One World Party

Extending Networks - Joining Hands - Shrinking Worlds

About One World Party

 

Our Mission

 

‘One World Party is dedicated to supporting programmes and incentives in the UK and the developing world that train and educate women and children to a point where they are able to maintain themselves and their families on a permanent basis’

 

Our Aims

The One World Party’s aim is to promote the concept of ‘responsible giving’ through raising funds for non-governmental organisations that have very low overheads and are addressing poverty at a grass roots level. 

 

Our chosen charities have a good track record in improving the lives of some of the poorest women and children in India and Africa & South America. We also support different UK based charities that help disadvantaged or vulnerable women and children in this country. As a fundraising and grant giving group, we run events with a multi-cultural theme that help people to connect, reach out, have fun as well as make a difference.  

 

One World Party is a fully voluntary group with a dedicated steering committee and a team of enthusiastic helpers, and all funds raised benefit our chosen charities or projects, as described below.

 

 

Background to OWP and how it all started:

 

The original idea for holding a 'One World' Party as a fundraiser came about as a result of the events of 26th December 2004 when people around the world were shocked and appalled by the devastation of the Boxing Day tsunami. The tsunami touched families in every nation of the world and brought people together in a way that possibly no natural catastrophe has ever done before. 

 

The Boxing Day tsunami was monumental, and has been followed by other major catastrophes since, but few people realise that a tsunami-sized disaster occurs every week. 

 

Across the world a similar number of people die needlessly from hunger and hunger related diseases each week as were wiped out by that disastrous wave. Nearly 40,000 people a day perish from the consequences of deep poverty and about half of those victims are children.   

The 'One World Party' charity project was founded by Ute Wieczorek-King in Spring 2005 with the aim to raise awareness, as well as funds for small NGOs, church and community groups, by staging multi cultural fundraising events. What the chosen organisations all have in common is that they address poverty and the above-mentioned problems at the grass roots level, have low overheads but suffer from lack of publicity and a chronic lack of funding. 

These organisations contribute to making poverty history by focusing on key areas like basic education for children or training and micro finance solutions for women. 

Providing education and micro enterprise are known to be proven solutions to poverty. ‘Education’ is one of the major challenges most developing countries have in common. Not only does Education have the power to transform the future of children generally, apparently the single most effective way to reduce poverty is to invest in the education of girls.  

With the benefits of education being manifold, it is worth bearing in mind that for each year of schooling children receive, individual earnings increase by a worldwide average of about 10 percent, according to the World Bank!  

About the projects we support:

We want to use our 'One World' events as an incentive to improve the lives of some of the poorest and vulnerable women and children in the developing world and have chose to raise awareness as well as support  ‘Food for Life’ in Vrindavan India, and ‘Africa Now’s Women's Village Banks in Western Kenya. 

At each of our events we also support a local charity. Currently this is Family Friends, a charity that helps families in times of crisis. More information about Family Friends can be accesses on their website- please click on their logo below:

One World Party supports a micro finance project in Western Kenya, where AFRICA NOW has been helping groups of women in 8 rural communities to set up and run their own village banks. Having previously had no access to finance, women in disadvantaged communities have since been able to support their families by developing small income generating businesses.  Unfortunately EU funding for this project is coming to an end this year. As only a few of the 8 banks have been operating long enough to have achieved sustainability, the Village Banks are now open to both women and men. However the focus of the project is still women, who are now no longer dependant on charities for the services they need. 

Food for Life is a charity and humanitarian organisation based in India. For the last ten years, Food for Life has worked in the poorest villages in the Vrindavan area (120km south of New Delhi). This small charity provides many basic services including medical assistance, and securing a safe water supply. One of the ways they raise funds is through sponsorship of children, as they both educate and feed poor children at their own Sandipani Muni primary school. 

Food For Life also offers training courses and micro loans to women. In India one third of all women are thought to be illiterate, and many women suffer from a lack of basic parenting skills. ‘Food for Life’ is able to address this through education and training. Educated mothers are far more likely to send their children to school, and are able to contribute to helping their family escape the vicious circle of poverty.

 

One World Party is supporting Food for Life in providing continuing education, particularly for disadvantaged girls and women. Find out more here: www.fflvrindavan.com