Get Sky via www.buy.at/AVIF

A great deal for you and £70 for AVIF AVIF will receive £70 for every new customer that subscribes to Sky+ HD via our webshop.  This is an increase of £30 and is available for a limited period only. Sky+ HD and box is now only £75 (was £150) when you subscribe to Sky HD TV before the 31st of October*. This offer ends very soon so if you aren’t already subscribed to Sky please register via our webshop. *see site for full details. Visit www.buy.at/AVIF for more great offers from over 150 top retailers.

Forward this mail on to help AVIF raise funds. Please forward this mail on if you think that you know people who would like to receive it. Responsible emailing Remember if someone receives this mail from you, then tells you they don't want to receive a similar one again you must not send them future messages. If you are considering forwarding it on you must do so only to people who you consider would like to receive it and to whom the content is relevant. If you have a formally-managed list you must only send it to those who have expressed that they wish to receive such mail from you. Purchases made through www.buy.at/AVIF are made according to the information and terms provided by the company making the sale to you. Further details on using the buy.at shop are provided on the site.

Running for AVIF

I hate Zoe !
(only joking, girlfriennnnnd ;-)
I sit here with my laptop and she reminds me how unfit I am, or is it uncommitted? Both her and James M are booked into the Edinburgh Marathon now. Actually I did do the Berlin Marathon in 1999, completed it in 2:53, but I was on inline skates pushing my baby son in a souped up pram ;-)

Our dashing duo have entered for the Edinburgh marathon, June 2009. They'd tried to enter the ballot for the Flora London Marathon (FLM) but it had already closed. In fact the majority of entries to FLM are unsuccessful due to its popularity so many look for charity places in order to ensure their spot on race day. For a mere £6,000 ?? AVIF could have a banner rotating throughout the official FLM blogs and forums as well as 3 places in the marathon, but unfortunately we don't have an advertising budget.

[If you DO have that kind of money to spend, please contact Paul @ realbuzz.com +44 20 7202 7986]

P.S. Zoe and James entries to the Edinburgh Marathon were a bargain at just £39!! JustGiving give them 3 months free fundraising too. Zoe says she's "managed to run for an hour, I’m aiming for 4hrs 30 mins so just need to add 3.30 to it!! :)"



Zoe (on left) with the AVIF team, Summer 2007, Maseno, Western Kenya

Best Wishes and Big Kudos x

marathon, fundraising, AVIF, Kenya, poverty

What is MMS (Chlorine dioxide)

Thank you to Dr Brady Hurst for video-blogging this for us. Its self explanatory is the sense that "in a controlled environment" the product works.



Brady Hurst can offer sound advice in the use of this product, wherever you are on the planet, via his Telehealth services using Skype and video conferencing or plain old telephone.

Good medical advocacy is what is needed for this product. Thanks also to New Scientist magazine's Special Edition on cancer. The Editorial especially slates the current billion dollar drug trialling system saying that people are suffering through costly, ineffective trials for costly drugs .. the UK's NHS did a deal last year with Janssen-Cilag, insisting on paying only for patients who had success using J-C's new myeloma drug, Velcade, after it failed the UK governments NICE new cost-effectiveness test. The drug was found to cost more than £30,000 per quality patient life year !!!!!

ClO2, chlorine dioxide, or its marketing name "MMS" is available in kits costing £40 that last around 8 months using standard protocol. I'll do the maths for you .. thats £5 a month, or approximately £26 "per quality patient life year".

These kits contain the compound in a dropper bottle, a citric acid solution needed to activate the ClO2, with dropper/ measuring spoon, instructions & even a 3 minute timer to allow the compound time to activate. Dr Brady Hurst is not an advocate of self-medication but there is a reality that has to be understood. People won't always go to a doctors surgery! Speak with Dr. Brady for advice (consultation fees beyond an initial free chat) or just follow the instructions given by Jim Humble, for free.

The health industry refuse to listen so Jim's current project is to eradicate malaria from Malawi, then maybe they'll take notice (except that there still isn't enough profit to warrant clinical trials investment) .... so in the meantime I'd like to help Kenya get a piece of the healthy pie alongside earning the income generated from cheaply selling the kits. Everyone's a winner !

Read our other blog articles on this controversial issue.

MMS, Kenya, chlorine dioxide, FDA

Tour d'Afrique

I'd like to thank Simon for his amazing upcoming contribution, after he cycles from Cairo to Capetown with Tour d'Afrique.


Funds raised will go to the Tour's own foundation as well as to AVIF. Read on about the amazing adventure Simon has ahead of him.


