When I lived in Ethiopia, this blog was all about my life there. It was a place where I could wonder at the fantastic experiences I was having, talk about how beautiful Ethiopia is, let off steam about my struggles and the adjustments I needed to make, tell stories about the amazing people I met, and promote the work of the charities I'm involved in. It also became a record of my mistakes and when I was very, very wrong (thanks, all those who took the time to point that out!!!).
At first, I was fairly sure that only my dad was reading it - but over the months it built up quite a readership. I received quite a few emails from people; some questioning my attitudes and opinions (shocking!), some wanting to get involved in the charities, others just wanting to chat about Ethiopia. People found the stories funny and wanted to hear more of me dealing with the pet rats, the power cuts, the language barrier, the children and all the other parts of my life in Ethiopia! I was happy to oblige.
Of course, I'm now back in the UK and, quite frankly, my life isn't that interesting any more. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but my commute to work, my day job, my social life, isn't nearly so interesting to everyone else. I just don't have that much to say.
So this blog has become much less about my daily life and posts have become less frequent. I've started to make it focus more on the charities I'm involved in - especially Hanna's Orphanage - and the events of the charity world. What happens when a woman with a lot of passion and a little knowledge sets up a charity and gets involved with two or three more, and tries to do this on top of a full time job? Can charities grow and continue to be ethical? What is ethical? Do charities do more harm than good? Will I ever manage to finish the risk assessment for our fundraising festival in May?!
But maybe that's not so interesting either?
All thoughts welcome!
Sunday, 3 April 2011
Monday, 14 March 2011
Busy, busy, busy
Sometimes it’s really hard trying to find the time to do all of this stuff. I’m not trying to get sympathy (I choose to do this after all!) but I do wish I had an extra four or five hours in the day – or a team of staff! At the moment I like I’m constantly trying to catch up with myself: snatching a few minutes at work to make phone calls to toilet providers for our upcoming festival (I get the best jobs!), spending my weekends re-writing the website for its new format (it’s going to be great – if I actually ever get it finished) or sitting on the tube trying to plan the trip in August. Add to that two house moves, a full time job and the normal day to day stuff, and you get a bit of a mess where nothing actually ever gets done.
Take the website. Our current one looks great, but is hard to update and probably only reflects where we were a couple of years ago. Loads of stuff has happened since then, and we want to publicise all the great things we’ve done, the money we've raised, the partnerships with Cass and with Football Action, and all of our upcoming events. The new website is designed and created, and just needs me to actually edit the writing and restructure the info on it so it can go live.
But I also need to sort out the teacher training for the volunteers, complete the licence application, speak to the fire brigade, organise the route for the sponsored walk, publicise the festival, speak to the orphanage ... and on and on and on. It can all get a bit overwhelming and I don't feel like I'm doing justice to anything!
Ah well, I guess if I didn’t have this stuff to do, I’d only moan I’m bored!
At least being busy generally means that we’ve got lots of events coming up! These are the dates for your diary for the next few months:
1st April - Cass are throwing a party to raise money for Hanna's
7th/8th May – Some hardy souls will be walking the rout of the Piccadilly tube line (overground, not underground!!) for sponsorship. If you’d be interested in walking with us, please send me an email!
21st May – Our festival ... more about that in a couple of days!
28th May – The new volunteers will spend all day learning new teaching skills, activities and games to use with the children in August
11th June – Cass are holding a Charity Cricket match ... possibly with a surprise guest!
18th June – our crazy and insane new Cass volunteers are going to do Bungee Jump. I think they’re completely insane - but please do sponsor them anyway!
Contact us if you want more information about any of this, or want to help at all! In the meantime, I'm off to edit the new website ...
Cass Cake Sale!
Fundraising by our Cass volunteers continues, with raffles and five a side football tournaments and networking events.In true Hanna's style, and following the success of the last couple, there was another cake stall at Cass. This one raised £300! Another one is planned for next month - and I don't intend to miss out on the cakes this time!
Thanks to everyone who donated cakes, and all those who bought them!
Tuesday, 15 February 2011
The planning begins!
The Cass volunteers have now started planning their trip and doing their fundraising. Their Justgiving pages have been set up, so if you'd like to donate and help their fundraising, please go to their pages:
Nicole Garnier
Caitriona Conway
In other news, we're working with Football Action in a mad idea to put on a festival to raise money for our charities. It's going to be huge if we manage to get it running - and if the venue says yes!
