Manchester Woodcraft Folk – Hosting of Saharawi Children, July/August 2011

The Woodcraft Folk is an educational movement for children and young people, which aims to develop self confidence and involve them in helping to create a world based on equality, friendship, peace and co-operation.

In July/August 2011, 10 children, aged 11 – 15, and two adults, who live in refugee camps in the Sahara Desert will be welcomed to Manchester for six weeks, hosted by Levenshulme, Parrswood and Chorlton Woodcraft Folk groups.

They will stay with host families, enjoying a wide range of activities and life in Manchester. For 10 days we will all be at the Woodcraft International Camp in Nottinghamshire , with 5000 young people from 35 countries from across the Globe. See the website for more information.

http://www.woodcraft.org.uk/activities/cocamp

Western Sahara, located along the Atlantic coast of north-west Africa, was colonised by Spain in 1884 and since then the Saharawis have been seeking the right to self-determination. In 1975 they were negotiating their independence with Spain when Morocco invaded. Today, 160,000 Saharawi people continue to struggle as refugees in the four camps just inside Algeria. In 1975 the International Court of Justice and the UN recognised the right of the Saharawi people to their self-determination and condemned the invasion.

In 1991 the UN adopted a Peace Plan accepted by both parties. The plan allowed for the Saharawis to exercise their right to self-determination in a referendum scheduled for 1992. This referendum has still not taken place due to Morocco’s continued stalling tactics as to who is eligible to vote. For more information see http://www.sandblast-arts.org/saharawis

Although there are many hardships experienced by the Saharawi children living in exile, there is a great emphasis placed on education and broadening young people’s experiences. The hosting will offer an opportunity for the Saharawi children to come to England and to see what life is like here, and children from Manchester will be able to find out about conditions of life in the refugee camps. Our aim is to give the young people a good time and to raise awareness in Manchester of the forgotten conflict in the Western Sahara.

watch this short film- We the Sahrawis

http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/films/p0058zfm

There is considerable cost connected to hosting the delegation - £10,000 just for flights and visas. We are also aiming to raise funds for trips and visits during their stay.

We’re planning lots of fundraising activities and need your help to make this plan a reality. If you can help us by doing something to raise funds, or you can put us in touch with a group who may make a donation to help us, or just want o know more, please get in touch.

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