A final, and very important, thankyou.

 www.chalkboardkenya.org

The deadline has drawn to a close on our crowd-funding campaign. The buck doesn't stop there though, as we are definitely going over to Kenya, thanks to two very special people who have sat through the last month with patience and generosity and who have not been thanked yet. Curtis and Stu have so wonderfully encouraged us to do something that is both exciting and scary. They have pushed us during our daily doubts and eased our stress when flights and other bills need to be settled immediately, and we have empty bank accounts. But not only that, they have done this all after a year of us being so involved, emotional, stressed and erratic and maybe a little self-absorbed, whilst we tackle the infamous Master of Teaching. We may not be Masters just yet but we think we know a thing or two and what we are sure about is that the orphans at Mama's are lucky these guys live in this world.

So what a journey and we haven't even left for Kenya yet! Over the course of the last 30 days we have had our friends & family who have so much going on in their own lives support us with Likes, Shares and words of encouragement when they can sense our want to give up and throw it all in. Thankyou especially to those wonderful few that have been there by our side every day consistently, filling up your timeline with our links to encourage your own network to contribute to our campaign. You know who you are. :)

We have also seen that it is those that have less that often give more. When you receive an email to notify you of a contribution from someone you know has their own big expenses such as children and medical bills, or lives off a single income, it is a very grounding experience. Again, you guys know who you are, and we cannot express how eternally grateful we are.

Finally, for anyone who is thinking about fundraising for a cause close to your heart I want to let you know that asking for money is rewarding when you have wins, but it is undeniably exhausting. I went into this thinking it would be easy, because surely everyone understands that these orphans should be able to realise their human right to an education and will have some money to spare? I was wrong, because not everyone is convinced of that, or their passion in charity lies for a different fantastic cause. And some of those that do share your ideas simply cannot spare any money because let's face it, times are tough at home too.

There were moments in the middle of the day where I had to go back to bed because of the splitting pain in my temples from the stress of it all. Time spent not asking for money was spent thinking about other ways I could get money so I didn't have to ask for money. Remember this the next time you pass someone on the street who needs a few spare coins. I have no doubt it is something that Lena and I will never forget.

We didn't quite reach our goal but we feel very lucky and very humble for what we have achieved. $2420 in contributions plus money raised at the fundraising dinner makes an enormous difference in planning this project. Thank you again and forever to everyone who has contributed and supported us throughout this. We'll keep you all up to date when we are over there, but there is a chance we might fall off the grid at times, given the remoteness of where we will be. And if we don't see you before we go - catch you on the other side in late Feb!

So You Want to Teach in Kenya Pt V - Let's get real & talk dollars.

Students at Mama Children's Orphanage

Let's talk dollars.

Given we've dropped over a cool $1500 on vaccinations in the last 7 days, I thought it would be timely for our contributors, and potential contributors, to see exactly where there hard earned dollars are being spent.

Vaccinations - $1500
Visas - $110 plus $30 in secure postage for our passports
Accommodation & food for 6 weeks - $3900
Flights - $4400
Total so far - $9940

Crowd-funding target - $6500

Savings & borrowings to cover the difference - $3440

Typing that still makes me feel a little queasy!

When we first agreed to teach in Kenya, we estimated the costs to be around $8500. But typically, as with many holidays, the expenses grew. We're not prepared to back out of our commitment though - these children deserve access to education, its their human right.

So far we have raised $1125 thanks to some amazing contributors, of which many I know have like us been unable to work this year due to our intensive teaching & study schedule.

But we are still very much in the red with just 14 days to go! Can we make it?! Help us and make your contribution to the human rights of some very deserving people > http://bit.ly/excursiontokenya