Aura's House November 2005 Newsletter

Dear Aura's House Donors, Friends, and Supporters,

We are pleased to announce that Heidy and Maria Rosa Rojas and their large extended family in San Pedro Sula, Honduras now have a finished sturdy brick home complete with electricity and an indoor bathroom! (I suspect it might even be bigger than my tiny apartment in the New York City area!) Thanks to our donors, the family no longer has to worry about the wind and rain knocking down their home and injuring the many small children in the family. The house was finished just in time for the latest Hurricanes and Tropical Storms that have swept through the area. See the photos and read the official letter from Children International. We will keep you posted with info and photos when the family receives their new furniture from the extra $550 we raised for their furniture fund back in August.

Speaking of Hurricanes, Aura's House's very own Anastasia Yecke recently returned from helping with cleanup efforts for Hurricane Katrina in Biloxi, MI. Check out her photos. We commend Anastasia for her big heart and helping out others, while she herself has had to dig out from the countless storms that have hit her area in Miami, FL.

As for our current projects to build a water well for 11- year old Rituparna and her Village in India and our project to send children from Zambia to school, we have raised as of November 3, 2005 a total of $1006 with $691 going to the well project and $315 for the Zambia School project. That means we are now almost halfway to our goal of $1850 for the India well project and have enabled a total of TEN children from Zambia to attend school and get an education. Thank you donors! To date, Aura's House has raised nearly $13,000 for needy families in developing countries since June of 2004.

We will increase our fundraising efforts during November and December including holding a new wine-tasting fundraiser in Miami (thanks again to Anastasia) on or around December 1. Proceeds will go to the India well project with any extra donations going to the Zambia project. This means that the more we raise for the India project before December, the more that can also go towards the Zambia project! Our goal is to finish the India project before the holidays and start a new school project. (We're still brainstorming so feel free to email your ideas to kpalana@aurashouse.com)

Best wishes from us for a Happy November and thanks as always for helping make the world a better place.

Sincerely,
Kristen Palana

Elizabeth Tembo and Kalambulwa Chalwe of Zambia, Central Africa are two 7-year olds that can now attend school thanks to our donors at Aura's House. These photos were taken when the children were not able to attend school. More photos.

Since September of 2005 we have been able to send 10 Zambian children to school with desperately needed uniforms, books, and supplies. Without these items, they are denied entrance to the free primary schools and denied the most basic education. Thank you for giving these children and their families new hope for the future.

Visit the Zambia School Project

Novembers's Featured Volunteer:

Michael Felber, New Jersey.

Mike Felber is a Senior Art Student at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey. Kristen met him when he took her Web Design 1 and Interactive Online Media classes. Mike is full of energy, has lots of tattoos, and is the best guy to have around to liven up any critique. He has been an enthusiastic volunteer at Aura's House, creating posters, flyers, and postcards for the latest India and Zambia projects.

He writes, "My name is Mike Felber, and i was introduced to Aurashouse.com by the site's creator Kristen Palana. I took a few classes at William Paterson University on web design that Kristen taught. I've designed sites before myself and have had some experience in web site design, but Aurahouse.com was more of a real time project to work on, and a very good experience. Kristen was also responsible for setting up my internship at William Paterson for poster design, so i figured what better project to donate my design skills to than to Auras House."

Mike, you will be sorely missed after graduation. Stay in touch!

Talent AND personality..

What's Next :

We are still raising a total of $1850 for the India Well and $30 each for school supplies for kids in Zambia.

This November we hope to get closer to completing our goal of $1850 for the India Well Project. Anastasia Yecke will be holding a wine tasting fundraiser on or around December 1 in Miami Florida with all proceeds going towards the well project. Details to come... Anything raised over $1850 will go towards our Zambia school project. That means the more we raise for the India project before December, the more that will help the children in Zambia as well. Please make a 100% US. Tax Deductible donation today or forward this newsletter to your friends. Thanks!

We are already brainstorming about a new project to raise money to build a school. This time, we would like to get more of our donors involved. If you already sponsor a child through Children International and would be interested in improving the learning conditions in your child's village, please let us know. We want to make your experience at Aura's House a more personal one and are open to location suggestions for building a new school or renovating an old one.

We're also always looking for people to help out with fundraising, design, graphics, promotions, and keeping the site going. Interested? Please contact Kristen (kpalana@aurashouse.com) if you have any comments, ideas, questions, or suggestions. Volunteer Job Positions can be found here.

Thanks for checking out our newsletter. Don't forget to tell your family and friends about: aurashouse.com