success story – Page 5 – The Chuffed Academy

July 21, 2017July 21, 2017

Success Story: Team Philippines

“In 2010 I was invited, as a GP, to go to the Philippines as part of a medical mission to visit and assist impoverished communities who had been affected by a major flood in Manila. We visited 4 communities, one of whom had been completely displaced by the floods. The government had resettled them in a tiny rural region south east of Manilla, called Calauan. They were living in single room concrete besser block homes with no electricity, no running water, and no access to shops, work, education, fresh food or rubbish disposal. Children were fed one small rice meal per day and there was widespread malnourishment and poor health. The men disappeared for weeks in Manila, finding work to provide their families with some source of income.

The initial trip was a very one-dimensional experience. I felt like we were there to provide momentary western medical ‘magic’ with no longer-term vision of meaningfully improving the health of these communities. It felt like the mission was all about making us feel good, rather than creating real change for the people we were meant to be helping.

Back home I knew that to really make a difference we needed a different approach. In partnership with St Barnabas Broadway and Calvary Christian Fellowship, a plan evolved that sought to improve the health and vitality of the community through long term health care alongside community led education programs—the idea was to teach the community to fish. A novel part of the plan was to invite medical (and dental) students to participate in the medical clinics, giving them access to hands-on experience in a sustained social justice project and the chance to have a direct positive impact on the health of a grateful community in need.

Now, we employ a community nurse, farmer, pastor/youth worker, cook and teacher. We have established a community pharmacy and health clinic, childcare and early education program aligned to a feeding program for severely malnourished children, livelihood programs and a youth centre and youth group. Twice a year, 16 medical students from the University of Notre Dame Australia and 2-3 dental students accompany a small team of dedicated, fully qualified and deeply experienced volunteer doctors and dentists to run intensive medical and dental clinics alongside the education program. They are supported by a team of workers who upgrade and maintain the community’s shared facilities and infrastructure. Recently, in July this year, the team was able to see and help over 500 members of the community in the clinics. The success of this program is driven by our committed team of volunteers, the enthusiasm of the medical and dental students and the ongoing generous donations from hundreds of supporters to fund the required medical and dental supplies.”

Check out Team Philippine’s crowdfunding campaign page:

July 21, 2017

Success Story: Bikes Not Borders

“My name is Olu… and this project is (somewhat secretly) about me. It has been really tough to be at the centre of it – because it entails one of my biggest fears – asking for help. In that way, it has been humbling. A friend of mine knows about a lot of the trauma and instability I had experienced – from care through abandonment by parents, visa renewal issues caused by my parents negligence and homelessness amongst other issues. When it came to time to get my visa renewed, I freaked out. I was scared, penniless, homeless and had no idea how I was going to come up with the full amount and cross over this one big obstacle. I cried and was constantly anxious. He eventually suggested cycling as a fundraiser. I hesitated. I was scared but what was more scary was not being able to have at least one major issue in my life sorted – and this one was pretty serious.

I think my own first hand experience over the years allowed me to understand just how serious it can get and how desperate many people are and will be under my circumstances. The friend who suggested it – originally from the states – has had experiences with visas that were less than pleasant. He also knew what it was like to have no one in your corner – as I have an estranged family who I haven’t seen in over 14years. Himself – alongside the other three who supported the project – have also had experiences with being homeless and destitute and the effect it had – both internally and practically when it came to sorting out matters this big and important.

I am fired up by the possibility of getting my indefinite leave to remain and having the chance – after 17 years at starting life again. I am prompted to push and fight for me life in a way I never have been before. I feel hope like I haven’t felt it before. I am fired up by the possibility of something happening that I hitherto thought was impossible. It is the first time I have experienced suck kindness and I am admittedly deeply taken aback by it. I cannot begin to explain how much that fires me up. I am always stomped when someone contributes – from friends through people I speak to on occasion through to strangers – wholeheartedly and just because they want to. I do not think they know just how much they are holding my life together and changing it. Perhaps it is because of my life experiences, but I have never experienced such kindness. Practically speaking, the idea of committing to something as intense as cycling country to country and seeing it through fires me up too. Prior to this fundraiser, although I knew how to ride a bike, I had never ridden longer than 2 hours talk less of a long distance trip. I did not even own a bike. It was borrowed. I was accountable to myself, for my life, and to everyone who had given – to just keep pushing – that has been one heck of a fire up.

