El Salvador childrens charity in hair raising charity money drive

The Gulf of Hope needs to be registered as a Charity, to make sure we are all official and above-board. This costs money. So far, all our funds have gone to enrol six little girls in a proper school for 2010. For now, the coffers are empty. Our solution: Omar and I decided to do a fundraiser. For a long while, we thought about what we could do, and finally came upon the idea that we will both shave our heads. With this, we are making a bold (and bald) statement - we are serious about the Gulf of Hope. We hope that our lack of locks will start communication with new people: people who will become interested in what we do, and who might decide to contribute.

The event will take place in late March, just before we go to the States. To make it easier with contributions, I signed us up on Chipin. Chipin will collect donations for us, track them, and provide updates as we go.

As you can see, we are hoping to raise $3000. Right now, we are not sure how much it will cost to be officially registered. This does not mean that we have not done our homework: registration is difficult as we live in Abu Dhabi at the moment and to register here is impossible without local support. We cannot register as a Charity in the UK, USA or Germany as we do not live there. But we are hoping to get charitable status in El Salvador. We spoke to our lawyers and they are working on this issue. When we go to La Union in April, we should be able to sign the necessary papers ... whatever we raise will support this venture. If anything is left over, it will go into the funds.

The Power of Donations at Gulf of Hope

If you are an armchair traveller why dont you visit Gulf of Hope and make a contribution to this small and effective charity

6 year old Reyna de la Paz is one happy girl: thanks to our donors, she can go to a good school this year. For $25 per month, the foundations for a sound future are establised.

The Power of Donations

There's something wonderful happening.

Children are beginning to believe. The desperation of poverty is being replaced by a new world - a world full of possibilities. And for the children of Gulf of Hope, this new world begins with the chance for an education.

Happy faces: this year, nobody will laugh at them at school for not having pens and paper! Thanks to the Gulf of Hope, these children have a year's supply of basic materials.

Donations make sure that they have the supplies they need for their school year, including basic pens and paper, backpacks and books. Right now, we are only able to help a few. The more donations we get, the more we will be able to help with expenses such as:
• health care and medicine
• dental care
• nutritional assistance
• educational support
Donations help poor children and their families, and offer security and sense of dignity that is all too rare when you live in poverty.
We hope you'll join us on this life-changing journey.

The Dawn of Understanding

The Dawn of Understanding, originally uploaded by James Neeley.