Kirsty Leigh Coventry

Also known as the 'Golden Girl' and Zimbabwean Sports Women of the year 2000. Born 16 September 1983 in Harare, and she also attended 'Dominican Convent'. She is one of the people out there portraying the optimistic side of Zimbabwe, so Makoroto! to Kirsty for her achievements and may she be blessed always.
Thank you for making us Zimbabweans proud especially at this year's (2008) Olympics.

All the best on your future endeavours!

UNICEF London Youth Group

Young London Group –

Our Chairperson at the moment is Gavin Watts and has been with the group for almost 8 years, he preceeded from Lawrence Moss.

The group currently consists of over 100 members.

The Young London Group was founded in 1999 by four volunteers brought together thanks to UNICEF head office.

Since then the group has attracted members from all walks of life and are always happy to welcome new faces.

Over the past few years they have put on events to raise funds for various campaigns: End Child Exploitation, Eradicate Polio, Education and currently Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS. The events are varied and always fun; they’ve had Jazz evenings at the 606 club, walks, musical evenings at the Steinway Studio, Indonesian lunches, donations for car parking during Wimbledon Tennis fortnight, collection at Brent Cross, donations from individual members, restaurant evenings and so on.

At our recent AGM, it was a success, many new faces and brand new ideas.
Additional fund raising ideas suggested were Quiz Nights, Halloween Fancy Dress Party, Indian Festival Celebration Night, Brazilian Samba Night and many more.
If you have any new ideas and would like to share or help, it will be much appreciated.

Our campaign is UNITE FOR CHILDREN, UNITE AGAINST AIDS!.

If you would like more information about the Young London Group please email groups@unicef.org.uk or phone 020 7312 7629. We also might be working on creating a facebook or myspace page.

http://www.unicef.org.uk/regions/products/?product=32

World AIDS Day, observed December 1 each year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. AIDS has killed more than 25 million people, with an estimated 38.6 million people living with HIV, making it one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history. Despite recent, improved access to antiretroviral treatment and care in many regions of the world, the AIDS epidemic claimed an estimated 3.1 million (between 2.8 and 3.6 million) lives in 2005, of which more than half a million (570,000) were children.
The concept of a World AIDS Day originated at the 1988 World Summit of Ministers of Health on Programmes for AIDS Prevention. Since then, it has been taken up by governments, international organizations and charities around the world.

Every minute of everyday, a baby is born with HIV, passed on by their mother during pregnancy, labour or delivery.

This is because only 1 in 10 mothers with HIV has access to the medicine and health care they need to free their babies from HIV or they do not know they have the virus.
It does not have to be like that!

For as little as 68p, there is an effective treatment that can prevent a mum passing HIV to her baby. With the right medicine and care, the chance that a mother with HIV will pass the virus to her baby drops to less than 1 in 50. With your help, our campaign aims to ensure that more babies can be Born Free from HIV.

Take action now!

Facts
1. In 2006, nearly half-a-million babies were born with HIV.
2. Only 1 in 10 pregnant women receives medicine and health care to prevent them from passing HIV to their babies.

HIV robs children of their basic rights in the worst affected countries.

It deepens poverty and fragments families by killing parents, children, teachers & doctors. In doing so HIV deprives children of the love, protection & support they need and so richly deserve. It prevents them from having good health, a decent education and the ability to face the future with confidence.

For more information visit: http://www.unicef.org.uk/

Currently I am awaiting feedback on how I can link people across the globe to donate online preferably through your credit/debit card or paypal account to UNICEF in conjunction with the London Youth Group. Your contributions would go towards The Born Free Appeal where you can donate as little as 0.68p or any amount you can afford.

Thank You! Muito Obrigado! Grazie! Merci! Tatenda! Shukran! Dhanyawaad! Shukriya! Nantri! Ahsante! Koszonom! Zikomo! Gracias!

FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

x

Registered UK Charity no. 1072612

Monobloco & Toque Tambor

Monobloco are a Brazilian Band/Bloco. They have become very popular as they do not only play Samba, but other rhythms like Samba-Charme, Ciranda, Coco & Samba funk. They perform in the Rio Carnival and they also performed for in England at the Rhythm of the Worlds Music Festival 2007 in Hitchin with Toque Tambor.
Their music is beautiful, feeling the drums and bass circulating in your body giving you extreme energy and adrenalin rush. They most definitely made the crowd rock at the ROTW Festival 2007.

http://www.monobloco.org/

To purchase their CD’s or to get latest information on their whereabouts, you can also log onto http://www.thesambacompany.org/ and contact Mick.

