Building a new Kindergarten...

Hey guys

Thought I’d share something totally off topic to wargaming but pretty interesting for the most part.

Last year I took my wife for our 10 year wedding anniversary to Vanuatu for a bit over a week of island adventuring and getting away from the grind.  During this time we contacted a small village in an effort to donate some sports & stationary supplies to the local kindergarten there.  We were pretty blown away with the conditions that the young children had to learn in, by western standards you’d probably call it a chicken coop, it was a very basic structure with little protection from wind as the majority of the walls were constructed from various planks and chicken wire.

During a recent storm the wind had knocked down their chalkboard and destroyed it.  We wandered off to the local hardware store and purchased some materials to make them a new chalkboard and set it up at the school whilst they were away so unfortunately we didn’t get to see their reaction.

We eventually developed a good friendship with a family in the village and have stayed in touch with them ever since getting updates.

My wife and I are always searching for challenges and naturally after being home for a few months she suggested we should go back with our kids in December and whilst over there build them a new kindergarten whilst staying in the local village.  My wife is a very talented builder and a knack for anything handy, me on the other hand I can only provide muscle and I have very de-constructive tendencies but hey they all play an important part in building something. 

After talking with our village contact and working out prices the goal we set was for $5000 which would erect a weather/flood friendly (on poles) single roomed class room which is a huge step up from what they currently have and beats a dirt floor.  With any funding left over we plan on upgrading the play ground they have or if we manage to find a good source we will aim to have one shipped over but that’s a bit of a stretch.

So the purpose of writing all of this down is for a number of reasons, firstly exposure.  The more people that know about it the more people become attached to the idea of doing something to help and maybe will stir the hearts of some people.  Currently my wife bakes every Wednesday and I sell these goods at my workplace.  We’re also holding an auction on September 1 for a variety of goods and services that various businesses have donated to the fund ranging from legal binding will kits through to jewellery for example.

My wife is also competing in different triathlon events seeking sponsorship to raise money and I’m going to donate a percentage of my personal business funds (Personal training) in October to the fund.

The second reason I think for writing all this down is simply for the documentation process.  Keeping a log of the goings on, everyone up to date and when I’m on the ground over there in December hopefully updating as well.  Taking my kids over will be an amazing experience for them and I’m looking forward to seeing how they develop in the near month long trip.  Coming from a westernised society (Australia) and going to near third world country conditions in a paradise setting I sincerely hope they gain an appreciation for how lucky they are to live where they do and a better understanding and knowledge of the world.

Swordmaster of Hoeth from Ulthuan.net was the first person to make a very generous donation to the fund and in July we made over $1000 so the initial exposure and support has been fantastic.

Couple of Facebook links for those interested:

https://www.facebook.com/events/290847317765002/
https://www.facebook.com/LopeLopeBuildingFund

That’s it for now, but no doubt more updates will come. 

Jimmy,

Sounds like a worthy project! While I don't think I would be able to participate in the auction, is there a fund or account setup for direct donations?

Thanks Tuzigor for the kind words!!  We would absolutely accept any generous donations from $1 and up! 

There is an Australian account active and I do have paypal but can set up another and link it directly to the kindy fundraising account.  If there is a bit more interest generated I will follow this up.

We have spoken, all be it briefly, about this on a personal level in the past.

I am the worlds worst person when it comes to all things financial as I have little money myself (partially down to giving stuff away and being a touch too generous).

I need to take some time to think about how I could best help here. I have already been thinking about this since we spoke.

As it is so far away from the UK my initial thoughts of getting materials shipped for free from here to there probably wont work (I know people who work in builders merchants etc whom I could pressgang into action) as logistically it would be a nightmare to sort.

Give me some time and I may be able to come up with some way of helping out in some shape or form.

As an aside, this is an amazing thing you and your family are doing Jimmy; you should all be very proud of what you have already done let alone anything that follows. If I can help, I will.

G_H

Thank you for the kind words Al, I really appreciate it mate.  I won't shy away from any help anyone is willing to give no matter the size.  Every little bit helps.

Raising the human race up a level there Jimmy. Set up something online where we can contribute - no idea if Oz does anything like the UK but there are ways to donate where the tax is added back in kinda..untaxed donations basically.

K

That's a great idea Komone.  I shall look into it.    Thank you sir.  Edit - Looked into it and they sting 7% with every transaction so I think we'll steer clear of that.

We're getting lots of donations for the online auction to take place next month which is good.  I'm hoping that raises a fair bit of money for the push to make the last few months a rather stress free time of the year.  Either way if we fall short of the goal I'm confident we'll be able to at least make an incredible start to what will become a new structure.

Just an update gents.  More items have been added to the online auction and I'm currently getting in touch with some hardware suppliers in Vanuatu to see if I can broker some deal like getting tools and materials for cost price for the project.  Fingers crossed that leads into something worthwhile.

My wife is seeking sponsors for some upcoming sporting events, namely the Noosa Triathlon and then the Hervey Bay 100, whatever donations/support can be made would be very welcomed and fully appreciated.

I also plugged it again on Facebook and my old sparring partner wishes to contribute his dojo and students in someway/shape/form into making a donation which is fantastic.

If anyone wishes to donate to this awesome initiative please PM me.

An update guys. Yesterday we ran an online auction to sell off various goods and services people had kindly donated. We were blown away with sheer generosity that people had towards the building fund and in the end the auction raised around $2.5k so as you could imagine we are well and truly on target for our $5k goal.