We are very pleased that we can now show some of the official shots from Joss Stone’s visit to Alalay earlier this year. It was such an incredibly special day – with Joss and her team joining in street work, meeting our kids, dancing and even being presented with an early birthday cake! Read more about the visit HERE and click HERE to see the official photos and write-up about Alalay and Annie’s involvement.
In Team Joss’ own words:
“So before we show you our pics from Mexico we have to catch up on the rest of the S.America leg of the tour…
One thing we are learning during this world tour is just how small our planet really is. That was confirmed during the research for a charity in Bolivia. Hannah (our lovely lady in England who finds all of the charity and collaborations in each country we visit) was looking for a charity in Bolivia and came across a small charity called Friends of Alalay. After getting in touch with them she soon discovered that Annie, the charities founder, lived just a 10 minute walk away from Hannah’s house in England. They met for a coffee and the visit was organised face to face. Small world ay?
So Friends of Alalay are exactly what they say they are, friends of a charity in Bolivia called Alalay. Their primary goal is to help children and young adults get off of the streets and stop taking harmful and addictive drugs.
Annie, who had spent some time with Alalay as a volunteer decided to set up the sister foundation after a conversation with one of the permanent staff at their main hub in Santa Cruz. It was nearing her time to head back to the UK and she said that she would be sure to come back and visit one day. Instead of the reaction she expected she was greeted with a solemn look and was told that this was not the first time she had heard that from a foreign volunteer and yet none had ever kept their promise. Determined not to make an empty promise, as soon as Annie returned home she set up Friends of Alalay and has since returned several times and raised over £100,000 for the charity.
This is exactly the type of people we are inspired by and take so much pleasure meeting. Annie spent time and money to help out in Bolivia and instead of thinking “I’ve done my bit, time to get on with my life” she continued to help and in her spare time (when she is not working full time as a translator) organises fund raisers to help get children off of the streets in Bolivia.
Anyway, Allay are a truly worthy cause with a very difficult task. Children are on the streets from a very young age and trust very few people. Its the people of Alalay who work tirelessly to help them live happier, healthier lives. Please visit their website and find out more. You can donate your time or your money or just spread the word…
http://www.fundacionalalay.org/en
http://alalay.co.uk/Also please watch this documentary Annie and her friend John Cade made about the street kids…
Thank you Team Joss – it was an absolute pleasure having you come and visit us! 🙂
