The Colour of Hope's Top Fundraisers 2008

The Colour of Hope's star fundraisers this year are Jess and Rosa Batten-Stevens, aged 10 and 8. The girls are yet again taking part in all of this year’s East Devon carnivals in aid of the charity. Their entry, “Little Chief Big Totem”, has met with great success so far, winning first prize at all four of the first carnivals.

Dedicated Jess and Rosa have worked tirelessly over their summer holiday getting sponsors from local people, businesses and churches, raising a stunning £1150 so far! But with more than half the carnivals still to go, they’re hoping their final total amounts to even more!

All support for these inspiring young girls’ charity efforts will be much appreciated. If you’d like to make a donation on their behalf, please contact The Colour of Hope directly at info@thecolourofhope.org

It's Carnival Time!

Carnival season will soon be upon us in the UK and once again Jess and Rosa Batten-Stevens from Ottery St Mary will be taking part in all the East Devon Carnivals as a walking pair.

The girls raised a stunning £450 for The Colour of Hope last year, which has not only enabled one of our young people to set up his own grocery store, but also brought emergency medical care to his 3-year-old son Luis, saving his life after he drank bleach at nursery. (Read the full story here.)

Jess and Rosa are hoping to top last year's record and any donations will be very gratefully received. If you'd like to sponsor the girls, please contact The Colour of Hope directly at info@thecolourofhope.org

View the girls in their winning 2007 carnival costumes here (2008 costumes yet to be revealed)!

From Street Kids to Shop Owners

Angelica and Hugo have become the first two young people to benefit from The Colour of Hope’s microcredit scheme. Having grown up on the streets, sniffing glue and stealing to survive, these two young people have truly fought to get where they are today.

Desperate to improve the quality of life for their young families, they have been two of our most determined participants, putting in a great deal of effort to get their grocery shops up and running. They’ve had to work into the small hours of the morning more than once over the last few weeks, shifting copious amounts of sand and cement up the mountainside. But the shops are definitely coming into shape now, with the floors down, shelving up and the first round of goods purchased.

Having their own source of income will not only provide Angelica and Hugo more dignified employment, but will also mean improved access to education and healthcare, better living conditions and a healthier diet for their children. Many thanks to Jess and Rosa Batten-Stevens and Topsham Friends Circle, Hugo and Angelica’s sponsors, for helping make this dream a reality. Photos of the shops coming soon!

Bowling with Colchester Sixth Form College

Earlier this month, members of Colchester Sixth Form College, UK, arrived in Peru to work at a school for special-needs children. During their stay they paid The Colour of Hope a visit too and were able to meet some of the young people we're working with. It made for an interesting cultural and social exchange, given that both groups were around the same age and at the same stage of life, thinking about job opportunities or further education.

After chatting at the training centre, we took everyone bowling, thanks to the generosity of one of our volunteers, Will Gale, and Kevin Murphy, who accompanied the sixth-formers. This was an excellent activity for raising our young people's self-confidence and everyone enjoyed the outing very much.

"Life Plan" Workshop

Last Friday, our third group took part in a special workshop run by Jazmine Chopra, a skilled social worker from the US.

Tracing the outline of one of their feet onto a large piece of paper, each person was asked to produce a collage of drawings, pictures and words that defined them as a person; what they had achieved, suffered, overcome etc.

Then, tracing the other foot onto another piece of paper, they were asked to make a collage of the goals they wished to achieve in the near future and the means needed to accomplish them. Finally, they were asked to present their work to the group, explaining the collages and the significance of each element.

Having grown up with violence, abuse, criticism and rejection as part of their daily lives, most of the young people we work with have very low levels of self-esteem. Activities like these help them to improve their self-image and to believe in themselves and their dreams.

They are also going through a difficult stage of their lives at the moment; a stage of transition, of leaving care and entering the outside world. Thinking about where they’ve come from and where they want to go with their lives helps them to focus on their futures and on what they want to achieve.

Trip to the Cinema

Yesterday was Bilela's birthday, so we celebrated in the usual style with a cake and a few party games for Angelica's son José's benefit, whose 7th birthday is this Tuesday.

But it was afterwards that the real fun started - thanks to some funds that volunteer, Will Gale from the UK, had raised for us before he came to Peru, we were able to take all the young people to the cinema. This is something they are hardly ever able to do, apart from perhaps a one-off outing with the care home during their stay.

All of our current three groups of young people have now finished their training (apart from the third group who are starting a couple of weeks of maths lessons), so the outing was a fun climax to end their training phase.

Everyone had a great time, especially José because it was the first time he had been to the cinema. A big thank you goes to Will Gale for helping make this treat possible.

Raise Funds For Free!

Did you know you can raise funds for The Colour of Hope without spending any money at all?! Easyfundraising's Free Funds Section is a list of retailers who are currently giving away totally FREE donations!

For example, Vodafone will donate £45 to The Colour of Hope for anyone who switches to Vodafone Broadband or to Vodafone Pay Monthly Mobile! Other generous retailers include HSBC, Egg, O2 Broadband, BT Broadband and Blockbuster. Just click the link above to view the full list and start raising funds for free!

(Please note that The Colour of Hope will only receive a donation if you visit the retailer's website via the corresponding link on Easyfundraising. Please visit the Easyfundraising homepage for more information.)