Autumn 2016 newsletter

African Promise newsletter (Autumn 2016)

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It has been a busy but very exciting summer and early autumn for the charity.

Last week we held a flag raising and handover ceremony at Ngambenyi Primary to mark the completion of the redevelopment of our seventh partner school after a few weeks of hard work for our project management team bringing the project to a successful conclusion.

Before that, we were in the US for a whistle-stop 12 day tour with two of our supporters, which included attending various events and receptions, as well as a number of speaking engagements.

In between all that we have just about found the time to put together our 2015/15 Annual Report and to finalise and launch our brand new website.

Despite all that there is no time to catch our breath as we have a packed winter in store. In the UK we are making plans for our inaugural Christmas Carol Service in London and for the BigGive Christmas Challenge, whilst in Kenya - with schools closing this week until January - we have building projects on-going in four of our other six partner schools.

Christmas Carol Service tickets on sale

Tickets are now on sale for our Christmas Carol Service in central London on Thursday 15th December at 6:30pm. We are delighted to announce that the service will include performances by the London International Gospel Choir and classical singer Libby Berkieta, as well as a reading by Brian Blessed OBE. Tickets are priced at £16 for adults and £8 for children (under 5s free) and are available via our website. They are selling fast however so if you'd like to join us we recommend buying yours soon!

BUY TICKETS HERE

A new look for our website

After months of hard work behind the scenes, a few train journeys to Bristol and more cups of tea and biscuits than is healthy, it’s finally here! Our brand new website.

The whole site has been rebuilt and rewritten from scratch, meaning there is plenty of new content for you to peruse. And with our new easy-to-update blog section you can be sure we’ll be posting updates much more regularly than we have in the past!

We are very proud of the new site but it simply would not have happened without Jon Payne and his team at Noisy Little Monkey – Lucy, Nat and Steven. They adopted this as a pro-bono project and have all given their time and expertise absolutely free of charge. We are extremely grateful to them for their hard work (and patience!). To see the fruits of our labour please click on the button below.

VISIT OUR WEBSITE

Fundraising news

US fundraising tour

Over the summer our director spent two weeks in the US with friends and supporters of the charity, our ambassador Suzanne Payne near Nashville and with Carrie Hall Schalter in Detroit. Many of Suzanne's friends and family in the US have supported her fundraising efforts through Baskets4Bread and it was a great opportunity to meet some of them at a number of events that Suzanne had organised. In Detroit Charles attended a fundraising reception that Carrie was hosting for the movers and shakers from in and around the city. The evening included musical and dance performances and a silent auction, and more than $7,000 was raised. We are very grateful to both Suzanne and Carrie for their hospitality and for their on-going support of the charity.

Matched donations this winter

This year we are again participating in the BigGive Christmas Challenge and for 72 hours from midday on Tuesday 29th November donations to us will be matched £-for-£. Unlike in previous years we have our own private matching fund and can guarantee that all donations will be doubled until either 72 hours has elapsed or our matching pot of £3,000 is exhausted, whichever is sooner.

Project update

So far, 2016 is living up to its promise as an exciting and landmark year for African Promise.

We are completing the final touches to our redevelopment of our seventh partner school at Ngambenyi, bringing to an end a 16-month long project which has seen us comprehensively upgrade the school. Meanwhile we have building projects on-going or due to begin imminently in four of our other six partner schools including the construction of classrooms, kitchens and staff housing.

Our feeding programme has expanded with the extension of the lunch programme to the 130 pupils at Ngambenyi and the launch of a Breakfast Club at Kiteghe Primary.

And in August we sent 100 pupils from two schools on a two-day educational tour to the coastal city of Mombasa to visit sites of historic and cultural interest as well as the airport and the beach!

MORE NEWS HERE

Until next time, goodbye and thank you from all of us and from the pupils at Ngambenyi Primary School (above).

Get in touch with us, we'd love to hear from you..!
e: info@africanpromise.org.uk
t: +44(0)20 7450 6330

or join us online...

African Promise is a small charity working to improve the quality and provision of primary education in rural Kenya by ensuring schools are equipped to deliver an education worth having. Our holistic approach improves learning environments by developing infrastructure, supplying crucial learning resources, and enhancing pupil welfare. We currently support a small cluster of schools in a single community which together serve around 2,500 pupils. Find out more at www.africanpromise.org.uk.

African Promise is registered with the Charity Commission for England & Wales (charity number 1122285)

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