Last week we had to put a detailed pitch together so I went through a crash course in talking to councils (thanks to everyone who helped!), generator engineers and various licensing bodies, and found out really important facts like how many toilets are recommended per 100 people (1, apparently!). Four of us spent a frantic day putting it all together ... so now we're just waiting to hear whether we've got the go ahead or not. Fingers crossed, please!
(and if anyone has any farmland around an hour outside of London that they want to donate, please let me know!)
Nicole Garnier
Caitriona Conway
In other news, we're working with Football Action in a mad idea to put on a festival to raise money for our charities. It's going to be huge if we manage to get it running - and if the venue says yes!
Last week we had to put a detailed pitch together so I went through a crash course in talking to councils (thanks to everyone who helped!), generator engineers and various licensing bodies, and found out really important facts like how many toilets are recommended per 100 people (1, apparently!). Four of us spent a frantic day putting it all together ... so now we're just waiting to hear whether we've got the go ahead or not. Fingers crossed, please!
(and if anyone has any farmland around an hour outside of London that they want to donate, please let me know!)
Sunday, 6 February 2011
Donations!
Would you like to donate to us? In a quick and easy way, with very little fuss? AND ensure we can get GiftAid on your donation (if you're a UK tax payer)? Of course you would!
We now have a general Just Giving page: www.justgiving.com/hannasorphanagejenny
This doesn't replace Paypal - we still have that - but Justgiving is quicker and easier for lots of people (and we get Giftaid!)
Thanks in advance for all your donations! :-)
We now have a general Just Giving page: www.justgiving.com/hannasorphanagejenny
This doesn't replace Paypal - we still have that - but Justgiving is quicker and easier for lots of people (and we get Giftaid!)
Thanks in advance for all your donations! :-)
Monday, 24 January 2011
Cass Business School Volunteers 2011!
Last year, Cass Business School paid for two students and one member of staff to travel to Ethiopia and to teach at the summer school. They taught classes, practiced conversational English with the older ones, played endless football matches with the kids and then took some time to explore the rest of the country. They also fundraised for Hanna’s Orphanage, raising over £6,000 for us which has already been sent over. They were really great volunteers – and what’s even better is the fact that they’re still fundraising and still involved!
This year Cass is paying for two students and two members of staff to take the trip to Ethiopia. A few of us went and delivered a talk at Cass, and invited everyone to apply. We whittled down the huge number of applications forms to the shortlist, and Hannah (not the Hanna ... but someone equally important who helps me with interviews and selecting the volunteers!) and I spent two evenings interviewing people before Christmas. We’ve made our final decision, and last week we got together with all four volunteers for the first time to start making plans for the trip.
I always love introducing people to Ethiopia, so it’s great that I have four new people to tell! We started to explore the logistics and what they would actually be doing once there, the preparations they need to make before leaving, but also about the country and the orphanage history and about how beautiful Ethiopia is. I know it’s not often on the top of people’s lists of places to visit, but – as I keep telling everyone - I am determined to change that!
Of course, the great thing this time is that we have a good 6 months before the volunteers (and I!) go, so we’ve got much longer to fundraise and prepare than last year. It means we can raise more money, get even more people involved, and also spend a lot longer planning lessons and activities to do with the students.
I always said that I wouldn’t send volunteers to Ethiopia, that we didn’t have the capacity to support them or organise it properly, and that there were ethical issues surrounding it. In fact, fairly recently, there’s been a lot written in the press about the harm that volunteering overseas can do, particularly short term volunteering, and how it’s so often about the volunteer getting the benefit, not the people it’s supposed to be helping. Here’s one of the articles: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/nov/14/orphans-cambodia-aids-holidays-madonna?INTCMP=SRCH
I agree with a lot of the concerns raised in the article and I did see quite a few volunteers who caused more harm than good, in my opinion. The trustees of Hanna’s Orphanage thought long and hard about sending volunteers to Ethiopia, and we’d actually just turned down another partnership because although it probably would have brought in some money, the volunteering wasn’t what the orphanage needed (I did ask them – I’m not just assuming). We ended up directing them to another charity which could use what they were offering.
