It's been a while...

SO much has happened since our last post. Let's see:

On Saturday 3rd November we hosted Restaurant at Forsyth Cottage by turning our home into a restaurant for the night. Tickets were $40/person , which included a 5 course meal, beautiful background music provided by a professional pianist, my sister Janine Torriero, and a silent auction. A special thanks to Fletcher for bringing along some friends from Rotaract (who helped for much of the day in the kitchen) and for doing an awesome job of 'auctioneer' on the night! Also thanks to Michael and Jennie Bogicevic, friends of Fletcher's family, who surprised us by turning up with hundreds of dollars worth of beautiful organic fruit and vegetables for guests to take home and Bethany's school friends, Heidi and Courtney, who were waitresses with Rachel and Bethany on the night.

Fletcher (in the background) auctioning off items at 'Restaurant at Forsyth Cottage'

Our aim was to raise $2500 to distribute amongst the following places:
$500 to 'Little Sisters of the Poor' in Coonoor, South India

$500 to Freedom Firm based in Ooty, South india

$500 to Hope Trust Orphanage in Nepal.

$500 towards a "palliative care room" for a couple in Banepa, Nepal who house and care for many elderly men and women in their own home.

$500 for the local Rotaract group towards both their trip to East Timor and to go towards a micro loan (a small loan given to impoverished people to help them become self employed).

Thanks to everyone who came along, everyone who donated products for the auction, everyone who bought things from the auction and everyone who donated money....we raised a whopping $3398! So we were not only able to give the money above, but we able to give to many other people in need on our trip.

Little Sisters of the Poor, Coonoor, India

We spent a lovely afternoon here on January 4th. This was our 3rd visit with them and as usual we were amazed at how welcoming they are to outside visitors. We were given cake and cups of chai. You can really "feel the love" that the sisters have for the 100 or so residents in their care. They rely on donations from the outside and, as I have mentioned on previous posts, the nuns often go "door knocking" to raise money for basic things such as food and medical supplies. We were able to bless them with $500, which they were very grateful for.

All of us outside 'Little Sisters of the Poor'

Freedom Firm, Ooty, India

Currently, there are an estimated 500,000 minor girls in forced prostitution in India. These girls are tricked by false promises of a good job or sold by a relative into a brothel and then held as sexual slaves. Deeply wounded, these girls need counseling and a strong support network and are desperately in need of a basic education, medical care and vocational training. Freedom Firm provide all of these things. 

We visited Greg and Mala at Freedom Firm on January 6th. What an amazing couple! It was inspiring to see how completely dedicated to their work they are. Mark & I often say how much of a blessing it is to US to give to others...and on this occasion I can certainly say I walked away feeling inspired, blessed and completely encouraged. They were extremely grateful for the $500 we were able to give them and we brought home some beautiful jewellery, hand made by the rescued girls. We will be selling this at our next "Girl's Night In" on April 13th (details in next post).

Some of the jewellery for sale at our next 'Girls Night In'

Trust Orphanage in Banepa, Nepal

What beautiful kids!! We say this every time.....but every time we visit these children we walk away feeling so blessed. We gave them $500 but also donated almost $500 worth of medical supplies including much needed vitamins and toddler panadol/cough and cold medicine.

Mark playing chess with the older boys

Some of the beautiful boys & girls :)

Nat playing with the girls

Beth playing with a girl at the orphanage

Pastor NP & Bandana, Banepa, Nepal

This was our third time visiting pastor NP and his lovely wife, Bandana. We stayed with them for two days in mid December. Mark spoke at their church gathering on the Saturday morning and was presented with a traditional Nepali hat ("Dhaka Topi"). We were once again blown away by the sense of family amongst them all. Pastor NP and Bandana, along with many other volunteers, house, feed and care for around 25 elderly men and women. Part of the $500 we gave them was going towards a palliative care room, as many of these elderly are quite sick. We were also able to donate $300 worth of medical supplies, thanks to the generous donation from Peninsula Private Hospital, where I work. 

