they had a dressing up day – that sounded fun!  This was a really good idea - with lots of possibilities - dressing up as characters from your favourite book.  I wonder how  many witches there were - and were they Raold Dahl insprited or J.K. Rowling?  Thank you for £69 - this equals 4 goats!

the first school I showed pictures of Darfur to – still supporting us generously and providing their wonderful choir for our Annual Christmas Concert.

Congratulations to these wonderful choirs for their unforgettable performance at our Annual Candlelit Christmas Concert in London this year. It was a magical evening, and this year the concert raised the most yet - £10,050.06!  This is our main fund raiser and we are particulary grateful to VAL BEYNON for all the hard work she puts in each year.  It is very special to welcome the parents and friends of the children to St Paul's Knightsbridge.  The children's performance this year was really beautiful with outstanding solo performances not just singing but also playing oboe and flute.  Huge thanks to WILLI MURDOCH their forward thinking Head.  It is a real privilege and joy working with DANESHILL.  The children as so proud of what they are doing to help in Darfur.  I hope it is a tradition which will continue for many years.  The sense of achievement these small people have demonstrates to the huge audience this concert attracts that even the smallest child can make a difference.  Well done and thank you Daneshill.

The little people at Downsend Lodge Leatherhead presented an enormous cheque to KIDS FOR KIDS when Patricia Parker visited the school on 1st May! Patricia told them that her son Alastair had been a pupil at Downsend Lodge and now was a diplomat in Whitehall. They had gone together to visit Darfur and had met a little lad walking miles for water. The Downsend Lodge pupils presented £1220 to KIDS FOR KIDS from a sponsored walk they had done around the school field.

 

MORE PICTURES IN THE GALLERY! 

largest single cheque raised from one school event – the boys raised over £10,000 in a sponsored walk of 10 miles (some got lost and did over 11) in memory of the little 9 year old who walked 14 miles for water for his family.

JANUA SCHOOL's philosophy is based on freedom of thinking so that each child, and their ages range from just 7 to 11, is encouraged to balance "thinking, feeling and action". A lovely picture emerges of the school reading the children's report of how they raised the magnificent sum of 210 euros.

They made bracelents, rings, necklaces, garlands, wool squares, even dwarfs! They invented fairy stores and created notebooks. During the Spring Festivity they put together a table of flowers and in the Rose Festivity they collected mulberries from the school garden and made marmalade, lemonade and biscuits.

Thank you in particular to Lucrezia, Flavia, Shaula, Angelica, Arianna, Guido, David, Lorenzo, Dario, Marco, Stefano, Matteo, Margherita, Maddalena, Matteo, Francesco, Elena - and of course teacher Luciana.

I am looking forward hugely to seeing your drawings and taking them to Darfur during my next visit.  Can you imagine how families there will feel to hear what you have done for their children? 

Wonderful news from the sixth grade - 17 students have been following the news in Darfur and have now raised $1400 for KIDS FOR KIDS with a HOT CHOCOLATE SALE.  They ran a raffle, set up booths and organised the whole thing themselves - and cleaned up afterwards!

What a great way to raise funds - chocolate is doing us proud!  In Wolverhampton 3 students gave up chocolate for us, and in Khartoum donated chocolate provided medical equipment for a remote rural hospital!

 WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO WITH CHOCOLATE?!

Thank you everyone in the Grasshoppers Class at Kinhayes.  It was great to hear from you!

Thank you so much for your lovely letters letting me know how you have been making Smoothies all year - helping children in Darfur, and having fun yourselves.

What will you think of for next year I wonder...............! 

Thank you for donating £1,512 from your Harvest Festival.  This is such an important time of the year - when we have the time of plenty and children think about those who lack virtually everything in Darfur.

A really special thank you to KERSLEY WATSON who saw a leaflet about KIDS FOR KIDS at a motorbike show and took one to school.  She and her teacher decided to have a Bring and Buy Sale of Old toys.  What a good idea - and thank you Kersley - you raised £181.72.  That means that a family with have 6 goats and a donkey and in 2 years time kids will go to another family - and when you are four years older, another family will have kids from your first goats! 

What a difference one child continues to make! 

Out of the blue a wonderful cheque for £520 arrived on the Kids for Kids desk from this creche for tiny tots in Abergavenny, Wales. To think of 3 and 4 year olds singing for, as ELAINE WHITE wrote, "the benefit of chidlren less fortunate than themselves" is really moving.

She told us that these little children fully grasped the concept of our projects and in their sponsored sing sang with gusto for goats and donkeys - as they proudly told anyone that asked!

I wish we could have heard them.

Thank you to such a wonderful team - and thank you parents and grandparents, and aunts and uncles and everyone who has helped these small Welsh children to realise that even at their age they can make a difference.

