Newsletter Q 3 2014, Les Amis de Gambie Dear sponsors and

Newsletter Q 3 2014, Les Amis de Gambie
Dear sponsors and friends,
We are pleased to present our 24th quarterly newsletter!
In this newsletter we would like to inform you once again about developments at our organisation and, more importantly, about the progress of our projects.
We hope to show you that your donations are being well spent. Les Amis de Gambie is very
grateful for your support, in whatever form.
Les Amis de Gambie celebrates its anniversary!
This year is Les Amis de Gambie’s 10th year of operations.
We wouldn’t want this milestone to pass unnoticed
and would like to celebrate it with you!
That’s why we are asking you to keep Sunday, 12 October free in your diary, when a party marking our
10th anniversary will be held at the St. Joseph institution in Betzdorf, Luxembourg.
We are currently busy preparing for what will be a
very festive afternoon.
You will receive an official invitation and more information about this event in due course.
Naturally, all the proceeds from this afternoon event
will go to our orphanage in Gambia.
Malaria
Malaria is an infectious disease spread by mosquitoes.
When a person is bitten, a parasite called plasmodium is transferred into the body.
Once inside, the parasite settles in the liver cells,
where it will develop and multiply.
The World Health Organisation estimates that
655,000 people died of malaria in 2010, mostly in
Africa and mostly children under the age of five.
20% of Africa’s child mortality figure can be attributed to malaria.
The first symptoms can appear approximately ten
days after a bite from an infected mosquito. The
malaria patient will experience a fever, among other
symptoms, but the progress of the disease varies.
In some cases, the fever is experienced in peaks,
while in others it is (virtually) continuous. The fever
is often accompanied by chills. Other symptoms are
nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, headaches, weakness
and muscle pain.
If a malaria patient is bitten by a mosquito, the mosquito will become infected. The parasite will develop
and multiply in the mosquito’s body. This infected
mosquito can then spread the disease to other people
it bites.
Doctors are currently still searching for a malaria vaccine.
Luckily, if diagnosed early, the disease can be treated
with medication.
Mark (a three-year-old boy who has lived in the
orphanage for six months) recently got infected
with malaria for the first time.
Our vice president Gert-Jan Bevers was also infected
last month; his situation was so severe that he had
to spend a night in hospital while he was in Gambia.
Luckily, both have now made a full recovery.
In our previous newsletter, we already discussed our
latest project: ‘Mosquito screens against malaria’.
At the time of writing, we have collected a significant
portion of the funds required to implement this project. If the donations exceed the target, we will commission additional screen doors. As it stands, we expect to start implementing this project in mid-October
and we will of course inform you about how it is progressing in the next newsletter.
Shell project still on hold
In our previous newsletter, we explained that the shells
required to cover the compound of the orphanage are
not available.
Last month, we renewed our efforts to obtain the
shells, but unfortunately were again unsuccessful…
there were simply still no shells available!
We naturally regret the fact that our generous sponsors now have to wait even longer to see the project
implemented, but we assure you that we will not
give up – we will do everything in our power to
obtain the shells as soon as possible.
Obituary: Ebrima
On 30 May this year, our dear handyman Ebrima passed
away.
He had been ill for a number of months but had
seemed to be improving recently, so his death came
as something of a shock.
Ebrima worked for Les Amis de Gambie for eight
years and was a very loyal and respected employee
who was very popular by all the children and employees of the orphanage.
Ebrima helped to build the orphanage from the
ground up and he was a real all-rounder: bricklaying,
tiling, plumbing and painting… you could leave anything to him.
He also coached various (youth) football teams in the
village.
Ebrima only lived to the age of 28.
Understandably, we are all feeling a sense of immeasurable loss as a result of his passing.
Those we have loved and lost
Are no longer where they were
But always where we are.
A day trip
Recently, all 25 children who live in the orphanage
and eight supervisors enjoyed a lovely day out.
We left for ‘My Farm’ in the morning.
‘My Farm’ is a beautiful farm covering around one
hectare, with various orchards and an information
centre for children.
They make their own skin care products, as well as
the most delicious jam and honey, but the children
were most impressed by the pigs, fish and rabbits.
They enjoyed a wonderful fish-and-chip lunch, and
even an ice cream for dessert.
Afterwards, we travelled to ‘Lamin’s Fish Farm’,
where ostriches, peacocks, geese and many types
of fish are kept.
We were given a very extensive tour, and the
children’s happy faces said it all.
All in all it was an unforgettable day, thanks to the
sponsors who made an extra donation towards
this outing!
New initiative: sponsor an employee!
Les Amis de Gambie currently has fifteen employees.
