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.

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

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.

Exodus Offers Responsible Tourism Trips to Tijhza, Morocco

A small amount of intrepid tourists find their way to Tijhza, but there is still the sense of a bygone era when passing through the village, especially considering electricity arrived only a few years ago. Although our intentions started with helping the Tijhza School, our project has now evolved to help the village and the wider community thanks to continuous donations from visiting Exodus clients. This project offers support to the Berber children and villagers of Tijhza Village by focusing on essentials that many take for granted, such as health care, education and a sustainable income.

The above quote is from an excellent write up about volunteer travel opportunities in Morocco with Exodus – the UK's leading exponent of responsible travel. Exodus is fully supportive of our projects offering both logistical and financial support. In fact, Baraka Community Partnerships designs itineraries for special volunteer trips, and Exodus Travels Ltd administers them. This way, responsible travellers can confidently book trips with an ABTA registered travel operator with over 35 years' experience in running adventure group tours worldwide.

So, if you're looking some fun the the Moroccan sun with a healthy dose of volunteering to a worthwhile cause, consider visiting the Atlas Mountains village of Tijhza, Morocco with Exodus in 2010. Their next trip will be in April.

Visit www.exodus.co.uk for more details.

Click here for the link to their Morocco Tijhza Village Project article.

Baraka's Rowathon Success in Shepperton!

Ten teams of 57 competitors rowing non-stop for six hours (with most participants rowing ten minutes every hour) for a total rowed distance of more than 764,000 metres! Last month's Rowathon fundraiser surpassed our initial goal of raising £3000. So far £4,000 has been collected from the event – all of it going to our projects in Zambia!

A special thank you must go to the following businesses for their generous support: Dan Morgan of Blue Leisure; Dave Morgan of Transpeed, Tesco, The Village Bakery, Cafe Vanille, and Carolyn Matthews of the Shepperton Chiropractic Clinic.

Here's the video:

ROWATHON Fundraiser: Saturday 14 November

Saturday the 14th of November from 10am to 4pm, BCP will team up again with our official charity partner, Thamesmead School Sports Centre, for a Rowathon fundraising event. So far eight teams have signed up. Interested? Here are some details:

- 6 people to a team
- Each team member rows 10 minutes every hour for 6 hours
- Target minimum is £50 sponsorship per person or £300 per team
- Live entertainment and an evening meal will be provided.

100% of the money raised on the day will go to the Chawama Sports Academy in Zambia which provides sporting opportunities and education through sport for AIDS orphans and vulnerable children in a deprived suburb of Lusaka, the capital of Zambia.

For more information or to enter a team please contact Thamesmead on 0193 226 0050 or Andy McKee on 0750 498 7367. You can also visit the Thamesmead Centre online at www.blueleisure.com/thamesmead.

To donate to this event please visit http://www.charitygiving.co.uk/andymckee2.

Thanks and good luck rowing!

Our Summer Charity BBQ was a Brilliant Success!

Last Saturday's Thamesmead School Sports Centre Summer Charity BBQ to support Baraka Community Partnerships was a huge success - and a lot of fun! Held at the Bell Public House in Shepperton, this now annual event generated almost £600 for our projects! We would like to say a sincere thank you all who attended as well as to the local businesses that donated prizes to the raffle and especially to Thamesmead School Sports Centre for organizing this festive, family-oriented BBQ!

For more about Baraka Community Partnerships visit www.barakacommunity.com. Cheers!

Big Thanks to Bea's of Bloomsbury!

This is just a quick and friendly post to thank Bea and all the lovely folks at her Bea's of Bloomsbury bakeshop. Through their 6 Cupcakes = 1 Mosquito Net promotion, we were able to raise even more money and awareness for our mosquito net project in Zambia. We especially would like to thank all of Bea's customers who kindly participated in this worthwhile (and yummy!) endeavor.

As things stand now, Baraka Community Partnerships has raised enough funds to provide more than 400 households with mosquito nets. However, there are millions of people in Zambia without these inexpensive yet effective safeguards against malaria. We still have our work cut out for us!

Find out more about our Against Malaria campaign:

http://www.againstmalaria.com/baraka

Buy delicious baked goods and more at Bea's:

http://www.beasofbloomsbury.com

Baraka Community Partnerships Update: August 2009

PE Lessons in Kasalu, Zambia

Here’s a brief update to fill you in on all the good things happening with Baraka Community Partnerships. Please visit our website for more information and feel free to contact us at info@barakacommunity.com.

