Harambee 2002: All for one

From a Verona theater to a Hong Kong school, people all around the world have been finding creative ways of raising money for the African educational projects fund established at the canonization of St. Josemaría.

Alzavola Club's market stall for Project Harambee 2002.

In the early morning hours of April 5, a group of girls arrived at the picturesque municipal market of Lugano, Switzerland, with boxes full of kitchen utensils, jars of marmalade, baby shoes, small flowerpots with cactuses, and various items they had made themselves at the Alzavola Club. In few minutes they had set up their “charity post” for Project Harambee 2002.

The girls put up an artistic poster near the booth, with a Harambee 2002 logo, designed by a graphic arts student. When curious shoppers approached their market stall, they explained Harambee 2002 to them and invited them to contribute to the project by making a purchase.

“The mother of one of the Alzavola girls took care of asking the police for permission to put up the booth,” said Paola Tettamanti, one of the organizers of the initiative. “Other mothers contributed marmalades, home-made cookies and cakes, and even small hand-woven baby shoes. One of the fathers made some wooden kitchen utensils. We collected 1,600 francs.”

Hong Kong school supports Harambee 2002

Tak Sun students.

Tak Sun School is located in the Tsimshatsiu neighborhood of Hong Kong. The school administrators found out about Project Harambee 2002 from the Hong Kong organizers of a Rome trip for the canonization of Opus Dei’s founder. Fewer than 10% of its 2400 students are Catholic, but on October 6, 2002, a group of 50 Tak Sun students and teachers were present in St. Peter’s Square for the canonization.

Tak Sun School’s executive committee sent out a circular letter inviting school parents to contribute to the initiative. In December 2002 they organized a collection among the students. For Michael Wong, the school’s principal, the response was very positive: “The students donated money they would have spent on Christmas gifts.” Harambee 2002 has given us an occasion “to learn the spirit of brotherhood, that all men are brothers.”

Harambee 2002 in the Verona theater

Project Harambee 2002 was presented in Verona’s Teatro Nuovo this past April, during a production of Quadri de la Passione . During the recital, Paolo Valerio, a well-known Verona actor and the director of the theater, rendered excerpts from Chilean writer José Miguel Ibañez’s book, “The Passion of the Lord.”

Before beginning the presentation, journalist Marco Clementi, author of a number of reports on Harambee 2002, explained the project to the audience. At the end of the production, two young people passed baskets around to collect donations, gathering a sum of 3,750 euros.

A solidarity market for Harambee 2002

Sansueña School in Zaragoza.

Once a year, the Sansueña School of Zaragoza, Spain, organizes a “Day of Solidarity,” a campaign in which students promote various fund-raising initiatives for social projects. In recent years, funds have been collected for women’s centers in India, Poland and Lithuania; for welfare projects in Bolivia and Nigeria; and for aid to needy families in Zaragoza.

A number of the school’s teachers and students attended the canonization of St. Josemaría. “We heard about Project Harambee 2002 there, and it seemed to us that it would be the most logical beneficiary this year,” said Maite Pelacho, one of the organizers of the Day of Solidarity.

“For the solidarity campaign,” explained Maite, “the Level One students set up a ‘Solidarity Market’ where many of the students and teachers bought their lunches and other small items.”

More information: www.harambee2002.org.