Overland with Kids

Welcome to our Fundraising & Volunteering page where we have been keeping a summarised record of our efforts.

To date we have raised approximately £1,900 with the focus of our efforts being ‘Educational Aid’ for deprived children.  We have been keen to include and involve our own children as part of this and quickly learned fundraising is extremely hard work of which we could not have done - without the enormous help of some very good friends!! - we are eternally grateful - thank you!

The Project
Our children’s school is closely aligned with Street Childrens Project/s toward Educational Aid (supported by the charitable organisation CEEM www.ceem.co.uk) within a small village in Burlacu, Moldova where many children are left to their own devices with no parents or family to support them. We decided we wanted to help and to get involved in a constructive way. Firstly via small fundraising efforts (i.e. money) but also by providing more practical support (i.e. we managed to visit the school/s in Moldova as part of trip route. Please see here to find out more). We are hoping that what we do adds value and strengthens the existing links and bonds already there!  Ultimately, we hope that we make a little difference and that our children will one day look back, remember their experiences positively, have fun memories and develop good strenghts and values.

To get an idea of what we got up to as part of our fund raising efforts, please click on the following:

May Day Fete & Balloon Race 2009 may-day-fete-and-balloon-race-competition-20092

Melbourn Fete June 2009  melbourn-fete-june-2009

Homemade Stick & Lollipop Puppets homemade-stick-and-lollipop-puppets-july-2009

Homemade Pesky Rat Christmas Cards pesky-rat-christmas-cards-october-2009

That Pesky Rat Puppet Shows Nov/Dec 2009 that-pesky-rat-puppet-shows-novdec-2009

What Next?

Apart from the above - no more fundraising though we are open to providing volunteering assistance as part of our trip route.

Things we Did

Things we did to raise the money included a balloon race, two fetes and 5 puppet show performances.

How the Money is Being Spent

Already, money raised has been put toward purchasing the following items for both main Kindergarten, the main school and the 2 other schools in Burlacu:
• Counting Cookies (main Kindergarten)
• Geometry Tray (Main school)
• Percussion Packs (Main school)
• Assorted Paper and Board (All schools)
• Sugar Paper (All schools)
• Dessert Spoons (Kindergarten)
• Cotton for Embroidery (Main school)
• Parachute Canopies (just for fun! for all the schools)
• Human Torso (for Biology Main school)

Maybe quite ordinary items to us but for the children of the Moldovan schools they are amazing gifts. The remaining funds are as yet to be decided but will involve one of the teachers from Moldova directly in deciding how to spend it.

Please click on the following newsletters to get an idea of the work of www.ceem.co.uk and our children’s school has been involved

Newsletters
moldova-news-1 Christmas Shoe Box Appeal and Percy the Lorry
moldova-news-2-2 Adventures in Moldova
moldova-news-3 Moses the Lorry
moldova-news-4-08 Furniture and Equipment
update-moldova CEEM Update
moldova-news-5-march-09 Head Teacher’s Visit
moldova-news-6-june-09 More Adventures and Samuel the Lorry

moldova-news-7 Samuel the Lorry arrives in Moldova

There’s plenty more info (contact us if you’d like to hear more) and it’s each to their own but if you’d like to get involved in something similar with your own school, group or organisation, a good starting point would be to have a look at www.mylifeisatory.org campaign.

Thank you for looking!