Beer FestivalPlans are well in hand for the Beer Festival to be held on Saturday 28 September 2008 in the Laurence Hall, Cholsey from 11:00am to 11:00pm. It isn’t only beer – there are activities for all the family, including children!
To continue to forge links between communities here and in South Africa we have a new link with the local organisation Style Acre. Style Acre is a registered charity based at CABI in Wallingford that provides supported living services and day opportunity services to adults with learning disabilities. Some of the money raised at the Beer Festival will be used specifically for the Style Acre facility in Wallingford.
Big Food Event
Choko participated in the Cholsey Primary School Big Food Event on Saturday 28 June. We gave visitors a sample of the average day's food for people living in the Kodumela area - heavy maize porridge and spinach relish!
Estelle dishes up the Kodumela rations at the Big Food event.
School links
We are delighted to report that the third school link is developing apace. Children at Crowmarsh School have now sent their second parcel of work out to Masekane School, and were able to address their letters to individual children in South Africa who had written last time. This massively helps the connection between the two communities and is part of what makes Choko special. The work from Africa is now displayed in the school, along with pictures of the community, so children have a constant reminder of their 'sister school' in Kodumela. Barbara O'Dwyer, the headmistress, is hoping to use the autumn term to build links with the Crowmarsh community and strengthen the support and connection with Kodumela.
A group of Choko committee members were delighted to be able to visit Cholsey Primary School to give a presentation and have discussions with the year 3/4 class. While the talk and informal chats afterwards went down well, the food the children were given to sample did not! They now have sympathy for the Kodumela children who eat this meal day after day. This visit very happily coincided with the arrival of work from the school in Kodumela.Kodumela Visit 2009 - and collection of gifts for the children
Bookings have been made for the visit to the Kodumela Project in 2009. A larger group will be going than on the 2007 trip and we look forward to seeing progress and renewing contacts. Between them, the group visiting have sponsored at least 8 children, each of which will be visited.
We would like to be able to take books, toys, games and children's clothes (good condition for all items only please!) with us for the orphans in the Kodumela area. Early-years books, and educational toys or games in particular are welcome, and they have always appreciated the football kits we have taken. Everything has to go in the suitcases of those travelling, so we would prefer nothing too heavy or bulky please. Items can be left on the doorstep of 31 Station Road.
Creche
Recent visitors to Kodumela brought back some photographs of the creche which had been repainted during the 2007 trip.
The repainting was an amusing example of the cooperation between the Cholsey visitors and the local residents. 6 Cholsey visitors helped to repaint 4 rooms in a former crèche in 2 hours flat, for re-use as an orphan feeding station. They were helped by 3 local ladies, volunteers from the crèche. One spoke English and shortly after she arrived (very glamorously dressed in a hat and flowing dress) they seemed to gain confidence and they took over the rollers and got stuck in! Previously they had just been frantically mopping up all our splashes, which were spoiling the floor that they had spent the whole of the previous day cleaning in readiness.
As Sue Jeffs says" We all felt rather dissatisfied that we hadn't had any gloss paint to finish the skirtings and woodwork, it felt like leaving the job half-done – but we had the distinct impression that this wouldn't prevent the building from being fully kitted out and in use as an orphan feeding station by the next day at the latest."
Thanks to The Forty Magazine for permission to reprint part of Sue's article.
Sponsored walk
Hilary successfully finished her 80 mile sponsored Dales walk in April and is very grateful to her supporters for the £1,400 she raised for Kodumela. You can see the photos of her walk and read about her experiences on her blog.
Cards and seeds
Current fundraising includes the sale of blank cards/notelets and packed of seeds of South African plants (Sabi Star and Madagascar Palms). Contact any committee members for details.
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