The $1000 donation was shared between Sunrise Children’s Village and Handup Congo.

Leng Bonna from Sunrise Children’s Village in Cambodia said:

“Many thanks for your kind support to our children.  We are in the process of up grade care and other facilities including our kitchen. With your kind donation of USD500 we can provide new stainless steel plates, soup bowls, spoons, forks and cups for 120 children.  Again, many thanks for your generosity.

Leng Bonna, Cambodia Administration Manager

From the Congo, this message:

Très chère Maman Sue LIU, Le Comité de Gestion de la FLO à travers ma personne est content de faire votre connaissance.Nous vous remercions pour votre soutien aux jeunes de Lotumbe avec 500 AUD pour les micro crédit en vue de les aider de se prendre en charge ainsi que leur famille.Salutations dans le Seigneur.

Antoinette Mapele,Vice Présidente de la FLO CDCC/RDC

A STORY FROM CONGO – the women you support through FLO.

My buddy Lucy Hobgood-Brown  returned from a month in Congo just before Christmas, where she saw that a ‘hand up, not a handout’ can make a lasting impact. Our donation has gone towards a community loan fund in the remote village of Lotumbe, where Lucy’s father was born and where she lived as a child.

Now a resident of Sydney, Lucy is deeply involved in community development projects in Lotumbe. In collaboration with a Congolese women’s organisation, “FLO”, Lucy and others like you and me are helping give FLO members the key to economic progress. We are helping to unleash women’s potential! Throughout much of the world, the greatest unexploited economic resource is the female half of the population.

Lucy tells me that countries such as China (where she also works) have prospered precisely because they emancipated women and brought them into the formal economy. Unleashing that process globally is not only the right thing to do; it’s also the best strategy for fighting poverty.

Meet Mama Patience, a fine example of a FLO member who is making a tremendous difference in her community.

Thanks to the micro loan made possible by FLO (with our capital), Patience now has goats, chickens, and several canoes which she rents out — and is able to pay her daughter’s school fees. For details about HandUp Congo, visit www.handupcongo.org.

The kids had arrived only 2 days earlier from Cambodia and had spent a busy few days resting, doing publicity and rehearsing for this night of nights which saw them take the stage with the likes of Ray Martin, David Campbell, Casey Chambers and Jane Rutter.

What professionals! What a show!

The children were so excited and thrilled and truly performed their hearts out! There was such a feeling of warmth, support and love for these children – everyone who was there said it was a night like no other!

Among this group were my special two girls, Waew and Thy – and I was very privileged to spend quality time with them and their friends throughout their short stay.

Geraldine Cox and her team of volunteers –deserve the highest accolades as well. They are family to these very special children and worked extremely hard to make this show a reality for the children, and for us.

Zulu’s Candles for Community this Christmas will be raising money for Sunrise Children’s Villages in Cambodia

These settlers have arrived from war ravaged and politically unstable countries across Africa and Asia after suffering various forms of political, physical, religious or cultural persecution.

Aspire Australia provides migration advice and assistance to settlers to help bring husbands and wives, children, siblings and relatives to Australia where possible.

In support of Aspire Australia’s work in this area, Zulu has donated one of the beautiful hand made quilts from the Women at New Hope for Cambodian children which will be raffled to raise funds for Aspire’s on-going workwith refugees in Australia.

Contact Aspire Australia to purchase a raffle ticket and for more information about how you can be involved in helping refugee communities. Phone: 02 9956 6011 or email visas@apireaustralia.com.au

• Aspire Australia collecting your winter woolies for Wagga
• Find out more about New Hope Quilts and how you can buy or fundraise with one