The Local Organisation, and Helping these Children
Dear All,
I think it is essential to work with local organisations helping children, as they will truly understand their needs. To build the carpentry workshop, we are working in partnership with a Romanian organisation called FAST (which is short for "Fundatia pentru Asistenta Sociala si Tineret."). The following was originally meant as a newsletter article, but I thought I would share it here as well, to give everyone more background about the project.
Children's Helpers Worldwide and FAST
It seems very fitting that this great organisation is known as, “FAST.” I will now explain why! Having founded Children’s Helpers Worldwide (CHW), I am used to working with local organisations in different countries, setting up links with them and going on to receive appeals from them and to fundraise. The relationship usually takes a while to become established, and it can take quite some time, after we first link with an organisation, as to when we actually run an appeal for them. However, within less than a week of meeting with Daniel, and deciding that FAST and CHW could form a partnership, we already had a fundraising project from FAST!
Our appeal for FAST has taken the form of the “Ten for Ten” Campaign. Whilst I was visiting Romania, Daniel took me to Tarlungeni to meet a family with ten children, living in extreme poverty. Daniel tells me that their father, Sorin, is very willing to work and that if he had a carpentry workshop, he could provide for each of his children. This seems very much to fit in with the saying FAST uses on its website: “Give a man a fish and he eats for a day; teach a man to fish and he eats for life.” This project will help the children in this family in the long term, as it will enable their own father to care for them properly. It will also be great for each child to see their father working to support them, as this will serve as an example for them too.
It will cost around two thousand five hundred pounds to complete the workshop, so we are hoping to connect with two hundred and fifty people who are willing to give ten pounds each (hence the name of the campaign – “Ten for Ten!”) to reach our goal. Another charity, CAROM, heard about the project, through our mutual volunteer Mara Gheorghe, and has sent a donation towards the carpentry workshop to FAST. The Ten for Ten flyer can be seen here: http://chworldwide.org/myPictures/Ten%20for%20Ten%20Campaign.pdf If anyone feels like passing it on, that would be great!
CHW does more than just fundraise for the local organisations it supports. We aim to make connections around the world and to help these organisations in any way possible. Another important topic of conversation that came up with Daniel was the need for volunteers. Volunteers obviously play a vital part in FAST’s work, and we hope to be able to refer on any interested people to Daniel and to FAST’s volunteer coordinator, Liz. CHW already works with two other organisations in Romania, and the coordinator of CHW Germany, Jana Liebau, had arranged to visit them in early October. She was also able to go to FAST, and visit Sorin’s family. She brought donations of children’s clothing for them too. Both Jana and I will work to publicise FAST’s projects to potential volunteers.
All in all, this link with FAST is very exciting for everyone at CHW. I hope that the Ten for Ten Campaign will be successful and we can send the funds to FAST as soon as possible. I am also looking forward to fundraising to support more of FAST’s projects in the future, as well as referring on volunteers, and working with FAST in any other way that Daniel and his team envisage. Daniel and his wife, Ema, have created a wonderful organisation which truly helps those who need it. It is really great that CHW can become a small part of this through our new partnership with FAST.