The team was initially brought together after conversation with friend – Khaleb. After speaking at length about my situation, he joined heads with three people he was living with who spoke about using a cycle trip as an opportunity for a fundraiser to help me out of the rut. They then brought the idea to me about 4 – 6 weeks before it actually took off. The group eventually disbanded because Khaleb had to leave for work and to head back to the USA and there were some pace issues that came up but hiccups happen. I am so glad I was able to carry on and also for the incredible support from not just friends but also from strangers – in time, advice, contributions and sometimes even hosting me. I am ever grateful for the fact that the fundraiser itself was set up and is where it is today. I will have to return half way through to start the visa application process because of dates. The three guys will go to Greece but I will continue the rest of the way to Greece once the visa application appointment is met too!

They specifically chose this for me – as explained above – because of my personal circumstances which had been ongoing for years since I came out of care.

This cycle fundraiser has had an incredible impact on me. It has changed my life in so many different ways I cannot begin to describe. I had very little money so I ate skipped food and mostly bread everyday. I slept mostly wild camping and also by myself in my tent, sometimes in the houses of complete strangers. At times, this was incredible and I was overwhelmed with the kindness of humanity – especially being in a foreign land. At other times, it was not so safe. There was a night I was almost raped bya man who had a young daughter whom I thought was being genuinely helpful. I managed to get away at 3am and slept close to a pond in the centre of a small town called Vidauban in France. In the morning, two elderly ladies came separately to give me breakfast. It was just what I needed after a rough night, a long day ahead of cycling and little to no money. Its small miracles like that that occurred periodically I was blown away by. I met a lady I had followed on social media for almost two years – very randomly in a small town I cycled in to find a spot to camp for the night. I looked at her because I recognised her. We got taling. She wound up helping me with money when I was down to my last euro (she had no idea how timely that was). Not only that, her husband gave me a water flask to keep my water cool and pepper spray as he said he had a daughter and was concerned about me being on my own. She also single-handedly advertised the fundraiser to her friends on her social media and got me some donations. This is someone I did not know. I am overwhelmed each time I think about her kindness. I have had the chance to meet people who have offered me a home whenever I need it. For someone without a family and coming from years of homelessness, this has been deeply touching, somewhat unbelievable and incredibly healing for me. There have been nights spent not sleeping (I found out I was allergic to grass on this trip), been approached by weird men asking me for sex because I was on my own cycling, days spent getting incredibly lost, one morning i packed up my tent and saw a snake not too far from where I had set up tent, I have met so many incredible people, I cycled a few days with a man who cycled across Canada (Peter Ledingham – who happens to have an epic story behind him), one of my best cycle days was the ‘three countries in one day’ experience – going across the border from Nice in France through Monaco into Ventimiglia in Italy. I was so scared to make that crossing for some reason and felt incredibly proud when it was done. There are so many stories and pictures to recount. Great times and tough times and weird times. I would be more than happy to share these all with you. Please let me know if you need any further information from me.

I have 10 more days to raise the rest. I know Khaleb has pushed the dates back but I actually need it pushed forward again because I need to make my application for my visa extremely urgently! Deadline will be July 31st / August 1st at the very latest.

I still have £1,100 to go and I admittedly feel a little anxious about it all coming in but I am trusting and hoping. I have sent this link to so many people and hope that with the help of chuffed, the rest can come to realisation. I cannot wait to start building my life again.

Thank you SO MUCH to Chuffed for simply existing as an organisation. There is so much I could say. This has impacted me in the deepest of ways and I will feel it and talk about it forever. If there is ever anything I can do with regards to chuffed itself as an organisation, I would LOVE to so please do let me know.”

