Fund Raising for the South African School

At the beginning of the summer I decided that it was only right and proper to do a spot of fund raising for the school I am going to in Knysna. True, I am volunteering but on the other hand the students and teachers at the school have to train me, coach me through how the school works and generally 'babysit' me until I find my feet. So, in anticipation of this I thought I should arrive there with something useful in my back pocket.

The first fundraiser was extremely well attended by friends and colleagues and those who could not attend gave donations. It was a joint 'do' to raise money for Mencap (a mental health charity) and for the Percy Mdala school in South Africa. We hired the top floor of a pub and persuaded three DJs to give up their time for free. A great time was had by all. And, most importantly, we raised a total of £1,200.

This Thursday we are going to be in the BX Arts Club in Belfast. Sean and Olivier, who run the club, have very kindly given us pretty much free reign. DJs Terri Hooley and Marc Harvey have given up their time and their fee and we plan to have a BBQ, whatever the weather. Looking out of the window it is raining hard. So what if rain and wind is forcast? We are a hardy lot and there is a certain appeal to BBQ-ing in adverse weather conditions. We, the cooks, will get wet but the paying guests will be toasty and warm in the club.

So, once I have counted up the money all I have to do is work out the best way to transfer the money to South Africa. A question for Travellers Worldwide perhaps.