Newsletter

Welcome to the fourth newsletter of Painted Children, we are back with lots and lots
to tell you about. We are halfway through another successful year with plenty of
promises & possibilities. We will tell you about our ongoing projects as well as exciting
& massive upcoming events like Bangladesh Expo. We will also let you know how
successfully we have accomplished our spring events. We always welcome your
feedback & would like to include it in our following newsletters. So, if you have a story to
share with us or would like to make any comment, please email us at
admin@paintedchildren.co.uk . We thank you all on behalf of Painted Children for your
continuous support.

Safe Motherhood Project:

Painted Children Safe Motherhood Project is going strong, last time we told you of the two new groups joining, taking the project to a total of four areas of Rajshahi and supporting approximately 200 mothers. The programme is going exceedingly well, with lots of healthy babies. We've had total number of 37 successful births up to now and mothers are learning much from the volunteers and health workers regarding health education and child development. We are currently hoping to expand this project to two other areas and researching the possibility of working in partnership with other NGOs to implement these.

Baby at safe weight Safe Motherhood

Floating Hospital:

The floating hospital has unfortunately been a little delayed. After research was carried out it was realised that renovating the old ship was just going to be too expensive and surprisingly it is much cheaper to build a new structure from scratch, as well as being more reliable. Construction is nearly finished at last! Aid for Hospitals is donating lots of medical equipment which just needs to be shipped to Bangladesh and will help us to provide basic treatment to the people who live in remote area of Bangladesh.

We also have a speed boat ambulance & a mini bus so that we can transfer patients with more complicated cases to the nearest hospital. Due to this fact, the launch of the Floating Hospital has been deferred & it will not take place until autumn 2011. Keep an eye on our website and we will keep you informed with all of the updates.

Child Sponsorship

During the autumn of 2010 Painted Children partnered up with an orphanage in an area of Bangladesh called Magura in which we are sponsoring orphaned children to live and be educated well by this amazing establishment. On visiting the children's home, the charity found them to be very content, happy and well fed. They were presented with gifts donated by the customers of The Mall, Uxbridge. It was wonderful to see them excited and curious while searching through the pile of cuddly toys and games. These children are provided with a safe and happy home, fulltime education and health care provision. A very worthwhile scheme indeed. If you would like to sponsor a child please contact us.

Young boy working hard

Newham Volunteer Scheme:

Painted Children has now initiated a voluntary scheme to support Newham Disabled Children & Young People Team. The scheme has now secured funding from the Big Lottery, so we are hiring interested volunteers, providing training around health care & support skills, initially a 2 1/2 day training programme, then once a month training days. Once initial training is complete the volunteers will give a minimum of three hours per week to support young people with disabilities in the community and home in East London, enabling them to develop life skills needed for an independent future. If you would like to take part please contact us.

Upcoming Events

The biggest Bangladesh Expo in Europe of the year is going to be held on 24^th - 25^th October, York Hall, East London. The event will host a series of gala events aimed at presenting and promoting Bangladeshi products to a wide range of audiences. The number of visitors expected is approximately 50,000. The Expo will exhibit the life, culture and heritage of Bangladesh through live demonstrations and entertainment & stalls showing and selling various products. It will enhance trade and investment relationships between Bangladesh and UK. Bangladesh Expo 2011 is working with its media and marketing promoters as well as its charity partner, Painted Children. Bangladesh Expo 2011 will directly aid Painted Children's Foating Hospital which will provide primary health care and education to the most isolated coastal areas of Bangladesh.

MARATHON IN SEPTEMBER 2011!!!!

Fundraising marathon event for charity in London!

In aid of Painted Children

For detailed information please visit our website, updates will be available.

Sponsorship will provide preventive medical care for disadvantaged mothers & children allowing them to experience a better quality of life. Painted Children is planning to organise more & more exhilarating marathon events in future. Keep an eye on our website for updates.

Photographic Competition:

Painted Children is arranging another photographic competition this year where people can submit pictures based on the theme "Street Life" The competition will be launched October 2011 with exhibition early 2012.For further details please contact us by e-mail / phone. Recently we published a book as a result of the 2010 photographic competition themed 'Mother and Child'. We then hosted two exhibitions, one in Bangladesh and on in London (at Mall Galleries on The Mall leading to Buckingham Palace) in which we displayed the 40 best photographs, including the 5 winners. The exhibitions were extremely successful. We then published the book to depict these powerful images. The ISBN number for the book is 978-0-9567998-0-7 and the retail price is £15. All proceeds will go towards ensuring disadvantaged women and children receive a better quality of life. For more information or to purchase a book, just get in touch with us.

Entry from 2011 'The Hill'

Text Donation:

Help disadvantage women & children by donating £3, as easy as texting you best friend:

PACH16£ and the amount you wish to donate to 70070

Painted Children Recycling Scheme.

We have now embarked on the recycling of clothing, jewellery and ink cartridges. These schemes have been highly successful, and are proving to be a fantastic green move for the charity. Our projects benefit from all donations and so does the environment. If you have any unwanted textiles, jewellery or ink cartridges please contact us by e-mail or phone and we will arrange for collection free of charge to you, everyone is a winner!

Painted Children Sports Fest

Painted Children wishes to thank John Lewis, who kindly donated £1000 to the Kids Sports Fest, which was held on Friday April 1^st 2011, in Lee Valley Sports Centre. Senior schools from Hackney and Newham attended. Students from Years 7 and 8 both with and without disabilities took part in various sports activities including Long Jump, Shot Putt, 60m Sprint, 400m Run and a Relay. The schools competed and at the end of the day, a presentation ceremony was held where the winners very eagerly received medals and each participant received a certificate. Healthy snacks and refreshments were provided and we are sure that the day inspired the students to continue following a healthy lifestyle, healthy eating and an active participation in sports.

Shot Putt at Sports fest Award Ceremony

The aim of the day was to encourage ideals of accessibility, participation, inspiration, creativeness, stimulation, citizenship and sustainable and healthy living to our young people. The day was extremely enjoyable for students, staff and Painted Children and we hope to organise an event like this again in the future. A huge thanks to all the schools and volunteers who participated in the event!

Bupa 10K Run:

Painted Children had two runners take part in the Bupa 10K Run on 30^th May, 2011. A massive thank you to Borris & Jay who finished the race in fantastic time. It was an excellent event & everybody had a great fun and raised lots of money for charity. Painted Children promises to organise such exciting events in the future.

Skydive

Painted Children has successfully organised a Skydive event, a lifetime opportunity, which was held on 27^th of March 2011 whilst raising funds for the betterment of poor children & women. Imagine standing on the edge of an open aircraft, 10,000 feet above the ground, then letting go and falling into the clouds before starting a tranquil parachute descent. We would like to thank the authority of Cambridge Airfield who helped us to make this dream comes true & let our participants enjoy the thrill of this stunning adventure while raising fund for painted children. Thanks girls for your great efforts in the fundraising, you've made a great difference.

Award for Painted Children

We wish to express our warmest thanks to the Development Council for Bangladeshis in the UK for presenting us with a prestigious award at their AGM and Annual Dinner on Thursday, March 3^rd 2011, at the House of Commons. Receiving this award for Outstanding Achievement in Charities in Aiding Mothers and Children is a great honour to Painted Children. The fact that our work has been recognised through receiving this award means that Painted Children can reach wider audiences allowing us to support more people both in Bangladesh and in the UK.

Volunteer Opportunity!!! Supporting disabled children & Young People in Newham, London.