Gulf For Good
In 2012, this locally based fundraising organisation will be running a series of exciting (and likely exhausting) new challenges. Adventurous participants will journey to a variety of exotic locations to raise money for charities supporting disadvantaged children worldwide. Sign-up for the ‘Wild Wall Challenge’ to China has already started, and the race will be on to raise the necessary Dhs18,000 in sponsorship money. They have a quota for 25 people though, so hurry! Other challenges to look forward to this year include a trek up Kilimanjaro in July, an expedition through Transylvania in August and a hike and cycle through Myanmar in October. An information evening will be held on January 18 in Dubai – keep an eye on their website for the ‘where?’ and ‘what time?’
www.gulf4good.org.
Himalayan Cataract Project
A team from the Tilganga Eye Centre in Kathmandu, Nepal, are looking to raise Dhs146,000 for a medical project. The aim is to establish a remote outreach eye camp in the Himalayas, which will screen between 1,000 and 5,000 patients. While there, the team hopes to provide cataract surgery, to restore the eyesight of an estimated 200 to 800 people in the region. They will also work with local medical personnel to provide training for future and further cases. Restored sight will allow the local people (many of whom have families in precarious financial situations) to return to work. For more information and to make a donation, visit Justgiving and search for ‘Himalayan Cataract Project’.
www.justgiving.com.
Mayan Families
This small, non-profit organisation supports families in the highlands of Guatemala. Funded entirely by public donations, the group helps the community through a variety of initiatives, including a sewing project which provides training and vocational skills for women, so that they can generate their own income. The group also offers microloans to help women start their own businesses, as well as providing basic family aid through items such as water filters, fuel-efficient stoves and food. There are a number of ways yo can get involved with Mayan familias. English and Spanish speakers can volunteer from anywhere in the world by offerring their translating skills. Alternatively you can fundraise for them or donate towards the purchase of items through the organisation’s website.
www.mayanfamilies.org.
Omwaana Ono
Omwaana Ono, (meaning ‘This Child’ in Lugosa) is building a girls’ school in Nabitende. At present, children in the village walk more than 45 minutes to get to school, where they are squeezed into classrooms with 120 other pupils. The new school will house 350 girls, in classes of 30 students each, and will contain a well and medical clinic. The whole project will cost around Dhs1.28 million. In many developing countries, girls are the ones who are most likely to drop out of education to take on household tasks or care for younger siblings. A Canada registerred charity, Omwaana Ono is working with the Ugandan group Inner Wheel, with the belief that women who receive an education are more likely to educate their own children. In this vein, they also offer a sewing programme, which provides women past school age with training and valuable skills. If you’d like to help Omwaana Ono you could donate a sewing machine (they’re purchased in Africa, so you’ll be sponsoring) for the organisation’s sewing programme or raise funds towards the new school.
www.omwaanaono.ca.
Sleeping Children Around the World
Now in its 40th year, the organisation provides bed kits to children of all races and religions around the world. Founded by Murray and Margaret Dryden in 1970, today they have raised more than Dhs84 million and helped kids in 33 countries – their millionth child received a bed kit in 2009. The kits contain a mattress – something many of the children have never had – plus a set of clothes, a pillow, sheet, blanket, mosquito net (if applicable), towel and school supplies, and other items depending on the local needs. Items are purchased in the country where the bedkits are distributed, so not only are the kids benefiting, but local manufacturers are as well. With zero overheads and 100 per cent of donations reaching people in need, the Dhs125 cost of the kit goes a long way. You can also volunteer to travel overseas to help distribute bed kits.
www.scaw.org.
