Hannan School NEWS - SUMMER 2008

It does not seem so long ago I was writing the Spring newsletter and telling everyone that we were soon going to Morocco. Now we have been back 2 weeks and after spending a week recovering after going straight back to full time jobs and all the usual washing and ironing  that accompanies a return from "holiday" and another week getting all the jobs done in our allotment and garden we are ready to send out the newsletter and for those who Sponsor a child there is an up to date photograph.

One thing stood out for me this year was that so many of the children who were so small when they first started being Sponsored have grown up and are so tall. They  are turning into fine young men and women and one is even engaged to be married. She is still quite young yet (16) and so they have been told they must wait a few years before the wedding will take place but we spoke with the bride to be and she says she is very happy. We also met her future husband who seems a nice young man.

We are also finding that we increase our circle of friends/influence every year and it is getting increasingly difficult to visit everyone and some are so disappointed as HOSPITATLITY is taken very seriously there and we could learn a lot from the Imazighen people about hospitality. We have come home with a list of people who we have promised we will give priority when we return next time.

Check out our BT Tradespace site
You can read my blogs and donate and buy Moroccan shoes.

Thank you
Hmad & Hannah

"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love"

RABBITS OR CHICKENS?

Soon after we arrived in El Borj we met with the Trustees and one of the items we discussed was the purchase of Rabbits. One of the Trustees then said he did not think that Rabbits were such a good idea. We decided to ask the ladies and they all said that Rabbits were good and that we should buy Rabbits. We took a vote and only one person didn't think rabbits should be bought so we thought that was the end of it.

Well not in Morocco! A few days later we were all together again and the subject was raised by one of the ladies who had originally asked for the Rabbits. To cut a very very long story much shorter the money raised will now be buying more Chickens. 

Also the best news is that the Chickens we bought last year are all producing DOUBLE YOLKS ! The Double yolk eggs are the talk of the village.

Back to top

There's now a new and easy way for you to help us raise funds for Hannan School - simply by shopping online!

Easyfundraising is a shopping directory that features some of your favourite online stores, including Amazon, NEXT, Debenhams, John Lewis, Toys'R'Us, HMV and over 500 others. All you have to do is use the links on the easyfundraising site whenever you shop online and, at no extra cost to you, we'll receive a free donation of up to 15% from every purchase you make. It really is that simple!

It's completely FREE to register and use and you still shop with each retailer in exactly the same way. Many retailers even offer additional discounts and money saving e-Vouchers when you shop using easyfundraising.

If you shop online anyway then why not raise valuable extra funds for us by using this fantastic scheme. All you need to do is visit http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/ and when you register, select Hannan as the organisation you wish to support. purchase online from over 500 retailers who will give a percentage to Hannan School. A great way for us to raise funds at no cost to you.

Back to top

Update on Mostafa

Mostafa is a lovely normal little boy. The only legacy of his problems is a tiny raised bump on one side of his nose. He has a beautiful smile and is just like any other boy of his age. We have some video of him speaking into the camera and it is such a joy to see him enjoying life like any other child. His mum has no husband to provide for her and her two children and works hard trying to do little jobs for people to get some money to buy food—Her living accommodation (if you can call it that) is very basic four jagged walls no windows, 1 light bulb, a small rug, a curtain dividing the room for sleeping and living/eating—Now she has been told she has to leave this place and it will be a real struggle to find somewhere else as she did not have to pay much rent for it.

Last year we gave her a knitting machine and she is doing amazing work on it. She is knitting clothes for the children and also selling some of the clothes she is making which is giving her some income and she also cleans a pre-school which gives her a little bit more income. She works hard but always remains so cheerful and always has a smile and some mint tea for us when we visit.

Back to top

School Computer

The school Computer we bought last year is being put to good use. The children are all getting a chance to work on it and are creating documents and text and it is really helping them to prepare for their future in the Secondary school  and into the future. The teachers said that the children are all arriving at school early to have a turn on the computer as it is extra curriculum. They said they have never known the children to be so keen to get to school!

