7th Ghana Hang Gliding & Paragliding Festival
Thanks to everyone who donated to the Cloudbase Foundation to raise the $3,000 needed to build a water tank for the "Bless the Children" Orphanage in Ghana!
The 2010 group of pilots was interested in trying to raise some money to invest in a local charity cause, and the Cloud Base Foundation helped us to raise $3000 dollars to buy a large water tank for an orphanage that is only a few kilometers from the festival location. The Cloudbase Foundation is 501 (c) 3 ran by a group of paraglider and hang glider pilots who raise money to benefit projects that help children in the various countries where pilots are fortunate enough to travel to. The organization gathers donations to give back to the places where we are lucky to go play on our vacations. Please check out their website, which featured our project: thecloudbasefoundation.org
In 2011, the Ghana Paragliding Festival hopes to raise new donation funds for another local charity cause. If you are interested in supporting the 2011 donation funds, know that 100% of your funds will directly benefit a worthy cause; which will be researched and implemented by the 2011 group of pilots. Your donation is also tax deductible. Read below for more information on the "Bless the Children" Orphanage Water Tank project and how to donate for next year's cause.
The "Bless the Children" Orphanage project was initiated by pilots, Nick Greece and Sabrina Krewin. Sabrina personally visited the orphanage and spoke with the director of the orphanage, to be assured that the funds would be properly spent. The orphanage gets water via the inconsistent local sewage/water system. The water pipes are usually turned on every 1 to 2 weeks, at which point the orphanage staff and children scramble to fill up every available container. When this water runs out, the kids are forced to cross the street to fetch water from a nearby stream. They have to carry water in buckets about 400meters back to the orphanage, making multiple trips in order to get enough water to bath, wash their clothes and also a supply for the kitchen to cook. This water can be polluted and is often unfresh because local goat/cattle herders also bring their animals to drink from the source, and many other inhabitants wash their clothes in the stream. The orphanage already had one small tank, but it didn't suffice for their needs. Donations made through Cloudbase Foundation provided funds to buy a second, larger tank.
Bless the Children has 25 resident orphans, boys and girls, ages vary from 3 years to 18 years. These children are referred to them through the Ghana Social Services. Some of the children are complete orphans, other have their grandparents alive, or some have a single parent who can not provide for them. These children live at the orphanage, but attend the local public schools in order to be integrated into society. Local kids from their school will often come over to play with their friends at the orphanage. The orphanage also provides partial support to 20 parentless children who live outside of the home, for whom the extended family can not completely provide.
The orphanage was started by Brother Jeremiah 10 years ago, when he was training as a pastor under a Baptist missionary named Lloyd Sawbuck. They were together in the Volta Region, but Brother Jeremiah is from the Kwahu area and so he decided to go back to his home town to start an orphanage. The orphanage mainly subsists of off donations given by locals, and also through the local Baptist church. They will get help from the occasional foreign volunteer, but that statistic is 6 persons a year. These foreign volunteers usually stay for a week or two and offer a little bit of money but mainly volunteer time to play with the kids. Besides the critical need for the larger water tank, the orphanage depends on donations for the day to day operational costs: money to pay for food, school materials and used clothing. The donations made through the Cloudbase Foundations offered much needed help in providing a healthy environment for the resident children and staff of the "Bless the Children" Orphanage.
Help the 2011 Pilots raise new funds for another local development project! Please donate online through the Cloudbase Foundation. Or mail your check to the address listed below. Any amount helps! For example, $30 can provide a day's worth of food for an orphanage, while $150 can pay for a student's school fees. PLEASE MARK YOUR CHECK WITH THE FOLLOWING INFO SO THAT THE FUNDS ARE CHANNELLED INTO OUR PROJECT: Ghana Paragliders Fund
The CloudBase Foundation
P.O. Box 193, Mandeville, LA 70470 USA.Also, pass this info onto anyone you know that might also be interested in supporting the 2011 donation project!
Thanks again!
