Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Goodbye Containers!!!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Congrats!!!!
I would like to congratulate Sharon Nevius who is the raffle winner for the $100 Pizazz It! gift certificate! The results of the fundraiser are in: We raised $621 in raffle tickets and Pizazz It! donated $379 to make it an even $1,000 raised. From the donation jar we have collected approximately $50. Enough supplies were donated to fill two entire 55 gallon containers and thanks to donations collected, I have purchased enough to fill three more 55 gallon containers. These five containers are set to be shipped out in a few days so that they will arrive in time for my and Basirou's arrival in The Gambia (West Africa) in December. Congrats Sharon and happy shopping!
Friday, August 20, 2010
The Gambia 101
Friday, August 13, 2010
A discount & book bags!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
And The Countdown Begins
Friday, July 30, 2010
First Container, Packed and Ready!!
I am excited to announce that I have collected enough items to get the very first container packed full of school supplies! Baz & I separated, counted, organized & packed it all away. The containers we are shipping are 50 gallon containers, and do hold a good amount of supplies. I cant say enough how grateful I am for all the donations I have received from all of you very generous people, Thank You!
Above: A picture of the container from a direct view so you can see how tall & wide it is, for a better visual I am 5'2 and the container comes up just shy of my shoulders!
Below: A birds eye view of the packed container.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Off to a good start!
I was contacted by a wonderful lady on the north side of Columbus who had some packs of paper that she would like to donate, when I drove there and had seen that there were 5 full boxes of paper packs I couldn't believe it! It was a wonderful surprise. I would like to say THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed in any form so far weather it be giving actual school supplies or clothing, purchasing a raffle ticket or donating cash. It means a lot to me and even more to the children who will be receiving it. Feel free to contact me with any questions you have or if you have anything you would like to donate. future4gambia@yahoo.com or if you just want to donate cash and you are not from around the Ohio area there is a paypal donate button on the right, 100% of money donated goes toward this project and will be for the children in The Gambia. Don't ever feel like any donation is too small, a pack of pencils or a simple $1 makes all the difference!!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
A little more about me
So I’ve already told you all about my project that I am working on but I have neglected to tell you about myself. So here goes - My name is Ashley Rock and I am just short of 24 years old. I was born and raised in Ohio (Go Bucks!) and my favorite color is Whirlpool, which to a scrapbooker means light blue!
You might wonder what drives me to do this project. The answer comes from a large combination of events in my life but to keep it simple I will share a few of the main reasons. In the movie, Pay It Forward, a kid gives help to people in need and in return asks only that they help three other people. If you haven’t seen this movie, I really recommend watching it because not only is a great story line but it is truly inspiring! My concept is similar to the movie in a way because I feel as if my life has been blessed with so many people who have been there to help me when I have really needed it. For example, when I bought my house two years ago I was only twenty-one and used every last penny purchasing the house. While I celebrated my achievement, I had nothing left to spend for anything to put in the house I had just purchased… and by nothing, I mean that sincerely. If it weren’t for my wonderful family members, friends and co-workers pulling together to help me then I don’t know how I would have been able to pull everything together. I was given couches, end tables, a tv,a kitchen table set, a bed, dishes, lamps, etc. I'm talking the whole nine yards! I didn’t expect anybody to lend a hand to help me but they did and not only will I NEVER forget but I will be forever grateful. It showed me there are so many good people who touch our everyday lives and never ask for anything in return.
When I went to The Gambia in March of 2009, I knew that was where I wanted to “pay it forward.” The people there were so happy despite the poverty that they live with everyday. From our perspective, it would be considered poverty for many Gambians it is just life. Their situation is all that they have ever known so they have just learned to live happily within their means. One of the most striking things is that there are very few options for them in terms of jobs. Most everyone is a farmer/entrepreneur and barely makes any kind of profit for all of their hard work. Despite the hardship that could produce bitterness in just about anyone, these were the kindest people I have known. The thing about Gambians is that they have a strong desire to learn and to know what is out there to know but most do not have the resources or finances to enable them these opportunities. That is what many people involved with the Peace Corp there in The Gambia are trying to do for them. They are teaching the youth how to use the land to cultivate more profitable crops, how to make honey by keeping beehives and most importantly, educating everyone on the importance of prenatal care and the care of newborns. These are just a few of the strides that the Peace Corps are making towards a better tomorrow for Gambians.