Fund Raising

Coffee Fund Raiser

We held a coffee afternoon at Gloria Jeans Coffee shop just 1 week before we went to Morocco and had a stall provided by P & M Collections. They have the most beautiful scarves, jewellery, bags and other accessories. Thanks to all who were able to come along and supported both Gloria Jeans and the Charity—We did not have many people coming "off the street" probably because the venue was held upstairs and you have to walk through the shop to the rear and then there is a bit of a walk along corridors and upstairs to get to the room which maybe put some people off visiting. However we did make £21.00 and had a very generous donation of rings and earrings to give as gifts to women in Morocco from the ladies from P & M Collections. We will be holding another Coffee morning/afternoon/evening in the future. I want to say a very big thank you to Pauline and Mary of P & M Collections for their input , time and contribution to Hannan Charity.

Back to top

Marathon

Hmad has been accepted to run in the Dublin Marathon which is being held on Monday 27th October. If there are any other marathon runners or budding marathon runners out there who would like to join him I’m sure he would appreciate it. However for people like me who would not even run for a bus (because as my sisters says "there will be another one along in a minute") I know Hmad would appreciate the other kind of support by sponsoring him generously so that he can raise as much money as he can for the children. You can donate via CAF Online or by Pay pal through the links to both from this website www.hannan-school.com - both are secure ways to donate or you can send cheques made payable to 'Hannan'  Sponsorship forms will be sent out nearer the time.

LEILA

This is leila who although not living near the village of el borj (we saw her plight on moroccan tv)—she had a hole in her heart and was very blue around her lips and on her fingers and toes as she was not receiving enough oxygen. Money was raised for her to have her life saving operation. We visited leila and her family while we were in morocco and we are pleased to tell you she has had her operation and is doing very well. Thank you to those who responded to the email we sent out.

Back to top

Help for the Poorest families

There are many poor people in the village but if there is at least a husband or other male in the family to provide for the women and children then they are not so vulnerable as a woman who has no male to provide. One such family live in a poor stone "house" just before you come into the village. Saadia’s husband died and then her husband’s father used to provide for them by making and selling donkey and mule saddles. Then he died and Saadia was reduced to gleaning the grain from the fields left at harvest time and by handouts by the other villagers. Someone heard and seen Saadia and her two children's plight and decided to help. We bought two goats and also bought wheat, lentils, sugar, oil, shampoo, soap and other basic essentials which has helped the family enormously. We visited some members of the husband who died, side of the family a two hour very slow drive into the mountains and they had heard of what had been done to help and they said they and Saadia were unable to express the appreciation  they felt for the help they had been given.

PLEASE CONSIDER GIVING A DONATION TOWARDS THE PURCHASE OF THE PROPERTY TO HAVE A PRE-SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY CENTRE—WE CAN DO SO MUCH MORE IF WE HAVE OUR OWN BUILDING

Building the School

The vision of our own purpose built school in the village has not diminished even though we have purchased the property to start the Pre-school and community centre. We are still working towards this vision but now we can begin sooner to do the things in the village we have always wanted to do but could not because the money for building was not coming in. WE believe once we have begun to do these things in a small way then the next step will be the main school.

Back to top

An Invitation to visit Morocco

We are still open to any one interested in visiting Khenifra and El Borj. Although it is not a main tourist area there are decent hotels in Khenifra and the village of El Borj is only 15 minutes drive from the town.  It is the most beautiful place and the hospitality you will receive you will talk about for years to come.

We hope that in the near future some of you will visit and see the work for themselves and meet some of the people we speak about.

If you live in the south of England there are cheap flights from Luton/Gatwick to Marrakesh.

Whether you decide to take the plunge and make a trip or not we would like to thank you for your on going support for the people of ElBorj.

Thank you
Hannah & Hmad
NB our new email address is:
hmadhannah@sky.com

Back to top

STOP PRESS .......................

WE HAVE BOUGHT A PROPERTY IN THE VILLAGE TO TURN INTO A PRE SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY CENTRE. SEE BELOW FOR FURTHER DETAILS

"Compassion, Care and supporting life through Education, healthcare & small business"

HOUSE PURCHASE FOR PRE-SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY CENTRE

We have bought a house in the village to use as a Pre-school and community centre.

