A word from the WYI Office
- Jess Roberts, Overseas Programs Manager

Sometimes during our lives, we are fortunate to be able to look back over time and see what we have been able to achieve. This was the case for me in September 2009 when I visited our school in Gokarna, Nepal for our annual Founder's Day and this year the 10th anniversary of our school.

Ten years before, on September 14th 1999 when we first opened our school, I stood before a handful of teachers and 23 children and spoke about my dreams for the future in Nepal and the education of our students. Ten years on, most of those dreams have now become reality. Click here to keep reading...

October was an extremely busy month for our newly launched National Volunteer Program Step Out, with it seeing our first ever fundraising events, both which were a HUGE success. On Saturday the 17th of October, after months of planning, our Victorian team pulled off an amazing night of entertainment, producing an African themed trivia night. Then, on the eve of Halloween, our NSW team held an incredible Sydney Harbour boat cruise, with almost 300 people on board.

Both events ran so smoothly and the amount of effort put in behind the scenes was incredible. I was really impressed and proud of the commitment and passion shown by two groups of amazing young people, all working together to help fight the injustices in this world. I would like to send out a big congratulations and thank you to everyone who was involved with each event. Without you it wouldn't have been possible! I am also particularly proud of our leadership team in each state, Adam Whitefield, Rob Weston, Charlotte Roberts, Amiee Rogic, Nicole Darcy and Isabel Wheeler for their fantastic organization and leadership skills. To read more about the events please click here...

As reported in our last newsletter, the second WYI Gift Catalogue, released in September 2008, has proven to be a huge success in further providing vital supplies and resources for people living in rural Kenya and children attending the WYI School in Nepal.

We are pleased to report the catalogue resulted in 540 gift items being purchased for Kenya and 259 for Nepal....with total orders exceeding $50,000!! Please click here to read all about it and view the photo galleries!

Our new catalogue was released in September and following the great success of our previous 2 catalogues, we anticipate that this one will be even bigger! This catalogue includes a selection of new items and also retains several high demand "gifts" from our previous catalogue, such as sheep and basic houses for Kenya and school supplies for Nepal. All of the gifts make a real difference and change lives!

Solve your gift giving problems for Christmas or any occasion by purchasing a life-changing (tax deductible) gift that gives twice: once to a friend or loved one and also to those less fortunate. When purchasing a gift from our catalogue you will receive your official tax receipt plus a gift card for each item, with details of your chosen purchase, for you to pass on to your gift recipient. Be sure to place your order early to ensure you receive your gift cards prior to Christmas! So check out the new Catalogue by clicking here! OR to request a copy please don't hesitate to contact us at the WYI office on (08) 8340 1266 or email us.

We wish to acknowledge and thank the many people who have assisted with the 2009/10 Gift Catalogue either by supplying information and/or photos in the preparation stage or actively helping with distribution by placing catalogues at workplaces, retail outlets, schools etc. Special thanks to our volunteer graphic designer, Meabh Friel, for her time, patience and effort in working on this project! We also welcome Lorraine Hayden, a new volunteer to the gift catalogue team, who assumes responsibility for the processing and dispatch of all orders.

During my two-month stay in Mutumbu I was lucky enough to complete a very successful project at a local school, Musembe Primary. During my first visit to the school, I noticed the need for many essential resources. Through extensive fundraising, I was able to...

I know this will help the students reach their full potential! Click here to find out more about the Overseas Service Project in Kenya.

WYI would like to say a great big THANK YOU to all those who assisted in selling Australian Central Credit Union Lottery tickets. With everyone's help, we were able to raise over $7000 for our projects in Kenya and Nepal. This is a fantastic result so once again THANK YOU to all those who distributed books of tickets, individual tickets, and to those who bought tickets themselves! We are hoping to have the opportunity to sell them again next year, so for all of those who are interested in selling any to their networks, please email Emily Pedler.

On the lovely, fresh morning of October 10, with a forecast high in the mid 20's, the World Youth Wanderers (Karen Buckley, Scott Pettman, Craig Macauley & Lou Warnes) headed to Pinky Flat in Adelaide ready to embark on their 50km walk. Their enthusiasm was obvious, being the first group amongst approximately 850 competitors to arrive at the registration tent by 5.15am!!