Nat & beth with 2 of the elderly women

Some of the beautiful women

The new 'palliative' room

Mark playing chess with the boys

Rotaract

Our eldest daughter, Rachel's, boyfriend Fletcher volunteers with Rotaract. Rotaract is a global organisation that empowers students and young professionals to create positive change in their local communities and around the world. In mid November Fletcher, along with other Rotaract volunteers, worked in an orphanage in East Timor. We were able to donate $500 towards this cause as well as to a "micro loan" (see above).

So a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you that helped us to raise the money that blessed SO many people!  It's about TEAM WORK :)

Much love from Mark, Natalie & family :)

September 2012 update

Hello!

It's been a LONG time between posts! Life get's so busy, doesn't it? We've kept 'Facebook Land' updated with what's been happening, but thought it was about time we updated this blog...so here goes:

This year we have held 2 "Friday Night Girl's Nights In". At the first one: Easter Fundraiser Girls Night In in we were able to raise $327 to give to our friends in Nepal who house and care for many poor elderly men and women.

On 25th August at our Girls Night In for Burma Nursing School (thanks in part to many fellow nurses from Peninsula Private Hospital where I work...thanks guys!) we raised a whopping $1017 for 'OM Aid and Relief', in particular 'Project: School of Nursing in Myanmar'. They are building a nursing school as well as a medical clinic in Burma, which trains up to 100 underprivileged women of all ages each year.

We leave on our next trip to India and Nepal at the end of November and return in early January. Our aim is to raise the following money for the following places.

$500 to 'Little sisters of the poor' in Coonoor, South India.
$500 to Freedom Firm based in Ooty, South India.
$500 to Hope Trust Orphanage in Nepal.
$500 to a couple we know who house and care for many elderly men and women in Banepa, Nepal. See below for a picture of their new "sick room" for palliative care of these elderly men and women as they near their end of life.
$500 for the local Rotaract group (Rotaract Australia) towards both their upcoming trip to East Timor and to go towards a micro loan (a small loan given to impoverished people to help them become self employed) (Life and Hope Association)

We have decided to try to raise the majority of this $2500 in one night, by turninig our house into "Restaurant at Forsyth Cottage" at 7:30pm on Saturday 3rd November. This night will be fully catered for and the food will be top class! The chefs will be provided by Rotaract and my sister, Janine, who works as a professional pianist for both 'the Australian Ballet School' and 'The College of the Arts, School of Dance' will be providing some beautiful background music. We will also hold a silent auction on the night (which you can also bid for, via Facebook, if you are not there on the night), with some amazing goodies up for grabs! Why not chose "Restaurant at Forsyth Cottage" for a night out, knowing that your money will be going to help many, many underpriveleged people?

Tickets for this night are $40 per person. You can reserve a table of 2, 4, 5 or 6, but first in best dressed as we can only fit a maximum of 40 people! At this stage the best way to book in to our restaurant is by messaging me on FB.

Looking forward to a successful night of fundraising. A big Thank You to everyone for their continued support. This is team work. As cliche as this may sound, the truth is together we CAN make a difference!

Love Nat & co. :)

                     the new "sick room" (for palliative care) for the elderly in Banepa, Nepal

Hello for 2012!

Hello!

Sorry it has been so long since we have updated this blog. So much has happened since the last post. Let me see...

Mark and Rachel went to India and Nepal for a month in November/December and were able to donate the money that many of you helped us raise to the following places:
$600 to Freedom Firm in Ooty, South India
$500 to a girls orphanage called 'Smyrna' in Ooty, South India
$600 to Hope Trust orphanage in Nepal
$700 to a couple we know who house and care for many elderly men and women in Banepa, Nepal.

Mark, Rachel, Michael (Nat's brother) and Suzan (Nat's sister in law) went to Freedom Firm to give them the $600 that was raised. Michael and Suzan work at Hebron School, which is nearby. While they were there they met Greg, who is the founding director. Greg gave them a tour of the small organisation and they met three of the girls who had been previously rescued from child prostitution. They were all very nice, happy and welcoming. Mark reports that the look on Greg's face was priceless when he saw the roll of cash! He didn't see it coming. We had to blur the face of the young girl in the picture (below) as her former "employers" might still be upset that she is no longer working for them. A special thank you to all who helped and purchased items of jewelry during the last "Girl's Night In". I will be contacting them again soon to get some hand made greeting cards sent over for sale at our next "Fri night girl's night in" (in early April)- the rescued girls make them and the proceeds go to helping with the amazing work they do there. Check out http://www.freedom.firm.in/

One of the girls making the hand made jewellery.

