Need some help !

The Sweet Charity adventure continues in December.  Cold weather , wind and rain is not gonna stop us. I had a fabolous time with my guest driving around villages , chatting and laughing. I even received some gifts : chocolates and two beautiful hijabs with a full demonstration for how to wear it in many different styles:) And of course there was a donation. This time we raised money for Red Cross. Today I also want to give you a quick update and need to ask you for a big favor. If anyone is thinking about visiting us anytime soon,  we are very happy to host in December ( apart from Christmas and New Year). We are also available in January,  but we are going to be away for couple of weeks.  We are going to Spain to explore a little bit of beautiful Andalusia.  And this is the reason for why I need your help. I am in a desperate need for practicing my Spanish.  So if any of my followers speaks Spanish ( even as a second language) please vesit me now or at the  begging of next month.  Until the 10th of January all Spanish speaking friends can stay with us FOR FREE.  Please,  let your friends know by sharing this post with whoever could be interested! Big kiss and hug!

Re-member

Re-Member is a registered  nonprofit organization, which works with the Oglala Lakota Nation on Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota USA. They strive to improve the quality of reservation life through relationships, shared resources and volunteer services. I learned about this organization thanks to my guest Ania. As you have probably guessed, this was the charity Ania chose to support after her "sweet charity weekend" here in the Cotswolds. She developed her interest in helping Native Americans after discovering a series of heartbreaking documents about their history and present-day struggle.
Dear Ania. Hosting and meeting you was an honor. You are a great person with a beautiful open mind . I am going to keep my fingers crossed for your plans and noble ideas. Perhaps one day we are going to meet again. Until then : GOOD LUCK !

November

To be honest I didn't expect any guests in November. But they came ! This week I was visited by the couple from France. They arrived on the awful rainy day. Really. English weather at its worst. But they still said that they absolutely loved the Cotswolds and Broadway. They also did something quite impressive. They managed to travel from Bibury to my place by the public transport. I am just mentioning this, as I do receive messages with the questions about Bibury. I would always say that it is impossible to get there without a car...but I am happy to admit that I was wrong.
Anna just finished her university. Since she studied Environmental Law it was only natural that the organization she chose to support works to protect birds, wildlife and people.   
For those of you who are interested , here is a recap of what this organization does, and how exactly it operates : http://www.kjhall.org.uk/lpo.htm

Enjoy your Sunday !

October

Today is the last day of October.  It has been a good, well balanced time for me and my family.  And the Sweet Charity has raised some more money.  This month was much slower than the summer,  but we still made £30 . I was visited by cheerful Leanne from Canada, and a great guy called Anoop.  They both said they loved it here. No wonder.  The Cotwolds looks incredible with some autumn touches.  Now we are entering November which tends to bring more showers and short,  often gray days.  I have a feeling that this is going to put people off from travelling and I am not going to receive many visitors.  I am still hoping that December with it's Christmas charm is going atract few more people to my home.
Enjoy your Halloween!

Zalipie

Last week we went on another minitrip. This time I decided to show Iris some of my motherland. We went rural with the focus on the beautiful village Zalipie. We stayed one night with a couchsurfing family and that helped us to raise another £10. 

Big thank you to Justyna and her family for accepting our request. We supported an organization called Habitat For Humanity. 

Today however , I don't want to write about our fundraising. Instead I would like to invite you to Zalipie , where you can stay in a truly extraordinary house. Apart from Couchsurfing we also decided to stay for one night in a traditional painted house. We thought it was such a special experience , and we didn't want to miss out on it. I just fell in love with this home and the business owners. Yes, it was the rental house but the hosts were incredibly generous and welcoming. They went an extra mile to make sure that Iris wasn't bored. They brought a play equipment for her , invited her to their home so she could use some toys that belong to their grandchildren. They even gave her some homemade food ! This is the link to this very special place , where you immediately feel at home : http://goscina-u-babci.pl/

I am sharing this with  you because supporting small local business is a key to ethical travel . And this place is all about the real hospitality , not just money making opportunity. 

