I was delighted to receive an email a few weeks ago to ask whether GAGA UK would be able to make use of some delightful Zebra toys that were available as a result of a rebranding exercise as Ninety One plc, list as a standalone public company. After a couple of emails we established that we could take some of the toys on our next monitoring and evaluation trip for the babies and children who are direct beneficiaries of our southern African projects and we'd need a bit of imagination as to how we could best use the other toys. 

Then another email arrived offering books, Andrew Strauss "Winning the Ashes Down Under" and "Awesome South Africa"   by Derryn Campbell and Siobhan Gunning.

       

Despite the obvious sensitivity that would be felt by our antipodean Chairman on the Andrew Strauss book, I happily accepted the donation, immediately considering how I could link the book with a cricket themed Sportsman's Dinner fundraiser we have in the (very) early stages of planning.  @AndrewStrauss I'll be in touch!

I was also greatly impressed by the vibrant and informative "Awesome South Africa" and felt these books would be valuable resources to use when we talk to schools and young people about the work that GAGA UK supports in South Africa.

When the delivery arrived last week I was stunned to see that, not only did I have the books but also all the zebra toys, delightful beaded zebra fridge magnets (very much in keeping with our usual beaded merchandise from South Africa) and a number of breath-taking wildlife photography books, "Water and Dust" by Caroline Gibello.  These books are very precious, not only for their beauty but also as they are out of print and still very sought after.  I've been in touch with Caroline and she is very happy for us to use her books to increase our fundraising for GAGA UK and the projects in South Africa and I'd like to thank Caroline for her generous support.  You can buy one here

We'd like to express our grateful thanks to Ninety One for passing these items on to GAGA UK.  We will do all we can to ensure that the items are used well, either to bring joy and comfort to the children in the early childhood development schemes or those who are unwell and being seen at clinic, to raise awareness and knowledge of the richness of South African culture & wildlife or to raise vital funds so that we can continue to support our beneficiary projects across the current, particularly challenging period and onwards into the future.

If you would like to purchase one of the books, they are now available in our webshop.