Blog

Kids for Kids Celebrates 20 Years!

Something to Celebrate! This year, 2021, marks our 20th anniversary! That’s two decades of transforming the lives of over 550,000 people in 105 villages in one of the most inaccessible areas of the world. Please join our Founder Patricia Parker and Trustees on our Birthday on 8th March 2021 – International Women’s Day – when we are inviting you to join our virtual Birthday Celebratory Evening.  This year of course we cannot yet meet in person so please join our Virtual Party via Zoom at 7.00p.m.   Patricia will bring you up to date with the news from Darfur.  Join our Patrons, Trustees and find out why people have been supporting Kids for Kids, some for all of our 20 years! There will be messages from friends from around the world, including special friends from Sudan, and we will be inviting you to join in too with our Kids for Kids Quiz – testing your knowledge of all you will learn on the evening, from how to tell a goat from a sheep to how many kids you have helped Read more

By Charlotte Allum, ago

Greatest of All Time (GOAT!) Virtual Disco

Big Kids, Little Kids, Cardboard Box! Kids, big & little, young & old, grab your dancing shoes and join us to dance away those lockdown blues! We invite you to celebrate our 20th birthday with our 20-hour online Greatest of All Time (GOAT!) Virtual Disco starting on Sat 6th March!  It’s International Women’s Day too – so bring your sister, Mum, Aunty & Granny along as well! The fun will start online via Zoom at midday on Sat 6th March and finish at 8am on Sun 7th March. So, wherever you are, come & join us at a time that suits you for 1, 2, 5, 10, 15 or even 20 hours of brilliant boogying!! Why not set yourself a target and ask friends & family to sponsor you?? You can set up your fundraising page here! Or invite 20 friends, near and far, and help spread the fun & cheer! There’ll be disco classics, the current chart-toppers, special requests & shout outs! Something for everyone! Request your favourite song, grab your disco lights & glad rags, and show us your Read more

By Claire, ago

20th Birthday – but is it a time to celebrate?

Kids for Kids celebrates 20 years of helping the forgotten children of Darfur on 8th March this year – two decades in which we have transformed the lives of over 550,000 people in 105 villages in one of the most inaccessible places in the world. A journey that started with a young boy’s seven-hour walk for water across the deserts of Darfur, to a handpump miles from his home. Whilst this may seem like a time to celebrate, it is a stark reminder that in Darfur our help is still needed. There are still young children and families with no access to clean, fresh water. The situation in Darfur is still desperate, inflation has skyrocketed to over 250% and is still rising. This has put our projects at risk – the cost of implementing our key projects has jumped massively. The need for water has always been a necessity but since the arrival of covid-19 into Darfur, the only way communities can protect themselves is by washing their hands. This means that families need more water than ever to keep Read more

By Charlotte Allum, ago

Special 20th Birthday Celebration with Joanna Lumley OBE & Special Guests

Celebrate our 20th Birthday with us on Monday 8th March 2021 at 7pm!   Join Joanna Lumley OBE, Julie Etchingham and other special Guests from all over the World for a fun-filled online evening of amazing anecdotes, interesting insights and a celebratory quiz as we look back at the last 20 years of Kids for Kids and look forward to the next 20! We would love you all to join us in celebrating our first 20 years and all that YOU  have helped us achieve to change the lives of hundreds of forgotten children in Darfur. We’re asking for a minimum donation of £10.00 for an Family Ticket – or the equivalent in your local currency. £10 will provide 5 bars of soap to combat Covid-19, £50 will help us give a goat to provide nutritious goat’s milk for children badly suffering from malnutrition in Darfur. Invite 5 friends – give a Goat – and help us save a child’s life! Come and join us online by booking your tickets here! We will be using Zoom which is quick and easy Read more

By Lucy Holloway, ago

New Year Message from Kids for Kids

20 YEARS OF PROVIDING REAL LASTING HELP – SUSTAINABILITY IN PRACTISE 2021 is a special year for Kids for Kids, it is our 20th birthday! Kids for Kids celebrates 20 years of helping the forgotten children of Darfur on 8th March this year – two decades in which we have transformed the lives of over 550,000 people in 105 villages in one of the most inaccessible places in the world.  A journey that started with a young boy’s seven hour walk for water across the deserts of Darfur, to a handpump miles from his home. I was shocked not just to find a nine-year-old undertaking this exhausting and onerous duty for his family, but even more so when I learnt that under Darfur there is one of the largest aquafers in Africa. At that time other agencies were present in Darfur but none was providing what I consider the right of every child, indeed of every human being, clean fresh water close to their homes. Since 2001 Kids for Kids’ unique package of sustainable projects has transformed the lives of Read more

By Charlotte Allum, ago

New Trustee for our Birthday Year!

