SCARF

Fundraising Dinner

2010-11-08T07:53:00.004+10:00

Tickets on Sale now $40pp

Two course meal.

Bar facilities available at the venue.

When: 6:30pm Saturday 20th November 2010

Where: Buderim Wanderers Football Club

Cathy will be speaking on the night, come and hear first hand where your money is going and the lives you are changing with your donations.

Raffles on the night with major prizes including PGA passes, Australia Zoo family pass, dinner & movie vouchers, Noosa Keys accommodation & more!

For more information or to purchase tickets please contact either Julie on 0410457104 or Jodie 0404029925.

Hope to see you all there.

Purchase of Land

2010-08-06T15:36:00.004+10:00

Hi All,

We would like to confirm that in May this year SCARF were able to provide funds to PREFER (Poverty Reduction Education Family Empowerment Rwanda) in order to purchase land for a new primary school.

The land is directly across the road from PREFER Preschool.

The location is perfect and it will mean a natural progression for students once they have completed preschool.

We look forward to supporting the next phase of the project & will keep you all informed.

Maselli's Deli Donation Day!

2010-08-06T15:32:00.010+10:00

On Monday the 2nd of August 2010 Maselli's Deli donated $1 to SCARF for every coffee sold.

The goal was to make 200 coffees on this day; the reality was that we exceeded that target and 225 coffees were made resulting in a donation of $225.00!!

Thanks to everyone who supported the day & especially Carly & the staff at Maselli's Deli.

As you know, these funds will make a huge difference for many in Rwanda.

2010-07-12T08:38:00.008+10:00

Our friends at Maselli's Deli continue their support of SCARF!

http://masellisdeli.com.au/news/drink-coffee-on-monday-2nd-august-for-charity/

On Monday 2nd August 2010 Maselli’s Deli will be donating $1 from every coffee sold to help Support families and individuals in Africa who are less fortunate then we are in Australia.

Bring your family, friends & work colleagues & enjoy the best coffee in town while supporting a good cause!

While you're there why not also indulge in something from their amazing menu!

2010-07-04T19:46:00.005+10:00

Cathy & her husband Teste will be visiting the Sunshine Coast in November 2010!

There will be a fundraising dinner held locally where you can hear first hand stories of where your money is going and the lives you are changing with your ongoing support.

Stay tuned for more information as the year progresses.

The 2009 Mission

2009-12-24T11:31:00.015+10:00

In 2009 we wanted to make things official and discussed setting up a charity. We decided on the name S.C.A.R.F. which stands for Sunshine Coast Africa Relief Fund and after what seemed like hundreds of hours of paperwork and dealing with government departments which took many months we received the official notice confirming the charity was now established!

This blog will keep you updated on our various projects, however should you require any additional information please do not hesitate to contact us via email s.c.a.r.f@hotmail.com

Below is a brief description of the latest trip in July 2009.

Julie, Hannah, Gina & Shanelle took just over $18,000.00 (Australian) and were able to complete quite a number of large projects in a short amount of time.

Medical Clinic & School -
They provided funds to completely finish the school & also build a medical clinic on the same block of land.

New roof -
The girls arranged for a grandmother who looks after her 7 grandchildren to receive a new roof. The roof was in really bad condition and there were more holes than there was iron. The Grandma had managed to save up and buy three pieces of iron herself, however needed 21 to finish it off, which would have taken her forever to save up for.

Annoncietta -
It was great to be able to follow up with a very special person called Annoncietta. She is the lady that Julie, Elaine and Jodie helped last time by building her house for her after it had fallen down. This time we have been able to rent a plot of land for her for two years so that she will be able to grow her own vegetables.

Jodie and Julie had also bought her food for the time being and arranged for a rabbit hutch to be built so that she can breed and sell rabbits for food and money. We also bought Annoncietta and her children beds as they had no furniture in their house at all. This was the first time Annoncietta had ever had a proper bed to sleep in and she was extremely excited and very happy.

