Bunchland

This is what the Stephen Lewis Foundation does with your generous donations

For those of you participating in our Dare to Draw challenge, your kids have been dutifully creating drawings everyday for the last month while you sponsor them to do so. Now that the campaign’s wrapping up, it’s time to turn in those generous pledge dollars!

Want a little more info about the Stephen Lewis Foundation? Here’s what they do:

“The Stephen Lewis Foundation was created with the express purpose of putting money directly in the hands of community-based organizations working on the frontlines of the AIDS pandemic in Africa. We support women, children orphaned by AIDS and the indomitable grandmothers who have stepped in to care for them, and sustain associations of people living with HIV and AIDS, who are bravely declaring their status and working to address stigma, educate their communities and press for change.”  Read more...

For visual learners (and comic fans), these printables are colourful, entertaining & informative

 If your kid is taking part in Dare to Draw, they probably have some questions about their undertaking. It’s great that your kid cares, and luckily the Stephen Lewis Foundation has some helpful tips on how to talk to your kids about AIDS to equip you with the facts to answer those tough questions. For another kid-friendly resource, check out these bright and colourful printables made by the New York State Department of Health. Give ‘em a read for an informative post-drawing activity.

The Super Sleuths Learn About AIDS and HIV

 Read more...

For curious kids wondering why they’re Daring to Draw

It’s a tough subject to tackle, but we feel caring kids want to know why it’s important to raise funds for this worthy cause.

What is HIV? What is AIDS?

HIV is a virus that lives in fluids, like blood, in your body. The virus stops the body from making T-cells, the cells which fight infections. When HIV has really hurt the body’s ability to make T-cells, a person develops a condition called AIDS and gets very sick. They could die, but they could also get better with proper medication from a doctor, as well as nutritious food and clean water. There is no cure yet, but people living with HIV can live long and healthy lives.

HIV is not easy to catch. You can’t catch it from touching, playing, coughing, sneezing or kissing.  Read more...

Our Dare to Draw Bunchbrary

Our January Dare to Draw project presents an opportunity for you to talk to you kids about the issues that kids living in Africa face on a daily basis. From different cultural traditions to the Rights of a Child to dealing with HIV/AIDS,  here are a few picks from the Stephen Lewis Foundation that’ll teach kids a bit more about their brothers and sisters in Africa:

Eyewitness Books: Africa by Yvonne Ayo (1995) 

Packed full of interesting pictures and facts, Eyewitness books are known for being sort of like mini museums on paper.  This is a visual guide to African culture that touches on ancient crafts, secret societies, and the journey’s of slaves from Africa to North America. For grade 3 and up.

Jamari’s Drum by Eboni Bynum and Jackson Roland  (2004)   Read more...

Dare to Draw starts this Monday! Are your kids ready to wreak havoc on that crayon box?

This mural, called  “Breaking the Silence” was painted by Xavier Cortada in collaboration with participants of the XIII International AIDS conference in Durban, South Africa in 2000.

Cortada led 2,000 conference participants in writing their messages about AIDS on small pieces of paper and then sticking them on the background of all the murals he made. (If you look closely, you can see them here.) This mural is 20 feet long and acts as a powerful tool for awareness as well as a record of what the global community had to say about AIDS in every different language.

Dare to Draw calls on kids to help raise money for the Stephen Lewis Foundation to support families affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa. Like our Dare to Draw Facebook page and get those little fingers moving for a good cause!

Bunch, the Stephen Lewis Foundation and kids in Africa need your kids’ drawings!Happy 2012! We’re kicking off the new year not with a resolution but with a dare: Starting on Monday, January 16th, we dare your kids to draw a picture a day for 30 days. And we dare you to support their dare by pledging $1 per drawing to the Stephen Lewis Foundation to help turn the tide of HIV/AIDS in Africa. This project is called Dare to Draw and it’s something we are doing in partnership with a whole bunch of amazing sites not just to raise money to support families affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa but to support your interest in raising a generation of kids who are empowered to care.  Read more...

They’ve had quite the year

Take one cup of writer mom and a pinch of five-year-old daughter. Stir in a pint of volunteering and two tablespoons of Kenya. Mix well. We’ve been so proud to host this terrific blog about moving to Kenya for a year with your 5-year-old and we hope you’ve enjoyed reading about Joanna and Cameron’s adventures as much as we have. We’ve rounded up all Joanna’s post from the last year, so check and see that you haven’t missed anything!

Dive into the beginning of Joanna Goldberg’s yearlong “With Kidlet in Kenya” odyssey: Motivations to Chuck It All In and Move to Africa.

Mamma and Kidlet get culture shock at school: Excuse Me, Do you Discipline Students With Regular Beatings?

Costumes and candy and Doing Jewish in Nairobi: Mamma keeps Kidlet connected to life back home with her DIY Holidays.  Read more...