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Christina Noble Children’s Foundation is an international partnership of people dedicated to serving children in need of emergency and long-term medical care, nutritional rehabilitation, educational opportunities, vocational training and job placement, as well as children at risk of sexual and economic exploitation. The Foundation seeks to maximise the potential of each child. This is accomplished within the context of the family and the community whenever possible and always with love and respect for the dignity of each child as an individual. This is the Spring 2014 Issue of the UK office's Newsletter.
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NEWSLETTERSPRING 2014 WWW.CNCF.ORG
YOU’RE GIVING CHILDREN BACK THEIR CHILDHOOD. READ HOW.
Childhood is the foundation of life.
Help us make it a good one
“My philosophy isn’t just about mending bodies.
It’s about restoring people’s
independence, giving them a
life, not just an existence. It’s
about respect and love and dignity.
Those are the things we owe our children. Children are the ones who
need them most of all.”
- Christina Noble
Image courtesy of John Gaffney
Contents 04 Stories from our Operational Offices
06 Events in Spring
08 Coming up
09 Get involved & Noble News
10 Lucky’s Story
WELCOME to the all new Christina Noble Children’s Foundation Newsletter.
We hope you enjoy our new format.All information in this magazine was accurate at time of press.
We’d love to hear from you.Email [email protected] call on 0207 381 8550
As a foundation we are always keen to keep our administration costs to a minimum and send most correspondence by email. So should your email address change at any point we would be very grateful if you would let us know so that we can update your records. We will never share your details with any third party. If you are recieving this newsletter by post and haven’t already supplied us with an email address, if you have one we would be extremely grateful if you would do so by contacting us on [email protected]
All the best,Christina Noble Children’s Foundation
UK Team.
APRIL-JUNE 2014
A new football pitch The Ger Village children have a new all-weather football pitch, which also accommodates basketball and is being funded by UK sponsor, Rosemary Owen and her family and friends in memory of her late husband John Owen. John was always passionate about football both as an amateur player and a coach to young enthusiasts and this fitting memorial is getting plenty of use. The children love it!A very special and heart-felt thank you
It gives us great pleasure to announce long-time supporters and volunteers of the Christina Noble Children’s Foundation, Tom Minter and Lucy Morris have now been appointed as our new General Manager (Tom) and GM Assistant (Lucy).
Both have had long-term experience with our Foundation, and have spent some time with our operations in Mongolia previously. In their new roles they bring with them a wealth of knowledge, compassion and love for the children and the Foundation.
to Rosemary Owen and family, and to all of their friends and supporters who have helped to raise funds for the John Owen’s memorial pitch.
A message from Tom and Lucy“Hi everyone, we are delighted to be back in Mongolia with Christina, her team and especially the children. Please feel free to contact us at any time via email [email protected], [email protected]. We look forward to getting to know all our global friends and supporters of Christina Noble Children’s Foundation Mongolia and being of assistance in any way we can to you all.”
“Every child has a right to sleep on their pillow
at night time, with peace in their hearts, love,
security and protection”Christina Noble
4
that their nine year old would have a chance to study so that he benefits from an education, something that they never had. They both work in low paid unskilled jobs, the father taking a second job putting parts together for construction safety helmets. For one kilo of parts he earns approximately 8 pence. It really brought home the struggles and challenges these families face daily.”
UK office staff Fiona and Tara’s field trip to Operations in VietnamIn April Tara Cronin and Fiona Fiona Geoghehan from the UK office spent 10 days working with our amazingly dedicated team in Vietnam. They were able to see firsthand the life changing work our team carry out in often difficult circumstances.
“The day spent with the sponsorship team really brought home the difference that the Foundation can make to the children and families supported by the programme and one family in particular really stuck in our mind. Both parents are disabled and came to the Foundation to ask for assistance as they were really struggling, living in a rented room with their nine year old son and five month old baby. The parents were determined
Sponsor Visits to Vietnam It is always an incredible honour to have our sponsored parents visit their chil-dren. Recently Pat and Doug Angel and Rhona shuttleworth took time to do just that. Thank you for taking the time.