Medical Insurance -

On this trip the girls were able to purchase medical insurance for 100 people. Medical insurance for an entire year can be purchased for only $6. This not only allows the individual to be seen by a doctor, it also pays 90% of prescription costs if they require antibiotics.

Goats -
50 goats were purchased and distributed to local families. The girls had to go to 3 different goat markets in order to get this many goats. One lady was so excited she actually picked Gina up off the ground!! Cathy helped put it into perspective for use when she said that for a family to be given a goat is as exciting and significant as if we were given a mercedes!

Hospital Visit -

We also provided food for the childrens ward at the local hospital as the hospitals only provide basic care and beds. Medicines and food have to be provided by the patients family - so you can image it gets very difficult for the parents, especially when they have many children. It was a very rewarding experience and the people were very surprised and thankful. We bought formula (which is very expensive in Rwanda) for the babies and gave the mother money for food. We have arranged medical insurance for her and the children and brought them all clothes at the local market.

Assistance for Orphanages -

The ladies also gave money for food and blankets to Kizungo who looks after two orphanages in the Congo. Cathy has known Kizungo for many years & has assisted him in the past. Conditions are very poor in the Congo, and it's usually difficult to help because of both corruption and the volatile political situation. The money was given personally to Kizungo in Rwanda and he took it back across the border on his person. They were able to buy a lot of food for the orphans and he sent through a photo of some of the spoils!!

Thank you again for helping make these wonderful things possible and for making such a difference in so many lives.

How we got here...

2009-12-24T08:39:00.004+10:00

Here is just a brief description of what we have helped to achieve over the past few years. For pictures from the 2008 trip check out our Africa 2008 blog. http://www.ourafricatrip2008.blogspot.com/

About three years ago, Elaine, Jodie and Julie started to plan & save for a visit to Rwanda. During a previous visit Julie had met a Canadian, Cathy Emmerson, and had been impressed by her endeavours to assist the local community out of poverty and towards better health and education. This is no mean feat in a country, which had been torn by racial hatred and the well-documented genocide of 1994. Fifteen years on, infrastructure is scarce, families still bear the emotional and physical scars from what occurred, and poverty is wide spread. The aim of this trip was to focus on a small community just outside of Ruhengeri, not far from the troubled border of Congo, and provide a hand-up rather than a hand out.

During the 2008 Rwanda trip many things were accomplished.

Health Insurance - We purchased health insurance for 59 people which not only allowed them to be seen & treated by a doctor, it also paid 90% of any prescription costs. Our original plan was for 50 people, however a few extra people turned up on the day and so we included them as well.

Building a house - This was a totally unexpected project, which presented to us at “medical clinic” held in the goat shed at the school. It appears that during the genocide Annoncietta was beaten very severely, almost beaten to death it would seem. We would guess her age to be approximately 33-34 years old, and she has three children. She had undergone three major operations for various failing organs (a result of the beating) and when she returned from her most recent visit to the hospital, she discovered that her house had fallen down. All arrangements were made & supplies ordered. We visited every few days to check on the progress & within 2 weeks they had built the house. Annoncieta was extremely thankful & her children now had a roof over their heads.

Goats -
We purchased 42 goats for 42 families enabling them an opportunity to have a small income once they were able to breed the goats and sell the offspring.

Care packages -
We were fortunate in being able to visit several typical homes. This is something that the average traveller would probably have little or no access to. Overwhelmingly, we found that women were cooking in misshapen tins, or whatever they could find, over an open fire. The average home is built from mud, with a mud floor, which does not contribute towards hygiene in any way. Occasionally there may be one woven mat and if sheer good fortune prevails, maybe one blanket to share between an average family of six. After much discussion we settled on the components of the packages. These were: one woollen blanket, one alloy cooking pot, cooking oil, 1kg salt, 2kg sugar and 3 bars of soap. Again, we requested the assistance of the local government officer to select 15 of the most needy in his section and we selected 5 recipients ourselves. (Annoncietta was one of those). The cost of this package was just under $18 US.

