Garnet's Life Adventures

Got Brick?

A year ago as the stock market was starting to go all wacky, I was at the IRIS hotel in Kigali, Rwanda working with Itafari. In a way we were lucky to have very limited access to telly in English, only about 15 minutes from the BBC was more than I needed to be honest since it wasn't exactly happy news.

Here it is a year later and I'm looking forward to returning to Rwanda in January. Even though some of what was predicted did actually transpire, life has moved on, maybe not as we'd planned, but we've learned to adapt.

Itafari just celebrated its 4^th birthday! And their work has just begun, thanks to the generosity of people like you! In spite of all the challenges, they're continuing.

Their challenge now is to finish raising the money needed to build the Kigali Parents Secondary School, a commitment of $250,000. It will be an amazing school that will support the Kigali Parents Primary School (KPPS) which is going strong. KPPS has consistently had the high scores on national tests and is open to all children, regardless of race or ethnicity. A school the Itafari Foundation is proud to partner with. And so what better way to build this school than brick (itafari) by brick (itafari).

The government recently required that all buildings be complete before they can be occupied. (idea was to build the school in phases). Their goal is to open the school for the January 2010 term. The building has begun! You can see the pictures on the website under VIRTUAL FUNDRAISER or on the presentation that’s also on that same page on the website.

MY REQUEST:

BUY A BRICK FOR $75 – your name will be placed on it and in the school. It’s the perfect symbol of the Itafari Foundation and will change the life of a child forever. Forever. $75

LEARN ABOUT how the Itafari Foundation is helping to build hope in a country

MAKE A DONATION OF ANY AMOUNT - $75 may be more than you can afford. If so, please give what you can. You may also want to give a larger amount. Naming opportunities are available for gifts over $10,000 and other specific amounts can also be designated and acknowledged in the school. Let’s talk about your dreams and the legacy you’d like to leave.

Share this blog with others...friends, loved ones, co-workers. A unique and personal gift. An incredible remembrance of a loved one. A statement that you believe in the power of education. A reminder to yourself that anything we do, large or small, changes the world.



You can donate online at the website, call Vicky, or send your check to:

Itafari Foundation
27 El Greco
Lake Oswego, OR 97035
503.636.3692

Your gift is 100% tax deductible. They will give you a beautiful personalized gift certificate. And you know that this brick, this itafari, is a sign for you and the children of Rwanda that we must never ever ever ever ever give up.

I will be back in Rwanda in January to see what how things are going, and will update you all then!

Labels: donations, fundraiser, itafari

posted by Sara @ 11:47 am 0 comments

Build a School in Rwanda

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

posted by Sara @ 3:15 pm 0 comments

34th & 35th countries visited

I spent this past weekend in Helsinki, Finland and Tallinn, Estonia. Let me first off say that if you ever get the chance to visit Tallinn, you MUST do it. The old town is fantastic!!!

The day we arrived we went out to visit the island of Suomenlinna where we toured around checking out the cannons & fortresses and for dinner I had reindeer with mashed potatoes and linden berry sauce - YUMMY!
On Saturday we got up early & boarded the fast ferry to Estonia . . . note to self next time relax & enjoy the slow ferry as you get sea sick with 2 meter waves! Once off the boat needing to walk before we could eat lunch we checked out Fat Margaret's Tower (no I didn't make that name up)

After we had wondered around the old town for a bit, we were able to enjoy the sun in the Town Hall Square (see below), where we got some lunch before wandering off again for the afternoon.This photo is the famous, Three Sisters, aren't they just the coolest buildings - everything in the town is colourful, not surprisingly it reminded me of St Petersburg

Labels: countries, Estonia, Finland, travel

posted by Sara @ 3:13 pm 1 comments

ATW in 156 days

I have just finished booking my around the world flights, leaving London on January 20, 2010 and returning back to London on June 25, 2010 . . . yes, that's correct I'll be back in America in time for July 4th, my favourite holiday!!

Here is a brief run down of my travels for those of you who are interested:
Jan 20 - leave London, England
Jan 21 - arrive Kigali, Rwanda
Jan 31 - leave Nairobi, Kenya on an overland adventure to Jo'burg, South Africa visiting Botswana, Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia - getting to see things like Masai Mara Game Reserve, Serengeti National Mark, Zanzibar, Victoria Falls, and Kruger National Park
March 2 - arrive Sydney, Australia
April 12 - arrive Ports Moresby, Papua New Guinea
April 26 - arrive Christchurch, New Zealand
May 23 - arrive Santiago, Chile for an overland adventure to Rio, Brazil visiting Argentina and Uruguay
June 25 - arriving back in London, England - probably rather knackered ;)

For those counting this means I get to add 11 more countries to my list of places I've been around the world.

Well I will keep you all updated, but for now that's all I've got, off to Helsinki, Finland tomorrow for an apparently cold & rainy weekend . . . can't win them all right?

Labels: ATW, countries, future, travel

posted by Sara @ 10:46 am 3 comments