Good news, bad news

I can't believe it ! Today it is the last day of August. This summer has been quite busy for us. We met and hosted quite a few people . Today I have two announcements. The bad news is that on Monday we are going to Poland. That means no hosting until October . The good news however is very very good ! This actually is a celebration post . I am proud to tell you that thanks to my efforts and your participation we manged to hit a nice round number. We raised HALF A GRAND. And this is not the end of the story. We went well beyond it and the exact amount of money I so far donated with your help is £595 . This makes me so happy and the sweet charity journey is going to go on. If you are thinking about visiting the Cotswolds , definitely consider this October. May and October, in my opinion are the best for exploring this area . Even though I am going to be away I will still be available to answer your questions . So if there is anything you would like to know about my place , my home or transportation , just drop me a message ! Let the adventure continue :)

Amazon Rainforest

So we came back from Paris. I was exhausted but very happy. Today I would like to tell you about our big-ish donation to the very special organization. I give you a hint. One of the very first things that I saw in Paris was the logo of " Extinction Rebellion " . I made a joke, and I said to my friend : " This is the sign. We are going to donate our money to save Amazon Rainforest " . That actually was a very bad joke, as on the following day bad news came from South America.

World Land Trust (WLT) is an international conservation charity that protects the world’s most biologically significant and threatened habitats acre by acre.

Through a network of partner organisations around the world, WLT funds the creation of reserves and provides permanent protection for habitats and wildlife. Partnerships are developed with established and highly respected local organisations who engage support and commitment among the local community.

Actually I have known this organization for a while and I always wanted to give £100 to 'buy an acre' . For a single donation , £100 seemed like a relatively large sum for me. But when I planned my trip to Paris and I was invited to Pierre's house to enjoy the free accommodation, I thought it was a perfect opportunity. Three girls , 4 nights in a very expensive city of Paris. £100 between us didn't seem that much , especially that I shared this expense with my friends Bozena. 

Deforestation is a real problem. Climate change is a big issue. If you want to support a charity and you don't know where to put your money , protecting and planting trees is always a good way to go. Every single human and every single animal will in some way benefit from that.

Beautiful lady Samina

It is Sunday and I am very busy getting ready for our mini holiday . On Tuesday we are going to Paris. I just want to take few minutes to tell you a story of my weekend with a beautiful lady Samina. She stayed with us for 2 nights. Samina is person who 'believes in charity and it a big part of her life' ( her own words ). She told me about some of the projects and organizations she has been supporting over the years.  Meeting person that generous makes me feel quite small.
We raised £20 that was donated to https://www.kidneyresearchuk.org/ . KidneyResearch is the leading charity committed to developing treatments, patient information and raising vital public awareness to help save lives. There are three million people in the UK living with kidney disease right now. One million don’t even know they have it and there is no cure. The research aims to improve the quality of life of those living with kidney disease. Ultimately, they want to eradicate this silent killer.

 Dear Samina ! I wish you all the best with your new career and I hope we are going to meet again.

Magda's visit

GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Recently I have been reading a lot about the issues of the food sovereignty and climate change. So when I received my guest this Monday , and they had asked me about the suggestions on my favorite organizations , I had no doubts . The overall objective of GRAIN's programme is to deepen public understanding of the forces shaping the global and local food systems and their impact on farming and food security, and to support social movements and civil society organisations in advancing towards food sovereignty. This is such an important problem ! If any of my followers actually has a deep knowledge and interest in this field, please send me a private message. I am eager to learn more on this subject.
This time thanks to Magda and here lovely family we raised £30 . It was nice to have some Polish people around. I hope you enjoyed your time in the Cotswolds and  I hope to see you again :)

Born Free Foundation

Here I am. A survivor of the Czech and Slovakian invasion. I must say : it wasn't a bad experience at all. In fact I just loved it. Of course I am talking about yet another visit. Normally I don't accept last minute requests ( hint hint !) , but this time my inner spirit commanded : "Go for it . It is going to be epic". And yes, It was right. I had a great pleasure of meeting people with the set of interests very similar to mine. And I love talking about travelling Mexico. Always :) So yeah, we ended up having a nice chat, exchanging ideas and we raised more money. My guests were very interested in preserving the beauty of the wild life and eco projects. Therefore it was decided, that this time we should donate to the organization called Born Free. This time we raised £40 ! Nice. And on the top of that , the manager of The Sweet Charity Project ( aka Me) received a bottle of wine. Best present ever. Thank you ! 

