HAFSA Bulletin #2

General

We would like to welcome any of our members to our HAFSA committee which meets every two months. Next meeting is on Thursday 16th June, 7.30pm. If you would like to receive the minutes or attend any of our meetings please get in touch (contact details at the end)
By now, you should have received a few samples of our new leaflet; please pass them on for others to join.
We have 4 main events coming up (see below) that we hope you can support and invite friends.

Forthcoming events

Hanwell Carnival Saturday 18th June: we will have a stall with a display to publicise HAFSA. Come and see us/help out, we will set up from 10am at Elthorne Park (Boston Road W7). We will sell Fair Traded Palestinian produce and home made cakes to fund raise. Will you make us some cakes

Palestinian Spring? Saturday 25th June 7.30pm at HIGH 5 EVERSHED CLUB: a social/fund raising evening with a report back from our members who have just returned from Palestine, a short film and a Middle Eastern buffet. It costs £10 and there will be a paying bar in the club.

Autumn trip to Sabastiya and Palestine: the tour will start on 10th Nov. and finish 18th Nov. 2011. Costs approx: £700 to £1,000, includes flights. We will start in Jerusalem and visit Bethlehem, Nablus, possibly Hebron and of course Sabastiya. For more details phone Andree 07761104609 or email her at: [email protected]

Brentford Festival Sunday 4th September: we have booked a stall at this festival in Boston Manor Park. More details later.

Projects in the pipeline

Football coaching: They are very keen on football in Sabastiya and have asked if we could arrange for a visiting coach to go and stay for a few weeks. We can now offer them a coach (newly qualified but enthusiastic young man: Alphonse Ryan). We will need to subsidise his trip and our event on the 25th June (see above) will be to raise funds for this.

Woodcraft Folk International Camp in Sherwood Forest
The Ealing branch of the Woodcraft Folk (a children’s and youth organisation) has invited 7 young people from Sabastiya to attend their international camp in August. Woodcraft members have been seriously fund-raising to pay their fares, camp fees and host them in Hanwell for a few days before and after the camp. HAFSA has pledged to help by participating in their hosting and providing some financial contribution (£500) towards their stay. We will send more information nearer the date.

A library
We are going to set up our own library of books and films about Palestine for our members to borrow. This is still in progress.