An Appeal

Recognising the fact that we are working out here to alleviate poverty and stimulate development, many people have asked us what they can do to help our efforts, and whether we can accept donations.

We have therefore set up two funds from which you can choose, or perhaps you may even feel compelled to give to both.

The PT Jamasatira Appeal

Dominic has been working for nine months at PT Jamasatira, which was originally set up to help farmers by paying them a fair price for their commodities. Currently farmers are at the mercy of rapacious middlemen and the vagaries of world commodity prices. This year the rains failed, and the corn crop is a disaster, also the price of vanilla (an important local crop) has fallen by 80% since last year. These events will lead to malnourished families and a degraded environment.

By alleviating the impact of these problems PT Jamasatira hopes to help farmers earn a fair price for their exertions, so they can earn their way out of poverty and invest in their future.

However, changing the way the commodity market works on a mountainous island over 400 km long presents many challenges. Furthermore, the company is starved of funds and has very limited access to capital.

PT Jamasatira has recently launched a website: http://riot.typepad.com/fairtrade where you can learn more detail about the company's plans and how it has a revolutionary new concept that will transform the lives of thousands of people on Flores.

As Dominic is organising an urgent appeal for funds, it is likely that some of you will receive an e-mail from him about this, and we would encourage you to use your contacts to see if corporate donations can be organised.

Beth's Education Fund for Girls

The education system in Indonesia is not particularly indulgent towards the bright kid from a poor family. Schooling here is not free (though some help towards fees is available from the government and various charities), and large families face difficult choices. Often this results in the eldest son being sent to further education and the remaining kids - especially the daughters - being advised to lower their expectations.

We have identified a very bright teenage girl whose life chances will be significantly enhanced if she has the chance to attend university. The family is supportive and aware of our efforts to secure funding for their daughter's education. To protect confidentiality we cannot publicise details about the individuals concerned on this website, but we will share more information with donors.

The cost of sending someone to university is approximately 10m rupiah, which is 560 pounds sterling, and if we raise more then this then we can include other children in the process, perhaps also funding secondary education (many children leave after primary education). We need to raise the first tranche of money before June 2005.

Why make a donation?

Most volunteers are encouraged to do some form of fundraising before they leave the UK, but this is to raise money for general VSO funds to cover the cost of recruiting and training volunteers. It usually takes the form of 'sponsorship', similar to when people climb Kilimanjaro or run a marathon. We did not engage in this because we wanted to get to our placement and assess what the needs were on the ground.

The advantage of donating cash direct to our projects is that VSO makes no deduction for administration costs, so 100% or your donation is available for our projects. In fact, with gift aid even more than 100% is available!

Also, you would be astonished at what can be achieved for quite small amounts of money, though clearly we are hoping that you will find a way to give quite large sums of money!

How do you give?

All donations are handled through VSO, so the easiest way to donate is to visit the VSO website:

https://www.vso.org.uk/giving/donate.asp

Fill in the form and in the box marked 'what brought you to our website?' write the following:

"Donation for project of VSO Volunteer Elizabeth Elson, ref: 729705"
or
"Donation for project of VSO Volunteer Dominic Elson, ref: 714400"

Most importantly, remember to tick the box for Gift Aid, as this adds basic rate tax relief to the contribution, which we will receive in its entirety. If you are a higher rate tax payer remember to include the contribution on your tax return, as you will receive higher rate tax relief (12%) through your tax rebate, so you may choose to take this into consideration when judging the size of your donation!

Alternatively, you can download and fill in this form:

Download donation_form_tcm8-705.pdf

and send it to:

Emma Turner
Fundraising Department
Voluntary Service Overseas
317 Putney Bridge Road
London
SW15 2PN

For the question 'Where did you hear about VSO?' write the following:
"Donation for project of VSO Volunteer Elizabeth Elson, ref: 729705"
or
"Donation for project of VSO Volunteer Dominic Elson, ref: 714400"

Any Questions?

There is nothing we like more than talking about our work out here and our projects, so if you have any questions, or would like to establish the destination of a particularly chunky donation, then just drop us an e-mail.