Lynsey Bartlam and 5 colleagues from her work are running the Birmingham Half Marathon on 24th October this year to raise money to help the Amani children. Please consider supporting the kids at Amani through sponsoring Lynsey and friends in the race!

It’s easy to donate online with a credit or debit card - just go to their JustGiving page:

http://www.justgiving.com/Matthew-Birch0

JustGiving sends your donation straight to Friends of Amani (UK) and automatically reclaims Gift Aid if you’re a UK taxpayer, so your donation is worth even more. I hope you’ll join me in supporting Friends of Amani (UK).

Thank you,

Cathie Bartlam

Email: a.bartlam@tesco.net

Tel +44 121 476 2137

Issa leaves home at 6AM, walking several miles to school. At the end of a long school day, he makes the return trip. By the time he gets home, there’s barely time to eat and bathe before bedtime. Issa is one of many children sponsored by Amani who walk long distances back and forth to school every day.

Brad Ashley, an avid cyclist in Toronto, Canada, wanted to change that. For his 50th birthday, Brad made a unique request of friends and family: instead of gifts, make a contribution to the “Bike with Brad” campaign and help provide bicycles to some of the Amani schoolchildren.

As a result of Brad’s thoughtfulness and generosity, Amani was able to purchase ten sturdy red bikes in March. Built to withstand the rough and often muddy roads here, the bikes were distributed to those Amani children with the greatest distance to travel to school. That same week, students and teachers from Crescent School, an Amani Partner School, arrived for the school’s annual volunteer visit with the Amani children. Brad’s son Dustin was a member of this hard-working group and was able to see firsthand the meaningful difference his father’s fund raising made for the Amani kids.

Brad said, “Amani means ‘peace’ in Swahili. I am at peace when I cycle – and I hope to provide ‘peace’ and additional opportunities to the children at Amani through this initiative.”

Many thanks to Brad and all the other compassionate individuals who make it possible for children in Tanzania to have a home, go to school, and even sometimes, to have a shiny red bicycle!

For other creative fundraising ideas as well information about Amani’s Partner School Program, visit http://amanikids.org.

Debbie Carmichael has created some new Habari Nzuri notelets, featuring:

• “Bahari Beach”
• “Otley Weir”
• “Water Drops”
• “Constantine Bay”
• “Reflections”
• “Lake Duluti”

They are all sold in aid of Amani Children’s Home, Moshi, Tanzania. To obtain these unique cards to help Amani, please contact robandeb@waitrose.com.

A group of Kilimanjaro climbers from Toronto, who had raised much-needed funds for the Amani children, went to Amani Children’s Home for a day of fun and games. The group was led by Alison Wiley, the President of Friends of Amani Canada, and organized through Live Out Loud Adventures.

The twelve climbers, all women, were welcomed by the children and entertained by Amani’s very own acrobatics team. The children did back flips, handsprings and aerials that awed and amazed the crowd. Following the demonstration, the climbers led all of the children in an assortment of relay races that included a tennis-ball-and-spoon contest, wheelbarrow races, and a “winter outerwear” challenge.

The visitors enjoyed lunch with the children and presented Amani with an oversized cheque representing the results of their fundraising: $65,000! This generous contribution will go far in continuing to provide nutritious food, medical care, clothing, educational opportunities, and the hope of family reunification for the Amani kids.

Debbie Carmichael has produced 6 different lovely Habari Nzuri notelets. They are blank cards (so can be Christmas notelets e.g. stocking fillers or small Christmas presents, or contain any message you wish), A6 size, with envelopes included.

They are sold in aid of Amani Children’s Home, Moshi, Tanzania. Suggested donation is £3.00 for a complete set of 6 + p&p. Individual cards are 60p each. P & P First class: 5 sets:£2.50; 10 sets:£5.00.

Each year, sales of the Amani Children’s Home Christmas, Holiday, and Gift Cards raise money to pay for tuition, uniforms, textbooks, and school lunches in the New Year. In 2009, Amani sponsored the education of 288 children. These children were enrolled in local primary and secondary schools, Amani’s On-site Education Program, and vocational training centers throughout Tanzania. With your help, Amani hopes to be able to send even more children to school in 2010.

This year, Amani are featuring two beautiful christmas cards for the children’s charity, one which features a silhouette of the African savannah decorated with Christmas lights, and the other which brings a message of peace, which is the meaning of the word “amani” in Swahili. You can make a direct impact in the lives of Tanzania’s homeless children by purchasing your cards from the Amani website. The cards are already in the United Kingdom, ready to be sent out.

Amani are also offering alternative gift cards so that you can honor your loved ones by making a donation to Amani in their honor. Just $16 will provide a set of sheets and blankets for a bed at Amani and $200 will cover the first semester of secondary school for an Amani child. The alternative gift cards are printed on card stock and will be mailed to your address in time for the holiday season.

Help ensure that all children have the chance to learn. Supplies are limited so order your children’s charity christmas cards today at http://cards.amanikids.org.

Friend of Amani Jenny Morgan is running in the BUPA Great South Run (10miles) on the 25th October to raise money for the Amani children. Jenny, who volunteered at Amani in 2008, also ran in the BUPA London 10,000 on May 25th and the Sony Ericsson ‘Run to the Beat’ Half Marathon on September 27th in support of Amani. You can leave her a word of encouragement and make a donation in support of her fundraiser by visiting www.justgiving.com/jenmorgan/.

We have our annual quiz night in Bristol coming up, on Saturday 28th November. To give you a flavour of what’s in store, this was our star auction ‘prize’ at our 2008 quiz night.

This ‘prize’ was so popular that two bidders were all out to get it. When it reached £200 Chris (the fisherman) stopped the auction and offered to take them both out for £175 each. Both trips were a massive success so thank you to the two couples who paid for them and an enormous thanks to Chris Guest, my very generous next door neighbour.

“A day’s guided angling/nature watch in the delights of the waters around Dartmouth, during the summer of 2009 aboard the “Miss Lynn”, a fast, comfortable, new boat with all tackle, safety equipment and spray suits provided.
• Meet for breakfast at Blackness
• Safety briefing
• Cruise downstream observing the rich and varied wildlife
• Put to sea - light tackle angling for bass, pollock, wrasse, plaice & mackerel.
• Lunch – barbeque the catch
• An afternoon exploring the coastline. casting a line when inspired to.
• Return to Blackness Marine.”

John and Viv bought one of these and Andy & Rachel bought the other. John, is a local solicitor and part time artist. He donated a fabulous picture to the auction, which I got and have hanging in my office. We had so much generosity that night towards our auction. Pure wool Scottish rugs, an all day entrance for two to the spa at The Bath Spa Hotel in Bath, kindly donated by them, electronic photo frame and much more…..we were overwhelmed.

Also, I’ve ritten a rather lengthy draft of how to run a quiz night (click here to see the guide on How to Host and Run a Quiz Night), which I’ve done specifically for others to copy if they feel so inspired.

It’s Amani Children’s Home supporter Jem’s 50^th birthday and we’re throwing him a party. It’s not a surprise so surprise him anyway and come!

The party is part open house, part closed mike music session followed by a party. Please come help us celebrate and do something good for the Amani children! The party is near Bristol.

The party is Saturday, September 12th at 7 p.m. If you’re interested in coming and would like more information, email Jem at jeremy.thompsonsmith@homecall.co.uk

If you would like to attend, reserve your free ticket by calling 01761 221 962.

For every music performer a donation of £10 will be given to the Amani Children’s Home, Moshi, Tanzania. Small donations are also welcome. www.amanikids.org