Ling and Yoyo

This week I hosted two lovely girls from China. Ling and Yoyo. They arrived with the good energy . And little present ( see the picture attached ). Iris just adored them and they appeared to feel the same about her :) This visit was also special, because the ladies chose a Chines NGO as a receiver of their donation. It was very interesting for me to learn about The Tencent Charity. I struggled to find any information translated into English, but Ling explained to me that she has been supporting this Organization for years. They run many different projects , that save lives every day. Ling and Yoyo were particularly interested in projects operating around the Chinese health system. As they explained to me , the medical system in China is still underdeveloped , treatments are very expensive and many people can't afford it. In extreme cases parents are forced to( quite literally ) abandon their ill children , as they can't afford the treatment. Tencent Charity ( among other things ) sponsors those kids, giving them some hope for the future.
So yeah ! I am so happy to announce that we have raised yet another £20 !

 

Next Generation Nepal

    What do you know about the child trafficking ? Today let's talk about Nepal. For thousands of people ( including myself) this country is a dream travel destination. But behind the breathtaking beauty , there are many problems that some NGOs are trying to address.

The decade-long civil war in Nepal (1996–2006) claimed more than 12,000 lives, and the devastating economic consequences of it have affected hundreds of thousands more in one of the poorest countries in the world. In the remote regions of the country intimidation and even murder was used to control villages, and children were regularly used as pawns in the ongoing conflict.
To avoid their children being conscripted, parents would seek opportunities to send their children to safety away from their villages. This is where traffickers found an opportunity. By visiting villages and informing frightened parents of the promise of a boarding school education in the capital, away from the conflict, they tricked parents into handing over their children. These parents believed that they were not only saving their children’s lives but giving them an opportunity. Sadly, this was not the case.
Although the conflict ended in 2006, poverty remains prevalent and the promise of one’s child receiving an education in the city is tempting—for their child and as an opportunity to improve the economic status of the family. Parents are therefore still tricked and manipulated into handing over their children and often give money they do not have. The threat of children being trafficked has been even further compounded as a result of the April 25 and May 12, 2015 earthquakes that killed roughly 9,000 people, and deeply affected the lives of millions more. Homes and schools were leveled, and crops and livestock were destroyed. Many fear that the resultant situation will mimic that of the conflict years, as desperate families are again vulnerable to traffickers offering safety and education for their children.
Organizations such as  Next Generation Nepal offer temporary care and education for children trafficked into exploitative children’s homes. Programs also include reintegration and prevention system.
I am very happy that my guest Shauni decided to donate her money to this organization. Thank you for visiting us ! Hope you had beautiful time here in Broadway :)

Meeting Joel

I love meeting new people. I love listening to their stories and  I like learning new things from them. Every guest is special , but some are like old friends who just went on the long journey and then came back to share all the important things they had learned. Joel was one of those ' old friends'. This Argentinian traveler and blogger stayed with us for couple of night. I am trying to learn Spanish so I was waiting for his arrival so impatiently. Normally( and understandably ), my guests come around to enjoy the beauty of the Cotswolds and don't have that much time left for interaction with me. Joel however came with a very different mission. He spent majority of his time with me and Iris, helping me at home and teaching me Spanish. As a blogger he offered to promote my Sweet Charity Project . In my life I had a luck and pleasure to meet many wonderful people, but Joel's kindness and generosity went well beyond any standard. And on the top of all that , another £20 was donated to Antek Wojownik SMA. Few days ago Antek ( my friend's son) was admitted to the hospital again :( He is a very strong boy and with a support of his loving family he is able to move mountains . Things are going to get better soon XX
Happy Sunday everyone ! I am sending my love to all of you, but especially to my friends : Antek and Joel !

