It's coming together

After a momentary lapse of self pity this morning, it became evident how pointless it is to allow the opinion of one person drag me down, when all around me are dozens of people pushing me onwards and upwards to succeed.  It was a reminder also that at 42 I should really pay less attention to the neigh sayers and more attention to those that have so much belief in me, including myself.

This morning as usual I woke before my alarm, so I flicked to the TED app on my phone, and randomly selected a video that looked worth investing twenty minutes of my life in.  Who knew that Brene Brown's - The Power of Vulnerability, talk would be so empowering and so relevant to my recent state of mind?

Things are also starting to really fall into place with regards to the Silent Auction, I'm awaiting confirmation on one more thing and then I will be able to do a BIG REVEAL.  Excited and motivated (and even a teeny bit confident) don't even begin to describe how good I'm feeling about this right now.  I just need one more piece of the puzzle to fall into place in the next day or so and then all I have to worry about is selling tickets and getting more goodies to auction off.

Last night I received a phone call from an elderly Dutch gentleman, he had read the article in the Western Leader about my project.  He explained that in the late 50's and early 60's he and his family had lived in Kenya, just north of Nairobi, but had moved to New Zealand when Kenya became to "Africanized" but during his time there he collected a number of traditional carved pieces and he generously offered to donate them to my auction.  I have yet to see the pieces he has so kindly donated, but the generosity of this simple gesture was very touching.

Over the past few weeks I've had a little bit of communication with Hurricanes and All Black Centre, Conrad Smith.  Early readers of abs-olutely may recall me mentioning, that Conrad and his partner spent some time after the Rugby World Cup traveling through Africa.  It was during their travels they visited the Aberdare Ranges School, and Conrad has since generously contributed towards the charity.  When I started planning the Silent Auction I put on my detective hat and found a way to make direct contact with Conrad, and cheekily I asked him to be my guest speaker, but due to prior commitments this wasn't possible.  Today I received an email from him generously offering to get a signed All Blacks item for me to auction off.

Only time will tell what the item is, but I'm sure somebody will want to purchase signed memorabilia from the reigning World Cup holders, the winning All Black team.

Asante
Jacq
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♫♫ Thank You Very Much for Your Kind Donation ♫♫..

My usual quick morning check of my financial situation saw me stunned again how donations come from unexpected sources.  A generous donation from a colleague in the Getting Jacqui to Kenya account was a lovely thing to wake up to.  Top that off with a donation from my very special friend Mrs J.    Mrs J had already supported me by running the Mudrun with me, she had also sponsored me but had then proceeded to bid on my disgusting muddy top, it was this money that had been deposited into my account also this morning, thanks Mrs J and Mrs O'

I've put a halt on ALL unnecessary spending, life has become very frugal, but today I did splurge out on a Lonely Planet Kenya guide.  Over the years I've travelled to a number of places and often on my own, but never felt the need to purchase a Lonely Planet book before, but somehow this trip is different, very different.

Whilst I won't have the funds to do go on Safari and see sights that a tourist would see, I hope through the lonely planet book, my chances of seeing the 'real' Kenya exists.

I checked out some flights to Nairobi today, and found they are filling up fast, naively I hadn't taken Christmas into consideration.  I had just assumed that who else is traveling to Kenya at the end of the school year? Obviously far more people than I realised. So I think I have to pull finger and make a booking.  I don't quite have the airfare yet, but I'm sure with a little 'robbing Peter to pay Paul' I will make it happen in the next couple of weeks.

Many other mind blowingly cool things to post, but you know the old adage..."chickens and eggs, chickens and eggs...."

Asante
Jacqui

Such Beauty awaits me.

Posting daily of my pretty uneventful life, is soon going to become boring even for my most dedicated supporters.  My life just isn't that interesting.  You don't want to hear the moaning of the unproductive days or the days of self doubt constantly, so maybe from time to time a simple update is all that is called for.  Today I feel is one of those days.

I do not own the rights to these photos, they are simply images I found as I Googled Nakuru Kenya. 

