<p>Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.</p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 14px;">At the end of August 2011, Linda and I are again travelling out to Akany Avoko, a shelter for orphans, <span>destitute children and young people</span> <span>in Madagascar. We shall be there for about 10 weeks during which we will be refurbishing the Halfway Home, a building used by young adults as they prepare to leave the sanctuary that Akany has provided and re-enter the harsh reality of life in a very poor country!</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: &quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;;">This will be our third visit in 4 years and as before we shall of course be funding every penny of travel, accommodation and subsistence costs ourselves. However, we will also need to buy many materials locally to carry out the project and for that we are appealing to the good will and generosity of people like you to help. It is tremendously important for the children to know that there are people out there in the big wide world who are prepared to help them. Equally we regard it as vital that, unlike so many appeals for charity, people who make donations know exactly where the money goes and what it achieves &ndash; and that there are absolutely no deductions for fees, administration or any other costs. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: &quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;;">Just to give you an idea, last time we refurbished 6 dormitories used by girls between the ages of 7 and 17. We raised &pound;1500 which was used to buy 66 pillows, 500 square metres of fabric for bed covers, pillow cases and curtains, 120 litres of paint, 50 metres of timber for bunk bed repairs, 16 panes of glass to replace the broken windows. We worked 52 days without a break &ndash; hard work but much appreciated by the girls as you can see from the photos!</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: &quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;;">This time we estimate we will need about &pound;1,000 for building and decorating materials, paint, fabric for bed sheets and curtains, pillows and a mirror for each room. Any money left over will be used to buy shoes for the 2 to 6 year olds before the rainy season starts in November.</span></span></p> <p>You can read more about Akany by copying www.AkanyAvoko.com into your browser, and more about Money for Madagascar which is a UK registered member charity with JustGiving.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>