Eid appeal 2013

As many of you already know, the vast majority of  people living in Algeria are Muslim and one of the most significant celebrations in the Islamic calendar is Eid ul Fitr, the event which marks the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting.

Eid is a time of great joy and celebration, it is a time when friends and family gather together, people eat delicious sweets and cakes and traditionally everyone wears new clothes-particularly the children.  It is an expensive time for everyone not least the poorer families.

For the past three years, at this time we have given sweets, toys and new clothes to hundreds of children living in Algiers. Last year we gave to just over 700 and this year, with your help we hope to give to even more.

As with previous years we will be distributing the gifts to children living within the community, to those sick in hospital and this time to children whose home is a women’s refuge.

So, how to help?

We need donations of sweets, small toys, balloons or anything else that children love!

You can give your donations in a number of ways:  If you live in London you might like to drop them off, further afield you will need to post them and if you live in Algiers you can phone to arrange a collection/ drop off – all of the contact details can be found here.   Or if you prefer, you can make an online monetary donation through the website or send a cheque.  No donation is too small and every item makes a difference.

*Eid will fall around mid August so donations made in the UK must be received by 1st July at the latest to ensure that they will arrive in time.

Spread a little happiness and make a child smile this Eid ul fitr!

Fab. Feb.

So far February has been a fantastic month for donations!

Lots of books have been donated and we are now less than 100 away from our target, which is a brilliant achievement in such a short space of time…

Some absolutely fantastic toys were also donated which will be perfect for the women’s refuge playroom.

There were also some rather lovely baby clothes too including some super baby packs aready made up………

So far February seems too have been a very busy month with lots of planning going on, which is fun! -I hope you’re all enjoying whatever it is you’re up to!

Emma x

P.S. It’s international book giving day tomorrow so check back then and see what were doing to spread a love of books!

January round up

January was a been a super busy month!

Our book appeal has really taken off and in just one month we have managed to collect almost 700 books of superb quality. We have a target of 1,000 which we need to reach before the summer when the library is due to open so, there is still a little way to go .

Below are just some of the books received in the last week or so.

Fab clothing has also been donated this month, including some lovely things for our baby pack project. The warmer weather will soon be here in Algeria so we are now starting to collect t.shirts, shorts ect so that it can all be shipped over in good time.

As I mentioned in a previous post, this year we will be assisting a women’s refuge. So far we have already given some toiletries, underwear and other essentials. The refuge  has a number of children there and a small play area has been created. We plan to develop this further and supply the organisation with a number of things for the children that live  there. These donated toys will help us make  a start.

  We have recently started working with a school in Baraki, Algiers and it is through them that we heard about the disabled teenager that had stopped going to school because her father was unable to continue carrying her in. Thanks to your generosity in just a few days we were able to raise enough to buy her a wheelchair.

During the fundraising campaign we were contacted by someone who wished to pay the whole amount, at that time the total had almost be raised so, it was suggested that this person could instead pay for a wheelchair for another, younger disabled  girl who attended the school. The supporter happily agreed, so January also saw two disabled girls become more mobile (pictures to follow). It seems that there are several children in need of this type of assistance and we are now looking into the best way we can try and help.

As always huge thanks for your tremendous support!

Have a fantastic February!

Emma x 

**Urgent**

I loved school: the friends, the fun (kind of) but most of all the learning. I loved to learn, I still love to learn.

Yesterday I was told about a teenage girl who also loves to learn, who also loves school but, who is no longer able to go. This is not a tale of neglect  or of parents that can’t be bothered, on the contrary, this girl has a father who adores her. A father that adores his daughter  so much that he carried her to and from school from the age of 6 until she was 13. Yes, CARRIED.

You see this girl is disabled and unable to walk , her family don’t even have enough money to eat properly never mind enough to buy a wheelchair. Yet, because this man wanted his daughter to experience school just the same as every other child  in the neighbourhood, for seven years he carried her to and from school five days a week- only stopping because her weight simply became too much to bear.