I'm not anticipating getting the opportunity to experience the Nakuru National Park and all it's wonders, as my trip is not one of sightseeing, but if such an opportunity arose I won't be turning it down, simply knowing that such beauty is so close by just inspires me to raise this money.  And right now inspiration is what I need in spades. 

As a child I remember thinking the Flamingo was one of the most beautiful and strange creatures I had ever seen.  I recall my dad telling me flamingos are pink because of a mineral in the shrimp they eat copious amounts of. As I grew up and obviously became far wiser than my parents, I decided dad had this wrong, and it was just an urban myth.  And until I started write this post I was naively  confident I was far more informed than my dad... WRONG! Take a look at why Flamingos are pink  

Current Score Dad 100,0001: Jacqui: 0

Just the thought of being in an environment that has camels walking about as part of everyday life is alien to me, but one that I'm so ready to experience. 

This whole process has brought about a lot of self reflection and questioning, and I would be lying if I didn't admit I'm beginning to question myself.  Is this desire to volunteer in Kenya one of arrogance? Maybe arrogance is the wrong word.  I certainly don't believe what I have to offer is any better than what the children in the Holding Hands Children's Home already have, I feel it will be my soul that'll feel more complete if I've tried to help these children.  So maybe the word I'm searching for is selfish not arrogance, I selfishly want to volunteer in Kenya to feed my soul. 

Last weekend, my six year old godson summed it up perfectly when he asked me 

"Jacqui, are you going to go be a mummy to those kids?"  

yes Loghan, I suppose that is what I want to be, even if just for a little while.  

Asante

Jacq

Two Down Days

Does not a failure make......

It's been a tough couple of days, dealing with stuff that saps the energy is pretty draining mentally and emotionally, but nobody gets anywhere sitting back and thinking woah is me... 

A busy day yesterday, met with two of my good friends, two of the crazies who are doing the mud run on Sunday with me, and through much laughter and silliness we decided that we will do the mud run as police officers.. thats if an $11.50 hat, some plastic handcuffs and a pair of cheap aviators makes us cops... photos to follow, I can't promise they will be good photos, but they will be posted, as proof I completed... shhhhhh don't tell them, they will never know.

Lunch was nice, I met with my Head Cheerleader, we talked, a lot, because talking is what we're do, and it was necessary, and this time it was more necessary than normal.... But just hearing the voice that empowered me to start this journey remind me I can do this gave me the push in the direction I needed.     Thank's you  :o)

Headed out for what was meant to be an early drink and tapas with a person who generously donated to my Silent Auction, considering I had been out since 8:30am and was not really dressed for an evening out in Parnell with the "beautiful people," I felt a little uncomfortable, but to be honest it was no biggie I coped.  So it was an evening of pleasant company, good wine, nice food, and what can only be described as variety of interesting people, it certainly made for a far more entertaining Thursday evening than I normally have.  It made me realise I really don't get out enough, maybe if I did I could have made a quarter of my Kenya target in week or two.  There were a few pretty generous offers that came my way as I shamelessly self promoted, and if even one of them comes to fruition I will be a happy camper... 

Watch this space!!!!!

UPDATE COMING LATER TODAY

Lots of small happenings during the past week, but I was advised that too many updates, were not the way to go... I'm not sure, I think they kept me focused.  Maybe I will update, but just not spam my Facebook with them.  For me documenting what I'm doing this way is my way of blurting out all thats happening, without boring the pants off people around me.  I'm a 'sharer' but people don't always want to hear, so if they stumble across or seek out this blog, it's a choice they have made and hopefully I'm not being "That annoying fundraising for Kenya woman."

What a Day! - "Action creates Activity"

Where do I Start?

I came to the decision yesterday that I had to make a concerted effort to put the feelers out, I needed to start being more pro-active in making a start on the money front... all the talk in the world is not going to get my butt on that plane, not unless that talk gets results.... As my cheerleader frequently tells me..."Action creates Activity" I think today was proof of that... 

