children in Art calling at your doors and windows

Dear friends As early told you all Joseph had broken his Leg l need your prayers and help so that l can pay the Bills of 550 dollars The children are doing well only as usual we need your constant prayers and support to make the children get happy days I calling upon friends to print these cards so that we can collect good gifts for Christmas for the children and as yu can send presents and gifts to children as usual

Am going to be with Cory and his team on starting 15thNov/2009 and more details later Jane is so pleased and am happy she is creating art from the pictures of bunabumali and friends you can print this cards and we make them sold to raise money for the children http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=818523624#/album.php?aid=120741&id=678671015&ref=mf

Your 1 Dollar or 1 pound makes the children of bunabumali smile and feed and get education Emmanuel Norman Nakhokho Good Samaritan Orphan & Needy school Bunabumali ,Buwali ,Bubiita ,Manjiya P O Box 36021 kampala Uganda Mobile:+256772465135 Home: +256753465135 http://bunabumali.org http://www.actionheronetwork.net/norman.html http://www.actionheronetwork.net/uganda.html Paypal Account : Bunabumali@live.com

update on everything from Cory

Hey all… A lot of things with regard to organizing the event this Friday have not unfolded ideally, so the best option is to plan two simple events for next week in Saint John and Fredericton, where I give a presentation about the project and show all the clothes I have on hangers. We have to sell as many of the vintage clothes as we can.

All of them need to be out of my garage before I leave for Uganda. I have been making many clothes myself and will be taking photos of them to sell online also. This Friday competes with Halloween parties, which would be ok if we had a killer party to compete. I’m sure Tom Smith will be open to having the event there next week in Fredericton.

I have asked Gordon Johnson if we can have an event at Sebastian in Saint John, and he is working on it, so I hope to know soon. Most importantly is contacting the media, which I will do today to get things rolling. I didn’t want to contact them to talk about this event if it wasn’t going to turn out as we had in mind, so now the plan is to attract plus size ladies, and hipsters and anyone who would be interested in going to a talk about the project.

I had a meeting with RBC today about setting up a Stitch Uganda account, so we need to have a meeting about signing officers asap. Could we meet tonight or tomorrow night? Jayne Lomax already agreed be the other officer, but we need to have this in the minutes of a meeting to show the bank.

Adam McKim had me in the speak to a class at SJHS this morning, which went over very well, and they will be gathering funds to buy goats for Bunabumali this friday at a world food fair they are hosting and I will present at again.

Amanda Pottle had me speak to a couple dozen classes at Oromocto High last week, and they are also raising funds to buy goats. $59 was collected from pocket change that day. Today, I will compile the video from the school presentations and Kidsing classes to post on Youtube to show the other side of the project— how we are creating it, which will be helpful toward finding support. Any contacts you can talk to seeking support… please do. Send them to this page .that says what it is all about with colorful images and video, better than we can do with any email or flyer.

Please, just go for it. I have shared as much as I can as to what the vision is thus far. I am not good at telling you exactly what you can do. Just use your imagination.

We have non-profit status through Kidsing for straight donations, if you want to make some calls. Hanging Hugs are hammocks paid for upfront, knowing that one hammock will be giving to a needy person in Uganda, and they will get their hammock in January.

This could make a great Christmas gift. I think it is an easy concept to sell, but we need a lot of help to get the word out about it.

• The money that comes in from these Hanging Hugs needs to be put in the new account, so it can be managed separate from my funds.
• It needs to be clear that Hanging Hugs are a community social entrepreneurship project separate from the hammocks that I sew personally.
• This is where we can really amplify our efforts.
• All of you can own this project and take part as much or as little as you choose, and know exactly where the funds are going.
• If you have not seen this film yet, sharing the message of Dr. Wayne Dyer, talking about finding meaning and fulfillment through service, check it out… it has many great teachings: Thanks for taking part in this process! -Cor

Bunabumali Update from Action Hero Network

I realize the below doesn’t ask for anything…. it is more of a project summery…. open to change with your input. I just needed to get this out now, so you can see the direction I am headed in. I have always wanted a group to bunch ideas off of… and share the whole thing with, so I am honored to have you all in this circle.