It seems such a tragedy that a child who wants to go to school is denied the opportunity simply because she was born into poverty……. and happens to be disabled. A wheelchair costs £200, in the grand scheme of things it’s a small sum but, for this family it’s an impossible amount.

Can you help us to help her?

A wheelchair would be such a tremendous gift to give this girl. Will you help us to raise £200 to give that gift?

As always, any help is greatly appreciated.

*Edit*  Donations can be made online via paypal using the address algerianaction@london.com or by sending a cheque (made payable to Algerian Action) to the usual address.

Mid month

I can’t believe that we are already more than half way through January- how time flies!

The Travelling library is one of our big projects for this year and it is scheduled to be operational this Summer. As I have mentioned before to make it all work we really need to have books (obviously!) and you lovely supporters haven’t let us down! Books sure have been dropping through the letter box at great speed. Our initial target is to have 1,000 books and just over two weeks into the year ,we have  got almost half that- which is just unbelievably fantastic!

In addition to the books, we need to get a couple of book trolleys something along the lines of these:

So to help us fund those, for the month of March we will be holding a ‘Bake for Books’ campaign where we are basically asking people to hold small cake related events among their family, friends or colleagues. A coffee morning, a bake sale, a tea party…..nothing large scale (unless you want it to be ) There will also be a few fun give-aways of baking related items which have already been generously  donated to us by a couple of companies. I hope you will participate- every £1 will make a real difference as it  will enable us to get the library up and running in the summer and begin providing this much needed service to children in hospitals, schools, orphanages and other community venues.

Other fab items and gorgeous baby packs have also been donated so, thank you for those too!

On another note, you may remember the little girl I mentioned in November that was unable to speak. Well on Sunday the Target of £2,000 was met and she will be having the operation done in the very near future. Thank you so much to those who contributed or bought the book: it’s wonderful to think that this little girl will now, not need to remain silent.

Have a great weekend everyone and as usual huge thanks for all of your help and support!

Off to a great start!

Some fabulous things for our baby pack project were donated this past week, including lots of cute little vests and crocheted goodies.

In addition to other beautiful items these baby-gros were donated by http://www.daisydumplings.co.uk   Isn’t it  just such a fabulous idea to add a little ruffle collar and flower to a plain sleep suit to jazz it up! I’m not that great at crochet but if anyone who is fancies making a few flowers, I do have some baby gros that they could be added to

Plans for our travelling library are ‘full steam ahead’. Thank you so much to those who sent books in for our appeal and crafty stuff for the kids to use during the library craft sessions.

Our goal is to collect 1,000 books to start the library off- the donation of every book makes a difference, will help  fill the shelves and get us a little closer to our target!

As I mentioned previously, this year we hope to be able to assist a women’s refuge based in Algiers. We had a meeting with the director last week to find out a bit more about what their organisation does and to discuss ways in which we can help them. The women who live in this refuge have either been abandoned by their husbands or families, are  escapees from an abusive relationship or young women who have reached the age of 18 and so no longer have the right to stay in the orphanage where they previously lived. The aim of the refuge is to give these women somewhere clean and safe to stay but to also help them find a way to build a future for themselves. For example they help women find employment or training so that they can afford to live independently. At the time of our visit there were 12 women residents and 7 children although there is capacity for more.

The organisation does receive some state funding but it is not nearly enough and on one occasion last year the refuge ran out of food! It operates a bit like a normal home: the women and children share the cooking and eat together as a family. There are no cleaning staff ect the residents do all of this type of thing between themselves. As one would expect from people that have nothing materially, they are in need of everything especially the everyday items like soap, toothpaste, sanitary towels, clothing ect.

Some of the women housed also have their children with them and an area has been designated for them to play in. I can’t imagine how it must feel to be a child in this situation but I think it would be a nice gift if we could donate a toy box full of things to play with and some colourful cushions to brighten up the place a bit and make it a little more child friendly.

I will be visiting the refuge myself at the beginning of March and would love to take some things  at that time to the women and children who live there. I’m thinking along the lines of underwear, toiletries, towels and bedding plus some toys as mentioned above. Any help with that would be really gratefully appreciated.