Note: AVIF's own cic. KO2 can offer a slightly less energetic group adventure biking through Kenya (on the noisier, quicker type!)

fundraising, adventure, africa, poverty, bikes, cycling, motorbikes, KO2, AVIF

Curing the planet from disease

I'd like to introduce 2 new contacts that AVIF are welcoming working alongside.

Dr Brady Hurst is a highly qualified practitioner of functional & advanced alternative medicine. He runs a clinic in Atlanta, GA, USA that offers TeleHealth Services to anyone around the globe with access to the internet.

TeleHealth- Online Video Consutation Service.

AVIF are hoping to offer the Telehealth Service to all volunteers in view of taking our Duty of Care one step further than most, offering medical advice, travel health advice and psychological advice to deal with the rigours of humanitarian work.

A man who's definitely no stranger to these rigours is the incredible and aptly named, Jim Humble, an ex-gold-miner who fell upon the discovery that the commonly used household compound ClO2, chlorine dioxide, can be used to cure malaria amongst other diseases. Jim is not able to afford the millions of $$$$ needed for FDA approval which is why both the Canadian and Australian governments are barring all sales. The US Government is likely to follow suit as the new Codex law against selling nutritional supplements will soon be implemented. I was very sceptical until you find out that Jim's contracted malaria himself in Guyana and used ClO2 to cure himself .. and colleagues.

"MMS cures malaria, all species, within 4 hours", Jim is proud to say.   ".. clinical trials done according to Helsinki requirements in Malawi
were 100% recovery of all malaria victims tested.  I personally treated
more than 2000 malaria victims.  In the 75,000 victims treated by those
I trained, there were no deaths where there would have been 400 deaths
with standard treatment".


I agree with Jim when he says that use of this compound has been "a success worldwide because we have worked .. at the grass roots."  More than 15,000 bottles of
MMS are sold each month in the USA, yet its kept quiet because its not FDA approved. For further info contact Jim Humble via his Q&A site.

AVIF are hoping to get the product into communities in Kenya and initiate full training and monitoring of use of this compound. The sick amongst the communities, especially children, don't have time for us to spend billions on researching a product that is already proven to work.

MMS, Brady Hurst, Kenya, malaria

Insurance for students from www.buy.at/AVIF

Insurance for students from Endsleigh Student contents insurance from Endsleigh can be tailored to cover all the items that students have taken to university. You can build a policy that insures just one item, or a policy that covers bikes, laptops, iPods, cameras, DVDs and much more. Get laptop cover and insure the rest of the room from just £8 Cover mobile phones for just £3.33 per month Cover bikes at university from just £30 a year Why Endsleigh? Endsleigh is approved by the NUS They insure loads of students - that means big discounts They have been insuring students for 40 years so they know what students need   Visit www.buy.at/AVIF for more great offers from over 150 top retailers.

Forward this mail on to help AVIF raise funds. Please forward this mail on if you think that you know people who would like to receive it. Responsible emailing Remember if someone receives this mail from you, then tells you they don't want to receive a similar one again you must not send them future messages. If you are considering forwarding it on you must do so only to people who you consider would like to receive it and to whom the content is relevant. If you have a formally-managed list you must only send it to those who have expressed that they wish to receive such mail from you. Purchases made through www.buy.at/AVIF are made according to the information and terms provided by the company making the sale to you. Further details on using the buy.at shop are provided on the site.

Thanksgiving

The LLK children in the Rhonda slums of Nakuru celebrated the German Thanksgiving celebration yesterday with an abundance of food and a visit from some of their german sponsors.



We all have good reason to be thankful!


AVIF hope to send more volunteers in 2009 to assist with the fantastic work carried out by LLK.

thanksgiving, kenya, AVIF, LLK

Things just get easier

FaceBook ~ Skype ~ the internet in general but most importantly OpenSource all help to make life easier to do some good. eBay, the worlds online marketplace just helped too. We currently have our own little website, ADUPO, to sell small amounts of locally-sourced Kenyan goods but AVIF is also an eBay for Charity, listed organisation so we put the odd product on there to utilise eBay's massive marketing power.

Christmas is around the corner, take a look at the listing via Ebay To Go's fabulous new widget :

christmas, Kenya, Maasai, eBAY

I love a success story

My good friend, Brique, just emailed me about her organisation's fantastic achievements.

Despite a traumatic fight against corruption, Leben und Lernen in Kenia e.V. (Live & Learn in Kenya) are now shining in the glow of smiling faces around the communities they're helping.

Here are the children at a party arranged by LLK after funding was secured for 490 warm, waterproof jackets for all of the children and the staff. Kenya does get seasonally cold & wet enough to cause pneumonia.

