On Thursday 26th September, Patricia Parker came to the Social Impact Society to talk about her organisation: Kids For Kids. As one of our Eton Action Charities this year, Kids for Kids helps children the world has forgotten. Children in Darfur, Sudan, who live lives of inexcusable and unimaginable hardship. Regarding their key project, the goat loan, Patricia told us “we don’t believe in charity, we believe in enabling people to help themselves”.
Patricia began her talk with the story that led to the founding of Kids for Kids. She described how on one of her trips to the Darfur region of Sudan, she encountered a boy walking through the desert by himself. To her surprise, he told her that he was on a seven hour journey to the closest water source. Shocked by the boy’s desperation and poverty, she set out to provide an integrated package of sustainable projects to families living in the dessert. Projects suitable to the region which have both an immediate and long-term impact, lifting families out of abject poverty and transforming whole villages.
Intertwined with stories of her travels in Sudan (including her capture by rebels), Patricia described the array of initiatives that Kids For Kids is undertaking. These include providing hand-pumps to villages, organising tree planting to reduce desertification, opening kindergartens to educate young children, and of course, loaning goats to families for nourishment and work.
Patricia’s lasting message was one of inspiration: use your opportunities and you can make an impact on the world.
Santiago Garcia Santos JMG