Have a great weekend!

Book Appeal

 

 

As I mentioned in a post last week, next year we will be operating a children’s travelling library in Algiers. We will be visiting children in hospitals, orphanages, schools and other community venues and giving them the opportunity to enjoy books that they would otherwise not have access to. We will  be holding storytelling and craft sessions too.

However, before we can open the doors we need to fill the shelves, and for that we really need your help!

Will you help us reach our target of 1000 books?

Books can be new or gently used. They must be suitable for children aged 0-14 years (not textbooks) and can be written in English or Arabic.  All titles are very welcome.

If you are able to help by donating a book the address to send donations to can be found here. In any case please spread the word and help us to  bring a travelling library to children in Algiers!

Huge thanks to  those people who  have already kick started  the appeal by sending books in.

 

August………

August was a really busy month for me and for Algerian Action.

Along with the every day coming and goings it was particularly important to ensure that all of the Eid gifts arrived in Algeria in time for Eid ul fitr which fell on 20th August. It was truly wonderful to give gifts to so many children all of who enjoyed their sweet treats, toys and clothes very much.  thank you so much to all of those that contributed and made our Eid Appeal 2012 such a success.

August also saw the launch of ‘A taste of Algeria’ a cookery book that I compiled as a fundraising initiative. The response to the book has been amazing and much more than I could have ever hoped for. The first batch has already completely sold out and a second order has been placed (delivery due early next week). If you would like to order a copy please visit here   All profits from the sale of the book go towards assisting destitute families in Algeria.

A lot of time was also spent on forthcoming plans:

In particular the baby pack project is being extended to include providing for women in a refuge and a hospital, hopefully this will spread even further as time progresses. To ensure that the project continues to succeed donations of baby related items are really needed, items can be new, pre-loved or hand-crafted.

Plans are also well under-way for our next event due to take place on 6th October.

If you would like to volunteer to help on the day or have a stall please do get in touch, otherwise if you are in the London area it would be great to see you there!

September for me, always feels like the beginning of a new year (must be all those years spent studying!) it’s a natural time to embark on something new and have new challenges. For me personally, I am awaiting the birth of a new baby, due in a few weeks time. I also have a long, long list of new crafting projects I hope to try……… Whatever you have planned or manage to get up to I hope you have lots of fun and a super September!

Emma x

P.S- there were some difficulties with the charity email address recently. The problem has now been fixed but, if you made contact within the last two weeks and didn’t receive a reply please do send it again as it has not been seen.

Cookery book

For some time I have wanted to compile a cookery book full of Algerian recipes (written in the English Language). The food I’ve tasted in Algeria is some of the best I’ve ever eaten and I’ve always thought it such a shame that while Moroccan cuisine is widely known the delights of Algeria are really not known about at all, unless of course you have visited the country or have a family connection of some sort.

So now, after what seems a million years I am so pleased to say that a cookery book has finally been produced and is available NOW!

Entitled ‘A taste of Algeria’ the book is meant to be just that a taste, an introduction to Algeria’s delicious food, both sweet and savoury.  All of the recipes have been submitted by women with a connection to Algeria be it through birth, heritage or marriage and are authentic dishes of the country.

The book  has 50 recipes and includes favourites like M’hadjeb, Karantita, Tajine Zitoun, M’halbi, Makrout el louz and many more. It has been professionally printed and  is priced at £5.99.   Currently it can be purchased online through our website or by sending a cheque. UK /European postage is free, if you live elsewhere and would like the book please get in touch for a postage quote.

All profits made from the sale of the book will go towards helping destitute children and families in Algeria.

Eid Appeal 2012

Our Eid Appeal for 2012 is now well under-way, in fact there are just two more weeks left to collect donations!

People have been so generous sending things in, simple treats like balloons, sweets and small toys- all the things that children love in addition to some new clothing.

This year our aim is to give gift parcels to 750 children. So far, we have 510 -which is more than we gave out last year or the year before that but, we still need 240 more to reach our target – Can you help?