Not only have almost all (but 9) of the children gained foster parents, they also now have a plot of farm land each to grow their own food on (LLK rent the land, initially provide seeds and fertilizer then 1/4 of the harvest goes into the collective to feed the children).


LLK's Girl's club is also a huge success. Vocational as well as sexual health training is being provided. Here is Lucy, now a fully-fledged hairdresser with her own salon, provided by her very generous sponsors who not only paid for her training, but also salon equipment and a few month's rent.



To celebrate World Peace Day a huge celebration was organised where all of the children, their siblings and parents/guardians were invited. They all cooked and ate together. Different tribes singing peace songs
to each other & dancing their own tribal dances .. a video is coming soon once Ken finishes editing.
Soul-warming success - something I hope AVIF can aspire to achieve.

LLK, AVIF, Kenya, sustainable development, volunteer

Christmas is just around the corner

Extremely low-priced gifts from Kenya for all your friends and family. Get Christmas organised early and visit the ADUPO site now.



An alternative gift idea is to buy the welfare of a needy child for someone.
This is Esther.

She is one of four children living in a vulnerable home (they spend most of their nights in the cold due to their father’s heavy drinking taking up funds). Many children are housed in badly-named "orphanages" in Kenya while parents are still alive .. reality is simply that the parents cannot afford to look after their children due to the ravages of illness and poverty. Both parents are jobless and Esthers mother struggles really hard to maintain the family despite physical abuse from her husband. In addition to love and constant care, Esther requires assistance to continue learning, her Mother has asked for help from our good friend Wangechi in Nyahururu.

If you would like more information please contact AVIF. There are currently 18 children needing financial assistance at Wangechi's "Merryland" Children's Home.

christmas, kenya, gifts

Love it when a plan comes together

Ben & Katalin are settled into their new home on the shores of Lake Victoria now, I'm awaiting an update from them. In the meantime the remainder of the glyconutrients are being taken over to Nairobi by a wonderful young man, aided by British Airways who've kindly offered him free excess baggage, in fact they've tripled his allowance. The MannaBears will then be picked up and transported over to the girls at the Jehovah Nissi Mercy Childrens Centre (Mercy Home) .. photos here.



Our thanks go to Mr Madden Jnr !.. and Mary at BA Waterside, Harmondsworth.

AVIF, BA charity, glyconutrients, kenya, poverty, health, volunteering

New videos of JNMCC dormitory

Many thanks to Nick & Charlie and so great to *see* everyone again.
Visit the main site for more videos.

New photos on FaceBook

Visit here for the Summer 08 photos in Maseno & Yala, etc.
(Need to join the FaceBook group).
Many thanks to Nick & Charlie and so great to *see* everyone again.

Tribulations & frustrations

Having spent a year designing and then producing the outcomes from the Visualising Issues in Pharmacy (VIP) Project, 64 "Stop HIV" soccer outfits were recently sent as a charity donation to the people of Winam in Kenya. HIV/AIDS is cited as one of the major causes of child abandonment in hospitals in and around the Kisumu district. Unfortunately, sent through Australia Post and DHL couriers the outfits arrived only for Kenyan customs to impose import duties at a cost of $1300.00 !!

Despite formal submissions to declare them as a non-profit gift to the people as genuine aid donation, the fees would not be waived and customs informed us the items may be destroyed. As of today, Omnium has now paid the charges and we are promised the items should be released within three days.



The VIP project collectively links together 300 global participants, including 105 students from developing countries, through online technology. Coordinated between the Universities of Auckland & of New South Wales, Sydney, it was the first fully-online global initiative joining Pharmacy and Graphic Design with local community representatives to raise public awareness of critical health issues in Kenya, including HIV/AIDS and malaria. VIP project conveners (Nataly Martini and Rick Bennett), Nabuur representative (Raul Caceres) and AVIF, in collaboration with local community leaders, identified the following areas where VIP project materials (interventions) will be implemented:

• Winam, Kisumu district, Nyanza Province, Kenya
• Asato, Volta region, Ghana
• Busukuma, Wakiso district, Uganda
• Kyomya, Kagoma County, Jinja District, Uganda
• Nyalebe, Mahagi Territory, Ituri Province, DRC
• Bukavu, South Kivu province, DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo)
• Kiliba, South Kivu province, DRC

The project is still positively seeking funding. Potential sponsors are kindly asked to contact AVIF.

Results from James

We visited the Rotary Club Kisumu... Any donations that Edward raises, either from AVIF or elsewhere, the Rotary Club will operate a policy of matched donations. ...I gave a short five minute presention to the members here in Kisumu, and I'm working on a powerpoint presentation to give to the Birmingham members next week. Even if AVIF can only provide half of the funds, 17,500 KSh, Rotary Club could provide the other half.



