Coastside kids’ talent show to benefit Kenyan orphan education

Coastside children will be presenting a talent show to benefit the Naisula Education Project "Keeping Hope Alive". The program supports education for Kenyan orphans of AIDS victims.

Date:  Friday, April 1st, 2005   Time:  7:00 - 9:30 pm

Place:  Mariner’s Church, 255 S. Cabrillo Hwy, Half Moon Bay

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In their second year of continued support for Kenyan orphans of AIDS victims, a group of Coastside children and their families will be holding a talent show fundraiser at the Mariner’s Church on April 1st.

The children first heard about "Keeping Hope Alive", an orphan education program in Kenya, in 2003 when Half Moon Bay resident, Natasha Martin, related this story to a group of kids and their parents:  "In the course of my work with community leaders in the Butula District of Kenya, I came across a large group of children who were standing under a big, shady tree, seemingly just hanging around and doing nothing right in the middle of the day.  I asked my companions what they were doing there and why all these children weren’t in school.  They explained that it costs money to go school and that these were orphans of AIDS victims who had no opportunity for any kind of education."

Ms. Martin’s story immediately drew the enthusiasm of the children, ages four to fourteen, to partake in a philanthropic undertaking whose urgency and significance was close to their hearts: help these orphans obtain an education.  Since 2003, this small but devoted group of young people have organized and participated in holding bake sales and a pet biscuit sale to raise money for Natasha’s orphans.  (Please visit: www.graceusa.org/bakesale.htm to see the write-up on the first bake sale fundraiser.)  One student wrote personal letters to families and friends, and drummed up over $100 for the children.  To date, over $1,000 has been raised, equivalent to supporting 78 children in primary school or 2 high school students in one year.

At the upcoming talent show, a coastside choir group will sing, and individual children will perform classical and contemporary pieces on the piano, cello, violin and harp.  There will be dances, acrobatics and even a vaulting exhibition.  Some students will share short movie productions.  Finally, the audience will also have a chance to strut their stuff out on the dance floor when the band "Rockestra" wraps up the evening with good old fashioned rock ‘n roll.

The talent show will take place on Friday, April 1st, 2005, from 7:00-9:30pm at the Mariner’s Church in Half Moon Bay.  Donations will be accepted at the door; food and beverages will also be on sale.  For more information, please contact Sue Lockyer at 728-2624.

About "Keeping Hope Alive"

"Keeping Hope Alive" is an orphan education program that began as a personal quest by Half Moon Bay resident, Natasha Martin, to support the education of 200 orphans in the Butula district (near Busia) of Kenya.  Ms. Martin, CEO and co-founder of the non-governmental organization, G.R.A.C.E. Africa, which administers the program, explains that primary education in Kenya is only partially subsidized by the government, and high school education, normally a boarding school costing $600 per year in fees and supplies, is not paid for at all by the government.

"Keeping Hope Alive" is now in its fifth year.  Ms. Martin happily reports that the program’s success is evident by the number of children who move on to high school with each passing year.  But because the cost of high school is significantly greater than primary school, the budget and the pressure to raise funds for the orphans grows each year.  The 2005 budget is $64,000 with 76 students in high school and 124 in primary school.

G.R.A.C.E. stands for "Grassroots Alliance for Community Education" whose mission is to help grassroots community-based organizations implement locally-determined and sustainable initiatives in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.  Please visit www.graceusa.org/orphan_1.htm to learn more about "Keeping Hope Alive" and www.graceusa.org to learn more about the Grassroots Alliance for Community Education.

For more information, please contact: 

Sue Lockyer 728-2624 [email protected]

Natasha Martin 650-712-0561 [email protected]

Giselle Stahl 650-430-0147 [email protected]