Baraka Community Partnerships June Update

This month's update focuses on the good work we're doing in Zambia.


Baraka volunteer, Liz Cappetta distributes mosquito nets in Chikumbi.

Our new partnership with Millais School is off to a great start. In addition to sponsoring our work in the Zambian village of Katube, this West Sussex school is hoping to incorporate the partnership into their curriculum and use their involvement for learning purposes as well.

The mosquito net campaign in Zambia is very much at the forefront of our endeavours. Our wonderful volunteer, Sian Roberts has been especially busy helping out with this endeavor. To mention just one of her accomplishments: flying solo, she has already raised enough funds to purchase 1,174 mosquitos nets and around 80 kilos of medical and dental supplies. We have managed to distribute 1,250 nets of the 3,434 we have. We just need another 1,316 nets before AgainstMalaria will give us the 3,500 they pledged. Then Chikumbi will be completely covered! Whilst we do have the funds to pay for this, we are still on the look out for any donors that can help. In addition to this, the AMF has submitted a proposal that they will donate a further 2,500 nets, plus shipping, if we partner Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) in Lusaka. The plan is to combine our volunteer workforce, thus speeding up distribution and with a view to making it a long term partnership.

Follow this link to find out more about our mosquito net campaign and to donate to this worthy cause:
http://www.AgainstMalaria.com/baraka

Zambia Mosquito Net Distribution Video

Exodus Volunteer in Tijhza, Morocco

Peter Florence, a regular volunteer at our project in Tijhza, Morocco, gives a guided tour of the school where volunteers are working in conjunction with Baraka Community Parternships.

Millais School and Baraka!

Millais School in West Sussex is helping Baraka Community Partnerships by sponsoring the village of Katube in the Chikumbi district of Zambia. We are hoping with the help of Millais to be able to build a new school for the children of Katube, who currently attend lessons under a tree – unless, of course, it's raining.



To the students, families and friends of Millais School, THANK YOU so much! Please make sure to visit our dedicated Against Malaria page to donate a net to the people of Katube:

http://www.againstmalaria.com/Fundraiser.aspx?FundraiserID=5976

Remember that until the end of term we are receiving matched funds from the Against Malaria Foundation. So, every £2.50 you donate means we can get two nets instead of the usual one. Statistically speaking, donating 20 nets is likely to save one child's life. At the moment, that costs £25.

Getting a Kick out of our Projects in Zambia!

Baraka has teamed up with a fantastic enterprise called Alive & Kicking, which employs 60 local people in Chawama, Zambia where we work closely with the Chawama Sports Academy to inspire children through sport whilst raising awareness of the dangers of AIDS, alcohol and drug abuse, and promoting education and social integration.

Here are Alive and Kicking's basic principles:

• To employ previously unemployed adults in Africa at a fair wage to hand stitch sports balls;

• To donate durable, repairable leather balls to children in some of the poorest communities in Africa; and

• To warn children about the dangers of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and TB by printing every ball with health awareness messages.

Find out more about Baraka and the good work we do in Zambia at barakacommunity.com.

Baraka Community Partnerships April Update

Zambia

Since our last update, we have been focusing much of our energy on our mosquito nets campaign. To date, we have distributed 750 nets, with more to be distributed when one of our volunteers, Sian Roberts, visits Zambia in May. So far, the funds have been raised for 800 mosquito nets and we hope to reach a target of 1000 before she sets off from her home in Toronto to distribute the nets in the Chikumbi region of Zambia. Thanks Sian!

For our mosquito nets campaign, we have partnered with Against Malaria, who match our donations net for net. We are hoping to raise the funds to reach our target of 3500 nets by the end of the summer, which combined with Against Malaria's contribution would result in a total of 7000 nets to be distributed by us in the Chikumbi region.

Follow this link to find out more and to donate:

http://www.AgainstMalaria.com/baraka

Morocco

A testament to the lasting impact of being a Baraka volunteer, our upcoming May trip to Morocco (in conjunction with Exodus travel company) has been oversubscribed! As a result we have more money than planned for our project in the Atlas Mountains village of Tijhza, and most of the volunteers for the trip are returnees.

Some of the activities that we have planned for the trip include refurbishing the homes of the elderly and poor, painting a school classroom, clearing up rubbish with local children, planting 180 trees with the Forestry Commission and local government, completing the water tower started last October and more.

For more about volunteering opportunities please visit our site: http://www.barakacommunity.com/

Urgent Plea for donations towards Malaria Nets in Zambia

For every mosquito net donated to Against Malaria, Baraka will match it!

Hello All,

Incessant rains in the Chikumbi region of Zambia have provided the perfect breeding grounds for malaria-carrying mosquitoes, and donations for malaria nets are urgently needed. One malaria net costs only £2.50, and we are hoping to secure enough donations to blanket-cover the whole region, an effort that has been helped by the Against Malaria Foundation, who have kindly offered to match every net donated through Baraka Community Partnership.

Where is Chikumbi?

Chikumbi is a rural district of 11,700 people in 13 villages located 30 km north of Lusaka, Zambia’s capital. Baraka knows the area well as we have carried out Community development here for two years. Malaria is a huge problem in the area: 90% of the population are affected in some form. Until our project began in January 2010, the district had received virtually no anti-malaria support and has little access to treatment or drugs.

