“I will support ATE at every opportunity from now on.”
Penny Locke and her two sons, Toby and Adam, were motivated by ATE’s work in Lawra and decided they wanted to be more involved, better understand the impact of ATE’s work and experience life in Upper West Ghana.
Penny and her son’s threw themselves into a tireless fundraising effort and facilitated thoughtful donations from mobile phones and glasses to football kits and medical supplies! They were successful in beating their fundraising target, but importantly, they were successful in generating real interest and support for ATE’s work.
After one of their brilliant fundraising Ghana Parties, a close friend of Penny’s, Siobhan’s was moved to share her experience:
“I’m nearing 60 years old and lived in Zimbabwe from birth till a few years ago. My brother, Phil, continues to live in Southern Africa.
The word “charity” for us, who have lived on the ground where this charity is meant to be directed, means foolish waste of resources that invariably ends up transformed into cash in the pockets of the greedy. Those to whom the charity is directed seldom even know they are meant to be the recipients, let alone actually benefit from it. Alternatively “charity” means a temporary injection of ease into desperate lives, encouraging dependency on others rather than self empowerment.
Charity, to us who have observed first hand those it is intended for, is either pointless or disempowering.
But I have seen differently now.
I took my visiting brother, Phil, to a charity dinner hosted by Penny for ATE late in December 2017. He wasn’t enthusiastic. I was. But only because I know a little about ATE and Sarah who runs it.
Before our lovely meal cooked by Penny we were shown a film of what ATE is achieving in Ghana.
What an eye opener.
My jaundiced brother and I were deeply impressed by the practicality of the work done there, how it has metamorphosed with requirement and how much the needs of the recipients are assessed first hand and catered for.
There is no waste, no arbitrary ‘handouts’, no assumption of requirement from a first world point of view. The communities ATE injects its charity into benefit from feet on the ground first hand knowledge of how best to empower each individual.
Phil was much moved and so was I. I will support ATE at every opportunity from now on.”
I took my visiting brother, Phil, to a charity dinner hosted by Penny for ATE late in December 2017. He wasn’t enthusiastic. I was. But only because I know a little about ATE and Sarah who runs it.