We decided to welcome the partnership with Cass because we felt we had the capacity and expertise to support the volunteers by that point, and because they are fulfilling a specific need – teaching at the summer school. It’s not displacing any local teachers or paid staff: the summer school is taught by local teachers, university students and even children who grew up at the orphanage and have now moved on. The classes our volunteers provide are ‘add-ons’ – a different way of teaching, practice speaking English with fluent English speakers, and resources and information the students wouldn’t normally have access to. The feedback from the students and the orphanage staff last year was that the ‘active teaching’ the volunteers provided (games, songs, debates, arts, drama etc) was the most valuable part of their visit.
We also make sure that there is absolutely no cost to the orphanage and that we ask as little of their time as possible (just enough to arrange the class times and tell us what they want us to focus on, really – we do the rest). We also leave as much knowledge, materials and resources as we can, so that it’s as sustainable as possible. Cass are really supportive of all this as well.
It’s not perfect, I’m sure – and I do get the occasional email pointing this out! – but we have thought really hard about the pros and cons of doing it, and from what we can see, it’s been of huge value to the orphanage and to us. We will continue to monitor and evaluate it, of course (note to self: this year, plan resources for a slightly bigger age range this time, so we’re not caught on the hop like last year ...!)
But in the meantime, we’re focussed on making plans with the new volunteers! In a few weeks we’re going for a meal to introduce them to Ethiopian food, and they’re all setting up their justgiving pages. Let the fundraising commence!!
This year Cass is paying for two students and two members of staff to take the trip to Ethiopia. A few of us went and delivered a talk at Cass, and invited everyone to apply. We whittled down the huge number of applications forms to the shortlist, and Hannah (not the Hanna ... but someone equally important who helps me with interviews and selecting the volunteers!) and I spent two evenings interviewing people before Christmas. We’ve made our final decision, and last week we got together with all four volunteers for the first time to start making plans for the trip.
I always love introducing people to Ethiopia, so it’s great that I have four new people to tell! We started to explore the logistics and what they would actually be doing once there, the preparations they need to make before leaving, but also about the country and the orphanage history and about how beautiful Ethiopia is. I know it’s not often on the top of people’s lists of places to visit, but – as I keep telling everyone - I am determined to change that!
Of course, the great thing this time is that we have a good 6 months before the volunteers (and I!) go, so we’ve got much longer to fundraise and prepare than last year. It means we can raise more money, get even more people involved, and also spend a lot longer planning lessons and activities to do with the students.
I always said that I wouldn’t send volunteers to Ethiopia, that we didn’t have the capacity to support them or organise it properly, and that there were ethical issues surrounding it. In fact, fairly recently, there’s been a lot written in the press about the harm that volunteering overseas can do, particularly short term volunteering, and how it’s so often about the volunteer getting the benefit, not the people it’s supposed to be helping. Here’s one of the articles: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/nov/14/orphans-cambodia-aids-holidays-madonna?INTCMP=SRCH
I agree with a lot of the concerns raised in the article and I did see quite a few volunteers who caused more harm than good, in my opinion. The trustees of Hanna’s Orphanage thought long and hard about sending volunteers to Ethiopia, and we’d actually just turned down another partnership because although it probably would have brought in some money, the volunteering wasn’t what the orphanage needed (I did ask them – I’m not just assuming). We ended up directing them to another charity which could use what they were offering.
We decided to welcome the partnership with Cass because we felt we had the capacity and expertise to support the volunteers by that point, and because they are fulfilling a specific need – teaching at the summer school. It’s not displacing any local teachers or paid staff: the summer school is taught by local teachers, university students and even children who grew up at the orphanage and have now moved on. The classes our volunteers provide are ‘add-ons’ – a different way of teaching, practice speaking English with fluent English speakers, and resources and information the students wouldn’t normally have access to. The feedback from the students and the orphanage staff last year was that the ‘active teaching’ the volunteers provided (games, songs, debates, arts, drama etc) was the most valuable part of their visit.
We also make sure that there is absolutely no cost to the orphanage and that we ask as little of their time as possible (just enough to arrange the class times and tell us what they want us to focus on, really – we do the rest). We also leave as much knowledge, materials and resources as we can, so that it’s as sustainable as possible. Cass are really supportive of all this as well.
It’s not perfect, I’m sure – and I do get the occasional email pointing this out! – but we have thought really hard about the pros and cons of doing it, and from what we can see, it’s been of huge value to the orphanage and to us. We will continue to monitor and evaluate it, of course (note to self: this year, plan resources for a slightly bigger age range this time, so we’re not caught on the hop like last year ...!)
