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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

DARFUR – A YEAR IN CRISIS

This year, 2020, the children, families and villages in Darfur have been hit by one crisis after another. They have suffered drought in the heat of summer, fires blazing through their homes and villages causing several fatalities and loss of livestock, and recently floods washing away their crops. Inflation is out of control.   This is before we even consider the catastrophe that has been caused by COVID-19. How are families supposed to survive? They desperately need our help! Please do take a few minutes to engage with our most recent news, hearing straight from Patricia Parker MBE, Founder of Kids for Kids, how we are currently doing everything we can to help fight COVID-19 in ‘News from Darfur’ and learning exactly what Kids for Kids have planned for the future. With Christmas coming up, we invite you to Give a Tree – the perfect gift! – and suggest other wonderful ways for you to get involved and Help this Christmas. The people of Darfur really do need us more than ever now. Please do consider becoming a Regular Giver or Read more

By Charlotte Allum, ago

Interview with Our New Patron – Miriam Margolyes OBE!

We are thrilled to welcome our newest Patron, Miriam Margolyes OBE! Many of you will know Miriam from her magical Readings at our annual Candlelit Concerts. Behind the scenes she has been doing all she can to provide support for our sustainable work helping children in Darfur, Sudan, especially now with our desperate and urgent appeal for soap as the only hope families have against COVID-19.   Miriam attended our Candlelit Christmas Concert in both 2017 and 2019 as a Guest Reader and has supported our Ambassadors’ Ball Auction for three years straight. Both events are major fundraising initiatives held annually by Kids for Kids, each raising over £20,000 a year.  “I was really touched at Miriam’s response when I invited her formally to become our Patron” said Patricia Parker, our Founder.  “She said she was honoured – and when you think that we are helping children living out of sight, of sadly no interest to the world in general – simple families struggling to bring up their little ones – it is us who are honoured to have someone Read more

By Claire, ago

News from Darfur about COVID-19 – Updated

Updates: “Almost a quarter of the population of Sudan are going hungry as conflict, rising food prices and the coronavirus take their toll. About 9.6 million people now face severe food shortages, the highest number recorded in the country’s recent history.” The Guardian, 28th July 2020. “Over 12,500 people had contracted COVID-19 in the country, including 781 who died from the disease, as of 17 August.” A state of emergency was declared in North Darfur on 13th July. “The situation is likely to compound already significant humanitarian needs in North Darfur, where nearly 330,000 people are severely food insecure.”  Read the OCHA Sudan Situation Report. “1.1 million children in Sudan are going hungry as the country faces its worst food crisis in recent years.” – Relief Web, July 8th. Patricia says “We must provide goats urgently to families, as their milk provides children with essential nutrients at a terribly difficult time. With inflation 100% as of May, the need is growing. Along with our Appeal for Soap so people can be protected from the virus, goats are needed desperately.  Please Read more

By Claire, ago

Joanna Lumley Announces Goat Drawing Competition Winners!

“Thank you all so much for your fantastic goat drawings,” says Patricia Parker, the Founder of Kids for Kids. “We hope you had a lot of fun drawing your goats – I have LOVED looking at them! I am sure you all know just how precious goats are to children in Darfur, their milk providing hungry and malnourished children in Darfur with essential protein and nutrients. Mums can also sell extra goats milk and yoghurt at market – earning their first ever income. To find out more about goats and how they save the lives of children in Darfur do visit our Why Goats page. And if you can donate a goat today you will be making a real sustainable difference to a family in great need. Thank you!” A Message from Joanna Lumley OBE, our Competition Judge: “This has been an amazingly difficult competition to judge, partly because I am not sure that one picture or painting is ever ‘better’ than another, and partly because the standard in each group was sky-high. I want all the contestants to know Read more

By Claire Atkins, ago