Once again it has been a busy month for Rafiki in Kenya and here for the Australian office
After working hard to submit the relevant paperwork -we are now hoping to hear back from DOFT sometime next week and fingers crossed we will officially be an incorporated association. This will open further doors for Rafiki Mwema Australia, such as setting up our bank account and our own paypal and then our next goal is registering for our CFN (charity fundraising number) enabling our sponsors and businesses that get involved to access tax deductions. Thank you to all our wonderful sponsors for their patience with this. We will keep you posted.
Calling all in retail = we are currently considering a range of Rafiki Mwema tote bags to raise further awareness of Rafiki Mwema Australia .. these would be distributed to retailers who are interested in stocking these to sell to customers (our thoughts are to sell them upon checkout as a ‘charity bag’). They will be gorgeous of course and handy. If you or anyone you know would anyone be interested in purchasing these bags and stocking these in their store please contact me for further information.
Lucky Visitor – John Tipper, the dedicated manager from Play Kenya is in Africa at the moment and the girls are beyond thrilled to have him there! John will be visiting with local authorities and schools and to discuss current and future programs. We will have lots of updates from the ground in Kenya soon. Keep an eye on the blog over at the BRAND NEW (yep, i made it!) website for Play Kenya.
It is always sad when one of our Rafiki family leaves us to return home but it is also our aim to see these beautiful girls return to the communities when it is safe and to be a part of it. We wish Sharon all the best in her return to home (to an orphanage in Mombassa) and we will watch out for her and track her progress. Here is a note from Anne-Marie and our gorgeous staff at Rafiki:
“Our beautiful Sharon has returned home to Mombassa. She has left a gap in our lives that we will fill with the memory of her smile and hold together we the love she gave. This little lady has ‘wonderful’ pumping through her veins. To see the transformation from a silent, withdrawn little one to the warm, funny, friendly and loving and tough little lady has been an honour. To be part of the footprint of her life is one of the most amazing gifts of what we do – even the pain of her leaving can’t dilute that joy. Sharon you rock our world and will follow your life path with pride”
As usual our Australian team are working hard behind the scenes. Our current focus is still obtaining full sponsorship for each of our girls so please keep spreading the word. There are a few big projects ready to launch once we finalise our administration set up, we are very excited to launch them so keep watching this space.
Sarah x
