Saturday 30 April 2016

Drought in Southern Africa is hurting people we know



Africa is in the midst of a serious drought, there has been little or no rain for months so that anything that has been able to grow, has now withered in the fields. This has gravely affected the communities Hands at Work is serving because they rely on their small gardens to feed the children. Where there is food, the price has risen dramatically, so the funds that many  of us give to support the children is no longer enough.  (This is for the the 3 Essential Service of Food security, Education and Health at £15 a month) .



We need your help.  But even more than this - the people we know in Africa need your help.



Pray for water, it says in the bible When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.” Isaiah 41:17 We must claim this promise from God.



(The message says “The poor and homeless are desperate for water,
    their tongues parched and no water to be found.
But I’m there to be found, I’m there for them,
    and I, God of Israel, will not leave them thirsty.)



Fast

Some of us have been fasting. This really helps to focus on the children and care givers that we know. It helps us feel a tiny bit of their pain. If you are going to do this let some of hte pople who you know at Link for Life know so that we can do it together. You might want to replace all your drinks with water for one day, replace a meal with plain rice, miss one meal for a day or cut out all hot food.



Share

Find out more about it and then tell your friends….there hasn’t been much in the news and so people don’t even know it’s going on. You can find out more on the Hands at Work website where you will see two videos (one short and one long) explaining the situation http://www.handsatwork.org/droughtrelief . You could listen to this interview on the radio http://goo.gl/v55i8d   (BBC Africa by David Orr of the World Food Programme)  or read about four unexpected consequences for school children of having no water. bit.ly/22LI6yC



Give

Hands at Work UK have set up a Just Giving Page
http://www.handsatwork.org/uk-donations  

for people to be able to support Hands in bringing relief
to the most vulnerable children and communities directly impacted by the drought and food crisis across Africa



Please help, it is now that our partnership with Share really counts. We always said we wanted to be a Link for Life, so let’s help.



Thank you

Rose Westwood

Wednesday 27 April 2016

Hi guys, my name's is Ellen Stokes and I'm part of the 2016 team going out to South Africa. I'm lucky enough to say that this is my second time visiting with the LinkForLife charity and I'm still as excited and as nervous as I was last year! However, we've got an amazing team, and really supportive leaders so I'm sure it's going to be an fantastic experience. We all plan on keeping you up to date on here, letting you know everything that happens and how we're all getting on. Thank you all for all your support and donations, they're all really appreciated and you're all incredibly selfless for everything you do. Thank you! :)

Monday 18 April 2016

2016 South Africa Team Member Update - Tina here!

Hi everyone, my name is Tina Vidmar and I will be joining the 2016 team. I wanted to post on here some of my thoughts about the visit and journey so far!

The time has flown by so fast and it's crazy to think that in about 3 months time I will be on my way to South Africa. I can't believe that I finally get to go to the place that I have helped fundraise for a while now.

The last thing I want to say is that I am very excited and I feel as though we have a brilliant team on our hands this year and I can't wait to delve into things.

Also before I go I wanted to mention that I, along with other team members (Izzy Stirk and Laura Jovicich), are going to climb Snowdon on the 30th of April as a sponsored event, wish us luck!

Thank you,
Tina!

Sunday 17 April 2016

2016 team meet in Penkridge

Hello everyone, the 2016 Link for Life team are meeting monthly to get to know each other before we go to South Africa in July to visit out partner charities, Hands at Work, Mercy Air and Baby Bear.
Here we are meeting at St Michael's Penkridge on Sunday night 17th April. A few of us are missing but from left to right you can see Mike Leonard, a teacher from Wolgarston School, Andy Evans and Lynne Mills from Link for Life Great Wyrley, Ellie Stokes, and Izzie Stirk looking forward to their second visit, and Tina Vidmar coming for the first time. Liz Hobbis on the right hand side of the picture is from Link for Life at St Michael's Penkridge.
The missing faces are Joe Wilkins, Gina Mountford, Laura Jovicich, Wendy Hearth and me, Rose Westwood.
We will be introducing ourselves in the next few weeks but please support us as we prepare to go. Thank you, Rose Westwood.