Hello! We hope you’re back from your summer feeling refreshed and raring to go. If the Olympics and Paralympics have inspired you, we have good news: HOPEHIV has five London Marathon places to give away to good homes. If shopping’s more your thing, get involved in our jewellery auction – treat yourself or someone else for a good cause. Lastly, I’d like to wish all our riders in the London to Hayling Island Bike Ride this Sunday the very best. Best wishes, Fiona
LONDON MARATHON 2013 – PLACES AVAILABLE
London Marathon places are rarer than hen’s teeth and we have five – count ‘em, FIVE – to allocate to our supporters. The marathon is on 21st April 2013 and the deadline for applications is 24th October 2012. We’re looking for people who can not only commit to getting fit enough to run 26 miles, no small feat in itself, but those who can also raise a substantial amount of cash and trumpet HOPEHIV’s cause along the way. Go to our London Marathon page for more information and to download the application form.
NEW LOOK HOPEHIV.ORG
We’ve been busy giving our website a new look for Autumn/Winter. The changes should make it easier to find out about our work and project partners, and to book event entries online. The new site will also save us money and make updates easier so it’s a win-win development. Feedback is always welcome, so do check it out and let us know what you think.
EXQUISITE HANDMADE SILVER JEWELLERY IN FB AUCTION NOW
‘HOPE by Hjarta’ is a unique collection of 12 handmade pieces of silver jewellery being auctioned on Facebook during September. Lisa Prudhoe, who is behind the collection, was introduced to HOPEHIV by TeeJay Jones from the 12in12. The auction is live now on Facebook and prices are very reasonable – so far! Open the photo gallery to see bidding on individual pieces. If you don’t have access to Facebook, you can still bid via this page. The auction closes on 30th September.
WE SEE HOPE IN KASIA
In August 2012, HOPEHIV’s Relationship Manager Kasia Morgan (pictured above) went the extra mile (give or take 462) in her role and joined our 12in12 supporters for the Three Peaks Challenge. It’s not for the faint-hearted, climbing the highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales in 24 hours. Kasia herself admits to ‘not being inclined towards physical activity’ so the HOPEHIV office watched with baited breath as the event approached. “It was tough, really tough. But two things really made it. One, the team – it takes a unique group of people to make your eighth consecutive hour crammed into a smelly minibus as fun as your first. And two, the privilege of joining Team12 in their efforts to change the lives of thousands of some of the most vulnerable young people in the world. But from now on, I’m staying on flat ground.” So far, Kasia has raised £1,346.63. If you’d like to sponsor her, go to her JustGiving page.
HOPEHIV PROJECT UPDATE FROM AFRICA
A group of HOPEHIV supporters from the Six Degrees Group travelled to Tanzania in July to see the kind of work they have been helping to fund first-hand. They visited AFREDA, a community project that has given vocational and entrepreneurship training to older orphans and vulnerable young people and is now mentoring them and providing small loans to help develop their businesses. At AFREDA, they met Philip*, who has been involved with the project since 2009.
Philip (pictured at the top of this page) is 25. His parents passed away many years ago, leaving him to support and care for his elderly grandmother and two younger siblings. He would spend hours on the congested roads of Dar es Salaam trying to sell products to passing trucks, just about scraping together enough money to survive. In 2009, he met HOPEHIV’s project partner, AFREDA. They trained him in business skills and gave him a small loan. Philip has since proved himself an impressive entrepreneur – he set up a packaging business, and all the street sellers in the area come to him to get their products bagged and sealed. Once he repaid his first loan successfully, he was given a second loan, and with this he set up a bike hire business, right next to his packaging hut. His profits from both businesses have since enabled him to buy some land, and his goal is to build a house for his family. He now employs one of his siblings and is putting the other through school.
Keep in touch and find out what other church supporters are up to. Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
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*Name changed to protect confidentiality.
