Water Tower project

At Fanatenane, the Director is currently constructing a Medical Health centre that will serve not only orphans and staff but also be open to the wider community. Part of the project required the construction of a large water tower reservoir. One of the limitations to completing projects efficiently in remote areas such as Mananjary is access to materials and transport. Given that Ripple Group are currently also working in construction and transporting many materials between the Capital City and the farm, we were in a position to help the centre in terms of getting materials down to the centre and using known suppliers to buy materials from. We also have a large labour force now trained and specialised in many areas of work especially fibreglass work. As such we offerred our services to the centre to provide both labour and transport means to complete the project.

The project took 2 days of actual labour to complete; fibreglassing the inside of the tank reservoir ready to fill with water. See photo

Project Lullaby

Over the past year or so both orphanages Catja and Fanatenane have been working over capacity caring for both newly born infants and teenagers. The bed capacity has been far from sufficient with children sleeping perhaps 4 to a single bed. The Directors approached me for help to raise funds towards new beds that may help to increase the sleeping capacity for each centre thereby allowing not only more comfort for the children but also more privacy for those children that are reaching teenage years.

I contacted Cathy Lewis in Mauritius to assist me on this project to raise the project profile to her colleagues and friends. I am pleased to say that between various members of Management in Ripple Group, a private sponsor, and a school fundraising event held at Cefn Hengoed Community School in Swansea, Wales (UK), we have raised over GBP1,500 towards the costs of additional beds (over $2,250).

The Director Eliane Bouffet was truly grateful to the Ripple Group for helping to co-ordinate the project and to the kids at Cefn Hengoed Community school, but especially thankful to Tracy and Jon Ball and their twin daughters Maddie and Sophie and daughter Amelia (from UK) who personally donated GBP 1,000 towards the cause. Their huge generosity will go a long way to ensuring the comfort and welfare of many orphan children. (see their photos)

Fanatenane have in September 2010 received 10 bunk beds. See photos below of children taken alongside the newly installed beds in each dormitory. The local director contributed through the provision of mattresses with funds raised externally in France.

There are 12 beds currently being completed in the workshop in Mananjary which shall be delivered to Catja towards the end of September. Photos of these will be posted nearer the time along with specially made plaques that will be fitted to each bed engraved with “DONATED BY THE BALL FAMILY 2010” as a keepsake for the children of their main sponsor.

A HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL CHILDREN AT CEFN COMMUNITY SCHOOL IN SWANSEA     FOR THEIR KIND THOUGHTS AND HARD WORK TO RAISE GBP179 FOR THE CHILDREN IN MANANJARY! ALL THE CHILDREN SEND THEIR LOVE AND THANKS TO YOU IN RETURN!