraisers from The Body Shop at Home™ won a chance to go on a trip to Moldova to see the project, help out on a fantastic summer play scheme and see with their own eyes what a difference their fundraising is making. The volunteers threw themselves in whole heartedly to create a proper summer holiday for the children. With arts and crafts, sports and games through the day and puppet shows, bonfires and dancing in the evenings, they really did bring life, colour and fun to the children. What touched them most deeply was seeing the conditions that the children live in, and hearing about the the situations they go through each day. Karen described how; “Some of the things that our children take for granted just aren’t there; like constant fresh drinking water from the tap. Here it has to be fetched daily from the well. Seeing children knocking the apples off the tree with balls just to get something to eat humbles me”. Ben Wilkes from Children on the Edge was delighted to see how much the work of the Centre is increasingly permeating the community. “I’ve really seen a change over the years, I can see it in how the staff are starting to use creative ideas that we’ve shared with them, how much they visit the homes of the children and work to include the disabled children at every level. I’m impressed at how they are connecting with other parts of community like the police, the school and local government. It’s this holistic approach that will start to see the downward spiral turned around.” Find out more about our Child Friendly Space in Moldova and donate to the project. ![]() As part of the activities at the Child and Community Centre we support in Viqueque, East Timor, Children on the Edge have been running play schemes with volunteers from The Body Shop staff since 2003. This year’s play scheme was another amazing trip for our seven fantastic volunteers from across The Body Shop Asia Pacific region. On the first day the volunteers were greeted with a dance performance by the young girls who used to attend our morning Kindergarten. This was followed by a meeting with Padre Divo who is now the custodian of the project in Viqueque as we transition out of Timor. Central to all of our programmes is a commitment to adapt and alter what we provide as the needs of the children evolve. Part of this is reflected in our principle of investing in the local communities until a time where they are able to own and implement the projects for themselves. We are delighted that the Centre here in Viqueque is now entirely locally managed and receives funding from the local education department. Children on the Edge will be supporting them to ensure a smooth transition until February 2013. Our director, Rachel Bentley said of the Centre's move towards independence; "I am inspired and encouraged by how well the local community are taking on the ownership of this project in Viqueque. It's success is that it no longer needs our full support but we will remain in touch with the friends we have made in the community and look forward to watching the work flourish in the coming years." Later in the week the play scheme volunteers joined High School students from St. Stevens School on their annual environmental outing in Loihuno village where stories were shared with the children about the natural environment in our respective countries. Activities were also organised for three primary schools in town and the centre received a new playground set thanks to The Body Shop Australia. All of this was in addition to daily arts, crafts and outdoor activities for the more than 200 children that arrived at the centre every afternoon. They got stuck in to mask making, painting, bracelet making, origami, badminton, skipping, football, photography lessons for the older children and a 'toothbrushing' hygiene class with the kindergarten. Our Asia Pacific Consultant, Jo-anne Aeria said "Once again we feel truly privileged to be a part of the community of Viqueque after all these years and everyone who visits always leaves with a special piece of Timor in their hearts." Find out more about our current support of the Child and Community Centre in East TImor and donate to our work. ![]() Despite reducing the event from three days to one, as a result of extreme weather throughout the region, the British Gas Great North Swim still saw over 5,000 swimmers take on half mile, one mile or two mile distances at Lake Windermere in Cumbria on June 24th. To make sure they are really “walking the talk” when it comes to their slogan ‘Beauty With Heart’, a small team from The Body Shop® joined these thousands of brave swimmers to raise money for our projects. The team was made up of Clare Judic, Gemma Glenister, Becky Taylor, Liz Harrington, Sam Thomson and Steve Middleton who all swam an entire mile in Lake Windermere, despite the previous storms. On the day, the Lake District was flooded and trees had fallen down with the high winds, yet the team pressed on to the start line via a ferry, and a miles’ walk. They arrived a little flustered because of the need to change into their wetsuits very quickly. Appropriate lashings of Body Shop body butter (recommended by the wet suit hire company) helped enormously to get the wet suits on with the added bonus of soft skin after the swim! After donning swim caps with a timing chip attached they headed for the start line and 'acclimatisation' in the water before the official start. Liz described the experience; “Wow that's cold!!! Even with a wetsuit on, you needed to keep moving to keep warm”. After best wishes from well known swimmer Duncan Goodhew, they started their 1 mile swim. All the team did brilliantly (despite the lifeguards mistaking Liz’s back stroke for a help signal!) and have already raised over £2,000. We’d like to say how grateful we are to these brave swimmers for completing this challenge to support our work. You can still donate