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Our eventsGolf DayWe held our inaugural Golf Day on Friday 6th June at Ealing Golf Club. The event was well attended and we were happy to see both new and old supporters of the Foundation including Byrne Group, MP Moran & Sons, Flannery Plant Hire, Banham Security & Revaprime who kindly sponsored the prizes on the day.
The golfers were blessed with glorious weather and after a shotgun start it wasn’t long before they reached the half-way house to enjoy some light refreshments.
Danny Sullivan Group were the overall winners on the day, with Flannery Plant Hire coming 2nd and Mick Halpin coming 3rd. Neil Davis who played with the Byrne Group also won on the day winning the Two’s Competition and Nearest the Pin and
Mary Flannery getting best Ladies score overall. All monies raised on the day will support Tay Ninh Centre for visually impaired children which is located in Tay Ninh, province Vietnam.
Top fundraising Tips:Have a Goal - Setting yourself a
fundraising target helps you plan. Think about how much you want
to raise and when you want to raise is by, Be Ambitious.
Tell people why you’re raising money for us - Whatever you
do, tell people why you’re raising money for us and how
every pound is vital for helping disadvantaged and street children
in Vietnam and Mongolia
World Record Skydive EventAfter an early start our amazing team of skydivers were registered and ready to go. Jo Cleary was first to go up, and all looked like it was set for a good start ...then the plane came back down. It was too cloudy to jump! So the skydivers waited, and waited. We watched the clouds for any sign of blue, it rained a little and finally the sky started to lighten. After 5 and a half hours all of our divers had finally jumped and they LOVED it! Thank you so much to Jo Cleary,
Tony Hornby, Frankie Hornby, Mary Bonnett, Thomas Morley, Ben Ivey, Doug Fearon, Vikki Ashcroft, Patrick Boughton-Reynolds, Leanne Hayes who jumped in Peterborough and a special Mention to Diane Sharkey who jumped in Brackley. Thank you to all who have sponsored so far. You have made a massive difference to the lives of our Children in Vietnam and Mongolia. You can see more photos of the dive on our facebook page. www.facebook.com/christinanoblechildrensfoundationUK
Coming upPrudential RideLondon Surrey100Bob Casey, former Captain of London Irish Rugby club and one of our Board of Directors has taken on the challenge of the Prudential RideLondon Surrey100 alongside his colleague John Batteson.
The event is on Sunday 10th August and will bring together more than 700,000 cyclists riding from Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to Pall Mall. Please sponsor them here: www.everydayhero.co.uk/event/cncf-prudentialride100 It’s for the children!
Ladies LunchFriday 10th October at the Gore Hotel, a quintessentially British Hotel, will host the Annual Ladies Lunch for the Foundation.
Tickets for the lunch will cost £90 and will include a drinks reception, 3 course lunch with wine and water. Christina will be attending the lunch and looks forward to meeting you all.
Spaces are very limited so early booking is a must. Email [email protected] or call the office on 020 7381 8550.
Zombie EvacuationWe have limited places available for the exceptionally fun event “Zombie Evacuation.” Runners can choose from two locations, Cambridge on the 25th October and the Allianz Park home to the Saracens Rugby Club on the 1st November.
Try your hand at surviving a Zombie infestation. With the tagline “Only the fittest will survive” this event will appeal to any Zombie enthusiasts and runners alike. Contact [email protected] for you place today.
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FUNDRAISE FOR US: Our Children need you.You could join Team Noble and get active to raise funds for our children by doing a marathon, or a trek; by walking, cycling, swimming or doing a skydive or a triathlon, a charity challenge or driving to Timbuktu.
If that’s not your thing you might like to get your friends to donate in lieu of gifts for a special occasion. A great opportunity to raise money and give gifts that mean so very much.How about getting inventive, shave your head, give up smoking, a day of sponsored silence, have a bake sale, organise a pub quiz. The possibilities are endless.
Your donation will go towards the care of our children in Vietnam and Mongolia. As the Foundation’s work is dependent on public generosity, donations like yours make an enormous difference to the help we can offer the children.
Contact [email protected] for information on how you can help.
