April 2nd, 2012

An Update on Darfur United

If you did not get a chance to see our first blog post on Darfur United, please check it out here.  Briefly, iAct is putting together an all star soccer team comprised of the best players in the Darfuri refugee camps in eastern Chad.  From roughly 280,000 refugees spread out over 12 camps across Chad, the top 5 players from each camp were invited to try out for Darfur United, the team that will represent Darfur in the Viva World Cup in Iraq in May of this year. 

Darfur United is coming together!  Over the last several days, the Darfur United coaches Mark Hodson and Brian Cleveland and iAct founder Gabriel Stauring have been in Camp Djabal in Eastern Chad running the tryouts for the team that will represent Darfur at the Viva World Cup.  Their emotional accounts of the experience have been wonderful to follow and, as an Honorary Coach, Aid Still Required is here to give you an update on how everything is coming together.

While the men come from many different tribes, they are truly embodying their team moniker–coming together to represent the best of the people of Darfur before the world.  On the morning of the second day of tryouts, the coaches were worried that the players slept in as the 5:30am start time passed…but emerging in direct line with the rising sun, they came running in together, clapping to the rhythm of their strides.  It was what Mark Hodson called “a moment in your life that stays with you forever.” Their documentarian, James Thacher, was there to capture the moment that admittedly couldn’t have been scripted if they had tried.

 

 

With unbearably hot temperatures during the middle of the day, tryouts have been running from 5:30 to 7:30 in the morning and again from 3:30 in the afternoon until dusk while hundreds of fellow refugees watched from the sidelines and cheered.  This is just a microcosm of what has been happening across the refugee camps for the last several months as athletes competed to be one of the five representatives from their refugee camp to travel to Camp Djabal to try out for Darfur United.  Now, those who do not make the 20 member squad will go back to their camps, proud of their comrades and rooting them on as they train for the games in Iraq.

With the hardships of refugee life a constant reality, the joy of competition and the pride of playing for one’s country is a healing salve.  Aid Still Required is proud to be a supporting organization of this beautiful endeavor.  We will keep you updated as Darfur United trains for the Viva World Cup!

 

 

 

 

 

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March 22nd, 2012

Aid Still Required and World Water Day – Send a Tsunami of Love to Indonesia

-from the desktop of Maureen Charles, ASR Board Secretary
Today is World Water Day, and in Aceh, Indonesia, where an estimated 160,000 people perished and over a million were displaced in the wake of the 2004 Tsunami, thousands of people have been without safe, clean, accessible water for over 7 years. 
Imagine all that ocean water rushing over your land, taking the leaves of your loved ones, and leaving you with no livelihood, and ironically, without water. Imagine going 7 years without a shower, unable to pour yourself or your child a glass of water without first hauling it for miles in heavy jugs or buckets…
In Aceh, women and girls walk miles a day carrying water and people bathe in polluted oceans that are routinely used as toilets. Long term progress on a variety of issues, including health, food security, gender equality, and environmental sustainability, is dependent on whether people have access to water that is safe to drink and and adequate for sanitation purposes.
Bio-Sand Filter
At Aid Still Required, one of the most elegant solutions that we fund is the building of eco-friendly sand filters that provide clean water in the villages of Aceh Province. It is an inexpensive, sustainable way to alter people's lives. We also provide vocational training for women in the region. The two go hand-in-hand. Imagine the transformative power of shifting your efforts from hauling water to earning a living.
It is because of such leading edge thinking that I choose to serve on the Board of Aid Still Required. Every project is carefully vetted for green sustainability, transparency, and efficiency. Our focus is on self-reliance – equipping people with the resources they need to live in dignity, health and peace.
Please make a donation of any size today, and every time you drink water or take a shower or turn on the tap, remind yourself that you are making it possible for others to do the same.

To make sure that your money goes as far as possible, we partner with small, locally based nonprofits whom we carefully vet to ensure that funds are spent in efficient and appropriate ways.  In Aceh, $40 gives one family access to clean water; $125 sets up a family farm complete with trees for an orchard; $250 establishes a woman in a handicrafts business including small business training. 
Thank you for helping us send a Tsunami of Love to Indonesia on this World Water Day.