at their justgiving page and if you’re interested in taking on your own challenge for Children on the Edge then get in touch! ![]() A month ago Victoria Smith attempted her first ever marathon to raise money for our work. She had plumped for the Edinburgh marathon and having only done a few 10K races over the years it was a challenge to to start training in the cold, wet and windy winter weather. By the time she could run for 15 miles she felt her feet were never going to forgive her. It was hard pacing the inner city streets of Leeds on her own every Sunday, while her friends were snuggled on the sofa! She said “motivation is tough to come by, but it helped knowing that I was doing to make a difference to a child somewhere in desperate need”. Victoria became a Body Shop at Home™ consultant in June last year and had gone along to a number of meetings where there were updates about the work done by Children on the Edge across the world. When she decided to take the plunge and complete a marathon for the first ever time in her 30th year she said “I couldn't of chosen a more deserving charity to run for as I felt inspired by all the other consultants who were undertaking various activities in aid of this great cause”. When the big day came it was 24 degrees and no amount of training could have prepared her for hours running in the sun with absolutely no shade. Despite this, Victoria completed the marathon in 5 hours and 19 seconds and was pleased with her result. Just over a week later she was fully recovered and back in her trainers! We’d like to say a huge thank you to Victoria and congratulate her on this once in a lifetime achievement. She has already raised over £750 for our projects so she can rest assured that all her hard work has had a massive impact not just on her leg muscles, but in the lives of some of the most overlooked children on the edges of society. If Victoria’s story has inspired you to take on a challenge for Children on the Edge, then get in touch. ![]() Children on the Edge welcome Aung San Suu Kyi’s arrival in the UK and her much awaited address to parliament on the 21st June, her 67th birthday. Ms Suu Kyi is the first person who is not a Head of State to address parliament. Over the years she has become an international symbol of peaceful resistance having spent the last two decades under house arrest because of her commitment to bringing democracy to Burma. Last week she was able to officially receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, which she was awarded in 1991 but unable to collect in person due to her detention. There has been much in the media of late regarding some positive moves towards democracy in Burma, and the fact that Aung San Suu Kyi is able to visit Europe in itself is a reflection of these changes. However Ms Suu Kyi has clearly stated that "Some are a little bit too optimistic about the situation. We are cautiously optimistic. We are at the beginning of a road”. Reports coming in over the last few months evidence all too harshly the long road ahead for Burma. The Karen Women’s Organisation partner with us in providing nurseries for 300 displaced children on the borders of Burma. In their World Refugee Day statement today they described how “Although there is a lot of media attention on the current Peace Process in Burma there is little change on the ground for the ethnic peoples. In fact, we have seen more human rights violations, land confiscations, increased Burmese military presence, forced labor, killing and continued fighting in some areas. It is not safe for refugees to return to Burma.” Kachin State has also experienced a disturbing increase in human rights abuses in recent months, despite the ‘good press’ in the world media. Free Burma Rangers report that there is no ceasefire in these areas with a remaining 110 Burma army battalions shooting civiliians, using chemical munitions, burning down homes and shelling villages. Reports have poured in as the military continue to torture civilians, force labour and use rape as a weapon of war. Ben Rogers of Christian Solidarity Worldwide says “There is an urgent need for substantial reform or repeal of repressive legislation, significant constitutional reform and the development of the rule of law”. He says that Ms Suu Kyi’s visit is “historic and very welcome, but it marks a potential turning-point, rather than a conclusion, to her country’s many decades of struggle for freedom and peace”. Hardships and abuses for ethnic peoples are also on the increase in Arakan (Rakhine) State where the Rohingya people continue to be persecuted. At present the World Food Programme estimates there are about 90,000 displaced people in need of assistance as a result of the recent religious and ethnic clashes. As they flood over the borders to Bangladesh the refugees are continually pushed back, as a report from Human Rights Watch highlighted today. Children on the Edge have been working with the Rohingya on the borders of Bangladesh for the last year, providing education to over 900 children in the makeshift camps. As persecution increases this work is more vital than ever. As Aung Sung Suu Kyi makes a historic address to both Houses of Parliament this week, and in the light recent cuts to refugees on the borders of Burma and to internally displaced people, we urge you to consider her appeal from the Nobel Peace Prize speech. She says “Can we afford to indulge in compassion fatigue? Is the cost of meeting the needs of refugees greater than the cost that would be consequent on turning an indifferent, if not a blind, eye on their suffering? I appeal to donors the world over to fulfill the needs of these people who are in search, often it must seem to them a vain search, of refuge." Please read more about our work on the Bangladeshi and Thai borders of Burma and donate to our work. |
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