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

Debbie Carmichael’s paintings are familiar to anyone who’s visited Amani Children’s Home. Her images appear on gift cards for sale at Amani to benefit the kids.

Debbie has once again used her amazing artistic talents to benefit homeless and orphaned children. On 7 May her painting “Together” was unveiled at the Wortley Beck Health Centre in South Leeds, U.K. She has donated the proceeds from the painting to help purchase new clothes cupboards at the Amani home. 

Debbie, a retired children’s ophthalmologist, now devotes her time to her painting, a passion she has pursued for 18 years. She has been supporting the children at Amani in creative ways since 2003, when she and her husband Robin were first introduced to Amani.

“We fell in love with the place, its ethos and history – started by Tanzanians for Tanzanians and run according to Tanzanian culture. What else would work in Tanzania, we thought?” says Debbie. Robin joined Amani’s Board of Trustees and served for two years, offering healthcare advice and contributing his years of experience as a General Practitioner to the management team.  

Robin says, “Very occasionally in a lifetime you find yourself in the middle of something that you know is fundamentally good, right and presses all the wholesome buttons in your character. You feel - in exactly the right ratio - anger that such lovely kids have endured the tragedies that have driven them onto the streets; shame that the world is largely indifferent; joy and pleasure to be in a position to do something; and, lastly, pride to be associated with the people who, hour by hour, day after day, year in and year out work tirelessly to give back to those kids the things they have lost. They receive security, food, health care, a home, an education and lots and lots of what they most need: love.”

Amani is grateful for Robin and Debbie and the other Amani supporters around the world who bring hope and happiness into children’s lives.

Madeleine Wood, seasoned Kilimanjaro climber, is running the Edinburgh marathon on Sunday 31st May 2009 - and all sponsorship is for the Amani Children’s Home. Here is more info on the Edinburgh Marathon.

The Birmingham Navigator student group has been putting on a number of pub quizzes and all the money we have raised goes to the Amani Children’s Home. The students are very supportive of the cause and we are aiming to raise £500. Students do not generally have a lot of money, but they are keen to show off their talent for remembering trivia and pub quizzes are popular! There are always a number of rounds and we all have our specialist areas!

We have attracted around 30 students to each quiz and they cheerfully bring food and given spare change to support the Amani children. The Amani video always brings the cause to life and reminds us of why we are fundraising. Some of our students have visited the kids and spent time at Amani. They love to be reminded of their time there and tell the others about their trip.

The pub quizzes are great for our community of students and we enjoy them! We get to meet new students, have a great time, all the while raising money for a cause we really care about. Next one will be in the Autumn term…let us know if you’re interested in attending!

Mary Clark of Bristol recently completed a sponsored walk which raised £175 for Amani Children’s Home.

Has anyone else got plans for more sponsored events, regardless of how big or small? If so, let’s hear all about it!