..re. how much the power connection will cost. The power line is already on the Mercy Home property. It just needs to be dropped into the building. This will cost 35,000 KSh. The internal wiring has already been done, though Edward owes 38,000 KSh for the job. The electrician was happy to wait for the money, and he's not charging interest, so only 35,000 KSh is needed for now.

At present Edward spends 6000 KSh on the kerosene and petrol needed for the generator, each month, which only provides power for two hours a day. With the power line connection, the supply will cost 1000 KSh each month, for 24 hour power. This will save 60,000 KSh a year, and is therefore of paramount importance. It will mean the girls will not have to strain their eyes using the oil lamps, and will save many of them needing glasses at an early age.

.. re. tailoring course, which Jessica is currently taking, ..it is important for the girls to choose a realistic profession, and although tailoring is not particularly aspirational, it will be a living, regardless of the abundance of second-hand cloth in the Kenyan market. Women will always want new clothes of good first-hand quality, and everyone needs clothing repaired.

I recently asked the girls to write me an essay entitled, 'The Purpose of My Life.' I noticed that almost all mentioned becoming doctors, lawyers, or ministers. Having dreams and goals is essential to a child's happiness, but these dreams need to be within their grasp. I reckon only 5% of graduates in the UK become doctors, lawyers or ministers; the brightest of the bright. The girls all said things like 'I will put my faith in God, and my dreams will happen' as if by magic. I think only Leo realises it takes six to eight years of degree level study to become a doctor in Kenya. Praying to God keeps these girls going, but they must 'keep their powder dry' as well. As Edward says, they just need to earn their daily bread. Anything else is a bonus.
I visited St. Bakhita's Rescue Centre in Eldoret, run by Gilbert Arap Bor and Father Martin of the Slovakian Catholic Church, last weekend. They have a tailoring unit, a hairdressing unit, and a computer unit. They realise that most of the girls will end up in these three professions. What's more, the girls there are happy with these careers. I wouldn't dare stop the Mercy Home girls from fulfilling their potentials. But I don't want to see them over-reach themselves either. What a person can be, they must be.....Any less than that is a waste of talent, any more is not possible.

Inspirational words from an AVIF volunteer, inspired by his hosts in Kenya.

Solar cooking

We have more volunteers visiting the west of Kenya and are organizing another demonstration by Solar Cookers International (SCI) for the incredible invention that is SOLAR COOKING.



SCI has expanded its Kenya projects to two new communities: Kadibo, on the outskirts of Kisumu City, and Kajiado, to the south near the Kenya-Tanzania border.

Incredibly 20 local women have received training on how to make, use and sell solar CooKits (the cookers marketing name). During the first year of the project, SCI's John Amayo and others have conducted 69 public solar cooking demonstrations, 209 group demonstrations, and six radio broadcasts. The women have earned income from over 230 CooKits sold thus far. Adjacent communities have begun requesting demonstrations, including Kibos, Vihiga, Maseno, Ahero, Kano, Machakos, Makueni, Magadi, Ngong’, and Namanga.

Requests for group demonstrations can be directed via AVIF or directly; Eastern Kenya and northern Tanzania Stella Odaba Tel: 0723 274870; Western Kenya John Amayo Tel: 0733 756568

Love it when a plan comes together

Yesterday I spoke with some of the volunteers, in Kenya & here in the UK. Some personal items were needed by the girls at the Jehovah Nissi Mercy Childrens Centre. We decided how much was needed and with James overseeing the collection of funds and buying of goods the job is done!

This is what AVIF is all about. With limited resources we've become efficient and able to act concisely and accurately. In fact the whole exercise only cost £10 to MoneyGram [and the fuel cost from Maseno to Kisumu].

Sharon & I would like to thank the volunteers of the Mercy Home Foundation, also James, currently in Kenya, for publicising his visit and already achieving a donation towards our work.
RESULT!



Art class

Kayole

The Summer's moving on rapidly and the Manx Grand Prix begins in less than 3 weeks, after which the medical supplies donations will be ready from the Marshals med boxes, going to the ArrowWeb Hospital in Kayole-Soweto, Nairobi, Kenya.

Administrator, Raul, was visiting the project, Bramuel has sent this photo



The project is fully managed online using the NABUUR wiki management system and is currently looking for medical volunteers who wish to spend time with them and help with raising awareness. Contact AVIF or direct through the project site for further information.

Update from Pat

Fantastic results .. Pats been visiting Brique's organization, LLK, on the stop-over to Nyahururu, Merryland Kindergarten .. and given a van full of jackets to the children & a meal party .. take a look





I'd also like to thank Roland W and the entire high school in Hof, Germany for their generous donations towards the children's food.