Giving Globally

Nature’s Child assists our local, national and international community projects where we can. We are inspired by active community, environmental and cultural education that benefits the peaceful co-existence for all living creatures. Here is a glimpse of some of the organizations we have supported. It is organizations like these that keep us in balance in our highly industrialised and commercial world. They enrich the lives of all of us and enrich our world. We can’t live without them. If one jumps out at you, inspiring you as it did us, please visit their web sites to learn more about them, support them where you can and spread the word about their great work.

Kids Earth Fund
http://www.kidsearthfund.org.au

Mission Statement: To support children’s early education through creative opportunities in order to help them grow intellectually and develop responsibility to protect the earth’s environment and to live in peace with their ‘neighbours.’

Children donate their artwork to KEF, which in turn, exhibit the works to help raise funds to assist other children in need. KEF commissions children's art, which expresses a global vision of environmental health and peaceful co-existence throughout the world. The philosophy of "kids helping kids" runs throughout the organisation.

In 2002, Nature’s Child sponsored and artist to work with local children in Byron Bay Community School for a KEF workshop. Visit http//:www.kidsearthfund.org.au to learn more about how you can assist KEF by becoming a volunteer, getting your school involved ( wherever you live in Australia) or enjoy the children’s artworks at an exhibition near you.

The GREEN GECKO project is an initiative founded to benefit the lives of the Cambodian street children in Siem Reap.

Anyone who has spent any amount of time in the streets of Siem Reap will know these children. While most would have been hassled by their begging, only some would have had the pleasure of getting to know the kids themselves - their humour, tenacity, cunning, hope, trust and friendship.

The sad reality is that these children, as young as 5 years old, are often the primary breadwinners for their families. Their living conditions are often desperate, either living in very poor housing or no housing at all. Many of the children sleep unaccompanied on the pavement, defenceless to abduction, abuse and disease. The GREEN GECKO project is about educating and teaching them skills so they can eventually stop begging and earn money in a safer, healthier way. It also provides a safe house shelter, care and stability for those physically battered or psychologically in need.

The GREEN GECKO project has rented a small house called GREEN GECKO headquarters which is located by the river, close to the old market. At the house the children can eat a hot lunch, attend an English class, feel secure, play, dance, get a hug, put heir pictures up on the wall, have a shower, get their hair combed, brush their teeth and receive medical attention.

In addition to the house, The GREEN GECKO project is developing a brand new vocational program for the children called CIRCUS GECKO - street performances by street kids. It will not only teach them juggling, acrobatics, dance and performance skills, it will eventually provide them with an opportunity to earn a more favourable source of income by entertaining tourists instead of pestering them.

With CIRCUS GECKO the children can expel their abundance of energy, build their self-esteem, set goals and achieve them, work as a team, develop a multitude of skills, discover self-discipline, earn a living and ultimately, instead of begging … have some good old-fashioned fun.

Our greatest threat to the project is the kids’ parents. They are either hungry or have an addiction problem and have little concept of the future. Our greatest hurdle is convincing them that all their lives would benefit if only they’d allow their child to take a few hours off begging to learn a new language and vocation. It is a huge, long standing complex issue and we hope to attract community involvement in addressing it.

If you would like to donate to the green gecko project or learn more about how you can help if you are visiting the area, please email getinvolved@greengeckoproject.org

Nature’s Child sent crayons, clothes and cash assistance to the school in November 2005, personally delivered by Nature’s Child CEO Jannine Barron. We maintain a close relationship to the school and its founders and continue to donate to this fantastic initiative to add value to the lives of street kids in Cambodia.

Most famous for their sea of hands exhibition around Australia, ANTaR or Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR), is an independent, national network of mainly non-Indigenous organisations and individuals working in support of justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia. ANTaR receives no grants from Federal or State governments and is non-party-political.

Almost 250,000 Australians have put their signatures on a hand in the Sea of Hands and helped in its installation in locations around Australia. Nature’s Child joined ANTaR in 2003 in recognition of the important role of supporting active community participation in genuine reconciliation and nurturing relationships between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians.

ANTaR's purpose has always been to support Indigenous people speaking for themselves, rather than to speak for Indigenous people. ANTaR has a close and unique working relationship with Indigenous leaderships.

Much of ANTaR's work is carried out by peak state and territory ANTaRs and by numerous local groups. This includes activities focused at a grass-roots level local reconciliation initiatives which are carried out in conjunction with local Indigenous groups and other members of the local community. There are in excess of 200 local ANTaR groups.

ANTaR’s purpose: o generate in Australia a moral and legal recognition of and respect for the distinctive status of Indigenous Australians as First Peoples. Recognition of Indigenous Australians' rights, which include self-determination, their relationships to land and the maintenance and growth of their cultures, is essential to creating a just and fair society for all Australians.

The Wilderness Society
http://www.wilderness.org.au

The Wilderness Society is a national, community-based, environmental advocacy organisation whose mission is to protect, promote and secure the future of wilderness and other high conservation areas.

Since its formation in 1976, The Wilderness Society has achieved the secure protection of over seven million hectares of wilderness and other high conservation value areas in Australia, including: *Kakadu *The Daintree *Kangaroo Island *South West Tasmania *Australia's sub-Antarctic Islands *Victoria's mallee woodlands. If you can spare anywhere from $5 to $500 per month, contact them today to set up a monthly donation that can be direct debited from your account.


Free Nappy Tallks

Nature’s Child holds a series of FREE community events twice a year. If you are local to the Byron Bay area and would like to be on the mailing list to receive this news, please email us and let us know you would like to be on  our mailing list! Pictured here is Nicole Moore giving a talk on Nappy Free at a local film and discussion night we held in October 2005. Other events include Baby Massage, Making Toys at home, Using Cloth Nappies, Pregnancy Pampering, Lactation Assistance, The Benefits of Babywearing and Naturopathy for Children. If you have a topic of interest that you would like us to help with, please let us know.