The girls at 'Smyrna' have been either abandoned or refused an education by their families. 'Smyrna' assists by feeding, clothing and educating these lovely girls. As a surprise, we decided to give them a flatscreen TV, a DVD player and an internet connection. A very special thank you to Michael Clements, Suzan Clements and the George's (Suzan's parents) who got us connected and helped us to pick the TV. The girls were over the moon and say a big "Thank you" to everyone that helped raise the money for this amazing "luxury" (that we all take for granted over here!) :)

A bunch of very excited girls after receiving their new treats!

What a blessing it was to be able to give the orphanage in Nepal another $600, which will go towards rent, food and education of the beautiful children there. Mark spent a day with the children at the orphanage and, just like last time, was thoroughly blessed by their humility and gratitude. The wonderful children from our home church, Langwarrin Vineyard Christian Church, had hand written personalized cards for each of the children there. Before Mark left, we wrapped up a gift for each of the children and Mark handed them out with the cards to each and every one of the children on the day.

Individual presents with handwritten cards for each child at the orphanage

The children from 'Hope Trust' Orphanage in Nepal :)

Mark spent 4 days staying with Pastor NP & his beautiful wife, Bandana, the couple who house and care for many sick elderly men and women in Banepa, Nepal. We were able to pay for the much needed purchase of 2 wheelchairs. This couple, along with their 2 teenage sons, devote their whole life to caring for others. Last time when we all stayed with them (in early 2010) I was personally strongly convicted to prioritize my "needs and wants" and put many things in my life into perspective. All I can say is....we have way too much that we DON'T need over here...

Pastor NP (in white shirt) and his wife Bandana (on right of NP) with some of the elderly men and women they care for.

I would like to say a big THANK YOU to Jenny Ryder, Shae Stewart and Kath Keating, amongst others, for organizing the donation of medical supplies from Peninsula Private Hospital (where I work) to help with the care of these elderly men and women.

The 2 containers of medical supplies donated by Peninsula Private Hospital

On top of this, just before Christmas, Jenny and Shae organized a "gold coin donation" BBQ at Peninsula Private Hospital to raise money for the children at Hope Trust orphanage...the wonderful doctors, nurses (and the rest!) raised another $305.85, which we will be transferring over to them this week....WOW! Have I told you I love my job?

So....what's in store for 2012? The next "Fri night girl's night in" will be in early April. We will be selling hand made/painted Indian eggs (like the ones in the picture) that you can give to people for Easter, instead of chocolate Easter eggs which just make us feel sick (and guilty!). We will also be selling hand made cards, as mentioned earlier, made by the girls rescued from prostitution by Freedom Firm. Not only are these nights a great way to find out about some amazing aid organizations, but 100% of the money from any sales go to one or more of the organizations we support. Watch this space for a date!

Thank you to EVERYONE who helped us by selling chocolates, coming to the "Fri night girl's nights in" or donating money, and a special thank you to Eugene Quah, from It's Fixed for their generous donation. This is teamwork, guys :)

Much love from Mark and Nat :)

Mark and Rachel in Nepal

Hello again!

SO our next adventure is Mark & Rachel travelling to India & Nepal in a few weeks. We would like to give the orphanage we support in Nepal a month's rent (around $600) and the family we support in Nepal a similar amount. I have mentioned them earlier on our blog. This couple look after many elderly people in their home. My work (Peninsula Private) have also agreed to donate nursing/hospital supplies to both the orphanage and the elderly people, which is fantastic.

I have distributed 25 large boxes of Cadburys chocolate and lollies to a number of friends, who have agreed to help us raise this money. Thanks guys! If you would like to help out with a donation, please let me know either on facebook, or you can email me on nat@hasslefreesystems.com.

Thank you all SO much for all of your support!

