Departure for South Africa...

Hi everyone.

Hope you are all doing fantastically well. So here we go... Friday February 26th, currently trying to finalise last minute things and pack my stuff to catch my night flight for South Africa, the start of a fantastic adventure. A long 11 hours flight, in which I hope to get a few hours sleep… Probably not. First because I am a very bad sleeper in planes and two, the excitement to get my two feet on African soil and start the field work with PROJECT HOPE UK team members around the Munsieville Model will most likely keep me up all night.

The last 3 weeks spent at PROJECT HOPE UK offices in London have been fantastic, providing me knowledge and background to help define how I can maximise my contribution. Three weeks of listening, reading, questioning, searching… to help forge my ideas around the tangible contribution I can bring to the development and launch of the innovative Munsieville Model of Excellence.

Three weeks where I was also able to be infected with PROJECT HOPE leaders Paul Brooks and Ellie Higgins passion, conviction and belief towards the development and successful implementation of a ‘global footprint potential’ Munsieville Model of Excellence for the care of orphans and Other Vulnerable Children. And believe me…this passion and belief is dangerously contagious!

I invite all of you to follow my journey over the next few months on this page, where I will be posting regular updates, stories, photos, videos and progress towards the building and launch of the Munsieville Model.

GSK PULSE ‘Be the Change’. Count on us to ‘Be it’! Talk to you soon

Martin

Martin Lafontaine
GSK Pulse Volunteer
Project HOPE UK

Martin Lafontaine joins Project HOPE UK to work on our South Africa programme

Martin Lafontaine, currently National Vaccines Sales Manager for GlaxoSmithKline in Canada, has joined Project HOPE UK for a six month PULSE assignment. Project HOPE is in the early stages of establishing a “model of excellence” programme seeking to push the existing boundaries of care of AIDS orphans and other vulnerable children, located in and around Munsieville in West Rand, South Africa.
After spending a few weeks in London preparing the programme Martin will be located in Johannesburg, South Africa, for three months starting early March 2010. He will be contributing his project management, strategic and communication skills, in order to help create and implement the marketing and communications plan and play a leading role on setting up the first field-based beneficiary programme under the scheme.
PULSE volunteers serve global non-profit organisations locally or abroad on a full-time basis for three to six months. The programme is a win-win for both non-profits and GSK because it helps make a sustainable difference in each community served while supporting leadership development of GSK associates.
Check back next month for news from Martin in South Africa as the project gets underway.

Successful 2009 in South Africa

2009 has been a successful year for Project HOPE in South Africa. Our Village Savings Fund (VSF) programme closed after helping almost 300 orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) and supporting many caregivers in their struggle to overcome some of the problems that they were facing.

This extract from a thank you letter that Project HOPE received from one of the participants shows how the VSF works:

My name is Dipuo Schalkwyk. I am 50 years old. I stay with my two daughters and 2 grandchildren. I joined the VSF group in May 2009. When I joined, life was very tough because there was no one working at home. I used to go to the Catholic Church every morning to get some food. Some of the days I used to come back home empty handed because there was no food. I tried to apply for the government grant and they told me to wait until I’m 60 years. My daughters have been trying to look for jobs for many years and till today they are still at home.
I was hesitating to join the VSF because I didn’t know what it was and how it could help me. Project HOPE staff asked me to give it a try and see the result after six months. Two months after I joined, I borrowed R200.00 and we bought twenty litres of paraffin. My daughters sold that paraffin in a week and so we bought a further 20 litres for four weeks. As the response was positive, we decided to borrow R600.00 to add to what we had and we bought 100 litres of paraffin. Today I am not depending on someone to give me handouts.
Since joining the VSF a number of positive changes have occurred: 1) My health has improved and my BP is down to normal again - my secret is eating healthy and not stressing anymore. 2) We eat vegetables every day and meat at least twice a week. 3) For the first time I have a savings account. 4) I am part of the Project HOPE food gardening program where I have been given land and seeds and am growing a variety of fruits and vegetables.”

