A HAPPY BOOK
Written by the children for the children
SPREADING HAPPINESS, JOY AND LOVE FOR A GOOD CAUSE
Each year I make a fundraiser for a cause or causes I feel strongly about. As many of you know I’ve been helping the orphaned children from Arun Valley Children’s Home Khandbari for quite some time now as well as the youth of the village of Wakitaka in Uganda. And just as with anything else fundraising is merrier if more people contribute not just their money but also their time and ideas to it. That’s why I’ve decided to invite children of all ages to join me in making A Happy Book. A Happy Book will not be mine, I will simply compile it together. It will be the book of all the children around the world, participating in its creation. I see it as a worldwide come-together of children and their parents or guardians to express their happiness, joy and love and to share it with their brothers and sisters around the world. With the project I also aim at nourishing and encouraging compassion, love and understanding in our children towards their peers across the world, who often face challenging situations on a day to day basis, situation that are unknown to children in the West, like hunger, lack of education due to financial constraints of the family, death due to malaria and HIV/AIDS.
The concept of A Happy Book is simple. Children only have to answer a single question, namely: “What makes you happy?” They can write a poem, a one-liner, a short paragraph, a story, they can draw, paint or take a photo or photos of the little things in life that make them smile and laugh and that make them feel good inside. I would also kindly ask all the participants to include their (full) name, age and place of residence to their contributions as well as a happy, smiling photo of themselves. There is no age limit and all the contributors are warmly welcome and encouraged to take part. If a child cannot yet write, their parents, older siblings or their guardians can do that for them.
100% of the proceeds will go towards the two above-mentioned causes. In Wakitaka mosquito nets will be purchased and distributed among families with young children and/or pregnant mothers. Malaria is a pressing problem in Uganda and Wakitaka is obviously not an exception. Each and every death is a tragedy but those that could be prevented with such a simple measure as using a mosquito net are even harder to bear. Here, about malaria from Wakitaka Nabuur page:
In Uganda, malaria is the leading cause of mortality. It is endemic in 95% of the country, and forms 30-50% of the outpatient department attendance, 20% of in-patient admissions, and 9-14% of the deaths of admitted cases. (http://allafrica.com/stories/200811240746.html)
Malaria impacts negatively on the impoverished society where an estimated 25% of household income is spent treating the disease. That’s the kind of situation in most of our rural communities including Wakitaka. The little savings by families end up being spent on treatment for malaria.
In Khandbari, Nepal the proceeds will go towards the orphaned children of Arun Valley Children’s Home Khandbari and everyday necessities will be purchased, like food, soap, fuel for cooking and some stationary, basically all those things that we often take for granted but if lacking make the life difficult, often leading to severe health problems in children.
I would kindly ask you to send your contributions to my e-mail. Please put, “Happy Book” in the subject line.
Useful links:
http://www.nabuur.com/en/village/wakitaka/
http://wakitakayouths.wordpress.com/
http://www.nabuur.com/en/village/khandbari/
Spreading happiness, joy and love one happy contribution at a time!