With the assistance of the local government officers we had established another program and had asked that over the next 12 months, another 60 of these care packages are distributed to families identified as being in need, at a cost of US$1050.

Gushangiro Primary School -
We purchased and distributed exercise books, pens and pencils to 700 children. As a treat, the teachers were given chalk.

P.R.E.F.E.R Preschool - nutrition -
The name of the school stands for Poverty Reduction, Education and Family Empowerment in Rwanda and it was where we based ourselves during our stay. In the community, the school is seen as a gathering place, not only for the children, but also where basic medical treatment can be obtained. The babies class accommodates children up to the age of 2 years old and through donations, they are given water and a sorghum drink every day. At present, they also have a fried bread roll every second day. The older children range in ages up to about 5-6 years of age and are given water every day and a fried bread roll once a week. While we were there we fed the entire school (126 children) with additional bread and sorghum twice, for the cost of US$32.85. We had arranged a program to feed the entire school with sorghum and fried bread twice a week for the next year. We made allowances for special occasions and local events or celebrations and pledged US$1900 towards this.

P.R.E.F.E.R Preschool – building & furnishing the school.
There is an open shelter made from UN tarps and a goat shed, which doubles as chicken shed/storage shed/sewing class/shelter and medical clinic. The actual school building was under construction while we were there and had been funded by donations. Further donations were needed and we had allocated US$450 towards the steel trusses, which would at least allow for classes to be conducted inside rather than on the grass under the trees. Anticipating completion of the actual building in the next 2-3 months, we purchased two 3000 litre rainwater tanks. In addition, we met with the local carpenter/joiner and had him make 15 student tables, 4 teacher desks and 4 locking library cupboards.

Shoes for those without -
Amongst various health issues that we were confronted with, we came across the presence of “jiggers”. This is a parasite which lives in the soil and presents a problem for children with tender feet and no shoes. The parasite burrows its way in to the feet, where it develops in to a worm, which then lays larvae. Untreated, and considering the worst case scenario, the result could be amputation and at best, a debilitating deformity.
We took a survey of children at the preschool who had no shoes at all and then a second survey of those wearing broken shoes or shoes with holes. For a little over US$70 we ensured that all of the children had shoes.

Medical Supplies -
Prior to leaving we spent $310 on medical supplies, most of which were either unheard of in Rwanda, difficult to get or just plain expensive. Amongst these were a good number of various dressings, antiseptic creams, bandaids and bandages. The most prominent items were burn-aid gel packs, burn creams and burn dressings. Major burns are frequent and minor burns are common-place. Most of the victims are children who huddle around cooking fires or roll in to them while they sleep.

Summary
We hope that the work that we did meets the expectations of all who donated. Some experiences were difficult, though not unexpected. Being faced with reality was quite different to sitting at home and discussing plans and expectations. There was overwhelming sadness with ill health and abject poverty and then sheer delight in seeing a child get to grips with his first pair of shoes. We would like to thank everyone who made a donation and supported this project and assure you that your kindness has changed lives.

Elaine, Jodie & Julie

Raffle Winner!!

2009-12-21T14:00:00.002+10:00

Hi All,
The lucky winner of our Christmas raffle was Ms Hannah Magometovs!
Thanks to all who supported the raffle and to those who donated the prizes.
We wish you all a Merry Christmas & a safe and Happy New Year!

Christmas Cards for sale

2009-12-02T17:39:00.004+10:00

Hello,

We have hand made Christmas cards for sale to raise funds for SCARF.

Please email us (s.c.a.r.f@hotmail.com) with your order and we will distribute asap.

Cards are $1.20 each & sold in packs of 5, 10, 20 or individual orders are also accepted.

Cheers,

Sunshine Coast Africa Relief Fund

2009-11-29T15:05:00.000+10:00

Hi All,
Welcome to the official SCARF website where we will keep you updated on our support for PREFER (Poverty Reduction Education Family Empowerment Rwanda) Preschool.
Have a look around and enjoy the journey that hopefully we will take you on with the pictures & stories posted.
Cheers,
Jodie