And if you are reading this after World Water Day, know that the need is there every day and far from being met. Consider joining me and the other ASR Angels by setting up an automatic monthly donation.
-Maureen

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March 9th, 2012

Haiti Social Media Campaign Follow Up

First, we wanted to thank EVERYONE who was involved in our Haiti Social Media Campaign on January 12th to mark the 2nd anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti. There was an incredible outpouring of energy that worked to refocus the public’s attention on the work that still needs to be done there. As a result of so many’s concern and effort, we got great feedback and an incredible amount of attention on the projects that Aid Still Required is spearheading.

We gathered a team of volunteers at the Coffee Connection in the Venice/Mar Vista area of Los Angeles for a full day of outreach. Huge thanks to Coffee Connection for donating the beautiful space and for the great coffee! Throughout the day, our volunteers followed as our incredible group of high profile personalities posted Tweets and Facebook updates on behalf of Aid Still Required to alert their followers to the work that still needs to be done in Haiti.

Our great team of volunteers for the 2nd Haiti Social Media Campaign

It is impossible to know exactly how many people were reached by this campaign, but the numbers are staggering. Over 40 celebrities were involved with a combined following of more than 150 million people. Isn’t that incredible? AND, this is only the beginning. In addition, members of the LA Kings hockey team taped a PSA for Aid Still Required that was shown during halftime of their game at the Staples Center and on Fox Sports West. Maroon 5 also shot a great PSA for ASR that got a ton of attention on YouTube and across the internet. In addition, thousands of people like you Tweeted, re-tweeted and posted for Aid Still Required on Facebook.

All of this attention definitely had an impact. Haiti became a “trending topic” on Twitter and #AidStillRequired was the fastest growing hashtag for a period of the day. ASR doubled the number of “Likes” on Facebook and received an incredible amount of traffic on the website. Dozens of news outlets reported on the campaign. Over the course of the day, we received donations from all across the United States and from individuals in 15 different countries!

Our volunteers engaged in conversations with those discussing Aid Still Required’s projects on Facebook and thanked as many of those who retweeted on our behalf as possible. We engaged in conversation with people who had concerns about how the donations to Haiti have been spent over the last two years and explained how Aid Still Required has focused on working directly with small groups on the ground to guard against corruption and wasted funds.

It was an incredible day for Aid Still Required and for the people of Haiti as those around the world were reminded of the horrible devastation that took place there just and of all the work that still needs to be done. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your support.

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February 13th, 2012

Aid Still Required Collaborator Alison Thompson Featured in Guideposts Magazine

In January’s Guidepost inspirational magazine, ASR collaborator and friend Alison Thompson shares the story of how she found her new vocation of passionate volunteer and shines the light on five areas around the world that she feels need our help the most.

Alison ( far right, with We Advance team members Maeve McGoldrick, Aleda Fishburn, Deborah from Boston)

Hunter and Andrea met Alison in 2007 as they got more deeply involved in the work that became AId Still Required. Utlizing her nurse’s training as a first responder in the months following 9/11 changed Alison’s life and when the 2004 Southeast Asian tsunami hit, her two week trip to offer aid turned into a 14 month Sri Lankan odyssey, creating a medical center, making a documentary and writing a book along the way. January 2010 saw Alison packing her bags for Haiti, where she still works today, as co-founder of We Advance, a women’s clinic in the most neglected slum area of Port au Prince.

You may have read about The We Advance Clinic in earlier ASR blogs and on the Haiti project page on the ASR website. We Advance provided the location for Aid Still Required’s first Women’s Trauma Relief project in August 2011; last month two more courses, including one for men in the community, were held in a tent adjacent to We Advance. Aid Still Required has also been proud to provide support to The Community Tsunami Early Warning Center on the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka, established by Alison during her tenure there and the only organization of its kind serving the region.

