13 May 2014 May Newsletter
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May 2014 |
March was a big month for A Spring of Hope. Not only did we hold our first annual gala, The Power of Hope, on March 21, 2014 , we also conducted a fund drive on March 21 & 22 in honor of World Water Day 2014.
We are so pleased with the results of both events.
“The Power of Hope”
March 21, 2014
A Spring of Hope’s first annual gala was a huge success raising over $100,000 which will be used to drill boreholes and support gardening projects at several schools in South Africa who have recently applied for assistance. Brittany Young and South African Ambassador Rasool delivered inspiring speeches. The event was enjoyed by 175 guests.
We would like to thank the following:
Benefactor
Phyllis Thomas, The Thomas Family Foundation
Gold Table Sponsors
Shelley Smith; Gail Auguston-Koppen; Ed Koppen; Eliza Walbridge; The Walbridge Family Foundation; William Ezzo, and Rotary Fort Lauderdale.
Sponsors & Supporters
We also appreciate the support of our sponsors: Premier Beverage; Gary and Sher Grelick; Khaya Ndlovu; Thornybush Lodge; Tanda Tula; Royal Caribbean; Watch U Want; Artfunto; South African Airways; Jennifer Duncan with Pam Golding Properties; South African Wines, USA; Larry and Sharon Dezenzo; Leah Schmaman; American Flyers; Photo Art by Celia; Wines for Humanity; Seagate Hotel; Warren Diamond; Zak Odhwani; Neil Saffer; Dr. Jacob Steiger; Jason Derulo; Jordin Sparks; Jason Taylor; Teresa Blumberg; and Amanda Ellison with South Africa Association of Business Communities.
The ASoH team and the children of Tsakelani Burlington Creche; The Hope School; The Amass Disable Center; Xitenga Creche; Yellow Elephant School, Maranatha Creche and Mahashe Secondary sends their heartfelt appreciation to all supporters at the Power of Hope Gala!
Thank you all for making this a spectacular success.
World Water Day
March 22, 2014
The World Water Day campaign was conducted on social media, via posts on Facebook and Twitter. As it was primarily a mirco-giving campaign, requested donations were small, but we still ended up with over $150.00 in gifts, including money designated to purchase seed packets and irrigation supplies!
Thanks to: Justin Moore, Amanda Stites, Kathryn Adams-Sloan, Amy S., Leslie Farragher-Ferguson, Carla Farragher, and three additional donors who wished to remain anonymous.
We are sincerely grateful for all donations, as even a small amount has the potential to help many. Just $3.22 supplies water to three children for their entire school career!
Pfunakani Creche
Welverdiend, Mpumalanga
Pfunakani Creche is located in the heart of Welverdiend community and currently serves 80 children, all from poor families, ranging from 1-4 years old. A Spring of Hope assisted with drilling a borehole in 2012. Since then, due to access to clean drinking water and daily meals which include vegetables from their irrigated garden, attendance to the school has grown. Other improvements at the school include clean toilet facilities and the addition of “enviro-loos”, which were added with support from Africa Foundation.
To prepare for winter, the school harvests dry maize to grind into “pap”, a staple daily meal for most of the children. The teachers are also incredibly innovative and have decorated the creche with fun, colorful designs for the children. They have a true desire to make the school a success and look forward to further improvement and expansion in order to extend enrollment to even more families. A Spring of Hope is proud to be involved with so many giving, caring people.
Thulani Partnership
Blue Canyon Conservancy, South Africa
A Spring of Hope is please to announce a partnership with Thulani, a beautiful home in the Blue Canyon Conservancy in South Africa. Guests who stay at Thulani are offered the opportunity to visit a partner school of A Spring of Hope. This is a unique opportunity for families to witness rural South Africa and the wonderful people who live there. Our school liaison, Sarah, is available to bring guests to the Beretta School, ASoH’s flagship school.
The luxurious home features 5 bedrooms, ensuite baths, a private wine chamber and a falling waters pool. Due to its proximity to the Blue Canyon Conservancy, there is ample opportunity for andventure, including private game drives, river rafting, hot air ballooning, Blyde River Dam boat trips, and many other exciting activities.
For more information, visit the Thulani website: www.Thulani-SouthAfrica.com
A Spring of Hope Volunteers
Emily Cupo
Emily Cupo is a high school senior at Souderton Area High School in Harleysville, Pennsylvania USA. Along with fundraising, she is promoting awareness of the global water crisis. On April 19th, Emily organized the event Walk for Water in her hometown. Family, friends, and community members enjoyed refreshments, raffles, prizes, music, and a charity walk all in support and celebration of A Spring of Hope. All donations from this event go to support A Spring of Hope’s efforts in rural South Africa to provide schools with clean drinking water.
Emily also shared her thoughts about being involved with A Spring of Hope.
I reached out to A Spring of Hope because I wanted to learn more about the global water crisis and try do something to help. I believe I have received an even larger gift; A Spring of Hope gave me a direction that drives my future. I am more passionate than ever in my pursuit to help communities receive access to clean water and sanitation.
Information about A Spring of Hope, Acornhoek, and Maranatha Creche is on her website, which she launched to speak directly to her school community about this project. Visit Emily’s website.
Ubuntu
Our Philosophy
A Spring of Hope follows the philosophy of Ubuntu. The word ‘Ubuntu’ originates from one of the Bantu dialects of Africa, and is pronounced as uu-Boon-too. It is a traditional African philosophy that offers us an understanding of ourselves in relation with the world. According to Ubuntu, there exists a common bond between us all and it is through this bond, through our interaction with our fellow human beings, that we discover our own human qualities. Or as the Zulus would say, “Umuntu Ngumuntu Ngabantu”, which means that a person is a person through other persons. We affirm our humanity when we acknowledge that of others.
One of the sayings in our country is Ubuntu – the essence of being human. Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can’t exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness. You can’t be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality – Ubuntu – you are known for your generosity. We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole World. When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity.
At A Spring of Hope (ASOH), we are committed to the long-term sustainable development of rural schools in Sub-Saharan Africa. That means we need to be aware of, and sensitive to, the unique social, economic, and political factors in each of the communities in which we work. There is no other nonprofit in the world that focuses exclusively on partnering with rural schools in Africa to deliver fresh, clean water to school children and promote social and economic development. ASOH partners with schools to provide them the resources they need to promote learning and promising futures for their students. We begin by drilling boreholes (water wells) at schools, ensuring that each of our schools has access to a clean, sustainable source of water for drinking, sanitation, irrigation, and food preparation.
