Supporters' stories

James & Hayley's May Day bank holiday cycle ride

James and Hayley Recently, SUFA supporters Hayley Bishop and James White cycled 240 miles from Bristol to Land's End to raise money for SUFA. They survived lots of rain, sun, hills and random suntan lines(!) – but thankfully had no punctures. They raised more than £500 for SUFA through their sponsorship page on www.justgiving.com. Thank you James and Hayley.

SUFA Volunteer of the Year visits Africa projects

Phil commemorating the start of building work in Benin Student Phil Rushworth, leader of Burgate School Support Group, has been nominated SUFA's 2007 Volunteer of the Year for his special contribution to our work. Phil, age 17, is a student at Burgate School & Sixth Form Centre, Hampshire, UK. He has worked tirelessly to motivate students and teachers to raise money to help start building our dedicated Maison de l'Enfance (Children's Centre) in Benin, West Africa.

In August 2007, Phil visited the Maison de l'Enfance Project to attend a special ceremony to commemorate the start of the building work for the new Centre. He says, “I still can't believe my small contribution is making this happen”.

Phil also visited Ghana as part of SUFA's Skills Exchange Project, spending four weeks volunteering with our partner The ARK Foundation. He says: “My time at The Ark was rewarding, informative and fun. I did a number of written research tasks, including leaflets, manuals and a newspaper article as well as working in the legal centre, observing The ARK outreach programs and doing some administrative work. I could see that a genuine difference was being made by the charity, and that the staff were passionate and had a good understanding of their aims.”

Do you want to make a big difference like Phil? Why not start your own School Support Group and raise money to support one of our projects.

Passion for Africa

Last year, Leeds City SUFA Support Group, led by Cynthia Karambi, organised Miss Passion For Africa Leeds 2006 in partnership with Ben TV And Western Union. Attended by more than 300 guests, the event raised money and awareness to support SUFA. The Miss Passion For Africa Show blended African dances, fashion, drumming and fine dining. British-born Ghanaian Nancy was crowned Miss Passion for Africa 2006, and the runners-up were Liberian Jessica and Zambian Vanessa. Congratulations to everyone in the Support Group for their hard work and vision in organising such a fantastic event!

Walk for Freedom

Daniel Rutland organised a Walk for Freedom from Oxford to Reading, UK raising money for SUFA. Before the walkers left, St Clements Church in Oxford held a service on the theme of slavery and freedom. At Reading, the walkers joined up with the March of the Abolitionists, a national journey of reconciliation organised to commemorate the bicentary anniversary of the abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

Fashion statement

The African-Caribbean Society SUFA Support Group at Cardiff University, Wales, has been Standing Up for Africa in style to support our Maison de l'Enfance Project. Group coordinator Beatrice Baiden led the Group's involvement in their University's Global Village event. They arranged for SUFA t-shirts to be modelled during the fashion show, raising awareness of our work and encouraging students to buy our branded clothing from their stall. They also displayed SUFA information leaflets and copies of our Gift Catalogue, raising £96 in donations.

Making a difference

This year, Yew Chung International School (Primary Section), Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, has chosen the theme "Making a difference", as the focus of all their community and classroom activities. The school is raising money to donate to selected charities, including Stand Up For Africa.

SUFA selected for students' study project

Two high school students, Gabrielle and Ariel, at East Lyme High School, Connecticut, USA, have decided to raise money for SUFA as their independent study project: “We have held a fundraiser (a Jeans Day Fundraising Event = $365) at our school and are planning to hold another in May. We have also had our 'benefit concert' and raised $430.”

Burgate SUFA Support Group

Burgate SUFA Support Group is organised by Phil (near right) with support from Sophie and Josh (left), and Nick (far right).

Phil Rushworth, Burgate SUFA Support Group, Burgate School & Sixth Form Centre:

“I believe in the need for developmental aid, and fundraising in a School and Sixth Form it seemed only appropriate to try and raise money for a school somewhere less privileged. We've been given an opportunity to fund a primary school in Benin, as part of SUFA's Maison de l'Enfance (Children's Centres) Project.

“Everybody at the School and Sixth Form are really excited by this opportunity and we've been really busy. We've raised over £1,200 already through the generosity of the staff and students, who have given private donations. As well as the recent 'Battle of the Bands' competition. This was a great evening with over 200 people and some fantastic bands from the school.