ZAMBIA

There's plenty of good news to share with you about our work in Zambia this month! Our Against Malaria campaign to provide mosquito net to the residents of Kasalu, Zambia was a massive success! In less than a week, we were able to raise the funds for each home in Kasalu to have a net! Thanks so much to everyone who donated. Of course, why should we stop there? We have now moved on to the greater goal of making sure every family in the whole of Zambia has access to a mosquito net. Helping out on this front is London boutique bakeshop Bea's of Bloomsbury. All this week, Bea's is offering to pay for one mosquito net for every set of six cupcakes sold. What a delicious way of donating to a good cause.

More about our Against Malaria campaign:

http://barakacommunity.blogspot.com/2009/08/beas-of-bloomsbury-fights-malaria-with.html

http://www.againstmalaria.com/baraka

In other Zambia related news, Kasalu has seen school attendence shoot up to more than 100 students. This is a fantastic achievement for a non-state supported school in a remote village. Kasalu's women's scone making group (32 members strong!) has diversified and are now selling recently harvested ground nuts at nearby markets. The village vegetable garden that was created with the help of our friends from Exodus Travel is thriving! There are more than 15 villagers involved in the cooperative. Some of the food is sold and some of it goes to feed the children at school.

More about Exodus Travel:

http://www.exodus.co.uk/

MOROCCO

Things are progressing well in the community of Tijhza. Tourists are starting to find out about the village and our involvement there from Lonely Planet's Morocco guidebook! Here's what one recent Tijhza visitor (who decided to volunteer her time after reading about us in Lonely Planet) had to say:

Just wanted to let you know that we had a fantastic time in Tijhza. What a beautiful place! Thanks for your help and the information you provided in advance. At the end of a week ... we really didn't want to leave.

There's plenty more volunteer activity lined up for the next few months! Find out how you can volunteer your time and have a bit of adventure with us:

http://barakacommunity.com/volunteer_trips.htm

LAOS

Our relationship with Community Learning International is coming along nicely. CLI’s commitment to providing opportunities to children in need fits incredibly well with our ethos. With CLI, Baraka will build a school in the village of Kokneu. Being within reach of the town of Luang Prabang, working here will increase the possibility of organising volunteers. Already, we have raised more than fifty percent of the money required to build the school!

More about Community Learning International:

http://www.communitylearninginternational.org/

FUNDRAISING

Thanks all those generous people helping us achieve our goals! We couldn't do it without you!

- Our Sunday Brunch Fundraiser in July raised £300 and introduced the ideas and ethos behind BCP to a number of interested people.

Here are some video highlights:

http://barakacommunity.blogspot.com/2009/07/video-highlights-from-our-sunday-brunch.html

- Our friends at Blue Leisure are organizing a series of rowathons over the six months to help us create awareness and raise money for our projects. As things progress, we'll be sure to keep you posted!

More about Blue Leisure:

http://www.blueleisure.com/vebo/

- Speaking of Blue Leisure, our summer BBQ with Blue Leisure managed Thamesmead School Sports Centre is coming up on Saturday the 5th of September.

Learn more about this fun event and how you can get your tickets:

http://barakacommunity.blogspot.com/2009/08/thamesmead-school-summer-charity-bbq-in.html

Make sure to visit this blog again soon! We're posting more and more about our projects and activities all the time.

For more information about Baraka Community Partnerships, please visit our website:

http://www.BarakaCommunity.com

Bea's of Bloomsbury Fights Malaria with Cupcakes!

From Monday the 24th of August until Sunday the 30th, London's favourite bakeshop, Bea's of Bloomsbury will offer a yummy way help stamp out malaria in Africa! For every box of six cupcakes purchased next week, Bea's will donate the money to Baraka Community Partnerships to buy one mosquito net for a household in Zambia. Donating to a good cause never tasted so delicious!

It is estimated that in Africa a child dies every second from malaria. With a good mosquito net only costing a few quid, there's simply no reason why so many must worry about this deadly disease.

So head over to Bea's next week, eat some cupcakes and help make Zambia a safer, healthier place!

Bea's of Bloomsbury

44 Theobald's Road

London WC1X 8NW

0207 242 8330
contact@beasofbloomsbury.com

www.beasofbloomsbury.com

Hours :

Monday - Friday 8 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Sunday 12 p.m. - 6 p.m.

For more information about Baraka Community Partnerships and Against Malaria visit these sites:

www.againstmalaria.com/baraka

www.barakacommunity.com