Learn more about this awesome campaign below:

July 20, 2017July 27, 2017

Success Story: Left Voice

“We’re a group of revolutionary socialists who all have jobs outside our political work. Some of us are also students. What we have in common is our political position on the need for socialism to put an end to economic, racial, and gender-based oppression and the destruction of the planet. Because of this, we run, write for, and edit a website, leftvoice.org. We’re really committed to this and spend a lot of our time on the project.

We all have different paths to socialism: some of us are from outside the US and were involved in the left before moving to the US; some of us have been active in various movements and groups in the US. But we all have life experiences that have shown us that capitalism is a system that requires oppression to concentrate money and resources away from regular working people. We have union organising experience that has proven that collective worker actions can improve the working conditions, salaries, and lives of all workers, and this has given us confidence that the workers have the power to change society and create a socialist system.

Just 3 weeks ago, we saw PepsiCo workers occupy their factory in Argentina to fight against the plant’s sudden closure. Though they’ve faced brutal police repression, they are continuing to fight!

If we collect $ 4,000 or more, we will be able to donate money to workers of PepsiCo and the worker-managed Zanon and MadyGraf, to help them in their struggle against job losses and for the rights of the workers to democratically control their workplaces. This has made us all the more excited to travel to Argentina to see the work of the Partido de los Trabajadores Socialistas (Socialist Workers’ Party) and to learn how we can bring some of these methods back to organise in our own schools and workplaces. We’ll also share our experience with others on these methods on the Left Voice website which was launched in June 2015 and keeps growing as more workers and students contribute.”

Learn more about LeftVoice’s campaign here:

Watch their video below:

July 19, 2017July 19, 2017

Success Story: Yarn for Baby Blankets

“I used to knit when I lived in Norway: jumpers, socks, beanies… When I moved to Townsville in tropical north Queensland, I had to rethink what to make in the hot climate. I started knitting toys, tea cozies, tissue box covers, and fingerless gloves – because that aircon can be freezing some days – and enjoyed selling them at monthly craft markets. I loved the feedback (and inspiration) from customers, and with the sales I enjoyed a free hobby.

But I was also looking for a charity I could help (with my knitting) in my own town: one that I had a personal connection to, and could help long term.

My work in vegetation management used to take me to pastoral properties all over regional Queensland, and I enjoyed the country, the people and their hospitality. And the Ronald McDonald house provides accommodation for those outback families, so they can stay close to their seriously ill child for weeks or months. Therefore I had once registered as a volunteer at the Townsville Ronald McDonald House. But at the time I registered as a volunteer, they were only after weekday volunteers, which I could not combine with my full time job. But I had mentioned I loved knitting, and knitted some donations instead.

At some point I dropped off a donation of “lego box tissue box covers” at the Ronald McDonald House, which the volunteers thought would look cheerful the living rooms. When I asked what else I could knit, they mentioned baby blankets were always appreciated. I then found out that Townsville is the only other hospital in Queensland outside Brisbane that has a neonatal intensive care unit to care for pre-term and very ill babies. And my sister had a preemie 13 years ago. She told me how hard it was to leave the hospital those 4 weeks her little girl had to stay there: she wanted to be there day and night.

So when the volunteer coordinator asked me a few weeks later if I could perhaps start teaching mums to knit baby blankets for their own child: I thought that was a great idea! Not only would that provide the mums with that much needed baby blanket: the knitting itself can be therapeutical during stressful times, and the blanket is both personal and unique. The pattern or the colours can reflect the families’ passion: being horses, the ocean or the local rugby team.

So far, I have been surprised by in-kind material donations, which I am currently trying to match up so colours “make sense” for babies. Initially I didn’t think black and navy were particular baby like, but while browsing pictures for inspirations, I realised a black and white zig-zag blanket can look very “posh”. While the Cowboys, the Townsville rugby team and popular throughout regional Queensland, is navy, grey and yellow. Perfect match!”

Check out this lovely campaign here:

July 17, 2017July 18, 2017

Success Story: Simon’s Beard for Good

“I’m very passionate about sustainability, by this I mean encompassing a triple-bottom-line approach to life considering the economic, social and environmental aspects of how I live my life. This is my main value and so I try wherever to minimise my impact on the planet and where possible to improve it environmentally and socially.

Beard for good was born from me deciding not to shave or cut my hair whilst I was away travelling last year. It was then that I then realised, as a former Movember participant, I could use this growth for good. Having witnessed a lot of stray animals and homelessness in South America, mainly Bolivia and Colombia, I decided I would donate money to these causes in Melbourne. Whilst I could have donated money to programs in these countries, there are issues with homelessness and stray animals on our own doorstep. After garnering some advice from colleagues, I decided to raise money for Pets Haven and Latitude.

Pets Haven – Pets Haven is not your normal every day animal shelter. We are a Pro-Life facility, we do not believe in euthanising healthy animals for economic reasons or to simply make room. Our emphasis relates to helping both human beings and our orphaned animals. We strongly believe in respecting both humans and animals. Our aim is to responsibly rehouse companion pets back into our community, where they belong.

Latitude – Latitude provides support to over 200 young people a year in Moonee Valley and Hobsons Bay, this does not include the additional 95 young people we assist to ‘purchase’ accommodation, this is providing access to crisis accommodation. Currently the list of young people actively seeking homelessness support is sitting around 139, this is only young people 16 -25yrs for the LGA’s of Moonee Valley, Maribyrnong, Hobsons Bay and Wyndham. Many young people will exist for a number of years couch surfing before making it to a homeless service.

Beard for good may be perceived as a very simple concept (or lazy fundraising) but it is an everyday reminder to me and hopefully those that support me, that homelessness and stray animals are still a part of our inner urban fabric.”

Check out Simon’s campaign below:

July 13, 2017July 18, 2017

Success Story: Homeless Healthcare

“I started working for Homeless Healthcare almost 8 years ago initially as their bookkeeper but given my enthusiasm for the cause, my role has expanded to include communications, marketing and now fundraising! They are a charity dedicated to providing healthcare to the homeless and marginally housed people of Perth.

Over the years I have been inspired by the amazing medical staff and their patience and dedication to the cause plus their ability to remain positive when faced with realities that are at times quite grim.

Two and a half years ago Homeless Healthcare started their Street Health program with the assistance of start-up funds from Impact100. Street Health targets rough sleepers who are not engaged with any social or medical services in our community. They are found in the parks, public gardens, doorways and pavements of the CBD, and are among the most disenfranchised and marginalised people in our society.

Rough sleepers have the worst health outcomes in our state with an average life expectancy of only 45 years and are notoriously difficult to engage because of their high levels of traumatic life experience. So as you can imagine, our nurses are pretty special people, full of empathy and compassion.

Their initial focus is on engagement, gaining trust and encouraging rough sleepers to start using services such as drop in centres and Homeless Healthcare GP clinics. The nurses provide basic medical care on the streets like blood pressure and blood sugar checks, suturing of small lacerations and doing wound dressings.

One patient recently said “Without Homeless Healthcare and its Street Health nurses I think I would be dead by now”. They helped to stabilise her diabetes and connect her to mental health services. There are countless stories similar to this. Their work is valuable, often lifesaving and has prevented many costly Emergency Department admissions.

We receive some funding from the Health Department for other services we provide but to date have had no success getting Street Health included. As of the 1^st July 2017 our funding for the program ran out which is why we decided to crowdfund on Chuffed.org.

After only 2 weeks of crowdfunding on Chuffed we managed to raise almost $23,000 which illustrates the level of public support there is for the program and enables our nurses to continue to provide care for another few months. Meantime we are doing all we can to secure funding from another source.”

View the Homeless Healthcare campaign below:

July 13, 2017July 31, 2017

Success Story: Become a Friendship Sponsor by Host Nation

“My name is Anneke and earlier this year I founded HostNation because I believe in the power of friendship to transform lives. Befriending is not a new idea but it’s a simple one, and I want to deliver it in a new way. I want to use technology and the sort of software used by online dating sites to help deliver it to those, who I believe, need it the most – asylum seekers, refugees, undocumented migrants in our cities. People not defined so much by their immigration status, but by social isolation and loneliness they experience. People who feel marginalised and unwelcome and live on the fringes of our cities. Few ever meet British people informally – someone who treats them as an equal and a friend – few have ever been invited into a British home. Yet when they are it’s transformative.

I’ve witnessed this at first hand. I’ve been volunteering in the refugee sector for many years – as a befriender to unaccompanied minors I was matched with Abu 6 years ago and he’s still part of my family and calls me his UK Mum. I also run a holiday scheme for Freedom from Torture where 100 clients from across the UK are referred to our wonderful hosts families and benefit hugely from their hospitality and on-going friendship.

It seems to me that opportunities to meet socially are too few. Its really hard if you’re a migrant, new to this country to make an English friend. And its pretty hard too if you’re a citizen with goodwill towards migrants. Through City of Sanctuary and Citizens UK I’ve met so many wonderful people who want to help and connect but don’t know how. I want this to be easier because being a friend or a companion isn’t that hard. We’re social creatures and hardwired to listen, talk, share stories, laugh, drink tea and be hospitable.

HostNation is an online introductory web referral and registration process that can match-make 100s of people needing friendship with those offering it and introduce them to one another face to face in their local communities. We’ve had the idea and we’ve hit the ground running. With volunteers working pro bono we’ve launched the website, we’re registering and screening befrienders online and we’re building a robust volunteer database. We have over 125 befrienders in Greater London alone.

We believe this is too important to get wrong and are raising funds to pilot the scheme in London this year. With your help we could start connecting lonely refugees to friendly, welcoming residents within a month and start making a real difference to lives in our capital.”

Learn more about this great campaign here:

July 7, 2017July 18, 2017

Success Story: Matt’s Walking to a Better World

Matt

“My name is Matt Napier and I want to see an end to world poverty.
During a trip to Nepal 11 years ago, I first realised how bad poverty can be in developing countries. I couldn’t face going back to my home in Australia and leaving these poor people behind when the only difference between us was the country we were born into. I had all the opportunities in the world but was wasting them, so decided to set my focus on becoming a voice for the world’s poor and since then have become an anti-poverty advocate.

Now, I’m no expert in International Development or a genius with a cure for the world’s ills, so what could I do? I decided to undertake extreme long distance adventures and use this to raise awareness of poverty, talk to schools and politicians and raise much needed funds for projects that I believe have the greatest chance of stopping the cycle of poverty.

So, in 2012 I cycled 3,800km across Australia and then in 2013 I bounced an Aussie Rules football from Perth to Sydney. These adventures were so successful that I then set my sights on Africa and in 2016 I walked 2,300km across southern Africa from Walvis Bay in Nambia to Maputo in Mozambique. I raised $62,000 through four separate chuffed campaigns (one for each of my charity partners) and also gave out over 200 soccer-balls to schools and community groups along the way. Oh yeah, did I mention I kicked a soccer-ball the whole way!?

This year I am walking 1,860km from the southern border of Namibia to the northern border with Angola. It will take me through some of the harshest terrain on earth including the Namibia Desert and the infamous Skeleton Coast. This year I have two charity partners – Empower Projects and Caritas Australia – and aim to fund a specific project through each of them. Each project is unique but the thing that they both have in common is that they work with the communities to identify their needs and solutions that will work for them, and then they support them to implement them in a way that is sustainable and will create long term change.

I am currently one week into my 7 week journey and although I am finding it a bit tough at the moment, I am encouraged by the support I have received and the emails I get from Chuffed telling me when someone has donated.”

Go Matt! Learn more about his mission by checking out his Chuffed.org campaigns: