Story
Thank you so much for visiting my page. I hope what you read will inspire you to sponsor me, for what I believe is a really worthwhile project.
WHAT am I doing?
On August 25th 2008, I have been persuaded (mostly by my children) to jump off a very large rock, with just a thin piece of rope to slow down my descent - I believe the technical description is that I am abseiling down Dinas Rock in Swansea.
WHY am I doing this?
That is a very good question and one I have asked myself on a number of occasions since agreeing to do it. No, it is not my mid-life crisis - the real answer is that I am hoping to raise a lot of money for a project that really inspires me. The Rekai Tangwena Children's Home was set up by a local church in Nyanga, in North East Zimbabwe, close to the Mozambique border and already cares for 20 children aged between 5 and 18. The leader of the church, Livingstone Nawanda, inspired his congregation to give sacrificially from the little they had, so that they could set up somewhere to care for the needs of an increasing number of local orphans and vulnerable children; mostly because of the high incidence of HIV and AIDS.
Like many of you I have been shocked and saddened by much of the news coming out of Zimbabwe over the last few months and wondered what on earth can be done to help people in a country in crisis. Last November I was deeply moved when I had the privilege of hearing Livingstone speak at a conference about his response to the need he saw around him which led to the birth of this project. His church congregation, who by our standards, are very poor are giving sacrificially to transform the lives of a small group of children. The y know that even the little they have to give can give hope and a future to each child. It excites me that not only is this project already up and running but that it is being led by local people who have great vision and can do extraordinary things with just small sums of money.
Small gifts from the UK have enabled the home to make some improvements - a fence to improve security, a stove and some roof repairs to stop the rain coming in, but even with these improvements the current children’s home is very limited.
HOW will the money raised be used?
A group of people from all over the UK will be taking part in the abseil challenge and the aim is to raise enough money (£10,000) to be able to start work on building a new Orphan and Vulnerable Children's Centre on a nearby piece of land which has already been purchased. This purpose built site, whilst not luxurious, will be better equipped to home these children and give them a better standard of living - no more leaky roof tops, fear of break-ins or broken down and dangerous buildings.
WHAT about the Future?
The long term plans are to build a 'mini-village' and to help the struggling economy of the area by using local merchants and tradesman. Their vision includes houses where groups of 6 children can live with a house parent, sports facilities, a grain mill, chicken run and kitchen garden for both education and as a way of generating income.
So, please sponsor me - even a small amount will make a large difference for these children. If you are a tax payer, 28p in every pound you give will be added onto your donation automatically if you Gift Aid the money you give .
If you want to find out more then please contact me (davidasilver@aol.com) or have a look at the following information:
http://www.lifelinkinternational.org.uk/Publisher/Article.aspx?id=93841
WHAT am I doing?
On August 25th 2008, I have been persuaded (mostly by my children) to jump off a very large rock, with just a thin piece of rope to slow down my descent - I believe the technical description is that I am abseiling down Dinas Rock in Swansea.
WHY am I doing this?
That is a very good question and one I have asked myself on a number of occasions since agreeing to do it. No, it is not my mid-life crisis - the real answer is that I am hoping to raise a lot of money for a project that really inspires me. The Rekai Tangwena Children's Home was set up by a local church in Nyanga, in North East Zimbabwe, close to the Mozambique border and already cares for 20 children aged between 5 and 18. The leader of the church, Livingstone Nawanda, inspired his congregation to give sacrificially from the little they had, so that they could set up somewhere to care for the needs of an increasing number of local orphans and vulnerable children; mostly because of the high incidence of HIV and AIDS.
Like many of you I have been shocked and saddened by much of the news coming out of Zimbabwe over the last few months and wondered what on earth can be done to help people in a country in crisis. Last November I was deeply moved when I had the privilege of hearing Livingstone speak at a conference about his response to the need he saw around him which led to the birth of this project. His church congregation, who by our standards, are very poor are giving sacrificially to transform the lives of a small group of children. The y know that even the little they have to give can give hope and a future to each child. It excites me that not only is this project already up and running but that it is being led by local people who have great vision and can do extraordinary things with just small sums of money.
Small gifts from the UK have enabled the home to make some improvements - a fence to improve security, a stove and some roof repairs to stop the rain coming in, but even with these improvements the current children’s home is very limited.
HOW will the money raised be used?
A group of people from all over the UK will be taking part in the abseil challenge and the aim is to raise enough money (£10,000) to be able to start work on building a new Orphan and Vulnerable Children's Centre on a nearby piece of land which has already been purchased. This purpose built site, whilst not luxurious, will be better equipped to home these children and give them a better standard of living - no more leaky roof tops, fear of break-ins or broken down and dangerous buildings.
WHAT about the Future?
The long term plans are to build a 'mini-village' and to help the struggling economy of the area by using local merchants and tradesman. Their vision includes houses where groups of 6 children can live with a house parent, sports facilities, a grain mill, chicken run and kitchen garden for both education and as a way of generating income.
So, please sponsor me - even a small amount will make a large difference for these children. If you are a tax payer, 28p in every pound you give will be added onto your donation automatically if you Gift Aid the money you give .
If you want to find out more then please contact me (davidasilver@aol.com) or have a look at the following information:
http://www.lifelinkinternational.org.uk/Publisher/Article.aspx?id=93841