I can’t do it alone, and don’t want to. I am learning through this whole process… and learning to create a collective is a big part of that, so please bare with me, and take on whatever you feel called to do. This project can be anything you want it to be. We have great video and photos to show the kids we are working for, and their school staff talking about needs, so feel free to use these.

I am seeking to get two kids I have identified as exceptional to come to Canada next summer to visit a bunch of Summer camps and schools to share their stories. They are Robina Namee and Daniel Olara. This is one thing I’d like to raise money for that will take some help.

Getting the hammocks we make there for sponsors back here may also be a challenge…. the cost, and physically carrying the duffel bags. So once we get our plane tickets, we’ll have to contact the companies we are flying with. We are all coming back on different flights as well… but plan to fly there together.  Could be another challenge for flying there together.

I will visit a bunch a schools before and after the trip, asking students to create an awesome day for the youth in Bunabumali, and we will carry out that task(could be making a picnic and teaching how to build kites), whatever they create and fund, and we will record it to show them when I return. This is the project I will present to UNB and the Board of Education… seeking funding.

There are two people in the UNB tech Dept waiting for me to send them a pitch. We could do a bit of chatting online with students while in Uganda, but the net access will be limited. Mbale, a city near Bunabumali, has net access, but not great. We could work something out.

I want to have this project summery ready before creating the event invite for the 30th. It will basically be a craft show/ auction/ fashion show… a bunch of artists… all welcome… just asking they donate something to the auction and everyone will have a chance to talk about their art… on a model of their choice… could be someone wearing their clothes or jewelry, or holding their art… painting, etc.

I’m working to get a bunch of stuff ready for this now, and Angela will send it out to the Fredericton crafters group via email as soon as we have it, nailed. We have now the location and time, so tomorrow we could send it and create the facebook event. CBC radio is always good about promotion through interviews and we still have time for the papers too.

Still more is needed with regard to creating a pitch. Any suggestions will be appreciate. 
-Cor
Stitch Uganda Together is a social entrepreneurship project providing beds to Uganda’s homeless, while promoting cultural exchange opportunities through video, pen-pals, multi media presentations, and workshops to demonstrate the power of creativity and unity.

What can you give to the person who has everything and the person who has nothing? How about a HANGING HUG?

HANGING HUGS are fabric hammocks sewn in Uganda to benefit the large population of homeless children and adults who need nothing more than a cozy place to rest. For every Hanging Hug purchased in North America, a twin hammock cut from the same cloth will be given freely to a needy person in Uganda. A photo of that Ugandan enjoying their HANGING HUG will be placed in the hammock pocket that gets shipped to the sponsor who pays $80 for both.

HANGING HUGS are being sewn by Life in Africa, an art collective in Kampala, Uganda’s Capital, and Bunabumali Good Samaritan Orphanage and Needy School, located in the mountains of Eastern Uganda. The Action Hero Network donated sewing machines to these non-profits, taught how to make hammocks, and will employ those who take part in creating HANGING HUGS.

Action Hero Network community organizer, Cory Richardson, will be in Uganda managing the HANGING HUGS project mid-November to mid-January, and will return to Canada with HUGS for sponsors. $80 includes shipping, which a great deal for a high quality hammock. This pilot project will be expanded to full production with a better understanding of all costs involved. HANGING HUGS can be used to provide beds in orphanages, hospitals, schools and disaster relief around the world where emergency accommodation is needed.

Creativity and Unity will fashion the life we want for ourselves and others. 
KidSing director, Casey Yerxa, will be with us in Uganda to develop a cultural exchange project between students in New Brunswick and youth at the Good Samaritan school in Bunabumali. Each Kidsing student has a photo of their pen pal who will receive a book about what is important to them, and we will create videos interviewing all children, both Uganda and New Brunswick, asking what they could teach each other. This documentary film will be posted online and tour schools around New Brunswick.