It is not the house we originally wanted to buy but this house is bigger and in a better location being further away from the main road. It is a well built and beautifully tiled house with 2 big rooms a smaller room a kitchen and utility room a cupboard under the stairs for storage. A place, without a door (YET) for a toilet and a flat roof which we can use as a further play area or to build another second floor on to it for whatever use we want whether it be extra classrooms or accommodation for a teacher or anyone who wishes to visit the village and the project. We are really excited about this. We need to get water piped to the house but this can be done quite cheaply The house is costing 120,000drh which is £8,300 approx at exchange rates at the moment but if the exchange rate improves to what it was a few months ago then it could knock another £1,000 from the price. At the moment we are about £800 short.

Once we have the gift aid from the government for this year due around September we will have the extra money we need (or if the exchange rate improves meantime) We will also need £300 for the piping of water to the house.  We believe this house is right for the project and we see a tremendous amount of potential in having this property. We will have greater freedom to influence these children for good as education in Morocco is mentioned in a recent report as being the fourth worst in the Arab World. Even Gaza and Palestine have much better education than Morocco. WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Even though we will have the money for the purchase when gift aid is included we would love to be able to use the gift aid money to buy furniture books and play items for the preschool and Community centre so we would ask you to please consider giving even a small amount towards the purchase of the house.

WELL WATER

Many of you know the story of how last year the well we dug was the only well in the village where people could find water during the drought. Now this year we have discovered that another well is being dug on another piece of land and this well is parallel with ours and they still cannot find water even though they have dug to 20mtrs our well is 14 metres and we have loads of water.
God is blessing us.

Latifa who is a very nice helpful lady, has been handling our registration and plans for the school.

Back to top

---

Older news below

Christmas Appeal 2007

This last Christmas instead of appealing for Chickens we decided to appeal for Rabbits as many of the women in the village were asking for Rabbits as they are easy to breed are cheap to look after and are a good source of meat and for selling. To be honest we were not at all sure how this appeal would go down with everyone as Rabbits are, to many of us in the UK, thought of as pets and although Rabbit used to be on the menu in the UK many years ago it has fallen out of favour—I was not surprised therefore that we did not have much response at the time we sent out the newsletter but we did get more responses as it neared Christmas and 7 families will now be able to receive rabbits. We have also provided goats for another very poor widow.

Thank you to everyone who has given of themselves whether in prayer or finances or encouragement We appreciate every one of you for your selfless giving and for making a difference in these peoples lives.

Are you stuck for a Gift Idea?

If you don’t fancy the idea of Rabbits as an alternative Gift! Why not consider a pair of authentic Moroccan Slippers? We have various colours and designs to choose from - most are a size 5 or 6. and are priced at £8.00 including P&P (UK). Please contact us and we will send you a pair on approval with an invoice for payment should you wish to keep them. If you wish to return them unused and in perfect condition then this will by necessity be at your own expense. See the examples here below.

Wheelchair

The boy who we were trying to obtain the wheelchair for was unable to receive it due to other circumstances but we did receive a wheelchair which we sent to Morocco to a young girl who only has one leg. Although she had some make shift crutches she was finding it very difficult to get around as they were causing chaffing and pain on her arms so the wheelchair is a gift from God to her. Her family were amazed that someone in Britain who they have never met would think of their little girl.

Letter from Malcolm

Arriving home from a short holiday in Devon we were touched to find a letter from one of the boys that we sponsored in Morocco…..in it he made the point that,  to quote his words, ‘the school you want to build hasn’t built yet’!

So far the land has been purchased and the well has been dug…. To build a wall around the site will cost around £15000 …..That is before we even think of the building the school!

There is a problem created in sponsoring the children in as much as the government school can only provide limited education for the huge numbers of pupils.Children attend by a shift system-2 hour sessions-and the learning is by rote.Very inadequate!When EL BORG School is available quantity and quality of education will be superior

This may appear daunting…….Hannah and Hmad were given the vision from the Lord and I am certain it will be fulfilled……..It reminds me of the story of the man marooned on an island with the Lord sending various ways of rescue and the man refusing to be rescued because he was waiting for the Lord to rescue him!

