Our annual Children for Children Concert is TONIGHT! (we wanted to do it before the holiday “stuff” took over…not sure we are actually making that goal since holiday stuff is coming at us like gangbusters, but hey, it’s worth a try!) So since Claire and Lucy are the ones in charge (“children” for “children”), they are taking over this post to tell you how YOU can be involved. I know there are myriads of different ways to give during the holidays, so no pressure (although as a forewarning Lucy does dish out a little!), but just figured if we can’t have all you people who have been in our “corner” for so many years with us to share this cause tonight, at least we can make you aware of it. And give you a link to donate if you so desire.

And so, without further ado, here they are (with no editing from their mother, please excuse the typos):

Hi this is LUCY. This summer we helped to build a school for kids in Uganda:

Their school looked like this when we got there:

And now it looks like this:

photo courtesy of Family Humanitarian

but these kids still need Books [textbooks].

All of us people always say that we wish we never had school [thanks for the complete honesty, Lu!] but these kids are so happy when they finally get the chance for education. Think of when you can just go to school with all the materials you need, and think of when you can just turn on your fossit and get clean water.

We people don’t realize all that we have. So as we think of this please donate money to our Children for Children Concert. We know you might not be able to come but Claire made a go fund me link so you can donate right from your Family Room in your house if you want. Please take a minute to sit and think about all that we have and how much we have to give. All your money goes to this charity so please donate. (HERE)

Whoa, she’s quite a fundraiser, right? That was all her.

Now here is CLAIRE:

When we went to Africa this summer, we did not want to just visit and leave, we wanted to keep in touch with these people and keep knowing what they need if there’s anything we can help with. This is a picture Elle took when we were leaving, and we didn’t want to say goodbye:

We found out that these kids still really need textbooks to help them learn, and many families are still really in need of a way to get clean water. (they have lots of sicknesses because they use water that is not purified). We are trying to raise money for the children to have these things. These items are very essential to kids’ lives and we think it would be an amazing opportunity to help these kids future. [the families also make their own small contribution to the textbooks, which helps with ownership]

$30 can buy a whole set of textbooks with five different subjects, $25 can provide a water filter that can help filter water so a family can have clean water for up to TWENTY years, and $2,000 can give water for life to up to 2,000 people in a community (they use it to make a borehole to give the village water). We would be so happy if we could help with all three things through this Children for Children Concert.

The coolest thing is that every donation will be matched by the Eyrealm family charity, so if you donate $25, it will double to $50 to help these kids and families have better lives. So that is pretty cool.

The link to the GoFundMe account is HERE, check it out and THANK YOU for any help you can give!

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6 Comments

  1. I remember from your posts this last trip to Africa, one of the teachers asked for textbooks. It’s wonderful what you did Shawni.

  2. Great job ladies. And yes, Lucy has a future in sales!

    Some items for thought: Is it necessary to mention that the recipients will be contributing as well so they “feel ownership”? Is it even necessary to make them do so? Or is this just a white colonizing stereotype? Is it because we are from systemically racist societies that it has been embedded in us that poor people don’t appreciate or care for things if they are given them? Are these old tropes real or fair? My children are given text books outright without having to contribute anything for them, and if they are unappreciative of them I teach them respect for their belongings. Why the assumption poor/black/Africans don’t have those same conversations with their children? There is such a long history of patronizing behavior in colonized countries it is healthy to challenge ourselves on even the most benign things. I hope this is taken in that spirit.

    1. Great questions. There are lots of studies that show that people are happier when they contribute (even a very tiny percentage) to things like this. Not only in developing countries, but in our own neighborhoods and communities here at home as well.

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