Kidsing’s 10th year anniversary show “Be the Change” will feature youth in New Brunswick singing songs they learned from youth in Bunabumali, and youth in Bunabumali singing via video songs Casey will teach them, so it will appear they are singing together on stage, much like the award-winning documentary, “Playing For Change: Peace Through Music” ( http://playingforchange.com).

More Questions than Answers.
It is common to think rural people in Uganda are poor and sad, due to what we may consider a lower standard of living. Video shot in Bunabumali shows people are very happy. This makes us question: what do people need to be happy? What do we have to offer? What do people need to know to live healthier, more sustainable lives? Are we any happier or healthier with all that we have?

Fortunate to be blessed with resources, do we have a responsibility(an ability to respond), in way that will truly make a difference? We believe, yes! If we can help one child, then we change the world for that one child. But the question remains… what can we do to help create a sustainable life for the people of a small village in Uganda? 

Our objective is to celebrate fulfillment through service, creativity and unity.
The premise of this documentary is that we have as much to gain from a relationship with people in Bunabumali as they do from us, if not more. Through the process of learning about what they need to be healthy and create a sustainable lifestyle, we will also learn to not take what we have for granted.

Most of our food is not grown locally, but is transported thousands of miles. Availability of cheap oil and soil depletion as a result of chemical farming have put us in a precarious position, relying on many factors beyond our control for our most vital needs. In a short time… the tables could turn.

Those living simple lifestyles in rural villages as they have for many generations will be a lot better off than people living what is considered a modern lifestyle dependant on global economics.

Located at the base of Mt.Elgon, Bunabumali is within a green dot on the satellite map of Eastern Africa, where there is an abundance of rainwater for growing plants. The political climate is very stable, without any sign of tribal or rebel warfare.

This is a safe place to invite friends who will together build a playground and garden where orphans and seekers will come to learn natural building techniques, circus skills, literacy, languages and methods to enrich the soil to grow everything needed to thrive as a community. This relationship will birth many documentaries and presentations to institutions around the world, which will result in a model for international skill-sharing and social development.

Permaculture

Permaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and perennial agricultural systems that mimic the relationships found in natural ecologies. It was first developed by Australians Bill Mollison and David Holmgren and their associates during the 1970s in a series of publications. The word permaculture is a portmanteau of permanent agriculture, as well as permanent culture.

The intent was that, by rapidly training individuals in a core set of design principles, those individuals could design their own environments and build increasingly self-sufficient human settlements — ones that reduce society’s reliance on industrial systems of production and distribution that Mollison identified as fundamentally and systematically destroying Earth’s ecosystems.

While originating as an agro-ecological design theory, permaculture has developed a large international following. This “permaculture community” continues to expand on the original ideas, integrating a range of ideas of alternative culture, through a network of publications, permaculture gardens, intentional communities, training programs, and internet forums. In this way, permaculture has become both a design system and a culture of rewilding the human species.

• More

About TimeDesk Africa

After 2 years preparation TimeDesk Africa is almost ready for launch . The business model is based on the adventures of Ben and Norman, talking about developping a new future for Bunabumali.

Bunabumali Village is one of the most unique communities I have ever experienced. Houses are peppered on steep slopes connected by foot paths. (Corry Richardson, Action Hero Network).

Our approach is not to rely upon AID but build global community awarreness and show progress to the extend outside organisations  companies and private sponsors start showing an interest in the progress made with minimal financial resources.

The infrastructure we have build is based on the idea that the next generation organisations no longer operate their own dedicated website, but make creative use of webtools.i

It’s an interesting challenge to make this work, as creating one easy to understand swiitchboard is, despite all mashup services still not a task for the faintharted. After 2 years playing around we now need to clean up the mess of dead wood web sites, blogs, and half finsihed registrations.

An even larger challenge is to create a crouwdsourcing platform so fans and sponsors realy start working together. All bits and pieces are there now. Over the next 4 weeks thhe puzzle will be completed.