To see this come to fruition involves us doing our ‘bit’ to assist…….I know many of you are giving generously to the charity and I will say Praise the Lord for that, but the school will not get built without sufficient funding

At the recent trustee’s meeting it became apparent that we needed a separate bank account for the ‘Building fund’ and a separate account for a ‘General account’ .Under the old system the overall account is being depleted due to medical and social needs of the local people,  this has seen a reduction in the overall balance of roughly 20% in the last 6 months

Where is this leading I hear you say?
The charity needs the funds or sponsors to carry out this vision…….As a trustee I would ask that you would pray and ask the Lord if there is any way that you could help bring about this vision and this includes myself

Just a couple of points……if you are donating to the Building fund please make this clear at the time…. likewise for General funding please make that clear
Lastly, if you have made a promise to give to the fund and have not got round to it…..now is the time to fulfill that commitment, the children really need that school!

Back to top

Children

We are pleased to be able to tell you we now have 56 children being sponsored. This is so wonderful for us. 4 of the children who have been sponsored since the beginning of our project have reached the age of 13 and have been given a Bursary to attend the school in Khenifra. This means they have an even better chance in life even though it is difficult for them as they have to live in a hostel during the week.

This is exactly what launched Hmad into his University education. Who knows what the future of these children will be.

Update on Mostafa

Mostafa is really doing very well and his face is healing nicely as you can see by the latest photographs—He is also growing up fast. Mustafa's mother works hard to keep food on the table for Mostafa and his older sister. She was working cleaning homes or cleaning clothes or working in a café washing dishes just to get some money to feed the children but now she has the knitting machine she is making around £60 a month (not a huge amount but a little more than she was earning before)—she has placed Mostafa in a day nursery so that she can work without him getting in the way of the machine and possible injury. We spoke to her and Mostafa on the phone just a week ago and Mostafa is chatting away to us and seems to remember us.

His sister has asked us to bring her a pen which changes to different colours when we visit.

Here is a picture of Mustafa.

Back to top

NEW TRUSTEES

We now have our New Trustees - They are Clifford Ugochukwu who has a real passion for Education who worked in his native Nigeria in Education for over 30 years. He is retired now but still involved in children's work in our Church and he and his wife attend our Life Group. Malcolm Hall who is a very dear and long standing friend. I have known him and his wife Margaret from when I first became a Christian in Rugby over 25 years ago. Stuart Cowan my son who will bring his youth and a fresh and different perspective to the Charity. We have also changed the Trustees in Morocco. We have 4 women and 5 men and are really starting to get things moving over there with registration though two of the women are Saharawen (from the Sahara) and will have to travel there to get there birth certificates in order to register.

A day at a Hospital

A few months before we visited Morocco some friends had told us of a Doctor who would be visiting Khenifra to assess people with limb problems like Club foot, missing limbs and fractures etc with a view to giving those they feel could be helped with free operations. We were asked to provide names which we did (164). It was only when we arrived we discovered that the Doctor would be visiting on the 6 April and so we went along to see what was taking place along with Miriam our Niece who had provided the names to the Charities who were organising the event. (The Peace Corps and a Charity for the deaf.) We ended up staying the whole day from 9:00 am till nearly 9:00pm and Hmad and Miriam registered over 400 people who came along to be assessed. I honestly cannot begin to describe the scenes as people were arriving on crutches some home made, in wheelchairs and prams. Some had very deformed limbs or limbs missing, some paralysed or like little Halima had Hydrocephalus. One old lady was brought in on a rug held by friends and family at each corner. She had fallen and broken her hip. One lady from the peace Corps was there who lives in Khenifra who had helped organise the event and then another lady who I thought was also from the peace Corps arrived. It turned out to be the American Ambassadors wife. I introduced her to little Halima and she took this little girl to her heart and took Photographs with her own camera and also ordered the “photographer” to take photographs of her. The Doctor who saw Halima has sent her to Rabat for a Scan so we hope they will be able to do something to alleviate this child's suffering. She is such a happy child with a beautiful smile. The Ambassadors' wife also gave out packets of rice and lentils to the people. The lady from the Peace Corps remarked at how Hmad treated the people, How calm he was in the chaos. Of course Hmad speaks their language the other officials don’t speak Berber so they get angry with one another because they have difficulty communicating. Hmad and I also ended up using our car to transport people to their homes because there was a transport strike and no buses or taxis were running. We took the old lady who had broken her hip and was on the rug home and she was in such pain she was being sick in the car.