Our Goal for Chikumbi

We are going to drastically reduce malaria here by covering every sleeping space with a net. Similar action in other communities has had a dramatic effect: by effectively starving the mosquitoes of a blood meal, the malaria-carrying mosquito population is dramatically reduced or dies out. In a similar project in Uganda (9 villages), 357 monthly cases of malaria was reduced to 7, a 98% reduction!

We need your help urgently as we are planning our next trip to Zambia soon. We have successfully distributed nets in one village, but we need to broaden our exposure to other villages.

Statistically speaking, it takes only £12.50 to save a life being taken by malaria- do you have this?

Please visit http://www.againstmalaria.com/Fundraiser.aspx?FundraiserID=5457 to make your donations.

Many thanks for your time and generosity,

The Baraka Team

Baraka Community Partnerships February/March Update

Baraka has had a busy couple of months, with lots to update you on since our last post!

First and foremost we are delighted to announce that Exodus have decided to officially launch our projects in Chikumbi and Chawama in Zambia as part of their Responsible Tourism Holidays- check us out at: http://www.exodus.co.uk/responsible-travel/our-projects/zambia-project.

The partnership will help increase awareness about our work and hopefully generate further interest for future volunteers and donations; something that we have already witnessed in Morocco after that project was launched with Exodus.

Zambia

This month saw the completion of the much-needed Borehole in Katuba, signifying Baraka’s expansion into the rest of the Chikumbi region. The Borehole itself will hopefully reduce diarrhoea-related diseases in the village and lessen the burden of woman and children walking to and from other, farther, water sources. A picture of the borehole can be seen below...

In other news, school attendance in Kasalu has increased yet again, to 115 students, an impressive 10% increase since we first started there. This is a feat that was no doubt helped by the installation of school desks and cupboards that had been previously funded by Baraka, and the donation of a solar panel and convertor by Exodus, so as to offer evening education. This solar panel also provides Kelvin with the opportunity to earn extra money towards project-related expenses, through the recharging of mobile phones.

Additionally, this month hopes to see the distribution of the next round of malaria nets. The physical distribution of the nets has been aided by the training of two villagers in Malaria and health awareness. They have already started to visit with other villagers, advising them on good health practices. Within the next couple of weeks they will be visited by the district health inspector who will evaluate their work and distribute the appropriate materials to diagnose malaria.

With the help of Kelvin, we have identified several other projects that merit the help of Baraka and its donators in Chikumbi...

• an entrepreneurship training programme for girls
• a footbridge to cross the Mwembeshi stream which will aid pupils and villagers in their everyday lives. As Kelvin points out...

“When the rains are heavy school children from Kasalu village and other surrounding villages stop going to school for fear of getting drowned or washed downstream by the strong current”

• The completion of the school in Katuba
  

Morocco

Next month will see Baraka’s first sold-out volunteer trip with Exodus, bringing £750 to the project in Morocco immediately, with possibly more for the long-run.

One of the operations that we will be doing out there is a medical clinic for the village for both treatment and education, which will be run by one of our board members, Liz Varughese, with the help of three nurses who are volunteers from the Exodus group. It will be the first time anything like this has been done in Tijhza, and we hope to identify some long and short run projects to help with healthcare in the village.

In other news, the village will finally see the building of the new water tower which is due for completion by the summer. It will help the village during the hot summer months when there is often a shortage of water. Also, the football goals which were contributed by Baraka have been installed on the village pitch.

Baraka have identified several other initiatives to help the Tijhza village, among these include tree planting, a pre-school, child/woman’s club and bee keeping.

For more information about Baraka Community Partnerships and volunteering opportunities please visit our website: http://www.barakacommunity.com/

Run with us in the Brooklands 10k at Mercedes World

On the 28th of March, Baraka Community Partnerships will have a team running at the Brooklands 10k at Mercedes World in Weybridge, Surrey. This popular race promises to be fun for both runners and spectators alike. The run begins on the historic Brabham Straight at the listed old Brooklands race circuit and then links onto the super-modern circuit in front of the high-tech Mercedes World building.

Event Details:

• Venue: Mercedes World, Brooklands, Weybridge, Surrey
• Date: 28 March 2010
• Start time: 9.15am (9am for the U-15's Race)
• Age limits: 15+ for the 10km, no lower limit for the 1,500m
• Medals to all finishers
• Prizes for first five men and women, first masters 40, 45, 50, 60+ in 10km/first 3 boys and girls in 1500m
• Free parking

If interested in participating in our team and helping us to raise a bit of money for our various projects, contact our project coordinator, Andy McKee, at info@barakacommunity.com.

Romeo and Juliet: The Modern Musical

HCPT’s JS1 and the Baraka Community Partnerships present …

Romeo and Juliet: The Modern Musical

Two households, both alike in dignity
In fair Verona, Where we lay our scene

Written and Directed by Leila Sangtabi
Featuring the songs of …
LADY GAGA, FALL OUT BOY, JLS, PIXIE LOTT, MICHAEL BUBLE and many more!

Gumley House Convent School
St John's Road
Isleworth

7pm-9pm
26th February 2010

Admission: £4

All money raised will be split between the two charities HCPT and Baraka Community Partnerships.

Visit this musical's Facebook page for more details.