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 About ryanrowe.com




Let’s Party for Africa

November 10th, 2009
posted by Ryan Rowe

Last Friday night, a private fundraiser was held here in Abu Dhabi to support the Tabasamu Education Fund, a Kenya-based charity I have been working closely with for over a year (my role is primarily marketing / strategic partnerships and fundraising efforts here in the UAE).  See end of this post for more info on what the charity does.

The concept behind the fundraiser is to provide a venue, music, and beverages in return for a contribution at the door of 100dhs (US$30).  Importantly, we do not deduct any amount to cover the expenses of hosting such parties - these are all borne out-of-pocket so that 100% of proceeds goes to the charity.  My flatmates kindly agreed to co-host the party and co-sponsor the costs with me.  Thanks so much to Cat and Dilip!

Co-hosts Dilip, Ryan and Cat

Photos on facebook - Let’s Party for Africa

Two previous such fundraisers have been held during 2009, raising nearly US$5,000.  But this most recent one was much more successful - being attended by over 200 people, running from 8pm until 5am and raising nearly US$14,000 (we received a matching corporate contribution from a locally-based company)!  This amount is enough to fund the education of at least 14 Kenyan children for a year each.

Such a large amount would obviously never have been possible without the individual contributions and support of everyone who attended the party. So, a huge THANK YOU.

Special thanks also go to:

DJ Hassan and DJ Shadi - for agreeing to play pro-bono for the entire night and arranging sound equipment. Music was fantastic! thanks! (if you want to catch them again head to Boogie Box at Left Bank on 27 November)
Elias - for the ice, for the signage, helping out with the collection of contributions
Khalid - for helping out with the ice runs
Andy and Ali - for lighting and helping out at the bar, and elsewhere as needed!
Marah - for the donation box and making the run to Ikea for various odds and ends
Ema - for the sangria, the raffle tickets and greeting people and collecting donations.
Suparna - for the jello shots!
Aaron and Brinston - where do I start? Couldn’t have done it without you.
Jasmeen for creating the posters that we used to increase awareness of the cause
Olivia - for photography and moral support ;)

I’d also like to thank our corporate supporters for the raffle:
 
Il Porto Italian Restaurant and Sushi Bar - for their donation of three lunch vouchers each for four people (won by Payal, Suparna and Jason)
Royal Meridien Hotels - for their donation of champagne brunch for two on the Shuja Yacht (won by Khalid)
Sheraton Hotels - for their donation of lunch for two at Flavours (won by Sven)

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About Tabasamu Education Fund (TEF)
TEF is a fully volunteer-based charitable organisation helping to educate Kenyan students at primary, secondary and university levels.  Launched in Nairobi, Kenya in November 2006, the organisation identifies individual children and young adults from marginalised, under-privileged, or otherwise needy backgrounds, and supports them financially, logistically and emotionally to stay in school and maintain good standing.

Cost of Education in Kenya
Approximately US$8,400 is required in order for a child to obtain a full primary and secondary education in Kenya. A university degree can cost up to an additional US$8,000 if the student makes it into what is known as the regular programme, meaning that they scored in the top 30% of their graduating year and the government in turn subsidises the cost of their higher education. The other 70% of high school graduates in Kenya who do not qualify can only attend university if they can afford to pay the fees charged by private institutions, which can be far out of their financial reach given Kenya’s official monthly minimum wage is approximately US$37.  Some sources estimate that about 85% of children in Kenya attend primary school, 24% attend secondary school, and only 2% attend higher educational institutions.

Achievements
To date, TEF has funded 42 students to complete all levels of education as follows:

The group currently comprises 8 boys and 20 girls. Kenyan provinces covered include Rift Valley, Northern, Central, Western and Nairobi.

TEF provides funding for school fees, boarding fees, extra tuition, transportation, uniforms, books, medical coverage and any other school-related needs. The annual funding cost for these students can be between US$600 and US$2,000.

For more information on the charity, please visit their website here or join the facebook group here.

We are also looking for reliable and energetic volunteers if you are interested in getting involved in one way or another. Feel free to contact me…

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Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 8:11 pmand is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “Let’s Party for Africa”

  1. breeze Says:
    November 14th, 2009 at 1:40 am

    Hi ryan,r u single?

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