Friends of Alalay (Santa Cruz)

If you have a spare moment tomorrow (Saturday 18th August), then please do support Friends of Alalay at Marshfield village fête. We will have lots of as-new gift ideas and Bolivian goodies on offer, and plenty of information about our work. It promises to be a fun-filled day, with stalls, activities and lots more… It would be great to see you there!

We are thrilled to announce that Clifton Hotels group has chosen Friends of Alalay as their charity of the year. They will be organising various fundraising events and raising awareness throughout the year, so do please keep checking the website for updates.

Their first event has just been announced:

“Wonderland Fun Day” charity fundraiser
on 1st September… at No.4 Clifton Village, Rodney Place, Clifton
with a tea party, face painting, fancy dress, games and much more!

 Do come along and join in the fun!

Date for your diary:

We are very pleased to announce a special fundraising concert in Bristol, by world-famous cellist Michael Jones in the evening of Friday, March 1st 2013.

Michael was able to visit Alalay earlier this year and see firsthand the amazing work that the organisation does with the children. He  played in a concert to all of the children, staff and local families which was a great success. It was the first time many of the kids had ever seen or heard a cello, and Michael even let some children have a go afterwards.

We are thrilled that Michael wants to continue to support Alalay in this way and cannot wait to finalise plans for the concert.

More information to be released on the website soon – do keep checking!

Photos just in of the recent Alalay sponsored leg wax organised by Olly, Hannah and Jack of Cotham School, Bristol….

A BIG thanks to them, the leg-wax “victims” for giving up their hairy legs (and enduring great pain and endurance!) and also to all those who came and supported on the day.

Find out more about the fundraising group and their aims here

Huge congratulations once again to Amelia Warr who successfully completed the Jericho 10km run at the end of June. I have just received these photos of the event…

Our cream teas and cakes event last weekend was also well attended and lots of money was raised for the kids – thanks to all those who came along. Do please keep checking the website for more events near you!

I had a very warm welcome at my recent talk to Henleaze Townswomens’ Guild, Bristol. Thank you to all of the ladies for their support.

Also HUGE congratulations to Amelia Warr for successfully completing the Jericho 10km run. You can still sponsor her fantastic efforts here. Photos of the event coming soon!

If you have a spare moment today
(Sunday 8th July), please do go to:

Fundraising cream tea and cakes sale

at: Chestnut Tree Cottage, Watery Lane, Doynton, Bristol, BS30 5TA

There will be various as-new items and home-made crafts to purchase, as well as lots of cake and tea! Please do support Friends of Alalay at this event. 

I am finally able to access sufficient Internet to edit my website, and I thought it was time for a quick Alalay update. We had a fantastic time back with the children, with many highlights. Some of my favourite moments involved seeing the difference that projects funded by Friends of Alalay have made to the kids. The children now eat fresh eggs and vegetables, health is greatly improved, many kids speak English and so on. The prevention house is finished and being used – it looks fantastic!

During our time in Santa Cruz, we visited all of the Alalay stages (including the streets) and met with some young people who have now completed the Alalay programme and are more self-sufficient. We even had the chance to go with one of our supported students to visit his mechanic´s institute – it was wonderful to see firsthand what the technical course means to him.

Furthermore, we had the opportunity to see the great work that my current volunteers are doing – a HUGE thanks to Roseanna, Peter, James and Maria.

My Summer newsletter will be out ASAP with much more news (and lots of photos!)

About 80kg of goodies for Bolivia!

I head back to Santa Cruz tomorrow for a month amongst the kids – discussing old and new projects and future plans. I will try to update my website as often as I can from Alalay.

Before I go, I’d like to thank all of the wonderful people and groups that have collected things for me to take out for the kids – coloured pens, games, toothbrushes, crafts, toy cars and so much more! Thanks to Howells School, Llandaff, J’s Clothing Exchange, and various other individuals and families.

A quick mention of Greyhound Graphics on Whiteladies Road, Bristol who have been brilliant at meeting our printing needs recently. They come highly recommended for an excellent service and quick delivery.