Celebrating 6 new villages for our Birthday Year!

Kids for Kids is celebrating the incredible news that we are adopting 6 new villages in North Darfur, Sudan in our 20^th Year.

Gawhir, Hillat Anass, Hillat Hashab, Maagila, Tartoura Birket Jaro and Taitel will be part of the Kids for Kids family in which our sustainable projects will change the lives of over 1100 families and 3700 children – giving hope for the future in these most desperate of times.

Whilst we aim to adopt new villages every year, the uncertainty due to Covid-19 as well as crippling inflation in Sudan which is now over 350%, the prospect of offering support and then falling short meant that we were facing this year being the first in our 20-year history of not providing help to villages in need.

Amongst the villages chosen, the circumstances vary with 3 of the villages’ nearest water supplies being 12km away, meaning a daily 24 km round trip for children and women to collect enough water for family and livestock alike, a trek that will take many hours in the blistering heat of the Sudanese sun. Whilst some villages may have access to water none has access to any healthcare for humans or their animals.  Few have any education at all for younger children, and older children frequently walk 10 miles to reach a rudimentary schools.   These are struggles the people of Darfur go through that we take for granted every day!

However, this is about to change with Kids for Kids working with the six new communities themselves to implement our range of sustainable projects of which the goat loans are key. A family chosen by their village will receive 5 nanny goats that will provide nutritious milk to feed hungry children and turn their health around. Excess milk can also be sold to earn an income – giving a family hope for the future. Other projects include installation of water pumps and water carts, training midwives to deliver healthy and happy babies, the training of first aid workers and paravets but also building kindergartens to give children an education – a direct route out of a life of poverty.

Kids for Kids’ Founder and CEO Patricia Parker says “The most heart-breaking issue is that all the villages chosen have suffered the death of at least one child in the past year, mainly due to Malaria – this is totally unacceptable in this day and age and providing blankets and mosquito nets to families is one of the first things we do when supporting a village, protecting children from insect-borne diseases.”

“The number of requests from villages asking for our help has never been greater and whilst we are aware that we are unable to help everyone it doesn’t make the decision any easier – behind each village application are struggling families and hungry children, but for these new villages, we will turn this around and provide opportunities which could only be achieved because of the generosity of Kids for Kids supporters!”

Over the 20 years of the Charity, Kids for Kids has supported 106 villages and helped over 550,000 people – but there are still hundreds more villages, thousands more children who are in need.

This year Kids for Kids are asking people to take on a Challenge20 to raise funds and have fun!

What will your Challenge20 be? Hiking 20 miles? Running 20 marathons? Baking 20 cakes?

This challenge is all YOU!!

For more ideas and inspiration, click here.