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Help us feed children in Maues, Brazil.
How you can help? By making your booking through Celtic Castles - we will feed children for every confirmed reservation made via our service.
Our objective is to provide over 12,000 meals to children in 2012.
Our running total is:
Giving is Good For YOU –
Give your happiness levels a boost!
It is official: giving is good for you! That warm glow you get from giving to others has been scientifically quantified by a series of researchers and neuroscientists. Did you know that giving affects brain chemistry – charitable activity releases a rush of endorphins, the body’s “feel good” hormones. The University of British Columbia did a study in 2008 and found that people who donate to charity or give to others got more of a boost in their happiness levels than they did when they spent money on themselves. Interesting! Their conclusion: those that spent more on others rate themselves happier, regardless of income level. Again interesting!
Often the problem we face is how to turn good intentions into worthwhile results, not so much whether to give, but who to give to and what to give – shall we offer money, time, resources or expertise? And will it actually make a difference?
Personally, I believe that we start to make a difference with young people - many young people in the world are not as fortunate as our own children for many different reasons, too many to list. I am currently involved with Project Challenge, helping young people back into society, delivering an intensive training programme to youngsters between the ages of 16 -24. It combines classroom learning with tough physical challenges. It aims to deliver an effective youth programme to meet the needs of disaffected young people by the use of a 6-month basic skills training programme. It is very humbling to see these kids start to move forward. I have been involved with this project for over 10 years.
In 2012 Celtic Castles is focusing its support on a community in Brazil. We shall be working with younger children, but the impact is just as powerful, if not more so. I was really moved when I started to talk with Martin Davison, a fellow countryman, doing an amazing job in a far off land. You can read more below….
“With the work of the little school we have seen many young lives and even the lives of those related to them affected. On a social level we have seen the children impacted in various ways, nutritional, educational and emotional/behavioural.”
Martin Davison
So how can you help?
SIMPLE – by booking your castle experience through Celtic Castles.
For every booking made with us directly, we will donate £1 to help feed the children of Maues. Our objective is to provide over 12,000 meals to children in 2012. You will be able to see our success on the home page and link into more information about the community.
Martin Davison who runs the school with his wife, Rebecca, has shared a few of the situations they come across every day; these are a real insight into the difficulties faced by children, their families and their community in this part of the world. It is a pleasure to be able to assist a community and make a difference.
Some of the heart rending stories from the school and community we are supporting:
What prompted the phone call.........
A mum came into the school explaining a situation with her two daughters. The two daughters have fallen into bad company. The other night she awoke at 02.00 hours to find that her daughters weren’t in the house. When she looked outside she saw her son and enquired of him where his sisters where. He said that they had slipped out at 11pm saying that they would be back quickly but still hadn’t returned. The mum hopped on their motorbike and headed out to find her daughters. Her first stop was a local nightclub, but the girls weren’t there, however she was informed that they might be at a certain house. This house is used as a place for underage sex and drugs, it even has a system of surveillance with a red light flashing on when the ‘place’ is open. Arriving there the mother was told that her daughters weren’t there, but was told to go to another similar set up.
On arrival at the next ‘house’ the mother was prevented from entering though was able to see mattress over the available floor space with many young girls, lying, semi naked, spaced out on drugs and being used for sex. She was told that her daughters had been there but had already left............ Maybe this sounds like something you would only see in films or on TV. But this is the frightening reality of the dark side of Maues.
Can you imagine if these were your kids?
Feedback from the little school, impacting lives via:-
1. Principally Food
We had two brothers that came to the school. They were literally not fed at home and lived in constant hunger and were always scavenging for food. When they first started at the school they spent the first month or two throwing up every day! They couldn’t be convinced that they were going to receive food the next day, so they ate too much for their stomachs and inevitably threw up! It took them about six months to get back to any resemblance of ‘normal’ physical appearance, but still the unseen marks took longer to iron out. When weighed before and after a week’s holiday, these boys had lost over 2 and 3 kilos - we are talking 4-6 year old children.
Giselle Danielle is a little girl who presented with difficulty in learning. A lot of the children suffer from this at the start - due to the feeling of hunger and the malnutrition they don’t have the energy or the capacity to concentrate and learn. This child was worse than the other children and often presented with open sores on her legs and scalp. Because many of the parents don’t have money, we bought some antibiotics for the infection and gave them to the mum. On doing house visits I was horrified to see that the mum hadn’t given Danielle the
medicine.......but what transpired was that the mum had a level of permanent retardation and that she couldn’t read and the granny, who only stayed in the house on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, was the main carer for this child!!!!! We took Danielle to the doctor’s where he said
that she had a developmental retardation which would become irreversible if she didn’t receive the correct diet and care. He was able to get Danielle a benefit for the rest of her life to provide her with food.............unfortunately the reality is that many people will live off this new income! But Danielle’s situation has improved and we have done all we can!
2. The Love They Receive:
Most of the children come from broken homes, or they don’t even know who their dad is, or they have been abandoned by mum, who was perhaps only 12-15 years old when she got pregnant. This causes serious emotional and behavioural problems, being displayed in aggressive, often violent, behaviour, or withdrawn shut-down behaviour.......a mixture of the two......
Sara was one child who came to us and was adopted by the school (teachers and staff). It was very evident that she was a wounded soul in the way she behaved. Her body language was closed to the extent that her head seemed to get buried into her armpit. Occasionally she would come out of her cubby hole to lash or shout out. But in general Sara spoke little to nothing. Sara was abandoned by her mum, who simply wanted to be ‘rid’ of her two children. She gave Sara to one granny and her other child to the other! Occasionally when their paths
Crossed, Sara’s mum completely ignored her existence. Over the three years that Sara was with us, she was ‘loved upon’ by every member of the team; it was hard and gut wrenching stuff, with steps forward and plenty of steps back.........but after three years Sara has changed - she walks with her head up, she plays in the playground, she is even
speaking and interacting with her other classmates..................what made the difference....LOVE.
3. Social Retraining
We often forget that we are brought up in a 'Christian society'. Albeit that it has become diluted over the years, but many of the godly principals are known and still upheld in the community. Theft being wrong, murder too................. Maues doesn’t have that social heritage.
It is normal, even common, for a woman to have 5-6 children each to a different man. Teaching a child who is learning to talk, to swear is deemed as funny. Abortion is illegal, but attempted abortions and their consequences are all around us.
I am sure you get the idea. The children at the school are learning and being educated not just in abc’s but what is right and wrong and why. This has and is having a knock on effect into their homes and the community.
So let's make a difference!
It is amazing what we take for granted in the West. Yes - life is tough for many of us and I know more than most through personal experience, but I just wonder how many of us would survive in an area like Maues? I recently met a friend of my wife’s, an amazing chap called Sam. He told us about what his mother does when she goes back home to India, helping people less fortunate than herself, and it was inspiring.
Hearing stories like these gives me so much hope in human nature and gives me a warm glow. I and the Celtic Castles team feel privileged to be able to help others in this way, by sharing our knowledge of castles with you.
Help us feed children in Maues, Brazil, by making your castle booking through Celtic Castles. We will feed children for every confirmed booking made via our service. Remember our aim is to provide 12,000 meals in 2012 for these children who, through education, make a remarkable impact on their society.
A very very big thank you in advance for using our service and please spread the word.
Thank you
The Castle Man
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