Abaana is Northern Ireland based charity raising money for children in Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. Founded in January 1998, it works with children in countries such as Uganda

Uganda

Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

, Zambia

Zambia

Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....

 and Malawi

Malawi

The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...

. Projects include Building schools, Street children, child sponsorship

Child sponsorship

Child sponsorship allows an individual, typically in a developed country, to sponsor, or fund a child in a developing country until the child becomes self-sufficient. This could mean financially supporting the education, health or security of the sponsored child, or in some cases all of these...

s, access to clean water, education and medical treatment. The word "Abaana" comes from a language in East Africa and means children.

Founder

Abaana was founded by Scott Baxter in 1998. Scott Baxter was just 19 years old but had a passion to help the children in Africa. The charity started small scale as a voluntary organisation, but over the last few years has grown. They have built over 10 schools in Uganda and sponsor more than 1000 children through education.

Child Sponsorship

Child sponsorship is something Abaana is passionate about, as education is a way out of the poverty cycle. Every day in Africa, many children are simply trying to survive. The money given by the sponsor will allow the child to attend school, and provide them with other necessities such as medical care, clothing, etc. It costs £14 (or €22, US$27, CAN$38, AUS$38) a month to sponsor a child. With Abaana, the full £14 goes to Africa and towards your childs welfare - none is spent on admin.

Fast4Africa

Much of Abaana's funding comes from young people and this is achieved through an ongoing event started by Abaana to raise funds for children in Africa. During December of every year, hundreds of young people get sponsored to go without food for 24 hours. The money raised goes towards building schools, homes for street children and providing clean water, among other things. Other activities can be done instead of fasting, for example some people get sponsored to jump in the sea on New Year's Day!

Teams

Every summer, various teams (mainly from Northern Ireland) travel to Uganda. The team members help with building projects, kids work and many other things. Mens, ladies, and youth teams are organised frequently as well as teams for schools and churches.

External links

• Abaana website
• Fast4Africa website
• Football4Africa website
• Alternative Homepage