Autism support

    Hi my wonderful people ! This weekend I had a great pleasure of hosting two Polish girls : Zuza and Maja. Both based in London , desired a little countryside escape and decided, that The Sweet Charity was the way to go :) They chose a perfect time, as the weather was mostly sunny ( and that has been a rare thing recently). The organization they decided to support was The National Autistic Society . That was because one of them ( Maja ), was a special education teacher. I couldn't be more happy with their choice. Some of you perhaps know, that I also studied Special Education and Social Work. Before my daughter was born, for many years I worked with people with learning disabilities, autism and mental health issues. And I loved it !
So my girls ! Zuzia and Maja. Thank you for your visit and thank you for your donation of £30. Thank you for treating me to a delicious breakfast.  I had such a good time with you and I truly hope that we are going to meet again. I wish you a good luck with your new life in the UK.

We are back!

So we are back! It is good to be home,  but I must admit,  that leaving Poland wasn't easy.  We had to leave my family,  and that was very sad. We left beautiful sunny weather to be welcomed by the English summer ( 10 degrees and rain) . To make the situation even more stressful,  our flight was delayed and we arrived home at 1 am. But when I finally got back home,  I found something that put a veeery big smile on my face! Presents from New Zealand:) They came from Bang Vu , who was going to stay with us as a Sweet Charity guest.  Sadly his plans have changed slightly, and he decided to visit Broadway few days before his initial plans and we could not meet:( I felt sad about it. We have had few chats to arrange his visit and he did sound like a great person.  And he proved to be a wonderful person.  Even though he couldn't stay with us, he still brought some gifts all the way from New Zealand.  He made an effort to find our house and drop a parcel:) Bang,  you don't even know how wonderful you are. I wish I could meet more people like you  ! Thank you so much for your generosity.  You are always welcome to my home as a friend.  Enjoy the rest of your days in the U.K. I hope the weather is going to improve.  For all of us.

And this time we support ....

Hello Friends ! How is your May going ? I must admit ...mine is a bit more rainy than I expected. This is one of the reasons why I went so quiet and there is so little going on here on this page.  Since the beginning of this year I have been waiting for a week ( at least ) of the sunshine to help me to lift my spirit and energy level . And it hasn’t come yet ! Mind you- it’s almost the end of May. Since I have been feeling - quite literally - brainless , it’s only today when I found a little bit of time to make donations , that I promised you in my last post. It’s only £30 , but hopefully summer season will bring us more money ! So I decided that I am going to support British Red Cross and organization called Habitat for Humanity. Habitat for Humanity is one of the world’s leading housing charities. Red Cross…well…I think we all know Red Cross.

That’s it for now.

To make this whole thing slightly more cheerful , I am going to attach a picture of my daughter. She enjoys herself here in Poland and she definitely enjoyed our last mini holiday in Slovakia and Hungary ! If only her mother could feel the same way in the world without the sun ….

Hungary and Slovakia

Hello my lovely people. We are currently in Poland , back from our mini road trip around Hungary and Slovakia. I have been  trying to find time to write this post for few days now. But being at home with a family makes things like writing almost impossible. So many people to meet . So many places to visit. You know what I mean, right ?

I am going to make this short, but believe me ...the things that I am going to write now are very important to me. I would like to say thank you to my dear friends , who made this little trip possible for me and my daughter.

My only responsibility was to book an accommodation. My friend came to pick me up from my door step , did all the driving and refused to accept money for a ride. Obviously this is a very “Sweet Charity Thing “ ! I would like to pass his gift further and make some little donations ! Hopefully I am going to find some time to do it soon ! And now…let me just show you some places we had visited !