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Dear WLFFers,
Hope the first couple of months of this year have been very exciting and you have all started the year with lots of good cheer!
We again would like to say a huge Thank You! to everyone who supported us at the "Old Hollywood" fundraising ball in October 2011.
With the £4,305 raised, £3,800 has been put aside in a secure account, for the education of our young friend and sponsoree Emmanuel Idegbe.
- Emmanuel is a brilliant young man who despite his academic abilities had been held back by sub-par education due to his financial background
- Thanks to WLFF supporters, Emmanuel started in JSS1 (UK Year 7) at the private school, CARO Favoured secondary school in Ajegunle, Lagos in November 2011
- His school fees, uniform, notebooks, textbooks and daily lunch are being sponsored by WLFF in addition to regular checks on his welfare
- We plan to support him for the next 6 years until he finishes secondary school and we believe he will complete his secondary school education with a better chance at future success.
The remaining £505 has been spent on enhancing the educational experience of the remainder of the children who attend LOTS after-school resource centre in Ajegunle. These 125 children are unable to attend quality primary and secondary schools and LOTS provide them with daily classes in Maths, English, Personal Hygiene, Computer studies etc.
- WLFF purchased a 42-inch LG Television alongside a home theatre system for use by the entire centre for education
- We also purchased a series of educational DVDs on Phonetics, Maths, The Alphabet, and Shapes to provide a fun and interactive way for the kids to learn the basic concepts (more photos to follow soon!)
Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to seeing you again soon
With Love, From Friends
We would like to say a massive heartfelt Thank You! to all 160 guests, 12 performers and monetary donors, bloggers, tweeters, raffle donors and friends who made the WLFF "Old Hollywood" Ball an amazing night to remember.
We had such a fun time!
We ate, we drank, we danced, we laughed..........above all, YOU helped us raise £4305 for the WLFF/LOTS 2011 Project! We will update you soon on how much we raised.
Special thanks to the staff at Hotel Russell, in particular, Rupak, Chris and Rheanna.
Also special thanks to Ed at Resonant AV hire, Daniel Oparison, Justice Allotay, Vilja, Debbie and Martynas.
Here is a link to complete roll call of contributors WLFF Ball Contributors
We will keep you updated on the project, Emmanuel's studies and the rest of the children at the LOTS resource center
With Love, From Friends
WLFF would like to say a massive thank you to all the companies below for thier generous provision of amazing raffle prizes!
Do check out the websites below for more information and to have a look at what you could win on 1st October 2011 at the WLFF "Old Hollywood" Fundraising Ball
Experiences
City Salsa
3 Vouchers entitling each winner to 4 classes each (valid all year; Tuesdays) http://www.citysalsa.co.uk/
Fashion
Grey
Bespoke Lace 'Marlene Dietrich' Dress http://www.begrey.com/
Papered Parlour
Make a Cloak' with DIYCouture workshop worth £77.50 including materials, refreshments and a copy of a book from Rosie Martin, founder of DIYCouture http://www.thepaperedparlour.co.uk/
Virgos Lounge
Aqua Dress http://www.virgoslounge.com/
Literature
Octopus Books
Fifty Dresses that changed the world book (Audrey Hepburn cover) http://www.octopusbooks.co.uk/
Beauty Products
Solomon's Daughter
Solomon's Daughter Bath Gift Set http://www.solomonsdaughter.com/
Cult Beauty
Coffre of Beautiful Products http://www.cultbeauty.co.uk/
Food and Wine
Firmdale Hotels
Film voucher for two, including lunch, afternoon tea or dinner and a film in a state of the art screening room www.firmdalehotels.com
Cork and Bottle
£50 worth of vouchers http://www.thecorkandbottle.co.uk/
Medieval Banquet
Two tickets to Medieval Banquet Evening www.medievalbanquet.com
This Summer, WLFF returned to visit the Love of the Streets (LOTS) foundation's resource centre at the Ajegunle's Dustbin Village in Lagos, Nigeria.
For us, it was a truly inspirational opportunity to meet the bright young things who remain cheerful despite their present living conditions.
Upon arrival, the children were busy with their Mathematics and English Language classes, which is part of the diverse curriculum that LOTS resource centre teaches the children in the area, together with computer skills and entrepreneurial skills. The children seemed to be very happy to be in the LOTS resource centre and we felt this was a true testament to the great work that the LOTS foundation are doing ing the area...providing a clean, safe environment where the children can learn but more importantly dream and aspire to better lives!
We met and spoke with many of the older girls and boys in the classroom. They excitedly told us that they had started their reading week where each of them were incentivised to choose and read a book. Take the wise looking young girl (second picture, far right), Favour who was reading 'What's your excuse' by John Foppe (none of us have even read that one)...when we curiously asked why she chose such a big book, she replied something startlingly adult about how this book teaches her how to make the most of what she current has... we were instantly charmed!!
After class, we proceed to meet many more of the kids ...
Dami particularly threw herself into the thick of the action and the children LOVED her so.........
We soon got talking to the administrators of LOTS resource centre about the brightest young 12 year old of the LOTS resource centre called Emmanuel. He is an A student and has held first position in his class at a public school for years. Here he stands in front of the house he shares with his Parents and seven siblings. When we get to talking, he tells us that he loves reading, definitely wants to further his secondary school education but cannot afford the fees (WLFF will be offering Emmanuel a full scholarship with the funds raised at this year's ball)
After spending time with Emmanuel, we explored the neighbouring areas of the Dustibin Village and were mostly surprised that it was still being
used as an active refuse dump, yet had families getting on with their daily lives......side by side!
Whilst what WLFF can do is only but a drop in the ocean, we left with a fresh bout of inspiration and a firm resolve to do all in our power to support the great work that the LOTS foundation are doing in this mass poverty area.
Before signing off ...we would like to say a huge THANK YOU to the administrators of the LOTS resource centre....Tolu, Emmanuel (the older one), James, and all other kind volunteers for your commendable work in the Dustbin Village.
With Love From Friends
xxx
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