Running on luck?

I'm engrossed in reading 28 at the moment.  It's 28 people's stories of AIDS in their lives - healthcare workers, truck drivers, wives, children, army workers, nurses, doctors and lots more.  It's making me realise so many things about how lucky I am for so many reasons.  It's also giving me more insight into the world that Jeremy and Camilla Sherr (along with various volunteers) are living in every day.  And making a difference everyday.

I feel a little like my options to help are limited with what I can do from here in the UK so as a consequence of this I've decided to run my Olympic distance Triathlon as a fundraiser.  My aim is to raise £1k to help Homeopathy for Health in Africa carry out it's amazing work.

My warm up event went well and I really enjoyed it (I think on each of the event pics I've a huge smile and this was a fair reflection of the event) - maybe more pushing = faster = better triathlete but that was never the goal for me.  To complete, survive (in the opposite order of importance) and most of all to enjoy myself. I more than succeeded. And I plan to echo that with my fundraising mission too :)

If you can help at all I'd be so very grateful (and I know the project would be even more so).  It's such an overused phrase to say that every little makes a difference but it really, really does.  Just here to donate...

With massive love and gratitude in advance,

Em x

'Can I have food today?'

Yesterday, feeling massively grateful for all I have, the choices available to me and the questions I don't even need to ask such as 'can I have food today?', puzzling over my random act of kindness that I felt inspired to make (do I leave a £5 note somewhere with an anonymous note? a £1 coin outside school for a child to find and treasure....?) it came to me.  I would donate a haircut. Obviously to Homeopathy for Health in Africa.  A haircut might not be the most useful thing for them right now (although you never know) but I would give the cost of a haircut to the NGO.

So then today browsing on facebook I see Camilla (who heads up the project with her husband Jeremy Sherr) posted that the centre they were just about to open has been robbed and all the furniture taken.  My memory was jogged and one (price of) haircut got donated.

Just to let you know what moved me so much, my friend Naomi who's out with the project at the moment writes...

'Before we could get going on the third chap, we were told about a boy who used to go to the school but had not been since August then came this week and it was apparent that he was critically ill. He had come because each day he is at home on his own; his mother goes out to earn 80p a day picking rice, and he knew he was getting worse. His little friend got in the car and showed us the way.

As we drove along the dusty, cratered roads there was a ravine along one side where men were digging out the clay. Further on we drove through a brick works where the clay was being combined with straw, then baked in stacks to make bricks. All the houses were made of these bricks which we were told are 12p each compared to the other bricks which are 60p each. I suspect that the local bricks are less durable.

The house was a small brick building with a tin roof and old pieces of cloth covering the windows and separating out a sleeping are and cooking area from the sitting room. The boys sat on a sofa and we crowded in, recognising that this was not a jolly trip but a serious attempt to save a life. The boy had a swollen face, ankles and feet. The belly button protruded from a distended stomach, reminding me of the starving children we are shown on TV. It was clear he was malnourished and there was nothing in the house; a remedy might stop the vomiting and diarrhoea, but he still needed food to live. After clinic Jeremy went and bought food for him – the charity www.homeopathyforhealthinafrica.org does not have money for this, but what else can you do?

These children are on the Edge of Life in so many ways.'

So if giving up something might be an option - it's popular to talk about a cup of coffee (I can't do that as I've never started on coffee), or even just donating what would be loose change in your pocket, I know there's so many people who would appreciate it so very much.  This project inspires me in so many ways. Naomi's blog gives much much more insight than I ever could - have a browse here.

I thank you for reading this,

Much love,

Em x

Homeopathy for Health in Africa

Hi

I'm not long back from my first session at Dynamis - a two and a half year course I've recently started.  I wanted to do the course for some time but as often can happen the 'time wasn't right', well at the moment the time's not perfect but with the course running for possibly the last time in the UK and definately the last time for quite some time in the UK it was time to bite the bullet and make the time right for me instead of waiting around.  And it turned out the time was perfect!  I had an amazing time away with some incredible people, not least Jeremy Sherr who was teaching us all inspirational Homeopathy, but fab people on the course, T'ai Chi on the lawns before lectures and an amazing house surrounded by beautiful woodland with delicious homecooked (often homegrown) food all cooked for us (a treat in itself!)  Add that to catching up with some brilliant people from uni, gorgeous girl having a great time at home with day trips and constant picnics (although I don't think they got around to breakfast on the lawn all other meals were covered) all was good!

I really wanted to blog briefly about the work Jeremy is doing in Africa which really is awe-inspiring and Homeopathy at it's best.  The Sherr family have relocated to Tanzania where Jeremy and his Homeopath wife Camilla are working with people who have the AIDS virus and are seeing some incredible results using Classical Homeopathy.  I've heard Jeremy talk about the project before and had this been a pre-child era I'd have been straight on a plane to see the work first hand.  As it is I am simply watching from afar at the moment and contributing when I can.

Have a look at the video here:
http://www.vimeo.com/6262783

to have a closer insight into the project.  If you'd like to contribute, the process is easy and the money goes through Homeopathy Action Trust which is a registered charity, you're able to Gift Aid your money and the funds go to making sure the project can continue with the fantastic start they've made. 

And check out the slideshow with rap:
http://www.youtube.com/jsherr1

The aim to make the project more sustainable has meant that 2 Homeopaths are training through the School of Homeopathy and another is funded to train in Kenya in Homeopathy.  There is food being grown, a creche set up and women who've been helped by Homeopathy are working with the Sherr's on the project.  Have a watch tho - the short film puts everything much better than I can!


http://www.vimeo.com/6262783

Long may this amazing work continue and become a norm all over Africa and indeed the world!