Gratitude

My internet connection isn't allowing me to upload photos, so I'll valiantly attempt to craft a post without them. What I was hoping to say with images I'll briefly sketch with words...

Things I'm grateful for today:

--Generous General Managers at Nairobi hotels, for donating my lodging and making my visit back to Cura.

--The best GM of them all: Mark Somen at Tribe, who coordinated the whole thing!

--Tropical fruits, in season, especially given that I narrowly escaped Seattle's deep freeze.

--The fact that I narrowly escaped Seattle's deep-freeze... other volunteers from Construction for Change were delayed because of the storm. (We all eagerly await their arrival, eventually!)

--Shops within walking distance, where I can stock up on school supplies and even little sweets to bring as gifts to Cura tomorrow.

--Functional internet, which is allowing me to coordinate my visit, funds transfers and volunteer logistics.

--SIM card technology that doesn't expire for six months -- as well as the fact that I got back here within six months and kept the old SIM card alive.

--Cura supporters who have entrusted us with the stewardship of their donations. There is no substitute for being on the ground in the place where the money is used, and I'm grateful that I get to participate in the allocation of funds to benefit our children and the whole Cura community.

Many thanks, and more photos to come,
-H

Going Back

I leave today for Kenya, and I'm mostly ready. There's a major snow event predicted here in Seattle, so I'm hopeful that my plane will take off before the storm hits, and that I'll be warmly welcomed back in Cura before the end of the week!

As I prepare to leave my own children to go reconnect with the 50 more under our care, I can't help but reflect on the nature of this work that would command all of my waking hours if I let it. It requires attention to each dollar, prolific communication, inter-cultural sensitivity, philosophical examination and a significant financial commitment... not just for me, but for all of the incredible people who dedicate their personal and creative resources to making it all possible.

And it changes lives.

This collective labor of love has changed the lives of the 50 children in our Home, but it has also brought inexpensive, local medical care, a public library and computer lab, water and road projects, and educational materials and curriculum to the entire extended community, changing their lives for the better, as well.

It's changing lives here, too. As more people know about us, more volunteers dedicate themselves to understanding the world a bit better, giving of themselves a bit more... and they come to Cura and are hooked. They come back, ambassadors now and witnesses to the power of global citizenship.

I know I'm changed, too. I'm incredibly grateful that this can be part of my life's work and that I can offer this one small example to my children about what it means to serve others and be rewarded enormously in the process.

Let's get that plane de-iced!

One World Chorus is on its way!

Check out this great news coverage in the Portland area!

http://www.katu.com/news/specialreports/Everyday-Heroes-One-world-one-voice-136878053.html

2011 Fundraising Success!

This year has seen substantial challenges for Cura, but our well-wishers and donors have responded more generously than ever before! We are awaiting final totals, but we're on track to have raised enough not only to boost the operating budget of the Home but also to seed additional projects that are central to Cura's sustainable future success: education, infrastructure, medical care, small business. We anticipate having at least $50,000 with which to move forward into 2012 and beyond, and we take our stewardship of donor contributions very seriously. Please watch this page for updates as we complete ongoing projects and vet new ones, and do send me an email if you'd like more detail than what I provide here: hayden@curaorphanage.org.

For now, let me thank, once again, Karyn Craven and her team at Burning Torch, and Kathy and Amy Eldon and their team at Creative Visions for their breathtaking energy and generous spirit on behalf of the children at Cura. And thanks to all of YOU who have provided support in so many ways as this small project has changed the lives of so many.

It's been an incredible year.

-Hayden

Fundraiser Follow Up

We are still calculating the totals from the two end-of-year fundraisers, but we do know that they were each an enormous success!

Wendy & Lisa, The Goods and Chubby Lovers put on a great show at November's Safari Nights, and the crowd at last week's Burning Torch event was lively and generous!

Check out photos of our Burning Torch event here...

And know that we're grateful and humbled by the holiday generosity everyone has shown the children at Cura!

H

Fundraising as 2011 comes to a close...

I have three exciting announcements regarding Cura-fundraising, and a plea for your help spreading the word.

One is a reminder about the Safari Nights event coming up next weekend: 19 November in Los Angeles. It's not too late to buy tickets, so please consider joining us!

http://creativevisions.org/events/cura-safari-nights.html

The second is a new Kickstarter campaign we're thrilled to be part of: it's One World Chorus and its plan to connect with the children in Cura in 2012.

Please don't miss this amazing original song by Aaron Nigel Smith and the information about the program we're implementing for music education and global communication for Cura Village!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/oneworldchorus/aaron-nigel-smith-and-one-world-chorus?ref=email

The third announcement is an invitation to a holiday event ho

sted by our friends at Burning Torch, also in Los Angeles. Burning Torch, Inc. has been a generous supporter of our work in the past, and the fashion

company is making Cura Orphanage the recipient of its holiday cheer this year. Please consider joining us there, too, on 8 December:

November Musings

In partnership with Creative Visions and Lucy Woodward and well-wishers from all over the west coast, I'm busy preparing for the upcoming Safari Nights event... and marveling at the progress we've made in Cura over the past year. Despite the profound challenges presented by the drought in East Africa, Moses and the housemothers are providing a supportive, healthy Home for the children to live in and thrive.

We hope that the funds raised at Safari Nights will continue the momentum this year has built, and will allow us not only to expand the programs already in place but also implement a school lunch program at Cura Primary School and kick-start a music-education program that will carry over to the secondary school (scheduled to break ground this January!).

If you can't make it to the Safari Nights event in person, please consider purchasing one of these "lunch bags," hand-made by Diedre, one of our partners with One World Chorus. Your $20 purchase will help feed a Cura child who currently comes to school without lunch...

Please contact me at hayden@curaorphanage.org if you're interested; we'd like to raise funds to implement the school lunch program in time for the start of the new academic year in January!

We're also thrilled to announce that Cura now has internet! We'll be making some changes to our Pen Pal Program so that there can be more direct communication between the Cura children and their friends in the west... so watch for more information on that soon.

Here's hoping I'll see many of you at the 19 November event -- and many thanks for the support you've already shown for Cura this year,

H