Kids for Kids is excited to announce that we have a new Trustee. Liz Sutton, the owner of Delamere Dairy, accepted the position earlier this week. Liz and her husband Roger, founded Delamere Dairy Limited in 1985. Today the company produces and trades speciality dairy and non-dairy beverages with a focus on goat milk, in the UK and around the world. Liz is a past Chairman of the Provisions Trade Federation – trade lobbyists representing dairy and meat industry sectors. She is a Charity Trustee and holds a number of business Directorships. She has spent a lifetime volunteering and is a Fellow of the RSA. Liz discovered Kids for Kids through a mutual association with the humble goat and is a long-standing admirer of the charity’s prime focus on sustainable development. Patricia, our Founder says ‘“Liz and her husband Roger have been friends of Kids for Kids for many years, sponsoring out Candlelit Christmas Concert each year and raising funds through their delicious goat’s milk at the company they started, Delamere Dairy.    I am delighted that Liz is joining our Read more

By Charlotte Allum, ago

Arctic Wilderness Challenge, 22-26 January 2021

A once in a lifetime adventure through the pristine landscape of Swedish Lapland in the Arctic Circle! Get set for an action-packed charity challenge in what is often described as ‘Europe’s Last Wilderness’.  This Arctic Wilderness charity challenge will be a real test of your endurance, where you are in charge of food, digs and feeding your dogs. The challenge is basic with self-sufficient lodgings, unpredictable weather conditions as well as looking after your team of dogs! It is a mix of survival techniques and learning how to live like the Saami people. Meet your companions and the Classic Challenge Tour Manager and UK Doctor that will accompany you throughout the trip in London before flying to Kiruna, the northernmost town in Sweden in the province of Lapland.  You will travel by dog sled to different beautiful locations, and have a chance of seeing reindeer along the way. The route includes a mixture of trails from tundra lowlands to high mountain areas and dense forests and frozen lakes. The first day you will travel 30-35km by dog sled, the second day a circular route Read more

By Claire, ago

Rotary Award Surprise for Patricia!

Patricia Parker MBE, Founder of Kids for Kids, has received notable recognition from Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland. Patricia was surprised with a Paul Harris Fellowship Award at the end of this year’s online Candlelit Christmas Concert on 2nd December 2020. This prestigious honour, named after Rotary’s founder, Paul Harris, recognises those who have made substantial contributions to society, humanitarian efforts and charitable works. The recognition has been championed by South Holland Rotary Club. Jon Martin, Immediate Past President of South Holland Rotary Club, interrupted the Candlelit Christmas Concert to present the award to Patricia over Zoom before the certificate and medal were magically handed over to Patricia’s son, Alastair King-Smith, to pass to Patricia Parker in person in Devon.     Jon Martin surprised Patricia by saying, “Four years ago, Patricia, you were made Rotary International Woman of the Year – and well-deserved. Tonight, members of South Holland Rotary Club would like to recognise your achievement to the children of Darfur. We would like to present to you a Paul Harris Fellowship award. These Awards are mainly given Read more

By Charlotte Allum, ago

Missed our Candlelit Christmas Concert? See it Here!

Did you miss our wonderful Candlelit Christmas Concert this year, or would you like to see it again?    There is a link for you to enjoy the magic over and over at the foot of this page!  See Joanna Lumley OBE FRGS, Miriam Margolyes OBE, Julie Etchingham, Timothy West CBE and Lord Cope of Berkeley PC in their own homes!   Our much loved Patrons helped raise over £10,000 at our Annual Candlelit Christmas Concert this year!   So, despite COVID, all was not lost! This year, Kids for Kids took the magic online not just a prerecorded video but live on Zoom.   Patricia Parker MBE, Founder,  was delighted to welcome friends from all over the World including Jersey, Malta, Norway, Denmark, Mexico, the USA and, of course, Sudan!   Many had been unable to join us in London in past years so Covid does perhaps have benefits …..! “It was wonderful to see our audience all dressed in red, with flickering candles surrounding them in their own homes and to be able to raise a glass with our friends from across Read more

By Charlotte Allum, ago

Virtual Christmas Market

Get your Christmas shopping done from the comfort of your own home whilst supporting those in need!

Join our free online Virtual Christmas Market on 7th & 8th November to browse lots of lovely goodies – jewellery, pottery, personalised gifts & lots more!   

By Claire, ago