THE CHILD WELFARE SCHEME

For immediate release

A FUN DAY OUT AND A FUNDRAISER

(Hong Kong, Tuesday 21^th October 2003)

Following the FUNKRAISER party held at The Music Room October, the LAMMA FUN DAY will be held to raise money for the Child Welfare Scheme in Nepal.

People from Lamma and the other outlying islands will be getting together with their friends and families for a day of fun and games, markets and food, music and entertainment. This outdoor event will be held on the 23^rd November 2003 at Tai Wan To beach and on the adjacent cable road, which is just 10 minutes walk from the Yung Shue Wan ferry pier. Fun and games will start at 10 am and continue until the music stops at 10pm. On the road there will be a market with stalls selling gifts, clothes, art and crafts. Faust International Youth Theatre, Team Building Asia Circus Skills and a group of Unicycle Hockey players will be arranging activities for young and old. There will also be kids games and races on the beach, face-painting and clowns. Adults with or without rhythm can take part in a drumming workshop or enter a team in the volleyball tournament.

All the while there will be live music, including rocking local acts such as Papa Jack, Garoupa and Thinking Out Loud. This year, many of the local restaurants, for which Lamma is famous, will be providing a wide variety of culinary treats and there will be a bar to keep spirits high.

Stall holders will be making donations to the Child Welfare Scheme, and the games and activities will charge a small fee that will also go towards the charity.

The Child Welfare Scheme (CWS) is a UK registered charity that has been operating in Nepal for the past nine years. Building day-care and vocational training centres, it provides education and social welfare for kindergarten to teenage children in remote villages in the Annapurna region of the Himalayas and in the city of Pokhara. The LAMMA FUN DAY will raise funds to continue sponsoring students who are now in their third and final year at the Job Youth Opportunity Training Institute (JYOTI – which means blaze of brightness in Nepali). Money from the previous Lamma Fun Days sponsored the same students through their first two years at the Institute.

The aim of the JYOTI vocational centre is to give youngsters of 14-16 a second chance. Many of the target youths find themselves in situations in which they are exploited or forced to resort to menial work and begging. By removing them from these situations and providing them with the means to become contributing members of their society, the JYOTI centre helps them become active members of their communities. To achieve this, the teenagers are offered places in a hostel and full-time education or taken on to complete shorter courses. They are taught practical skills allowing them to become financially independent, as well as general subjects such as maths, Nepali and accountancy. Support is also offered after they have completed their training so that they can find jobs and regain a sense of self-worth.

CWS will also be holding a photo exhibition at 10 Chancery Lane Gallery, 20th - 22nd November. 'INSIDE OUT' will feature photographs taken by children living on the streets of Pokhara, depicting their everyday lives and struggles. Several of the children who participated in this project are now students at the JYOTI centre. The exhibition is aimed at raising awareness of and money for the Child Welfare Scheme. The Director of CWS Douglas Maclagan will be attending the exhibition opening on the 20th.

For further enquiries, to book a stall or find out more about CWS, please contact Andrew on 2836 1759 or 9497 4599 or at dogmonster1@hotmail.com.