I'm not a big fan of "counting my chickens before they are hatched" so maybe all the glow of yesterday might fade... but what ever happens, it's given me an enormous dose of motivation, that has me fired up.  I was awake at 04:00 with a million thoughts running through my head.

A week ago I asked a colleague to enquire if her husband's work still supported local fundraising events with Sausage Sizzles (the good old traditional Kiwi money spinner)  yesterday she came back with much better news than I could have anticipated.  Yes, they do support fundraising events, not only she had arranged for me to have at least two (possibly three) and not only do they allow you to have the sausage sizzle at their store, they supply the BBQ, and the sausages..... all I have to pay for is the bread and the serviettes, and arrange the manpower, how amazing is that? Once I have it all organised, I will post a link on the Acknowledgements page to this generous local business.   

So I was pretty happy when the usual four of us trotted off to Bar 159 for our Friday "Meeting"  I had already decided that 159 was going to provide me with results.. and I wasn't wrong.  Every week there is a table of what look like Tradies and a few other guys, they are always friendly, and keep to themselves.  

Those who know me, know I can and will talk to anybody, just don't put me up the front of the room in front of people to do this or I might just vomit... but walking up to a group of people and chatting, no problem!  Shameless self promotion, is not my normal topic of conversation, but sometimes needs must.  So these guys got the full force of the  "Jacqui Edwards, is doing a mud run, Jacqui Edwards is  going to Kenya." rant and guess what? it worked... 

It turns out, one of these guys is the Trade Manager at a local VERY large hardware store and is prepared to donate goods to my silent auction (and make some generous changes to the school trade account as well) Another has a daughter who is in the promotions department at Samsung, this woman is currently volunteering in Cambodia, but he is confident due to my cause she will come to the party with an item or two for the auction too.  And to top it all off, they will all sponsor me for the mud run. 

Here I was handing out my phone number, email address and newly printed flyers like they were candy.  Maybe these will lead to nothing, but whatever the outcome the response was encouraging.  

After our usual hour of drink and chips my colleagues were all leaving (incidentally I had abandoned them for most of) the table of new supporters invited me to join them.  They were a great group of guys just genuinely interested in the Kenya project and what I was doing to make it happen.  

So I'm feeling inspired and motivated... this is going to happen, I'm sure of it.

Jacq

PS: Oh yeah, my getting to Kenya account is no longer empty the lovely music teacher at my school had joined us for our "meeting" and I was sharing with her my progress and mentioned I had opened an account, even if it was currently at $0:00 when she generously opened her wallet and placed $20:00 on the table, with the words "No account can have nothing in it"             Thanks Rose xx 

In a quandry

After getting really positive feedback on the flyer I'd created I was feeling inspired.  I had asked a good friend to look it over and be as critical as needed.  This friends area of expertise is management, promotions, events and marketing, so he knows what he's talking about, so I know if he makes a suggestion its probably worth listening.  He's also been hugely encouraging in my decision to chase this dream - I'm blessed to have such good people in my life. 


When he rang to give me feedback on the flyer it was all positive, a few "tweaks" suggested here and there, but on the whole all really encouraging.  Then he dropped a bombshell of an idea that sounds nearly as daunting as the Kenya trip itself..... 


The idea if successful would probably raise around half the funds required in one single evening.  "Brilliant" "It's a no brainer" "go for it!!" I hear you say say. But REALLY...? 


If I'm honest I think I could organise it, I think I could make it happen, I'm good at that stuff, but for someone else, I'm not so sure about doing it for me! shameless self promotion isn't my strong point.  I like being behind the scenes. 


By the end of our conversation, I had been sold, I had to agree it sounds like a brilliant idea, and who am I to question the person who thinks this stuff up for a living?  So with his advice ringing in my ears, I am set to try to organise a single event that will hopefully generate approximately $3500.. Last night I started by sending out a few emails... the plan for today, sit down and brainstorm what I need to do, who I need to ask to help me, and work out the way forward from here. Eeeeek. 


Jacq
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