It was an amazing day and for me personally it was an answer to prayer. You may remember that last year I came back with such a burden for the sick and disabled that I asked if any of you knew any medical people who would be willing to go out and I had been praying for a Doctor and medical people to visit Khenifra. I had no idea that this would take place when we were in Morocco and that I would witness this personally. God is so good he arranged for me to be there.

Back to top

MORE CHICKENS AND GOATS

Here are some of the Chickens we bought last year—Another 60 families received Chickens this year. We also gave a goat and kid to one family.

COMPUTER FOR THE SCHOOL

We were able to purchase a fantastic top spec Dell Computer for the School thanks to generous donations. The man we bought the computer from started to tell us about some good schools educational software he had. I said “for the price we are paying and the upgrades we have ordered I think you should throw in the software for free.” He agreed so the school has a range of software covering Language, Maths, Geography, History etc.

The Director of the school was absolutely thrilled and we have a paper from him to say that the computer is for the Children and the furtherance of their education. We have told the Director he is also welcome to use it and he in turn has told the Trustees that if they need to prepare any documents then they are welcome to use it. Below you will see the engineer setting up the new computer.

Back to top

Sewing and Knitting Machines

We have been told that the ladies who were given the Sewing and knitting machines are now making quite successful little businesses earning money to feed themselves and their families and giving them some dignity and self respect . This is making such a difference it is hard to describe. We will bring more news when we return from Morocco.

Here are the two ladies—Sadly we did not get photographs of the machines as they arrived from Beni Milal the morning we left .

Morocco

Please Pray:
While we are preparing for our trip to Morocco and while we are in Morocco.
Please Pray:
That our preparations will go well and that everything will run smoothly.
Pray for our travel and that we will be safe while driving in Morocco.
Pray we will remain healthy and have full strength to do all we plan.
Pray for our family and friends in Morocco that they will be blessed by our visit.
Pray for the country for rain in season—good crops—freedom and openness– employment and for the children and families in El Borj

Hannah & Hmad

Back to top

URGENT APPEAL

Can you Sponsor one or more of these children?

4 children have who were being sponsored by the same family have not been able to sponsor for some months now and will be unable to continue because of changed circumstances. We are still continuing to pay for these children but we cannot keep on doing this and we will have to stop financing them through school if we cannot find others who will take over.

PRE-SCHOOL

We are still hoping to purchase the House in El Borj that is available (Purchase price £5,300) We would like to use this house which has 3 rooms a kitchen and a “toilet” (the only house with a toilet in El Borj!) There is also some land surrounding the house which can be used for an outdoor play area. This house would be used as a pre-school for children who are not old enough to start school. This would give them a good start in life and a good introduction to school life. In addition it could be used to accommodate visitors. We could also use this as an interim community centre for the villagers. We could begin holding the Adult literacy classes, craft classes and first aid classes as well as a host of other things the possibilities are endless. Please consider buying  into this project. £5,000 is not a huge amount of money if 100 people gave £50.00 we would have enough to purchase this building.

Back to top

MEDICAL NEEDS

Every time we go to Morocco we meet children and adults with varying medical needs. For some it may be that we can provide simple eye drops for Conjunctivitis, or it may be ointment for someone with eczema. There are some who are handicapped or have blindness, hydrocephalus (water on the brain). Cataracts or other ailments. Many of the children have parasites and are malnourished and have Anaemia. We would love to do more for the medical needs of these people who cannot afford the Doctors bills Many of the Doctors will send you to several “specialists” for analysis for which they will charge a lot of money only to find they don’t know what is wrong with you. We are not medically trained and would love to find some people who would consider coming to the area to do medical clinics. If you know of anyone who might be willing to consider this then please let them know of this request by showing them this newsletter. 

PLEASE CONSIDER

• Sponsors (especially for the 4 children who are no longer being sponsored)
• Wheelchair for 14 year old boy (cost £100)
• Finances to build school
• Finance to purchase house in El Borj
• Chickens £10 for 10
• Goat with Kid £30.00
• Sewing Machine £270
• PRAY
• GIVE
• VISIT MOROCCO

Back to top

Hannan -  "Compassion, Care and Supporting Life through Education, Healthcare & Small Business"