The Social Fund, a form of group insurance used by members of the group in times of emergencies was recently used to allow a participant to travel back home to attend the funeral of his father and see his family for the first time in 18 years! Here is an extract of his account of the visit:

“I was born in North West Province. When I came here (West Rand), I worked for the mines. When the mines retrenched us, I did not go back home because I was hoping to find another job. Unfortunately it did not happen like that. I am staying alone in a one room shack. The last time I saw my family it was 18 years ago. I did not have money to go there. I joined this Village Savings Fund in May. I did not know what it was. At first I thought it was a woman thing. After I attended a few meetings and got some training, I began to understand it. I started to save a little money every week. In September this year, somebody told me that my dad had passed away; I did not know how I was going to bury my dad. I told some of the men in my group about my problem, they told me that I qualified to be given money for the transport to go and bury my dad. I was so excited when I received this R200.00 to go home. Everybody was excited to see me after so many years. Thank you Project HOPE for making this possible.”

As you can see from these testimonies, it doesn’t take much to make a huge difference to people’s lives in South Africa. The achievements of the VSF will be continued in future through local organisations.

The team at Project HOPE UK thank you for your generous support of our programme in South Africa, and wish you all a healthy and prosperous New Year.

Seasons greetings from Project HOPE

Seasons Greetings from Project HOPE UK and thank you for your continuing support in these difficult economic times.

Why not spread some seasonal cheer to all the orphans and other vulnerable children in need of our help by making a donation online here.

With best wishes for Christmas and the New Year,

Paul H Brooks
Executive Director, Project HOPE UK
B9, 1-3 Iron Bridge Road, Stockley Park West
Uxbridge UB11 1BT, United Kingdom
Website: http://www.projecthopeuk.org

Nearly £9000 raised so far in our Virtual Ball - help us make it more!

Dear Project HOPE supporter

So far we have raised nearly £9000 in our 'Virtual Ball', but you can help us take this total over £10,000 by taking part in our e-Bay auction which is still running, or simply make a donation by clicking here

Why not sell some of your own items on e-Bay and donate some or all of the proceeds to Project Hope - just click on the 'Sell' tab here, list your items and choose how much of the sale price you want to go to Project HOPE.

And don't forget to reserve the date for next year's real-life ball at the Savoy in the Strand on Thursday 18th November!

Thank you for your support.

The Project HOPE Virtual Ball is today!

Is your virtual party attire at the ready? Today is the day of the Project HOPE UK VIRTUAL BALL (www.virtualball.org) and the site is up and dancing, ready for you to visit and pass on to all your contacts!

The UK may be passing through difficult economic times, but not to be compared to the challenges faced by millions of orphans and other vulnerable children across Africa and Asia - the children Project HOPE UK is totally committed to support. Together with our supporters, we made the decision not to have our glittering fundraising ball in London this year (originally scheduled for today), but to ask you to be generous in supporting the Virtual Ball, so we can still serve the children.

Please, please ...... visit www.virtualball.org right now and send the link to all your colleagues and friends. You can bid in our online auctions for exciting lots from as little as £1.95 up to a £000s. And you can make on online donation through the site, or https://www.bmycharity.com/V2/projecthopeukvirtualball# - every penny raised will be used to change the lives of children forever!

Thank you for your generous support. By visiting www.virtualball.org, you will be part of a world first; the first-ever fundraising event of its type!

Just 3 days left to bid in the e-Bay auction for this year's Virtual Ball

There are just 3 days left to bid for the exciting items in our e-Bay auction which is part of this year's Virtual Ball - take a look at what's on offer now, ranging from fine art to vintage jewellery or a fantastic night out for four.

If you're not an e-Bay member, why not take part in our Silent Auction where we have a wonderful selection of lots to choose from, including a case of champagne or a Fortnum and Mason hamper, ideal for Christmas.

It's not too late to sponsor a page on the site or book a table, so send us your reservations now and check back on Nov 19th to see your own or your company's name on display.

Don't forget that you can also support this innnovative online event by making a donation - all funds raised will be used for our work helping to improve the lives of orphans and other vulnerable children in South Africa.

Thank you for your support