Dear Friend of Choko
The Choko AGM was held on Tuesday 2nd March 2010. I think all there echoed Sue Jeffs’ vote of thanks to Bev for all she does as Chair and we are all very pleased that Bev will be continuing as Chair.
In her report, Bev noted a number of Choko activities in 2009:
- the many donors who have supported the project and numbers of people who have shown an interest in the project in various ways;
- the Choko Games which were very efficiently organised by Louise Newell and the Games Committee;
- the Beer Festival, with special note being made of the 2010 festival, which will be organised by Andy King and his committee and extensive range of helpers. Make a note now of Saturday 25 September!
- the schools links, welcoming St John’s as a new school joining;
- a number of talks which have been given by various people;
- the sponsored parachute jump;
- the money raised and work done by the merchandising committee.
Of special note were:
- The very successful 2009 trip, in which 26 Choko members and 3 World Vision staff were able to visit the project and see first hand the difference the money raised by Choko has made, for example in the Morabudi Special Needs Centre. We were also able to note the progress of the activities like the Lafata Women’s Enterprise and the general improvement to the infrastructure of South Africa. Much of the road to the project had been tarred in the period between the trips.
- Our new position in the Churches in Partnership department of World Vision, which is a suitable home for Choko as it is geared for partnership programmes (not just by churches) so understands the aims and approaches of Choko.
After the AGM, we had a group discussion on the options for a future trip to the Kodumela Project. This will be discussed further at the next Choko committee meeting on 22 March, as planning may need to start soon. To assist with this, could anyone interested respond to the following questions to Bev (info@choko.org.uk) by Saturday 20 March.
- Do you want to go on the next Choko trip? This is not a commitment, purely an expression of interest.
- Do you want it to be 2011 or 2012?
- Does the answer to the first question depend on the answer to the second question (for example you would go in 2012 but not in 2011)?
With best wishes from the Choko committee
