A plea for my kiddos....

Bonjour to my family and friends,

As most of you know, one of the greatest difficulties and fears for me about moving to Paris, was losing my ability to work with my little monsters. As my luck (and fate) would have it, I was introduced to Enfant du Monde, an organization made up of children who have been displaced from their homeland and currently are both homeless and orphaned. Their stories are horrific, their situations heart-wrenching, and yet them have an energy and spirit that is truly unbelievable. I have been joining them every Friday at a rec center to help them prepare their "meal out" for the week (which is organized by an UNESCO retiree who spends her weeks planning the meal for these children). For the last two weeks this program has been canceled due to budgetary issues, and it has come to my attention that their summer field trip is now most likely canceled. These children have already experienced so much pain, and I want to do my best to make sure that they still receive the little joys that we take for granted.

My following plea is also selfish. These children are the one thing I have found here that makes me feel like I am giving back once more---not monetarily, but with my heart and my passion for equality.

I am asking that you send what you can---not a lot, as in this case even a little bit helps. My understanding is that the fee for the field trip is 10 Euros a head. The Friday meal is 150 Euros and feeds 30 children (not to mention the fact that it gets them out of the shelter and gives them a meal that is above and beyond what they experience all week).

So that we can capture our stateside friends, Matt has a Paypal account that you can use (and then I will convert it into Euros and give it to Zubair, the head of the Paris division). Of course that it goes without saying that that is where the moola will go.

PayPal to matthew.benz@orange-ftgroup.com

Or, if you are here in Paris (or in America and would prefer to skip the Paypal), here is the mailing address:

Enfant du Monde
c/o Zubair Tahir, Responsable Educatif
21 Place Victor Hugo
94270 Le Kremlin-Bicetre

More info on the organization?
www.emdh.org

Please consider helping my kiddos and moi!

Love,
Ashley