Toque Tambor

Consists of a group of Band members and dancers in Hitchin and surrounding areas including London specialising in Afro-Brazilian Music. They rehearse weekly. If you are interested in learning how to play the rhythms of Brazil, log onto their website and get more details. For all the lovely ladies wishing to learn Samba, Samba Reggae and many other moves, you can join the weekly classes. The beauty of Samba is that you are all beautiful regardless of weight. You learn to progress each week and get to perform if you are ready when the band takes part in Festivals or Carnivals. This is fun as you get to dress up, experiment with paints and glitters. So is definitely fun.

http://www.toquetambor.com/

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=crgkfmd-wLA

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=-WgfE9rCK5Y

Rhythm of the Worlds Festival

So far it looks like the festival MIGHT be taking place on the 12th & 13th July 2008. I am not sure where exactly it will be held and if it will take place, but those are the suggested dates. I hope we get a chance to have Monobloco over as they are also performing on the 12th at the Drum Camp 2008, so there could be a chance they can get to perform on the 13th. As they will definitely blow you away with their rocking and energetic performance. I will keep you posted.

Looks like the festival will go ahead. Will add more information, once i get it. 03.03.08

http://www.rotw.org/

http://www.musicworldwide.org/

Mozambique

Capital: Maputo
Native Tribes: Bantu
Languages: Portuguese
Most Poplar Music: Marrabenta

*Explored by Vaso da Gama in 1498, and colonized by the Portuguese in 1505.
Independence: 25 June 1975
President: Ex President was Samora Moises Machel (died 1986) he played an important part in the Liberation of his country and also received the Lenin Peace Prize. He is preceeded by Joaquim Chissano (ruled for 19 years) and succeeded by Armando Guebuza, whom has been in power since 2005.

Main Resources: Cashews, Shrimp, Copra, Sugar, Citrus Fruits, Cotton & Tea.

Tourist Attraction: The Bazaruto Archipelago

CPLP (Community of Portuguese Language Countries)

Formed in 1996 by seven member countries, (Africa) Angola, Cape Verder, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Sao Rome & Principe, (America) Brazil, (Oceania) Timor-Leste(joint 2002) & (Europe) Portugal.

The CPLP is a bloc in the process of construction and the societies of the eight member nations have little knowledge of each other. One of the unique features of the CPLP is that its members are linked by a common language and shared cultural features, which form a bridge among countries separated by great distances and on different continents.

In 2005, during a meeting in Luanda, the ministers of culture of the eight countries declared the May 5th as the Lusophone (a Portuguese speaker either natively or by adoption) Culture Day (Dia da Cultura Lusófona in Portuguese).

In July 2006, during the Bissau summit, Equatorial Guinea and Mauritius were admitted as Associate Observers along with 17 International associations and organizations considered as Consultative Observers.

Since its formation, the CPLP has helped to solve problems in São Tomé and Príncipe and in Guinea-Bissau. These two problems were solved, and in fact, have helped these two countries to take economic reforms (in the case of São Tomé) and democratic ones (in the case of Guinea-Bissau).

The leaders of the CPLP believe that peace in Angola and Mozambique as well as East Timor's independence will favour the further development of the CPLP and a strengthening of multilateral cooperation.

Since many children in rural areas of Lusophone Africa and East Timor are out-of-school youth, the education officials in these regions seek help from Portugal and Brazil to increase the education to spread Portuguese fluency as Portuguese is becoming one of the main languages in Southern Africa, where it is also taught in Namibia & South Africa.

The Bazaruto Archipelago

Pestana Bazaruto Lodge

Mozambique Floods

In early 2000 a cyclone swept across southern Africa leading to three weeks of severe floods which devastated Mozambique.

Now in February 2007, Cyclone Favio struck Mozambique.

Unicef and the Save the Children Alliance said it would be distributing tents and school kits.
It said it was helping local authorities with cholera and malaria prevention and sending in equipment to treat water and improve sanitation.

Emergency Mozambique Floods Appeal

Save the Children UK Latest Appeal

You know the saying of doing a good deed a day, small or big does not matter and in any form. Please help with donations if you can for a worthy cause. It's a one off contribution you can make, and will make a difference to families in Mozambique. x

We urgently need your help

We're providing shelter, clean water and food. We're also working with local authorities to ensure that children displaced by the floods are kept safe. As more families are forced into emergency camps, we need your support to reach even more children.

Please give generously. Your donation really will make a difference.

£15 can buy five blankets to provide warmth and comfort for a flood-affected family living in an emergency camp.

£25 can buy a household kit containing plastic sheeting, water purifiers and containers, kitchen equipment and utensils so that families have shelter, drinkable water and can cook for themselves.

Make a donation now to support our work
For more information about our response or to make a donation, visit our website - http://emailsavethechildren.org.uk/a/hBHjggXAPUFAvBsmgBEBmWd4S1i/stc - or call our appeal hotline on 0800 8 148 148.