|
On behalf of A Ray
of Hope, UNESCO Youth
Ambassador for the Culture of Peace. could
I proffer season’s greetings and best wishes to you all for a
healthy and happy 2007. I must also extend to the many dedicated members
our sincere thanks for your support, in its myriad of forms, which came
our way during 2006 and allowed us to not only develop as an organisation
but more importantly to assist many more children and groupings overseas. It would be
difficult to nominate one project over another for special mention however
14 visits by our representatives to overseas projects in Hungary, Romania,
Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Belarus, Philippines. Serbia, Jordan and Montenegro
to initiate and develop projects was a pleasing development. Visits to
Hungary, Belarus, India and Nigeria are already at the planning stage for
2007. Many thousands of
pounds worth of medical and educational supplies were delivered to 14
countries. This could not have happened without the incredibly generous
support of companies throughout the United Kingdom and in some cases
companies overseas A Ray of Hope began
life 11 years ago with 10 teachers and 60 children and now boasts a
membership of those caring and being cared for of over 300,000.
Affiliations from Sobo Orphanage in Senegal, “AHEAD” working in
Ethiopia, “SEED” supporting schools in Tanzania and NiPRO, a network
of 25,000 young professionals both in and outside Nigeria all have
contributed very positively and extended the global family of A Ray of
Hope. It was a great
delight for us to learn that Aminatta and Simon, and their magnificent
band of stalwarts, have completed the school in Sierra Leone. Many years
of endeavour, and certainly great commitment, reaped the harvest that was
truly deserved. Purchases of land and buildings in India, Hungary, Romania
and Philippines came about due to the friends and families of our
remarkable department heads and liaison representatives. A Ray of Hope is
fortunate in having representation on the United Kingdom’s National
Commission for UNESCO’s Education Committee, the African Working Group
and the Peace and Security Group – also extremely close links to UK’s
ASP Net. All in their turn add new dimensions to A Ray of Hope. Young
Matthew Cooper, aged 10, addressed the Inaugural Conference of the
National Commission in Nottingham and Hayley Murphy, a recently qualified
doctor in Nano-biomedical technology represented the United Kingdom and
A Ray of Hope at the Euro-Mediterranean Forum in Cyprus. I suppose the
project that gave me the greatest fun was the purchasing of animals for
organisations in Nepal, Sierra Leone and Uganda as not only will they be
able to provide fresh eggs and milk for the establishments concerned but
animal husbandry classes will be
additional extra curricular activity. The expertise in A
Ray of Hope was extended by the appointments of highly qualified and
knowledgeable individuals in the fields of World Heritage sites, Health
and Hygiene, Peace through Art, Positive Citizenship and
Digital Literacy. Art competitions in
Nigeria, Belarus and Northern Ireland promoted our ethos yet further with
the contribution to the United Nations Peace Day in Belarus being possibly
the largest as a single project in the world. Honorary
appointments and patronages have also been awarded in at least Uganda,
Nigeria and Belarus as many of our representatives keep their accolades to
themselves. Thank you again for
your support and I am sure that the same is forthcoming in 2007 Don
|