Much love from Mark & Natalie :)

Rach & Beth with "Paddington"

"Girl's night IN" no 2

It's been a while! Life gets so busy doesn't it...

We had our 2nd "girl's night in" on Friday 8th of July. This time we were raising money and awareness for an organisation based in India called 'Freedom Firm' and their fight against the problem of sex trafficking in India and around the world. Freedom Firm are dedicated to the liberation of children enslaved in commercial sexual exploitation, to their effective rehabilitation, and to justice against those who have profited from their misery.




Left: A very young mum rescued by Freedom Firm



We shared a tantalizing supper, chatted a lot (as only girls can!) and many people purchased Indian goodies (hand made jewellery and hand painted Christmas tree decorations), knowing that 100% of the money was going straight to this amazing organisation.

Above: Some of the beautiful hand painted baubles Michael & Suzan brought back from India for us to sell on the night. 100% of money went to Freedom Firm.

There were gorgeous necklaces, earrings, bracelets & cards for sale on the night, all hand made by these rescued girls, who in turn receive a good salary from the sale of this jewelry.

Below: Hand made cards and jewellery hand made by the girls rescued by Freedom Firm.











My sister in law, Suzan, was here on the night. My brother, Michael, and Suzan work at an international boarding school in India called Hebron School, which is not far from Freedom Firm's operational base. They were in Australia visiting for a few weeks.


Left: My beautiful neices Emma (6) & Rebekah (aka "Bex", 4)



What a successful night we had! In just one night we raised over $600 for Freedom Firm...and that goes a LONG way over there. A big THANK YOU to everyone who helped on the night and to all that made the effort to come along.

What a privilege it is to live in this country of Australia. We are so financially blessed, which makes it so EASY to financially bless those that aren't. Let's not forget that our $30 takeaway meal can feed a whole orphanage for a week in some countries, or even more....

Much love,

Mark & Nat :)

Hello again!

Hi guys!

Well, it's been 4 months since we returned from our last trip to India (although it feels like a lot longer!). In this time, a lot has happened! Rachel is all grown up, has moved into a unit with a friend of hers and is in first year at Monash University. Nat has graduated from Uni and some very interesting future "possibilities" have arisen for us as a family...but more about that at a later date ;)

Last month we held our first "girl's night in". This time we were raising awareness & funds for TEAR Australia. This was actually the idea of a friend of mine from church, Lyndel (Langwarrin Vineyard Fellowship)....& it was such a success (we raised over $450)!

Chatting, eating & raising money for an awesome cause at our first "girls night in".

So, I have stolen Lyndel's idea (Thanks Lyndel!) & have decided to run similar events bi-monthly, raising awareness and funds for a different group each time....at the same time as catching up with the girlees, munching on yummy culinary delights or maybe even making a card (for a $2 donation) for a friend!

Nickie, Steph & Deb making Mother's Day cards at the last "girls night in"

The next "girls night in" will be on Friday 8th July at 7.30pm. We will be raising awareness and funds for Freedom Firm, and their fight against the problem of sex trafficking in India and around the world. Freedom Firm are dedicated to the liberation of children enslaved in commercial sexual exploitation, to their effective rehabilitation, and to justice against those who have profited from their misery. They do amazing work! Please let me (Nat) know if you can make it to this night, or alternatively you can RSVP on facebook.

At this time my brother Michael and sister in law, Suzan, will be visiting from India with their two beautiful girls, so hopefully, on this night I can persuade Suzan to tell us a little bit about their experience of working in India also.

Two days later Michael and Suzan will be talking about their work in India (they work at Hebron School in South India) at our church service, at 10am on Sunday 10th July. Feel free to come along if you're interested to hear some of their "story". You will find us at Langwarrin Park Primary School, which is located at Northgateway in Langwarrin (Mel Ref 136 A4).

We continue to support several other organisations, including a beautiful couple in Nepal that have dedicated their lives to caring for a number of elderly men and women that have been "dis-owned" by their families, an orphanage in Nepal, an orphanage in Ooty, South India and an aged care home in Coonoor, South India, which I have mentioned in some earlier posts. If you would like to contribute to any of these organizations, please let us know. We will be doing another chocolate fundraising drive in the next month or so, so if you would be willing to sell a box for us, that would be great :)

Melissa, Melinda and Richard, from 'Hope Trust' orphanage in Nepal.