“At the moment we have 8 teachers and sixth formers doing a sponsored slim and we have recently had a bring and buy sale. We will be braving the chilly streets of our local town during late night shopping soon, along with many fundraising ideas over the coming terms, including a sponsored swim, a Ball, football tournament, school disco and a fun day for the local scouts groups, as well as more live music.”

Find out how you can start your own School Support Group.

Sandi's Big Bike Trip

In March 2007, SUFA supporter Sandi Langton arrived home after a very special trip of a lifetime. She and her husband Paul rode their motorbikes from Dover in the UK, all the way to Cape Town, South Africa - raising money for SUFA's Youth Drop-in Centre Project in Uganda along the way. Read Sandi's story.

Schoolgirls put SUFA on the map

Hollie Johnson and Gina Williams (both aged 13, from Ilkley, UK) mobilised more than 100 people to join our Make Poverty History In Africa Petition. They also created this beautiful artwork, especially for SUFA.

Hollie explains: “When the Make Poverty History campaign started we decided to do something. I came across the SUFA website when I was looking for a petition sheet to download. After we had collected and sent off the petitions, I went back to the website and started finding out more.”

Gina takes up the story: “We decided to make a poster with an African flag but when we got the atlas down there were 52, so we thought we should do them all on a banner. We mostly did it at lunchtimes and after school, but I was up 'til four on the morning of our local Make Poverty History march, doing the final hemming!”

The girls are planning to continue supporting Africa. Gina explains: “We have decided to make hippy jewellery and cards, and sell them at the Ilkley Summer Festival to raise awareness and collect donations. We'll let you know how we get on.”

Thank you girls, for your passion and commitment. You're an inspiration to all of us and we look forward to hearing about your latest activities.

Repairing the world

A huge thank you to Charlie Steele, Lucie Weinberg, Anna Milner and Pavel Ganapolsky, Grade Seven students at Vancouver Talmud Torah High School in Vancouver, Canada. They wrote to SUFA about one of their school activities called Tikun Olam Class, which means 'repairing the world'.

As part of the Class, the students decided to raise funds for SUFA. They organised a 'Retro Day', for which students dressed up in clothes from the 60's, 70's and 80's. During lunch, they played a movie and sold popcorn and drinks. They raised a total of CAN$411.50 and sent their gift to SUFA with a beautiful note:

"We chose your organisation for a number of reasons, but the most important reason, was that we were emotionally affected by your goals and values. We wanted to make a difference to an organisation.

"The people that you help are mostly the same age group as we are, and we were absolutely heartbroken to hear that they have to work as slave labourers. Since we come from such a rich and profitable country, we have no idea what this is like, and we know how wrong it is for children to be exploited. We hope this money will help you so you can help children who are less fortunate than us, and help them achieve a more optimistic future."

Running for Africa

Thanks to supporter James Hooper, Oxfordshire, who says: “At long last I have added up all the donations made in my aborted London Marathon bid and I am pleased to enclose cheques to the value of £290. SUFA is such a deserving cause that people refused to take back their donations even though I was unable to run due to illness. It's their generosity, twice over.”

A promise to the children of Africa

In October 2004, Jamie Murray, a 17 year old from Glenalmond College near Perth in Scotland, was surfing the Internet to research African charities that were tackling children's suffering. He came across Stand Up For Africa's website and decided to rally his school to support us.

As a child, Jamie spent three years in Ghana. He fell in love with the country and its people but the poverty he saw deeply disturbed him. He promised himself that he would try to make a difference to the children of Africa.

Several years later, he fulfilled that promise. Motivated by his experiences, and supported by his College, in November 2004 Jamie launched an ambitious fundraising campaign that inspired the staff and all 450 students at Glenalmond to support SUFA.

Events included sponsored head shaving, a riotous football tournament, carol concerts, and cake baking. The highlight of Jamie's campaign was an end-of-term 'Give Gig' on 15 December. First, guests were treated to a delicious Christmas dinner. Afterwards, the talented students put on a show of music, dancing, and comedy. The highlight of the evening was Jamie's presentation of £1,703.49 to SUFA Founder, Elsie Nemlin. What an outstanding effort by Jamie, and thank you to everyone at Glenalmond College.

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“ We were emotionally affected by your goals and values. We wanted to make a difference. ”Vancouver Talmud Torah High School students