Pendle Community High School is a very special place. There are very special children there who face enormous hardships every day of their lives. This is a school for children with special needs and to hear that it was their idea to take the theme of eggs for their Mini Enterprise project, at Easter this year, and to make with love and pride such beautiful egg cups - which they then sold in raise money for a donkey - is unforgettable.

The children considered carefully how the money they raised should be spent and decided "to purchase a donkey for a family to help them collect essential items such as water and firewood".

Yes children - your donkey will improve the life of a family in Darfur and yes, I know it will bring as much enjoyment to them as you had in designing and selling your egg cups. What you made will be valued by your friends who bought them, and your donkey is beyond price for a family in a remote village.

A real live goat called Geraldine helped the 55 children - aged 3 to 19 - in their maginificent fund raising this term.  Lovely teacher LIZ TEBBUTT gave each class £5 and challenged them to make it grow!  They had competitions, raffles, fudge-making, cream teas, a treasure hunt, car valeting, personalised iced cakes, home made lemonade and more!

The whole school heard about how KIDS FOR KIDS was started - thank you HARVEY (11) for helping out!  And thank you Geraldine for putting up with a journey in the school minibus with four wheelchairs.  I am glad you enjoyed the lawn at lunchbreak and I am so glad you loved the children!

Each class made a presentation to the school - this in itself is a wonderful experience for them - and told them how they had raised the money in their class.  The £35 Liz had 'invested' turned, through immense hard work, enthusiasm and creativity into £318.73!

I am hoping to have pictures to put in the Kids for Kids Gallery soon! 

Chairman Patricia Parker visited Queen's College in November to show pictures she had taken in her visit to Darfur this month! Nothing like hot news. She was then invited to give a double lesson on Politics, Economics, Religion and the Environment to the Sixth Form.

"I was not sure I would find enough to say for a double session with these bright young students" said Patricia "but the time shot past and frankly, it would have been terrific to have had longer! It is rewarding to find young people so concerned for the future of Darfur."

The visit was organised by enthusiastic supporter of KIDS FOR KIDS, Jody Hyland, who has masterminded a book sale & Carol Service to raise funds for goats and donkeys. A really big thank you to everyone for £454.46.  That is a lot of goats and donkeys!

Another great idea - THE GREAT CAKE SALE.  Children aged from 3 to 13 made cakes which raised over £500!  King Alfred was said to burn the cakes in Winchester - he needed the help of the children of Salisbury!  Thank you everyone - I am sorry I missed the sale!

memorable performance of ‘Oliver’ – great choice to raise funds for children in Darfur

The Annual Wheelathron - the children sponsored to make circuits on wheels of all sorts, except bicycles - is a terrific event, giving enormous fun ..... and very touching as the children help the pupils from their sister school, many in wheel chairs, to compete too. Special thanks to everyone who made jewellery and sold refreshments at the Primary School Summer Bazaar and TRISTAN, PATRICIA and BEN who had the great idea of forming an indoor Fun Games Club. I really recommend this - how terrific for the older children (by a couple of years!) to help the younger ones integrate and enjoy themselves, and learn lots of new skills! The membership raised money for KIDS FOR KIDS!  I was really proud to present these children with their Award which recognised their spectacular contribution to school life.

Not to be outdone, the parents aassociation had the lovely idea of presenting a goat to each school leaver. Such a lovely momento of this special school. Our Certificates are something to be proud of - reminding people how they help and of the Wheelathron which makes such a difference.

not only staged a Wheelathron for us again, with the Jack Taylor School for disabled children but whose Parents Association presented a Goat in the name of each leaver – First Prize for Inspirational Giving!  Something other schools might like to consider?

Held a BUILD A GOAT CHALLENGE!  As the children earned the money helping parents and friends, they collected legs, horns, ears, head and so on to build the goat!

Marie Gahn told us about the fourth graders who visited Alma Via, a senior living facility.   The children told residents all about Kids for Kids and how they raised so much for children so far away.  They loved the chance to meet the old folks and said they wanted to share the good work.  One said "because we got out of school" .... it is great that KIDS FOR KIDS can be such fun for people, in and out of school!

 Children - thank you for starting the Seed Fund for trees - our new tree seedlings are growing well this year!  It would be great to see you again.

You and the children have been terrific all year for us. It has been great hearing abour how you have been raising funds - and awareness - in America!

Had an inter-house competition with big sketches of goats for the chidlren to cover with money!  Enormous fun and they raised an incredible £255.86!  Well done.  What a fun idea!

A herd of goats is already making a difference to a family, thanks to children at school in Hull!  Congratulations to everyone for their hard work - you are making the world a better place!