The Guidepost article provides an excerpt from Alison’s book The Third Wave, listing helpful tips of what to bring if you go into a disaster situation

What to Know If You Go
1. Prepay any upcoming bills and leave checks with friends who can pay while you’re away.
2. Get the appropriate vaccinations.
3. A soft backpack is easier to travel wtih than a hard suitcase. Include a first-aid kit. The last thing you want is to become part of the disaster.
4. Be sure to pack water filtration tablets, sunscreen, insect repellent, flashlights and batteries, waterproof matches, rubber gloves, plastic garbage bags, rope, duct tape, a Swiss Army knife, a watch, a compass and energy bars.
5. Pack stickers, bubbles, colored pencils, anything to put a smile on a kid’s face.
6. Take cash in smaller denominations, nothing larger than a twenty.
7. Buy a return ticket in advance. If things get too tough, you can always go home.
8. Don’t forget your faith—in God and in yourself. Leave behind your fear.
—adapted from Alison’s book The Third Wave

If you’d like to read the entire article, click here : Guide Post – Inspirational stories

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January 12th, 2012

2nd Anniversary Mega Social Media Campaign: Maroon 5, LA Kings, you and SNOBALL

Please join us in cyberspace today from your comfy armchair at home, laptop in hand…or maybe during your lunch hour or tonight after the kids are in bed and you’re enjoying Jon Stewart.  Watch our new Maroon 5 PSA and the LA Kings PSA- Haiti is Not Forgotten.

and…….. make a SNOBALL for Haiti!  Read on…..

Aid Still Required has galvanized 43 celebrities with 155 million FaceBook and Twitter followers to FB post, Tweet, make challenges to raise awareness and funds starting today, January 12th, the 2nd anniversary of the devastating Haiti earthquake.

Hundreds of thousands are still living in tents, vast unemployment, abandoned kids…and ASR has programs to help! You can help by

-LIKING ASR on FB ( we receive a donation each time we receive a new LIKE)

-FOLLOWING ASR on Twitter ( improve our reach to be attractive to corporate sponsors)

-Liking our Campaign participants
-commenting on their posts
-engaging with followers
-retweeting
-posting to your friends
-helping ASR trend
-in garnering donations from those who are able and inspired

AND

SNOBALLING!

SNOBALL is our campaign corporate sponsor and offers fun, creative ways for mini fundraising challenges FOR EXAMPLE: Everytime the Lakers get a basket in tonight’s game, I will donate .50 to ASR for Haiti. OR Each time I buy a Latte at Starbucks I will Donate $1…..

UPDATE:  Over 15 people have committed $.25 every time ASR receives a new LIKE!  75 new fans means a  followup for our Wharf Jeremie project in the slums of Port au Prince!  15 new LIKES feeds 3 kids for a month!  700 new LIKES = 1 house for a villagers.

CLICK HERE  FOR THE CAMPAIGN WEBPAGE

CLICK HERE TO LEARN HOW TO CREATE A SNOBALL .  Watch the video, Have Fun, and Fundraise!

We hope you’ll  hop on board!!!!!
♥ Andrea, Hunter and The Aid Still Required Team

CAMPAIGN PARTICIPANTS:
Sting, Alicia Keyes, Martha Stewart , Usher,  Janet Jackson, Jason Mraz, Hugh Jackman, Deepak Chopra, Don Cheadle, Sheryl Crow, Adam Schefter, Slash, Pamela Anderson, Victoria Justice, Lady Antebellum, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Maroon 5, Hilary Duff, Will Smith (football) , Jarius Wynn, Mike Richards, Dustin Brown, Stephen Collins, Paul Pierce, Thalia, Nina Dobrev , Chelsea Handler, Kimberly Cole , Rob Kardashian , Tyson Chandler, Kevin Love, Seth Green, The Killers, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Jordin Sparks, My Chemical Romance, Solange Knowles, Hans Zimmer, William Shatner. Tim McGraw, Vinny Guadagnino

 

 

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