October 2011
Dear Friends:
I have spent the past year championing and creating something so very dear to my heart, and it is with great pride that I unveil to you Project LUYANDO. As many of my dear friends know, I took a trip to Africa last year. It was there that I was fortunate to visit the Kasisi Children’s Home in Lusaka, Zambia.
With 250 orphans, 60 of whom are affected with the HIV virus, Kasisi has grown to be the largest orphanage in Zambia and is funded purely by donations and has no access to any central funding. The Children’s Home provides the children with basic needs, spiritual care, love and protection, and ensures that these children will be self-supporting once they reach adulthood.
I had the pleasure of spending time with them. They loved having their pictures taken…
Within the walls of this Home I met 11 children who have found hope and inspiration at the end of a paintbrush. The images they paint represent the world through their eyes, a glimpse into who they are and the dreams they have. It is with this inspiration and the collaboration of a few dedicated friends that Project LUYANDO was born – an art based initiative dedicated to championing the quality of life for underprivileged African children by providing orphanage support through all art proceeds and donations.
I’d like to personally invite you to our INAUGURAL event and art exhibit/sale in NYC on November 3rd featuring the work of these 11 talented individuals. Through this event’s proceeds we hope to raise enough money and awareness to achieve the momentum needed to continue to grow our foundation. We ultimately seek to reach other orphanages around the world and to encourage all forms of creativity and pride among children of all ages.
Once established, Project LUYANDO envisions scholarships, art programs, and more importantly a continued revenue stream that can continue to provide for these beautiful souls.
In addition, we seek to build global peer relationships through Connect LUYANDO, an outreach initiative geared toward elementary schools, in which children of respective ages can connect via artwork and creative writing to enhance their awareness and recognition of our similarities and differences.
For those of you who cannot make the event please know that you can still help support this very personal cause by contributing a donation. 100% of net proceeds from event and donations directly benefit Kasisi Children’s Home.
Please check out our website, digital brochure, press release, and short video and allow us to introduce you the beautiful faces, voices, and artwork of these children of Kasisi. I can’t thank you enough in advance for your support!
All my best,
Carlie
P.S. We appreciate all the viral social media traffic we can get – feel free to share our materials through our website!
projectluyando.wordpress.com 