Eggs ...

Having been in the UK last week, I was shocked to see the price of Easter eggs, mounted high, on supermarket aisle corners with flashy signs all over.

Looking for a present for an ex-student who was looking after my car, I was tempted to buy a 'Cadburys Creme Egg' Easter egg, together with it's own china mug. Priced at £3.00 it was set to sell.

I couldn't face it. The packaging and mug alone were worth more than the cost of the chocolate; where did the chocolate come from? Examining the box, together with it's small package of 'Mini Creme Eggs' I couldn't find an origin of the cocoa. The thought of it was too much, trying to find the 40,000€ for the materials to build C.R.E.E.R in Cote d'Ivoire, even £3 seemed too much without a hint as to the origin of the chocolate!

That's it; 40,000€ - considering it will house 30 children for many years in a centre destined for trafficked children it's a ridiculously small sum. Our vision of creating a centre on 5ha of land, enough to farm & be semi-self-sufficient. Paltry in comparison to many centres I know of who have spent thousands on their buildings in rent.

My ex-student ended up with some magazines on aviation; he's thrilled. I'm happy too reflecting on what I'm trying to achieve & what I could have bought; the cost it would be for some child possibly working in the cocoa farms of Cote d'Ivoire somewhere ...

Is this the beginning of the end?

I haven't been able to post for a few weeks, it's been a terrible time that might have calmed down now, but time will tell ...

The violence that has occurred in Cote d'Ivoire over the last month has been horrific; a few 'memorable' nights of shelling in Abidjan when many lives were lost.

As far as I know my friends are fine.  I had one contact me via social networking asking for assistance, a female member of the family had been shot & needed surgery.  The same friend lost two cousins, RIP to them & all the others ...

The orphanage I used to support, EMSF in Bassam were out of touch with their directors.  Luckily I got to hear of their plight, again through #civsocial on twitter, they received food from the Mayor of Bassam amongst others having not eaten for a few days.  For a NGO to leave children stranded in these circumstances is beyond belief.  Their President in France hasn't really given a straight explanation as to why this occured or why their staff haven't been paid for 18months and therefore didn't have the funds to assist.

For the moment, peace almost reigns in Cote d'Ivoire following the capture of Laurent Gbagbo & his wife Simone.  Today via journalist friends I heard of shooting of Abobo, Cocody and in Yopougon which seems to be the worst hit.  This should quieten down over the next few days, hopefully arms will be confiscated & the UN might do their job.

My worry now is the whereabouts of Ble Goude, the leader of the 'Jeune Patriots', a henchman for Gbagbo who has had UN sanction imposed against him since 2006 & unable to leave the country.  The rumour is that he has got to Ghana.  Good luck Ghana, I wouldn't like him in my country!


Focussing now on C.R.E.E.R, getting the centre built by the end of the year, the NGO is now on Twitter CREER_RCI for anyone who wants to join us online.  The need to get it up & built for the children that are now roaming the streets of Abidjan amongst other cities is URGENT!!!  I've been getting stories of more & more children who are in danger.  Many of their 'patrons' will have fled the violence leaving the trafficked kids behind, left to fend for themselves.

Anyone who can assist with funding would be very much appreciated; we've been fundraising but it's more urgent now than ever!!!