SOS Children supporter Anthony Fitzgerald - Children from Mali performing cultural dance
The dedication of our supporters never ceases to amaze me. In 2011 our corporate partners took on some impressive, skilful and just plain crazy challenges to support some extremely worthy causes.
- “What would you run 151 miles across a desert for?”
-
Jeff Massey, Corporate Liaison Coordinator, SOS Children UK
The dedication of our supporters never ceases to amaze me. In 2011 our corporate partners took on some impressive, skilful and just plain crazy challenges to support some extremely worthy causes.
The dedication of our supporters never ceases to amaze me. In 2011 our corporate partners took on some impressive, skilful and just plain crazy challenges to support some extremely worthy causes.
Some of the most memorable challenges taken on by our corporate supporters during the 2011 were:
- Anthony Fitzgerald, who run, and completed, not one but FIVE marathons in 2011. That’s a total of 131 miles and buckets of determination. SOS Children’s Village Chipata in Zambia is over £1,000 better off as a result, a sum kindly matched by Anthony’s employer SThree.
- From the ultra-focused to the ultra-daring. One MGPA employee - who I shall call ‘Mr X’ - raised over £1,000 by doing a streak in… a ‘mankini’. Unfortunately, we have no pictures (that I am allowed to show), just mental images of Borat. Mr X raised funds for our SOS Children’s Village in Vari, Greece. Our work in Europe tends to get less coverage than our work in other places, but there is still a dire need, particularly in the current economic crisis.
- A touch of class was provided by Kazu Shirazu, another SThree employee, who organised two piano recitals in June and November. They were so popular that more are planned. Kazu’s efforts brought the Children’s Village we are building in Chipata a little closer to its planned opening in mid-2012, and also provided much needed support for the Emergency Relief efforts in East Africa.
- Ogier pledged the proceeds from their annual ‘Stoke n Stride’ event to Basse Children’s Village in The Gambia. This popular event, of which you can see highlights on YouTube, made armchair observers jealous as it takes place in the beautiful Cayman Islands. The three gruelling swimming races followed by a run almost made me feel sorry for the competitors. Almost.- And finally: what do you do when running 151 miles becomes too easy? MGPA’s Andrew Rose decided to complete a 151 mile run across the Sahara desert carrying his food on his back. Complete madness? Andrew completed the herculean ‘Marathon des Sables’, known widely as the toughest footrace on earth, in aid of SOS Children’s Village Bicesse in Portugal.
Hats off to these super-humans. Without the efforts of all our supporters, we would not be able to carry on our essential work helping children to grow up as part of a family in 125 countries.
Whatever cause motivates you; whether you can run across a desert in a mankini or, like me, have more average abilities, I challenge you to do something brilliant in 2012.
- "Are we frightened of Nigeria? Changing perceptions of Africa”
-
Lucy Patterson, Marketing Projects Editor, SOS Children UK
The images we often see in the UK media of Africa are of desperation and poverty. Through my work on the ‘Our Africa’ project, I have learnt about the lives of children in Africa as shown through their own eyes. The project demonstrates the amazing cultures and vibrantly colourful countries across Africa.
In a recent TV interview for the pan African TV channel Vox Africa about SOS Children’s unique film project ‘Our Africa’, the host, Henry Bonsu, asked me: “have you filmed in Nigeria?”
I coyly said no, knowing what was coming next.
“WHAT! 150 million people and you haven’t been to Nigeria, are you scared?”
Quick, Lucy, think! In the few seconds I had to think of an answer so I quickly said: “We can only do one country at a time and it is on the list but we are definitely not scared.”
I also managed to say that we have already visited 18 African countries including Ivory Coast and North Sudan, both during political unrest and considered to be dangerous, and that next on our list of countries to visit is the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The interview swiftly moved on and I was left wondering if I got the point across that SOS Children is not a charity that helps from safe distances.
After the interview with Henry it got me thinking about Nigeria and the way Africa is portrayed and seen in the UK. The media reinforce the idea that we should be scared of Nigeria.
Nigeria is responsible for producing music and literature whose influence spreads far beyond the continent. Yet for most people, its notorious reputation for corruption, ethnic violence and email scams steers many people away from travelling to the country. This is the image we are more familiar with, despite its cultural clout.
The ‘Our Africa’ project I am currently working on is all about disproving cultural stereotypes; and showing what countries and lives are really like through the eyes of the children living there, rather than what we just see through the media. This is what makes the project so special.
The more I learn and find out about each different African country, less is the focus on poverty and the images of desperation in Africa. The images I had of dry, barren, drought stricken land has become dislodged and I see fascinating, cultural, colourful countries, each individual and each making me want to plan my next holiday there.
I am grateful to have my eyes opened by talented young people with big dreams and big ideas, telling me about their country with an enviable passion.
Our teams have been travelling throughout Africa to capture children’s thoughts, opinions and ideas to present a new perspective on Africa through their own eyes. In ‘Our Africa’, you can see children talk about what matters most to them – from games they play; to aspirations they have for jobs; to how they would like things changed fundamentally in their societies.
Check out the website.
Share: