SHOW SOME LOVE PROJECT - B-GIFTED FOUNDATION OF SIERRA LEONE | |
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| B-Gifted Foundation thank its supporters for showing love and donating cash and teddy bears during the Holiday for Hope season 2017. Cash donations from - - Benjamin Quinto
- C William Genest,
- Tom Tuohy
- Tony Langbehn
- Bernie Wrisk
- Bob Schlehuber
- Joyce Lang, Joel Lang and the Lang family.
Teddy Bears, Toys and Moral Support from - - Betty Long
- Cheryl Listman, by way of Steve Hock Farm House Greens
- Patricia Stavis
- Elaine Canlas
- Maryland United for Peace and Justice MUPJ (Paulette Dew Hammond, Joyce Lang, Tony Langbehn, MJ Park.)
- Dreams for Kids Chicago and (Holiday for hope)
- The Greene Family
- Judy and family
- Janet Feldman (ActAlive)
- Rev Mary Elliot
Sierra Leone’s recent history has been one of turmoil, civil war, Ebola, flooding and an uncertain peace. Shortly after gaining independence from the British in 1961, Sierra Leone fell victim to immense instability while threatened by a series of military coups. By 1991, competing rebel forces, fueled by the illicit diamond trade, began launching attacks that terrorized the nation. Children and youth were and still are at the center of the aftermath of these conflicts, and man-made or natural causes. B-Gifted is striving to reach out to these children and youth through creative approaches and innovative means, thereby helping to foster peace and alleviate their suffering and plights. Our Project is bringing the power of love and forgiveness to the center of individual, organizational, and community life. Show some love’, started off as a project that help salve the wounds of children from amputated parents by giving them hope and showing some love and care to them through the gesture of donating gift such as teddy bears, toys and other essential kids items that can help them cope in the aftermath of a decade of war. The project started in 2010 and is ongoing bringing peace and joy in their hearts and makes them realize and recognize that others do care for them and they are not alone. And I was just like these kids. And knowing I can give back that smile and pass it on one kid at a time, I was filled with joy and happiness, and the simple fact that I can help to bring that radiance and a glow, a smile and hope was at once reassuring.
With a generation of young people who have known only challenges and hardship caused by a multiplicity of factors, of war, Ebola, and recent flooding and hardship, I think that these moments of smiles and happiness will help them shed off that heavy burden of grief that they endure. In turn these children will have the nurturing experience of passing on the simple acts of kindness, love and compassion that is also exemplified and got through the warm embrace of a doll.
I hope that through those inspiring youth volunteers and our numerous friends we hope to continue to do that from Baltimore to Freetown to Bunce Island. Expect therefore feedback for January New Year And April Easter as we continue to share love and smiles to kids in dire circumstances. I hope you will join us!
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| Thank You very much, Andrew Benson Greene Jeanne Sauve Scholar McGill 2004/5 Member Coordinating Body Maryland United for Peace and Justice MUPJ | |
 | | Best regards, | | Andrew Benson Greene Founder | | | | |
Mohamed Samba Kamara - Youth Volunteer Reports the success of the Project from Freetown
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| The Holiday for Hope (H4H) Teddy Bear project is a yearly project with the activity of sharing playing toys including teddy bears as a symbol of love which gives joy to children in pain / difficulty or have gone through challenges in life. Love is the key to all, for the kids in the streets and everyone we meet wanting more. Season comes and people change, but the only thing that remain, is the power of love which we all as human beings strongly need. Love gives the heart to give and forgive and make humanity at the center of our consciousness which makes us feel belong and beloved. This year, the B-Gifted Foundation during the charismas holiday donated teddy bears to 30 kids that were affected by the August 14th 2017 mudslide and flooding in Freetown Sierra Leone, that seriously destroyed lives, killing over 400 people and properties of residents and left thousands more homeless and hopeless at children orphaned in affected communities. This event was championed by volunteers of B-Gifted Foundation namely Mohamed Samba Kamara aka Luxsonjay, Alusine Kamara and 3 other volunteers from the Kaningo community including (James Kamara, Ediatu M. Jalloh and Michael Mensah) . Through the support of the community female chief or 'Mammy Queen' as she is normally called, we were able to stage the event. As volunteers, we could not have been successful and achieve this objective without the steadfast campaign of B-Gifted Founder Andrew. B-Gifted Foundation Sierra Leone was founded in 2007 in Freetown, Sierra Leone, through the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs in Sierra Leone. B-Gifted Foundation is a nonprofit Organization that uses creativity and technology to address human, environmental rights, enhance peace and sustainable development in Sierra Leone. The whole project process was seriously challenging to get the teddy bears, pre-visit to the Kaningo community meeting the Mammy Queen and getting the names of affected kids. The expectations of the beneficiaries were very high as well including the community volunteers themselves. In the face of a Christmas festivities, leaving home and family to share the joy and love during Christmas and help light up the faces of kids was a joy for me. It was close to my heart as I was also uplifted to see kids who have been challenged in many ways get the gifts from B-Gifted, cheered up and put on lively smiles. It helped to leap my heart too with excitement just like the kids were and I felt connected with them in easing their pains just as the volunteers were. It was also a very emotional moment for me looking at the children during the implementation of this project as I reflect on the sad event on the 14th day of August 2017 when our country had the flooding that devastated many. We thank our supporters and sponsors and we look forward to a year of great joy and love. Mohamed Samba Kamara (Lustin Jay) B-Gifted Youth Leader and Volunteer | |
| Established in December 2007, through the Sierra Leone Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender & Children’s Affairs, the B-GIFTED is a nonprofit organization that uses creativity and technology to promote human rights (including women & children’s rights), environmental justice, peace, prosperity and sustainable development for the people of Sierra Leone. B-GIFTED Foundation -B-GIFTED Founder has already, by a relatively young age, achieved greater international exposure and distinction, speaking on behalf of children of armed conflict, than most other youth leaders in the history of Sierra Leone, and perhaps throughout the World. Our goals to alleviate poverty and to promote progress toward peace are achieved through multiple innovative approaches which aim to foster peace, human rights, social justice, global interaction and education for all people. These approaches include the promotion of legislature and the coordination of programming, such as interactive workshops on nonviolence and Peace Clubs in schools, which engage women and youth through technology and the creative arts. B-GIFTED identifies & addresses challenging issues in a wide-range of peace building approaches through the vehicle of creativity and technological areas, in an effort to remain in line with the needs of the time, including issues related to arts education, cultural enrichment, human development, human rights, the natural environment, and grant-making for research. B-GIFTED strives to make the world a better place with a tightly threaded tapestry of creative ideas. Our Foundation has started small, with a limited scope which sometimes has required us to hurdle substantial obstacles in order to access the resources that may accelerate growth. Yet, where ideas bloom &; blossom, triumph draws nigh; our programs, steadily hoisted from the doldrums, thereby may overleap myriad moats and mountains. The B-Gifted Foundation aims to encourage the populace to realize and defend the virtues of human rights in daily life. Our organization helps to empower the potential of people living in post-war Sierra Leone, especially women and youth, to use their creative talents to advocate for themselves and others in the face of human rights violations and environmental concerns, thereby striving to better their own lives, their communities, and the World at-large. Despite the devastating impact and effects of war, the women & children of Sierra Leone are using their God-given gifts & talents to pursue excellence in creative arenas, such as in the arts, music & technology. Sierra Leone women & children are using various modes of creative expression to unravel the human rights violations and environmental challenges which continue to plague our society, and thus they establish their unique potential to impact and influence mass audiences in positive ways. B-GIFTED also aims to cultivate & nurture the next generation of visual & music artists; so that, through their talents, youth artists may accomplish extraordinary feats. Youth are challenged & empowered to create cultural awareness though advocacy in music, art & technology, so as to solve our society’s most urgent human rights problems. Creative expression offers youth a different lens through which to view and envision the better, bolder, and more beautiful sides of human nature, while motivating both individual artists and the greater public to engage these nobler human instincts in acts which benefit our communities, society, and culture. One main strategic objective of the Foundation is to provide opportunities for creative expression and human rights education by training the Sierra Leone people in digital media arts, so that they are able to share their unique stories with citizens of many other countries throughout the World. The B-Gifted Foundation also currently offers support for the implementation, analysis and publication of research relating to the most pressing challenges affecting Sierra Leone and countries like ours today, including research related to the psychosocial and cultural repercussions of the conscription of “child soldiers” in African wars. The B-GIFTED Foundation has been largely supported by gifts from individuals, as well as by contributions from public, private & citizen sector funders. We hope to gain further support through grants & awards from both national and international corporations, foundations and other social-benefitting charitable organizations. B-GIFTED programs in Sierra Leone still face mammoth challenges as the majority of citizens are poor, illiterate, and too many of them are dying from preventable illnesses. However, programs through the B-GIFTED Foundation Sierra Leone are geared toward cutting those numbers shifting majority trends. | |
We are 10 Years in Nov, 2017
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| B-Gifted Successful ongoing projects till date: If you wish to be part of the success of any of these please don't hesitate to reach us! * Digital Hope Project * Support to Survivors of Amputation * Show some love Teddy Bear Project - Holiday for Hope * Second Chances Project. * Youth Millennium Development Project * Login Promise Project * Sierra Leone Youth Parliament Project. Awards and Recognition * Pan African Awards for Entrepreneurship in Education hosted by (Teach a Man to Fish - UK) * UN ITU Telecom World Digital Innovation Awards (Best Digital idea for Telecom 2011 Geneva) Build Peace Through Technology - Boston. Tomorrow's Peace Builders Awards - (Shortlisted) | |
| Thanks to all our wonderful supporters for the show some love holiday for hope campaign thus season. We can't thank you enough for helping us come this close in realizing our goals!
Please note that whilst this campaign has officially ended for this season on Indiegogo Generosity crowd funding, we will try to raise a bit more on other levels to match up the support you have provided in order that we ship more kids toys, teddies and books to Sierra Leone. Any ideas you may have will be a gem to our realization of this goal and over all success.
Please don't hesitate to reach out via email.. b.giftedfoundation@gmail.com Or our web www.b-gifted.org/contact/
We will be sending your perks and a detailed report on both the Christmas program and New Year and we will do same for Easter
Happy New Year and God Bless, | |
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