Thanks to the MANY of you who helped us raise over $3000 last year. We were able to send over $1000 to the above orphanage, which goes a LONG way over there :)

Well, that's it for now. Thanks for taking a moment to check out our latest post :)

God Bless.

Much love,
Mark, Natalie and Bethany XXX

(As mentioned above, Rachel is now renting a unit with her friend!)

We're back :)

Well, actually, we got back a couple of weeks ago....but have been typically busy, so sorry for not updating our blog earlier!

What a fabulous trip we had! We had so many amazing moments, along with a couple of frustrating ones....including a bit of a visa issue, which meant that (at the last minute) Mark was unable to go to Nepal this time. We were able to give the money you all helped us raise to the two organizations in Nepal, which is good....but the cards & gifts that we were going to give them are still in India, waiting for a family from Nepal to take them up for us!

So, the money YOU helped us to give was as follows:

$1000 AUD (approx 73,000 Nepali rupees) to a beautiful family in Nepal that look after a number of elderly men and women in their own home. They have devoted their life to giving to others and we feel extremely blessed to be able to input into their ministry.

$1000 AUD (approx 73,000 Nepali rupees) to 'Hope Trust Orphanage' in Nepal. We have previously spoken about this orphanage in Nepal. What a blessing these children are. We spent a day or two with them in January, 2010 and their positive attitude to life made a huge impact on us as a family.


(Above) Two of the residents from 'Little Sisters of the Poor' in Coonoor, South India.

$650 AUD (approx 30,000 Indian rupees) to 'Little Sisters of the Poor' (above and below), in Coonoor, South India. I have mentioned this aged care home previously in our blog. Bethany and I spent an afternoon there being shown around and talking with the nuns and the residents (who ADORED Bethany!). We were SO blessed and encouraged to see their absolute devotion to the many elderly (many of them quite sick) men and women in their care.


(Above) This elderly resident at 'Little Sisters of the Poor' couldn't stop kissing and cuddling Beth!

$350 AUD (approx 16,000 Indian rupees) to an orphanage in Ooty, South India. I will give details of this orphanage and where the money has gone in a future blog, as I have left this money with a relative in India who will be purchasing equipment with it and getting back to me.

So, once again....a BIG THANK YOU to all of you that helped us to raise this money! We will post more photos over the next few weeks :)

....and watch this space for details of our next venture...

God Bless you all xxx

Yay...we've reached the $3000 target!! Thank you ALL :)

Yay!

We (us, you, all of us!) have sold 67 boxes of chocolates/lollies, for a profit of $2100 and we have had donations of $300 x 2, $100 x 2 & $50 x 2, totalling $900...which means we have reached the target of $3000!!!

Thank you, everyone, for your support. It may have been an effort, but nothing in comparison to the difference it will make. How blessed we are to be born into this beautiful country of Australia, where we have everything we need, plus so much more...

We are so excited about going over to India & Nepal next week and blessing others with these gifts of money that we/you have collectively raised. This money will go such a long way over there. We will post photos for you all to see when we get back :)




God Bless you all!

Much love,

Mark & Nat Xx

Only $670 to go!

Hello again!

A big THANK YOU to all of you that have helped us get to $2330 raised so far! We still have $670 to go. We have 6 more boxes (at $60 each, we receive $30 profit) left to sell....so if you could share a little of your Chrissy cheer and volunteer to sell one for us, please let me know. You can email me (Nat)on 'nat@hasslefreesystems.com', or phone/txt me on 0401 233 754 :)

Much love,

Mark, Nat, Rach & Beth XxXx

Help us get to our goal!

Hello peoples :)

Ok....so we need to raise another $1400 or so to get to our goal of $3000. First of all, a big THANK YOU to the many people that have helped us raise $1550 so far!

Now....if you think you could sacrifice (just a little) a tiny bit of your Chrissy cheer to sell a box of choccies/'natural confectionary company' snakes to help us, then please let me know by either replying to this post, emailing me on 'nat@hasslefreesystems.com' or phoning/texting me on 0401 233 754. I receive them next Wednesday and can drop them off to you at home or at work!

If you would like to simply donate then please let me know :)

Thank you everyone. It's so lovely to have help from so many of you....to help us to help others less fortunate than ourselves!

We will also be making up individual cards for each of the children in the orphanage in Nepal. If you & your children would like to make one for us to pass on, please let us know and we will give you the details (ie name/age etc).

Much love,

Mark, Nat, Rach & Beth XxXx

We're baaaaack!

It's been a while!

In the last couple of months we have moved house, I (Nat) have finally finished Uni (except for 6 weeks of clinical placement from 1 Nov-10 Dec), Rachel has been very busy studying for her VCE exams that will be finished on 11 Nov and Beth got into the 'Mornington Breakers' rep basketball team, which means a lot of travelling for us!

But, we are back....and eager to get the fundraising ball rolling again, so that we are able to reach our goal of $3000 by Jan '11. We want to give $1000 to each of the three organizations as mentioned earlier in our blog. I will post a little more info on these over the next few weeks.

So....We will be doing another chocolate drive in a couple of weeks and would LOVE your help! Just selling one box (of a mix of 24 blocks of choc & bags of 'natural confectionary company' snakes/jellies) is a HUGE help. We need to sell 50 more boxes, so if, say 30-40 people sell one or two boxes, we will do it....please let me know by text (0401 233 754) or email (nat@hasslefreesystems.com) if you can help us out.

Our new address & home phone number is:

1 Forsyth st.
Frankston. 3199.
Vic, Australia.
(03) 8751 3108

Pop in if you're in the area!

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Much love,

Nat & co :)

Where the money is going....

Hello again!

Well, I've just got back from delivering chocolates to many of you to sell!

I just want to clarify to everyone...100% (that means ALL, ie.every single cent!) of the money raised is being personally delivered by us (in Jan/Feb 2011) to the places mentioned earlier, in this blog. None of this money will be used by us for any part of our trip!

Thanks so much everyone for your help...but we still have a few boxes left to sell, so if you think you can sell a box for us, then reply on this blog, or email Nat at nat@hasslefreesystems.com or phone/text me on 0401 233 754.

Thanks guys!

Love Nat :)

2nd lot of chocolates have arrived!

Hello all!

Yay, the second lot of fair trade chocolate has arrived! I have delivered most of it to those of you that have volunteered to help, but we still have a few boxes that need a home :)

I am in the process of persuading my brother, Michael, and sister in law, Suzan, to create their own blog about their work in India....so keep posted for that!

Thanks, once again, for your help and/or support with this fundraising!

Much love,

Nat (& the rest)

First lot SOLD, Yay!

Yay!

We are well on our way to raising the $3000!

We have sold the first lot of chocolates, which means that we have raised $750. I cannot begin to tell you all how excited we are! A quick Thank You to: Lisa & Shane, Keith, Irene, Jenny & Kevin, Julie, Claire, Debbie, Janelle & Mitch, Sue, Matt & Isobel, Brendan & Virginia &, Neil & Bec, Jacqui, David & Amanda. (I feel like the 'Romper Room' lady!)

We will be getting another lot of chocolated/lollies in a couple of weeks, and would LOVE to hear from you if you think you could chip in and sell a box for us. We will drop them off to your house & you can deposit the money via the internet, so it's really not very hard :)

On the other hand, the blessings that will come from this money is priceless. We can't wait to give this money to the three places mentioned below (in this blog). As we have said earlier, 100% of this money will go straight to these places. We will also be updating you all on what types of things this money will be used for....& keep you all updated with photos etc.

So, once again, THANK YOU all SO much for your help!

Blessings :)

Much love, Nat & co. XxXx

Fundraising progress...

Hey!

So, I thought you might all like to know about how the fundraising is going...

We have 25 boxes of Cadbury's fairtrade chocolate & lollies "on the go" at the moment. The money from these will total $750, which is a quarter of the way to the $3000 we are aiming to have raised by Jan 2011! Yay!

So...keep selling guys, and don't forget to transfer the money before the 21st July, which is only 2 weeks away! I have sent you all a txt/facebook message regarding the RIGHT account details (as opposed to the original ones I gave you all).

We will be doing another "chocolate drive" in a month or so....so we would love to have another 25 people (or even some of the same) willing to sell a box for us. You can either reply on this blog, send us a FB message or email us(nat@hasslefreesystems.com).

Happy chocolate selling/eating!

Luv Nat (& the rest) XxXx

Mic & Suzan visiting from India!

SO my brother Michael, his wife Suzan & our 2 adorable nieces, Emma & Rebekah, are visiting from India for the month, Yay! I am in the process of persuading them to start up their own blog to link to ours. They are teaching at Hebron School, in Ooty, Tamil Nadu, South India...which is the International Christian boarding school that we went to as teenagers. Suzan's parents also teach there. Many "missionary kids" from all over the world go to Hebron.


I will keep you updated & hopefully, soon, we will have a link to the work they do there!

Love Nat

ps.How's the fundraising going?? :)

The chocolates are here!

OK...so we got the fair trade chocolates delivered today, yay! Only problem is, it's VEEERRY tempting having around 450 blocks of chocolates and 150 bags of snakes (yum yum) sitting in the living room....I hope you're all geared up to put your best "chocolate sales-person" face on! I will be delivering the majority of them this Saturday. We will be doing another "chocolate drive" in a month or two, so if you think you might like to help us with that one, please let us know :)

We have being thinking of other ways to raise money (for the places mentioned below)...so far we have thought that we might hold a "bollywood" trivia night or an Indian dinner later in the year, but the organization involved might not be a possibility at this stage (due to me studying full time & working almost full time!). So....we were hoping that we might get some ideas from you all! Does anyone have some great fundraising ideas for us? We'd LOVE to hear from you if you do!

Luv Mark & Nat Xx

"Hope Trust" orphanage, Nepal.

We spent a day with these beautiful children in December, 2009. What a privelege!

As you can see by the video below, they are such delightful children, that were wrapped to receive a present each, thanks to donations from many people, including many people from 'Southern Life Church', in Carrum Downs, Victoria. They mostly loved the hand written personalised cards! Thanks to the many children who took the time to make them (including Rach & Beth, who made many!)

Some of these children are orphans & some of them are simply 'not wanted'. Heart breaking...

In January 2011 we would like to give them $1000 (approx 64,000 NPR). The rental costs for a house big enough for all of these children are huge, and a constant struggle for the people that run this orphanage. When we were visiting, they were looking for another rental that they could move all of the children to. They only had a few weeks to be out of the current house, but still hadn't found a place they could afford. This is a regular event for them all.

"The little sisters of the poor", Coonoor, Tamil Nadu, India:

As promised, here are a few pics of the places we will be supporting to begin with:

"The little sisters of the poor", Coonoor, Tamil Nadu, India:


These devoted nuns work tirelessly, day after day, caring for close to 100 very sick elderly men and women, including all of the cooking and cleaning. At times they start their day by door-knocking on the villagers doors, asking for donations for food or clothing. Life saving, or even symptom relieving medications are a luxury that they can simply not afford.


We would like to be able to bless them with $1000 in January, 2011.

Chocolate fundraising drive

Our aim is to raise $3000 in the next 6 months from selling fair trade chocolates and lollies! 24 of you have already signed up to help us...and we are anticipating that we'll get a whole lot more on board!

We would like to give $1000 to each of the following independant groups...
'Hope Trust Orphanage' in Thamel, Nepal
Pastor NP's 'Old Age Home' in Banepa, Nepal
'Little Sisters of the poor' Aged care in Coonoor, Tamil Nadu, India

You will see that on this site we have a video of us handing out personalized gifts to each of the kids in the 'Hope Trust' orphanage, from our visit in December 2009. The kids were all so wrapped at receiving these gifts...mostly LOVING the personalized cards that they all got, written/drawn by many different children (including many by Beth & Rach!).

We will add some photos from each of these places in the next day or so...

If you would like to join in by selling a box of chocolates, please message Nat or Mark on facebook, text either of us or reply on this site!

Much love,

Nat :)