But in the meantime, we’re focussed on making plans with the new volunteers! In a few weeks we’re going for a meal to introduce them to Ethiopian food, and they’re all setting up their justgiving pages. Let the fundraising commence!!
Friday, 14 January 2011
Being a signpost!
It amazes me that, although our friends and family often make up the core supporters of Hanna's Orphanage, we get lots of people contacting us out of the blue who have heard of us from a friend or have found us via this blog or our website.
This week we were contacted by a film production company! They are looking for stories of girls who have turned their life around and are becoming vital and active parts of their communities. Obviously we don't run the orphanage on a day to day basis and so don't have as much knowledge about the children as Hanna does, but I know I can think of at least two young women off of the top of my head who are achieving great things despite serious hardships in their lives.
In fact, nearly all the girls in the orphanage are incredibly articulate, conscientious, intelligent, self possessed and ambitious. They work hard in their studies and have strong opinions on all aspects of life and their country, from the role of women in society, to job prospects, the economy and the latest changes to the law! Some of them are now starting to go on to further education and I have absolutely no doubt that they will achieve what they want to. They impress every single visitor we take to the orphanage!
The girls' attitude and success is hugely down to how nurturing and well run the orphanage is. Hanna and her staff make sure that the children have the same opportunities as everyone else (hopefully helped by our financial support), and they have very high aspirations for them. They teach them to believe they are capable of being anything they want to be. There are limitations of reality, we all know that, but they are encouraged and supported to aim high. I think this makes such a difference.
So I hope the production company will find some inspiring girls at the orphanage. Of course, the individual stories of the children are not mine to tell (I've learnt this the hard way!), so I have offered to put the production company in touch with Hanna.
A little part of me does think 'well, I hope they mention us! We could do with the publicity!'. But, actually, what's the point of us, unless to help the orphanage? If we put the production company in touch with the orphanage, they do a great short film about them and people donate to the orphanage and get involved directly, well, that's what we want, right? Does it matter if we aren't mentioned or 'funnel' the donations? Absolutely not!
I'm ashamed to say sometimes my ego forgets this. Sometimes I get so caught up in trying to raise the profile of Hanna's Orphanage, of encouraging people to donate, of trying to get people involved and to fundraise, I forget that our job is to be a 'signpost' to the orphanage. It doesn't matter if you never remember our name, really, just as long as the orphanage benefits. I forget that, really, if we do our job properly, we should pretty much become obsolete!
I'll keep you updated on the film :-)
This week we were contacted by a film production company! They are looking for stories of girls who have turned their life around and are becoming vital and active parts of their communities. Obviously we don't run the orphanage on a day to day basis and so don't have as much knowledge about the children as Hanna does, but I know I can think of at least two young women off of the top of my head who are achieving great things despite serious hardships in their lives.
In fact, nearly all the girls in the orphanage are incredibly articulate, conscientious, intelligent, self possessed and ambitious. They work hard in their studies and have strong opinions on all aspects of life and their country, from the role of women in society, to job prospects, the economy and the latest changes to the law! Some of them are now starting to go on to further education and I have absolutely no doubt that they will achieve what they want to. They impress every single visitor we take to the orphanage!
The girls' attitude and success is hugely down to how nurturing and well run the orphanage is. Hanna and her staff make sure that the children have the same opportunities as everyone else (hopefully helped by our financial support), and they have very high aspirations for them. They teach them to believe they are capable of being anything they want to be. There are limitations of reality, we all know that, but they are encouraged and supported to aim high. I think this makes such a difference.
So I hope the production company will find some inspiring girls at the orphanage. Of course, the individual stories of the children are not mine to tell (I've learnt this the hard way!), so I have offered to put the production company in touch with Hanna.
A little part of me does think 'well, I hope they mention us! We could do with the publicity!'. But, actually, what's the point of us, unless to help the orphanage? If we put the production company in touch with the orphanage, they do a great short film about them and people donate to the orphanage and get involved directly, well, that's what we want, right? Does it matter if we aren't mentioned or 'funnel' the donations? Absolutely not!
I'm ashamed to say sometimes my ego forgets this. Sometimes I get so caught up in trying to raise the profile of Hanna's Orphanage, of encouraging people to donate, of trying to get people involved and to fundraise, I forget that our job is to be a 'signpost' to the orphanage. It doesn't matter if you never remember our name, really, just as long as the orphanage benefits. I forget that, really, if we do our job properly, we should pretty much become obsolete!
I'll keep you updated on the film :-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
