Only 19 members present tonight probably due to the cold weather - but they missed a treat. We had an excellent speaker, Christine told us about the charity she and her church have set up called 'Norton Down Africa Fund' and what they have achieved in Uganda helping schools and setting up 3 nursery schools in Kenya. Christine's stories were illustrated by lovely slides. She also displayed beads, and aprons from Africa and cards from photos she has taken herself. This was a most interesting talk and she was thanked by our secretary, Doreen.
Moira had made lovely Fairtrade chocolate cake for our refreshments and there were Fairtrade leaflets on display. The evening started with news, followed by Christines talk and then after refreshments we had updates of future events and concluded with Ruth reading us a poem about an accident caused by youngsters in the village who had vandalised a fence post near the hall entrance. Luckily, serious injury was avoided but it was a nasty fall and such a shock - it tends to spoil anyone's outing. Ruth was so cross when she witnessed Betty's fall she went straight home and wrote tonights poem. Her poetry is a bonus to us all - even if this was a serious subject.
Pic 2: On a recent visit to East Africa, Christine Button visited slums in the Ugandan capital Kampala. Here many children are orphaned when parents die young. This photo has been used to help raise awareness of how AIDS is affecting Africa.