With 3 of the 4 team members having completed the walk in 2008 they were keen to improve on their time, given the much cooler conditions this year. Despite months of training, the walk still offered its challenges particularly through sections of the Adelaide Hills... not helped by a couple of snakes who were keen to observe the walkers passing by! The team completed their walk in eleven and a half hours cutting 2 hours off their 2008 time. Complete with blisters and a few aches they were all in good spirits following their "stroll" and enjoyed some well earned celebratory drinks long into the evening!

As WYI was a "first time" recipient charity of this event, the group set themselves a goal of raising $5000. Their fundraising campaign commenced only a few weeks before the event so this was viewed by some as perhaps a greater challenge than the 50km walk! The team excelled not only in the physical challenge of this event but also with their fundraising, resulting in over $6500 being raised! Their fundraising efforts culminated in a fun, cocktail style function (complete with magician) held at the home of Scott & Lyn Pettman, which contributed over $2000 to this total (click here for photos). The funds raised by the World Youth Wanderers will contribute to the total proceeds for the event, anticipated to be around $130,000, of which WYI will receive a share!

The World Youth Wanderers and WYI would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who supported their fundraising. WYI would also like to acknowledge Karen Buckley and Scott Pettman in particular, for their fundraising efforts... thank you!!

Please help us raise much-needed funds for an education project in Cambodia in honour of Catherine Nelligan. Catherine passed away in June last year, aged just 51, after a short battle with cancer. Throughout her life, she enjoyed travelling through developing countries, immersing herself in their rich cultures and doing her best to improve our world. We know this project, which will help hundreds of young children in a town near Siem Reap, would be close to her heart. Join us for a film fundraiser on Sunday, November 29, to see The Twilight Saga: New Moon at the Capri Theatre in Goodwood. Drinks and nibbles will be provided from noon, with the movie beginning at 1pm. So gather up your friends to support this worthy cause! Click here to purchase your ticket! For more information, please contact Amy Byars or Katelin Nelligan.

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Nicole and Ben raise $12,500 for Kenya!

- Nicole Murray
 
This December, Ben and I are heading to Kenya for one month on a WYI Overseas Service Project. We have a few projects we are planning to work on while we are there, which include housing projects, a goat farm for the community centre, and contributing to the Rangala formula feeding program.

Volunteering in Africa has always been something that we've wanted to do. We have such privileged lives here in Australia, and to us, it is so important to give something back. We decided to hold a movie night and a raffle to raise money for our projects, and along with other fundraising efforts we have raised a total of $12,500! Please visit our website www.buildinginafrica.com to find out more. We are very excited about the things we can achieve with these funds for the community of Mutumbu in Kenya!

Are you interested in owning a personalised copy of Martin Meader's soon-to-be released children's adventure novel, The Adventures of Charlie & Moon? For every book purchased by a WYI supporter, the author Martin Meader will donate $3.00 to WYI. The price of the book is $16.95 + $5.00 postage per book.

Feel free to spoil the children in your family (or someone else's!) this Christmas!! And also forward this onto anyone you think will be interested or who has children to pamper! Click here for more information!

We would like to share the sad news of the recent passing of Sandra Groom's mother and father, Tom and Vera Guthrie. Tom died on April 6, aged 87, and Vera died on October 13, aged 86. Tom and Vera shared a long and happy marriage together and Vera was buried only two days before their 66th wedding anniversary. Over the last 20 years, both Tom and Vera have been incredible supporters of WYI and in particular Sandra Groom, who is the patron of the WYI School in Nepal. Sandra says that they supported her in every way they could for so that she could be involved with WYI - Vera took care of Sandra's son Josh many times so that Sandra could organise events, bike rides and overseas programs. Vera made thousands and thousands of scones and sausage rolls over the years and both Tom and Vera requested donations to WYI at their funeral in lieu of flowers. We thank all those people who generously donated to WYI in honour of both Tom and Vera - two wonderful, inspirational people. Our love and support goes out to Sandra and Gerald Groom at this difficult time. If you would also like to honour Tom and Vera by making a donation, please click here.

WYI's Annual Reports are available on our website by clicking here.