Our Press Releases
SURF thanks the public for success of December appeals
London – 13th February 2006
Survivors Fund (SURF) thanked the public today for its overwhelming support for its past two December Appeals, both that exceeded their target.
This year’s December Appeal “One Month to Support One Orphan’s Village” raised £13,700 which will be used to support the educational and training needs of a village of orphan headed-households in Rwanda. The Gitarama Orphan Village, a community of 36 homes providing shelter for over 200 children orphaned through the genocide, will use the money for school and university fees, as well as exam entrance fees, vocational training, and to help pay for books as well as electricity to enable the children to study at home in the evenings
Through the generous support of the British public, in 2004 SURF’s “ One Month to Save the Life of One Woman “ raised over £12,000. The money has been allocated to an HIV+ widow of the genocide, to provide critical access to antiretroviral drugs. This has enabled the beneficiary to lead a healthy and economically active life again and provide care for the children she supports.
Survivors Fund Founder and Director Mary Kayitesi Blewitt, said on the success of the appeals: “The support of the British public, and SURF supporters around the world, for our December appeals has been overwhelming. Each year we have been able to generate more support, and engage more people to help make a difference to the lives of survivors in Rwanda. We look forward to now supplementing the donations committed by the many individuals who have engaged with our work, to drive greater funding from our institutional supporters . The survivors, and all of the team at SURF, are immensely grateful for the incredible positive response. The challenge now is to do more, and raise more, to help the many more widows and orphans reliant on SURF’s support.”
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