NOBLEWe are excited to announce that Stephen Bradley’s award winning film NOBLE will be released in cinemas across Ireland on 19th September. We will keep you updated on any news of a UK release, but in the meantime we hope that many of our Irish supporters will take the opportunity to see the film based on Christina’s life, and let us know what you think! If you are moved by her story then why not pick up a copy of “Bridge Across my Sorrows” Christina’s international bestselling autobiography.
Get Involved
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donate Today Help more Children like Lucky
A letter from MongoliaHaving spent the best part of the
year in Mongolia, I wanted to write to you and let you know exactly just what your ongoing love and support really means for the children here. I hope that this story will say it all. The other day I was walking down one of the main streets in the capital city, Ulaanbaatar. Sitting on the pavement was a boy, about 12 years old, skin black with dirt and dressed in old, torn and filthy clothes. His big dark eyes longing to meet with another’s and be purely acknowledged as a human being, worthy of a kind smile and simple hello. With a cardboard box in front of him, the boy sang to passers-by, with an air of acceptance that to many he was quite simply invisible. I stopped to ask him his name; which I later learnt meant ‘lucky’ in English. After a bit of a sing song and dance, we arranged to meet at 6 o’clock the following day when I would be with our Foundation translator.
Although it broke my heart to leave him, I knew that there was nothing I could do in that moment and so after a huge hug goodbye I left, praying to God he would be there the next day. I was hopeful that Lucky would stay true to his word, but I also knew the grip that life on the streets has on these children and that even with all of the love and best will in the world, the only way we could truly help him was if he freely chose to be helped.
The next day as we left to go and meet Lucky, I knew that this would be his only hope to have a real and happy childhood, where he would be loved and safe. Much to my joy and deep relief there Lucky was, sitting alone on the pavement, with his cardboard box in front of him, in exactly the same spot we had met the day before. As he looked up the most
beautiful smile you could ever imagine spread across his face, as if to say ‘wow, they remembered me’.
We sat down and spoke to Lucky for a while. He told us about his life on the streets and how he had not seen or heard from his parents since they separated when he was very young. With no family to look after him, he described how he would sing in the day to make enough money for food and then sleep in derelict buildings or shop corridors at night. Other than his friends who were also on the street, Lucky had no one. Using photos we talked about the Blue Skies Ger Village and explained how if he wanted it could be his new home. ‘Can I really go there?’ he asked excitedly, ‘will I have a bed?’, ‘will they like me?’ We reassured him that he would be safe, with many brothers and sisters to look after him from now on, and a family all over the world who would love him just as much as I did. He was no longer alone. It was as simple and as easy as that. He couldn’t believe it. After some food, a good clean and a new clothes, Lucky’s whole demeanour quickly changed. Still the same beautiful, strong spirited child, but you could see he now felt dignified, proud and respected. As we drove off to take Lucky to his new home, he sat in disbelief, gazing out of the window at the life he would have soon left behind. Softly, with a slight nervousness in his voice, Lucky asked ‘Is this really real or is it a dream? I don’t know whether I should laugh or I should cry’.
Lucky’s whole world changed that day. His faith in humanity restored. It’s because of you that this was possible and it’s because of you that this precious and innocent child can now sleep safely on his pillow at night time, with peace in his heart, surrounded by the love,
security and protection all our little people need. Sadly there are many, many more children like Lucky, desperately vulnerable, alone and crying out in silence simply for a Mammy or Daddy’s love. I will never stop fighting for these incredible children, and I know that with you by my side, doing everything that you can, we can together make things right for our children and give more little ‘Lucky’s’ the start to life the rightfully deserve. With so much love and my most sincere heartfelt thanks
Christina Noble.
Christina and Lucky in the Ger Village Ulaanbaatar
Lucky and his new friends in the Blue Skies Ger Village11
For more information on our Events and News please check us out on www.cncf.org
www.facebook.com/christinanoblechildrensfoundationuk11 - 15 Lillie Road, West Brompton, London, SW6 1TX
T: +44(0)2073818550 E:[email protected]
Tweet us @cncfuk#cncf
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