Dear friends, family and lots more wonderfully generous people that see a good cause and just can't help getting involved! 

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT AT THIS TIME- Jocelyn, Jane and I (Anna) are heading out to the DR Congo, Uganda and Kenya in early January 2010 to give our time and energy to children and adults living in poverty and conflict. 

WE ARE STUFFING OUT RUCKSACKS WITH EDUCATIONAL BOOKS, PENS, NAPPIES, FOOTBALLS, and MEDICINES... AND ANYTHING THAT WILL BE OF USE TO THE BELOW ORGANISATIONS. 

2 WAYS YOU CAN HELP:

1). PROVIDE MONEY FOR THE BELOW CAUSES by crediting the following account:  Account no:01067541 Sort code: 80 - 45 - 73  (unfortunately, I cannot attach multiple charities to the justgiving account so IF YOU WANT TO GIVE MONEY TO THE ORPHANAGES, AND HEALTH CENTRES MENTIONED BELOW then this is the only way.)

2).  Provide to " Alive and Kicking" charity by clicking on the link and donating money to this just giving account.  Every £10 will buy a football that has been hand stitched in Nairobi and will be picked up and delivered to a welcoming school or orphanage in Northern Uganda, Kenya or DR Congo. 

This trip was inspired by four things: time, travel, charity and a documentary that we stumbled upon on YouTube.  Northern Uganda and the Congo became a target location after watching a documentary called "The Invisible Children", filmed in 2003 by three young strapping American men from Southern California who recorded the plight of child soldiers and night commuters in northern Uganda.  If you have a spare 50 mins or so (bored at work, relaxing at home) then I would recommend this http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3166797753930210643.  The creators are a little Californicated but stick with it as it gives you a great insight into an area of the world that frequently goes under the radar.  The Democratic Republic of Congo and Northern Uganda has been engulfed by conflict for over a decade and remains one of the world's worst and most forsaken humanitarian crises. More details:  http://www.theirc.org/sites/default/files/resource-file/IRC_DRC_factsheet_Nov2009.pdf

HOW YOU CAN HELP!!!

With what little time we have (6 weeks), we hope to provide aid and give in as many ways as we can.  The first step starts here...

STEP 1:

 We are flying out to Nairobi in early January and we each plan to take an extra large rucksack stuffed with educational books, pens, nappies, footballs, medicines (if possible).  We need money from you to buy these resources.  We have been in contact with several schools and orphanages in areas that we will be visiting:

*Children's home based in Nairobi, Kenya- Home of the First Born.  Small orphanage: 10 boys.  8 girls.  They have capacity for 5 more.  They are in need of Food, Clothing  (any second hand clothes that are unwanted please send them our way).  They now have a cow producing milk, vegetables and rabbits (for meat).  They need money to buy chickens (source of eggs and meat).  Donate £5 and you will be providing a chicken for the orphanage.   All the children attend local schools and integrate fully in the local working community.

*WOCHOP - Woman and Children of Hope. DR Congo- Kinshasa.  Orphan primary school that is funded by ACC/WR:  3 small class rooms.  Children are completing 2 levels of primary education in 1 year.  In this way, they complete 6 years of primary education in 3 years.  They have one room with sewing machines (vocational training in sewing).  Also vocational training for boys in Carpentry.  Resources are required: Books, pens and pencils, money for sewing and carpentry materials needed. 

*WOCHOP - Woman and Children of Hope - Health/Medical Centre.  DR Congo- Kinshasa.  Set up in 2005.  Provides general medical, maternity and some operations in emergency situations.  Staff are paid by WOCHOP funds.  They are very poor - cannot pay or afford treatment.  They deal with approximately 35-40 births per month.  Money for medical treatments and equipment is needed. 

For futher details see:  http://www.humedica.org/projects/catastrophe_relief/dr_congo/mobile_clinic_in_kinshasa/index_eng.html

*SOS Children's Villages (Orphanage), Located near Lake Kivu, DR Congo needs: Sports/games equipment, footballs. School equipment (pens, pencils, stationary, text books in English etc.)

*Bwindi Community Hospital, Uganda needs new or used laptops (preferably less than 5 years old), head torches AA or AAA rechargeable batteries, Printer cartridges for the Hewlett Packard printers they have (must be HP 130, HP 129 or HP 135), Stethoscopes, toys for the children in wards. 

STEP 2: 

On arrival we will be attending the "Alive and Kicking" charity's stitching centre to collect balls that you will have kindly donated and we will be delivering them to welcoming schools and orphanages in Northern Uganda and DR Congo.  By donating £10 to this justgiving website you will be providing a ball of hope and happiness to a huge gaggle of excitable children who will cherish this present greatly.  These balls also provide HIV/AIDS awareness messages on the outside of them, they are made of long lasting durable material for the African terrain, and the charity also provides a great source of employment in the stitching centre based in Nairobi. 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

IMPORTANT:  If you would like to donate funds to the medical centres, orphanages and provide other resources such as books, pens and medicines then PLEASE DO YOU DONATE TO THE JUSTGIVING account. THIS ACCOUNT IS JUST FOR THE BALLS>  THE ACCOUNT MENTIONED IN THE TEXT should be used otherwise. 

So please dig deep and donate now!