These employees are paid a salary that is slightly
above the Gambian average.
We employ two cooks, two cleaners, one laundry
lady, one gardener, one manager, one driver to drive
the children to and from school, and seven ‘mothers’.
The seven ‘mothers’ spend five consecutive days and
nights a week in the children’s home; the other two
days are spent with their own families.
As part of their duties, the seven ‘mothers’ are
responsible for raising the 25 resident children.
The children and staff live together as one big family.
Salaries range from € 30 to € 150 a month.
Every month, the organisation is responsible for
the payment of these fifteen salaries. That is why
we would really appreciate your help in sponsoring
(part of) one of our employees’ salaries.
You can do this by transferring your donation to bank
account number: IBAN LU42 0030 6563 9934 0000
(BGL-BNP PARIBAS), held in the name of the charity
‘Les Amis de Gambie’ and quoting the reference
‘Sponsor an employee’.
Cooking with compressed peanut-shell briquettes
The orphanage uses solar panels and a wind turbine as
energy sources, we have our own borehole for clean
water and strive to be as carbon neutral as we can.
To date, however, we have been using Gambia’s most
common cooking fuel: firewood.
Since this is not exactly environmentally friendly, we
have been looking for a solution for quite a while…
and we’ve found it!
As of last month, we have been using briquettes made
of compressed peanut shells.
The peanut shells are pressed together by a machine
and shaped into thick, ready-made
rolls (briquettes).
The briquettes consist solely of compressed peanut shells, which would
otherwise be considered rubbish.
We can buy these briquettes readymade in Gambia, and they are
actually cheaper than firewood.
Therefore, we can now proudly
announce that our children’s home
is completely carbon neutral!
Sponsors
In every newsletter, we put the spotlight on a few
sponsors who have contributed in an original way.
After a year of organising various initiatives, the
Diaconate of the collective municipality of Lank
Meamert, the Netherlands, has concluded its Diaconate project with a sponsored bike ride, the proceeds
of which were donated in full to the orphanage. Over
the past year the Diaconate has organised events
including a sponsored run, a lantern parade and a
collection during a church service, as well as selling
cakes, cookies and chocolate at a Christmas market
– all for the benefit of Les Amis de Gambie. What a
fantastic effort!
Our faithful sponsor Club 51 Klein Brabant, from Belgium, recently organised a concert featuring a performance by the Corsican vocal group ‘I Muvrini’. Part of
the proceeds were donated to the organisation.
Our thanks also go, of course, to all our other sponsors; your generous donations allow our organisation
to continue its work!
What do we need?
We are often asked this question; both by people
who are heading out to Gambia and by people who
would like to support our organisation from Europe.
At the moment the following items would be very useful:
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Would you like to donate an item on our wish list?
If so, we look forward to hearing from you. You can
contact us by email ([email protected])
or by calling (00352) 621 221 476 (Sia) or
(00352) 621 228 256 (Marga).
Large Duplo blocks
White, dark blue and black single-colour socks in
sizes 24-38 (school requirement)
Black leather shoes for boys and girls in sizes
24-38 (school requirement)
(Insecticide-treated) mosquito nets for single
and double beds
Cotton pyjamas for boys and girls in sizes 98-176
Women’s, men’s and children’s clothing, to send
to Gambia or to sell at the flea market in Trier,
Germany, the proceeds of which will be used for
our projects in Gambia
Second-hand mobile phones in good condition
Second-hand laptops in good condition
Dear sponsors and friends, we gave you a little catch up and can only hope we may still count
on your support and enthusiasm in future.
We cannot do great things on this earth. We can only do small things with great love.
If you want to support our work,
please make a contribution to our
account number:
BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg
IBAN : LU 42 0030 6563 9934 0000
BIC/SWIFT: BGLLLULL
In the name of ASBL « Les Amis de
Gambie »
Les Amis de Gambie
53 Bd Grande-Duchesse Charlotte
L-1331 Luxembourg
Luxembourg
www.lesamisdegambie.com
[email protected]
Tout don en faveur de l’ASBL « Les Amis de Gambie » est maintenant fiscalement déductible dans les limites fixées par l’article 109, alinéa 1, no.3 de la loi
concernant l’impôt sur le revenu. Toute personne (société ou particulier) peut déduire de son revenu imposable la somme des dons envers des
établissements d’utilité publique, si ce cumul des dons est au moins égal à 120 € par année d’imposition et dans la limite de 250.000 €
The current newsletter has still been created in paper form. If you have an email address, please let us know
so that we can register you to receive the digital newsletter. This will be available in French, Dutch and English.
Please email us at the following address: [email protected]
Copyright © 2014 Les Amis de Gambie, all rights reserved

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