5th Anniversary Movie

As the 5th anniversary of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami approaches, this short film remembers why FODAD was created and celebrates the valuable assistance that we're still providing 5 years on, thanks to the Friends of Della and Don.

Musical Youth

In their final visit, Pat & Clive returned to St Mary's village school where they were treated to a performance by the school band using new instruments which were bought in memory of Don's late brother Declan.

They've told us that they took loads of photo and video clips during their visit so as soon as they're back in the UK, we'll be able to post some on here. Can't wait!

Update from Sri Lanka

Pat and Clive who are friends of Steve and Gav are currently on holiday in Sri Lanka. When they heard about the work that FODAD was doing closeby, they offered to help in anyway they could whilst they were out there.

The answer is always "Yes" and today they visited the Nursery School to hand out new shoes for all the under 5s. They were welcomed with garlands and smiles and treated to a performance of song and dance. Inevitably, they were captivated by the kids' smiles...

Later, they went to the Village School to check on the progress of Imesha, the girl we met who tragically lost her mother back in June. They were able to handover 600 rupees (thats just $6 or £3.50) on FODAD's behalf to pay for her continuing monthly tuition fees.

Then it was on to the beach where they saw the new boat being prepared for the new nets that FODAD has provided to establish the fishing cooperative. Later, Pat and Clive were treated to lunch, Sri Lankan style, at Udaya's.

They're now looking forward to their third visit to the village on Friday to hopefully see a performance by some pupils at the Village School using the instruments provided in memory of Don's late brother, Declan.

We'll have lots of pictures to post when they return to the UK next week.

For people to give up precious down-time whilst on holiday is appreciated enormously and just shows how generous friends of the Friends of Della and Don are! Our thanks to them both x

Turn Trash into Cash and Help FODAD

Now there's a way to safely recycle those old ink-jet cartridges or mobile phones and at the same time turn them into cash which can help FODAD continue to do what we've been doing for almost 5 years.

It's really easy to do and costs nothing. Just visit http://www.eachonecounts.co.uk/page/charity/93 and register online. Check that the cartridge or phone has a value and then order some bags. These are sent out within 24 hours and can be returned to the FREEPOST address at any time. Then log in and enter the unique barcode on each bag. We receive £1 for each cartridge plus Gift Aid so please don't forget to tick the box.

I've just ordered 10 bags to send of the 20 or so we have lying around. That's worth over £25 to FODAD from something which we'd normally just toss away.

And if you ordered some bags, why not take them into work or your school or give them to friends and family to start collecting. Every little helps, as a rather large supermarket chain likes to remind us!

If you have any queries, let me know.

Nichola Bennett is fundraising for Friends of Della and Don - JustGiving

Nichola Bennett is fundraising for Friends of Della and Don - JustGiving

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We're on JustGiving!

The Friends of Della and Don can now be found on JustGiving.com. So if you want to donate a one-off or even regular payment, you now can, safely and securely. And if you're a UK taxpayer, remember that Gift Aid can increase the value of your gift by 28%.

For the more adventurous, why not create a page for your walk, run, cycle or whatever and link it to FODAD? Or start your New Year Resolution early and lose weight or give up smoking. You could even shave your head, do a sponsored silence or hold a quiz night or cake sale!

Watch out for the Nichola's page who is running the NYC Marathon on 1st November on behalf of FODAD.

New Shoes

On Friday, Della sent money to Sri Lanka to pay for new shoes for all the children at the Nursery School. The kids are aged from 3 -5 years and this will be the first time that FODAD has supplied new shoes for them and is a follow-on from our trip in July. Friends of FODAD, Pat & Clive are holidaying in Sri Lanka and have very kindly agreed to oversee the shoes being handed out as well as following up on some other issues. Hopefully, we'll get updates from them during the visit and share them here.

Only 105 days to go until Christmas

Ok, it's back to work and school for most of us but never fear, Christmas isn't that far away... And those who are really organised and like to plan ahead might already be thinking about buying charity Christmas Cards to send to family and friends.

We'll soon be teaming up with charitycards.co.uk to offer high quality cards for all occasions, not just for Christmas, through our own-branded online shop. It costs us nothing but if anyone chooses to buy cards through the site, FODAD will receive a minimum of 7.5% from each order and as much as 15%.

So if you're already thinking about it, perhaps hold-off until we get our store up and running. That way, you could make a small donation on something which many of us have to buy anyway.

Keep an eye out for the link in the next few weeks.