We would like to thank everyone who participated in this year’s Dare to Dream Giving Gala! With 250 participants, the Gala raised 27 million kwanza (approximately $30,000 USD). The gala included a silent auction and raffle that included works from local Angolan artists, quilts made by the donors and the children of Casa da Criança, and various prizes from corporate donors. The gala also included a book fair, hosted by local publishers, Clube do Livro.  Attendees could purchase books for donation to the orphanage’s library. The event coincided with Sister Domingas’s birthday, which was celebrated with surprise flowers and a birthday cake.

We would like to thank Gala committee who made this possible:

To Rachel Smith, Mike Fisher, Sophie Blyth, Jane Fidler, Sara Hargeraves, and Nikki Bremner, who helped to organize the event. 

Thanks also go to the teen volunteers, who volunteered their time in greeting and facilitating the raffle and silent auction on the night of the event.

To everyone who participated and donated, your generosity means the world. Thank you!

The Gala Committee

On Tuesday, January 21, we were able to provide nearly 70 girls and women with training and instruction on menstrual care and hygiene. They received “Could You” menstrual cups that will last up to 10 years, period panties, water bottles for clean water, and personal Care Kits / Purses for storing and carrying their personal hygiene items. 

The trainer, Priscila Cachicata, traveled in from Lubango and was amazing. She brought expertise and comforting assurance to the girls, who were not shy and had many questions. 

Each Care Kit also included a cheerful note of encouragement! 

The girls were so interested and had so many questions that we want to bring Priscila back to give another training. 

 It took over a year of planning to bring this event to fruition. Sister Domingas carefully reviewed the training materials and settings to ensure the girls’ modesty and comfort. 

We are deeply thankful to Christine Garde-Denning, CEO of Could You; to the Kizomba Boot Camp Group led by Sophie Blythe for donating the period panties; to Lia Veiga for the “Could You Cups” translation and facilitating the planning of the training; to Rachel Smith for making it all happen; and to all the donors whose generosity funded this.

The training and materials provided will help with girls and women of Casa da Criança immensely, but there is an ongoing need to provide clean water to the facility in order to be able to clean the products for use, as well as in general for drinking, bathing, and cooking. You can help us support all the members of the orphanage by donating. If you would like to designate funds for water specifically, please make a note in your PayPal transaction. Your help means so much to us!

Shortly after the pandemic, the number of children at the Casa da Criança went up daily, as many families were going through difficult times. This issue created a need to begin a project to improve the accommodations of the children. The goal was to build two additional rooms. There were some difficulties due to the issues with the Angolan economy and the rising cost of building materials, but we are happy to report that we have accomplished that goal. We would like to thank the following groups and individuals for making this possible:

The British Embassy

The Bantu Company

The Sandlin Family

Sean Cook

Transetion

The Kizomba Group

Rachel and Michael Smith

Fund Cube

Ms. Tina’s Prayer Group

Mr. Nicolau and the workers at Nalcon

And all anonymous donations from Angola and abroad

We could not have done this without you, your generosity is greatly appreciated.

To complete the work we need $9,000 USD to do the entire exterior floor. One of the rooms will be used for the babies and they cannot move to that room because of the dust from outside. We appeal to all the children’s friends once again to win this battle.  We count on everyone’s love.

Thanks to the Swiss Business Council and the Angola-Swiss Chamber of Commerce

On November 15th the Swiss Business Council and the Angola-Swiss Chamber of Commerce through its social commitment, hosted a gala to raise money for the Casa da Criança Santa Isabel, that takes care of 185 children from the ages of 0 to 23. Thanks to the collective effort, the event raised 9 million Kwanza. This will be used for multiple purposes, one of which will be to buy materials to build two new rooms for the children.  Moreover, the money will also go towards buying school supplies for those at the orphanage and those who are part of the Misericórdia Groups. And finally, it will be used to buy supplies for the Casa da Criança Bakery where the children make 380 to 400 loaves of bread three times per week. 

The Casa da Criança is sincerely grateful for the gesture and initiative of the Swiss Business Council and the Angola-Swiss Chamber of Commerce. The children believe that better days are coming. They will no longer have to sleep in difficult and crowded conditions due to lack of space and beds. They are grateful for the school supplies, which will be a great help to their education, thus ensuring a bright future and a better Angola. The baking supplies will ensure the children have bread for breakfast, nourishing them throughout the day. 

Finally, the director of the Swiss Business Council said, “This event served as an opportunity to join forces for a noble cause. Together, we will continue to protect the future.”

In these words, all the children of the Casa da Criança Santa Isabel place their hopes for better days for their education and upbringing.