Virginia and Shoe Pals #1 and #3

Virginia and Shoe Pals #1 and #3
the journey complete...we send our love to her xx

thank you poni...

thank you poni...
now lets move on to the next adventure!

bubba and jethro

bubba and jethro

thank you :)

thank you :)

my students ...

my students ...
i am so proud!

the beauty shines through...

the beauty shines through...

keep them coming..

keep them coming..
nurses of the future!

even more friends!

even more friends!

the smiling salmon!

the smiling salmon!

uncle con and the goat

uncle con and the goat

fantastic supporters!

fantastic supporters!

just not enough words to say thank you

just not enough words to say thank you

edwin and alison joined us...

edwin and alison joined us...

more friends!

more friends!

the guests!

the guests!

neisha and hosanna on the door

neisha and hosanna on the door

the bidding heating up!

the bidding heating up!

the beautiful hand made quilt...

the beautiful hand made quilt...
thank you Audrey!

Food preparation...

Food preparation...
the kitchen was a blessing!!

Manule gets in on the act...

Manule gets in on the act...
Uncle Con watches, perplexed...but GREAT goat!

Patricia in charge...

Patricia in charge...
Francois and Oceane not so convinced!

the league of nations hard at work...

the league of nations hard at work...
thanks Poni and Oceane x

the french connection...

the french connection...
thanks Francois xx

the skills of a surgeon are manifold...

the skills of a surgeon are manifold...
peeling 100 boiled eggs for the curry stew!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

the definition of success...

To laugh often and much,
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children,
To earn the respect of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends,
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others,
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived,
This is to have succeeded.

Often attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson, it is apparently an adaption of a poem published in 1905 by a lady called Bessie Stanley and no version has ever been found in Emerson's writings and I apologise to Ms Stanley because I have always attributed it to him!

Whoever wrote it, I read it about 20 years ago and knew straight away that it summed success up for me, succinctly and humbly. In our endeavour - our very small endeavour- i hope that others will be inspired to do even a small bit to try to make the world a better place.

At the moment we are being supported with incredible energy and enthusiasm by the CEO of Global Dialogue Foundation, Mr Peter Gorgievski and we thank him and his team for their efforts regarding freight logistics.

http://www.globaldialoguefoundation.org

Monday, July 20, 2009

more to come...

it looks like i have been able to work my way around the 'glitch' - for the moment!

Somehow (remember the Tardis?) we fitted close to 60 people into the house with room to spare. it was rowdy, raucous and the black happy-happy was flowing as well as fabulous food and an overwhelming energy as people 'meeted and greeted' so many others with a heart for world change.

The goat, again, was a no show...very sad, was I! having foundthe recommended butcher at the Central market, i discovered the quantity i needed to purchase was along the lines of 'half a beast' rather than ' a few diced kilograms', so beef it was - morroccan kebabs! i have now found a butcher at the Central market who has exactly what we need - for next time!

The Shoe-pals had been busily making fridge magnets with our motto on them and sharing those around for donations of 'loose change' - a brilliant effort and a big contribution towards the cost of, wait for it...15 football tops (PORT POWER-AAUUGH) which are going back to the village of Makuluni for the football team! mark Williams, this deserves, at the least, an autographed photo of ADELAIDE team for the wall of the school house! We found the shirts going out on special last season and grabbed them, they were such a bargain and hopefully will fill the children with pride and and a sense of team spirit - of course, the PRIDE OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA would be the MIGHTY ADELAIDE CROWS but it is going to be Port Power who are the Pride of Makuluni!

We are now in a position to finalise our freight arrangements and with Virginia heading home next week, the timing is perfect. Stay posted - the ride's far from over, i suspect!

not sure how i did this or if it can be repeated...

i am back into the site again...have been so sad as so many people are asking how the dinner went and how progress is travelling and i have not been able to access the page - others could but not me! for now, things look ok so i will do as much as i can while the going is good! would love to be able to get some photos up soon also!

The Feast for Feet (South) was a wonderful success and a tribute to everyone who so willingly supported the night! At this point in time we are looking at having raised close to $3,500 dollars as a result.

As well as the generosity of those who attended, which raised close to $2,ooo, we have been overwhelmed by the additional donations by SIRDAR Adelaide ($1000) and Hamish White (The White Group, $500) who having heard about the evening and our project, contributed toward the freight costs with extraordinary compassion and goodwill.

All i can say is that the past few months have brought such extraordinary experiences, including sleepless nights, tears ( happy and tired) but above all a determination to ensure that the lessons learned will not be wasted and will go on to be the foundation for so many more 'adventures' as Virginia and I have now termed them!!!

i close this post with trepidation and fingers crossed that i will be back in a few minutes - am off to find the photos!

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

the blue screen of death...

the past weeks have held days of fun and frustration - the ultimate frustration has been the demise of our computer to the terminal condition ' the blue screen of death'. What has been wonderful has been the fact that so many people have contacted me asking why the blog has not been updated since the dinner!!!!!!!!

before too long, the details will be live... it was a wonderful, wonderful night and when the postings begin, the news they contain will be worth the wait!!