Where do I come in? Myself, I have many talents but teaching is not one of them. I may not be able to teach and do everything that people in the Peace Corps are doing for the country but I can put my own talents to use for a good cause. If I am able to collect enough school supplies to be shipped there and distributed to the children with the most need then I will have put my talents to good use. I know the value of quality education and I want these children to have the opportunity to know its value as well. With knowledge there is opportunity and with opportunity all things are possible. As Americans, we take so much for granted without ever realizing it. One very common question to ask our children is “what do you want to be when you grow up?” to which you will have a list of replies so long and so varied that it could make you head spin. In Gambia, the options are so limited and without education the list of opportunities will never get longer. Naturally, I don’t expect everyone to jump on my band wagon and want to donate or support the cause but if you can find it in your heart to give then every penny or every item will make a difference in the life of a child. The famous W.B. Yeats once said that “education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.” Every single person who steps up to help the members of the youngest generation pursue education is lighting a fire for a flame that will burn further into the future than many of these children could ever have hoped. You have been lucky enough to feel the warmth of a fire lit for you and now I ask – Will you help light the way for the next generation?
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Thank You Pizazz It! Scrapbooks
A major THANK YOU goes out to Pizazz It! Scrapbooks in Pickerington, Ohio!! I was allowed to purchase a $100 gift card to Pizazz It! Scrapbooks which will be raffled off at $1 per ticket or $5 for 6 tickets. This raffle will continue on for two months (until September) and 100% of the proceeds will go toward the purchase of school supplies and hopefully sponsoring at least one child in The Gambia (hopefully more!) to go to school for an entire year! See their website http://www.pizazzitscrapbooks.com/ (blog tab, News2know) for more details
**Gambia School Facts**
The cost of a child to go to school in The Gambia for a year is only approx. $125 per child which may not sound like much to an American like myself but in The Gambia only the “rich” can afford to send their child to school. The Gambia has a new law called the Education Policy which allows females to attend school free of charge until ninth grade. Males on the other hand still have to pay to attend first through ninth grade. Females must pay to attend tenth through twelfth grade, which unfortunately tends to keep them from going to school past ninth grade. Before the Education Policy less than 40% of children in The Gambia attended school. While the new legislation policy has pushed progress forward significantly and is improving with attendance, the lack of school supplies is still severely hindering the education process. However, we are here to help that seda seda (slowly, slowly as they say in Pulaar).
Thanks again to Pizazz It! Scrapbooks and to those who are supporting the cause by purchasing raffle tickets! I sure hope YOU win the $100 gift card!
Friday, June 25, 2010
An Introduction
Explanation time – The name of my project is A Future For The Gambia. In March of 2009, I went to The Gambia on Africa’s west coast for the first time and fell in love with the country and its people. During the month I spent there, I couldn’t help but notice the extreme difference in everyday life for them. When it was time to come home to the States, I returned bursting with ideas on ways to help! Since then I have been collecting clothing and school supplies from friends and family, as well as purchasing many supplies myself, to ship to the country and be distributed to the schools and families in the villages. In March 2010, I shipped four containers full of these items to The Gambia and when I called to see if they were helpful, I was overwhelmed by the response! It meant so much to them that I had done this for them that when I called they couldn’t do anything but say thank you over & over & over again. After realizing the impact that these supplies had for them, I knew that I wanted to do more. Until now, this had been a personal endeavor but I knew that by making it public that I could make a bigger impact than I ever could on my own.
About a month ago I decided to implement some ideas for expanding my efforts. I gave this project its title because the future of The Gambia is what I am trying to influence. With each new generation comes a new future for every country so the easiest way to make an influential change is to begin with the children. The main focus of this project is to collect gently used clothing and school supplies. Any money collected will be used to pay for shipping of these supplies and with enough help, it will ultimately lead to be opportunity to sponsor children in The Gambia to have the chance to attend school. In addition to expanding my efforts to include the help of people outside my own personal family and friends, I am now working with members of the Peace Corps who are currently living and helping in The Gambia. In early 2011, I will be returning to the country to meet with these Peace Corps members and distribute the supplies that I have collected to the neediest school and families in the villages. Until then, I will be doing my best to collect as much as possible with your help!
Now that you know the history of the project, let’s focus on the future!