Dear Everyone, 

Becks and I are delighted to announce that the Firefly Festival is happening this year on Saturday 13th July at our home in Gloucestershire to raise funds for Firefly International. Firefly International is celebrating its 20th Anniversary this year since it was founded by my cousin Ellie Constable Maxwell. The festival is open to anyone, and will include many children’s activities, sports, swimming, food and drink and live music. Please come for all or any part of the day or evening and bring a tent if you want to stay.

As many of you will know my cousin, Ellie Maxwell passed away from cancer on 6th April 2009 aged 32. We were born 6 months apart and both spent our childhoods growing up together in neighbouring houses in Alresford, Hampshire. Ellie and I travelled to Mostar, Bosnia in September 1995 at the start of our gap years to join her father, Peter, who was an aid worker positioned there. We arrived in Mostar, following the cease-fire at the end of the Balkans war. Mostar had been at the epicentre of much of the Yugoslavian conflict. From the start, Ellie’s exceptional personality stood out. She quickly became fluent in Serbo-croat and worked with enormous enthusiasm and energy in the youth centres set up by her father’s charity, Terre des Hommes. The children in the centres came from different ethnic factions, torn apart by the conflict. Ellie’s warm personality and amazing sense of humour meant that all the children she met were put completely at ease in her presence. Nearly all the children had some tragic story to tell from their experiences and Ellie was able to naturally draw these tales out. The centres provided a safe haven for the children, regardless of their ethnic background and an environment within which their emotional recovery could begin. The seeds were sewn for a life-long devotion of Ellie’s to the Children of Bosnia. Ellie set up the charity, Firefly, in her first year as an undergraduate at Edinburgh University. She arranged youth camps, art workshops and festivals in Brcko, Bosnia. Ellie won a variety of awards for her involvement with Firefly, including being presented with Young Achiever of the Year by the Queen. Ellie ended her life at a tragically young age. However, the legacy she created in improving the lives of so many Bosnian children lives on. With your help, Firefly can continue to fund a fully equipped youth centre in Brcko, Bosnia as well as other projects in war-torn countries. You can read more about Ellies's remarkable life in her obituary in The Independent: 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/ellie-maxwell-aid-worker-who-founded-the-charity-firefly-international-1688480.html \u2028\u2028

About Firefly: http://www.fireflyinternational.org/ 

Firefly International works to build peace in divided communities around the world by supporting children and young people from different backgrounds to form friendships and mutual respect. It brings young people together in positive, fun and life-affirming activities ranging from music-making to theatre groups. These young people go on to become ambassadors for peace within their own families and communities both today and as adults. In this way Firefly is tackling conflict now as well as planting the seeds of peace for the future. Children and young people play a vital role in preventing violent conflict and building peaceful societies. Where young people form friendships that cut across social, political or religious boundaries, they can and do help to avert conflict and assist societies to recover from war. Where young people from different backgrounds are supported to celebrate what they have in common this can and does break down tensions and distrust and help warring communities to reconcile and unite. Without Firefly thousands more children would be growing up in conflict. Many communities would still be at war with each other. Lives would have been lost and futures condemned to poverty and lack of opportunity.

We really hope that you will be able to join us.
Love,
Mungo and Becks