Dear Conference Participant,
Welcome to the Noah Empowered Child Conference.
We are honoured to host you at our Noah Conference, a significant and historic event for us. Never before have nation-wide members of the Noah staff been united in one place to meet, mingle and learn – we hope there will be many more such opportunities. We have teamed up with the vivacious Sarina Condello, founder of The Big Little Caravan of Joy, who will facilitate our time together along with an impressive array of speakers and performing artists to educate and empower us in our efforts to invest in the future of each Noah child.
This conference was born from the realisation that we need to empower and instil a sense of joy and confidence in Noah children, not merely investing in their social welfare. The children of today hold tomorrow in their hands. Through our making a difference today, they will reap the rewards into the future. We need to make sure their childhood is balanced, joyful and positive. Where their spirit is shredded, let us mend it. Where their hope is destroyed, let us recreate it. Where they have sorrow, let us bring them happiness. Where they are vulnerable, let us protect them. And let us teach them that they can own their own future. Too many children have to endure pain and disillusionment due to their circumstances, and if through our work, we can set our children on a path of upliftment and joy, we will begin to see a shift in the communities we serve.
Critical role-players to bring about this shift are Noah’s child care workers and ark managers, who dedicate themselves to caring for the well-being of our children. The hours devoted to caring for the vulnerable are many, and so often the burden is overwhelming, but we acknowledge here that they are the catalysts for change.
Our conference will allow for the spirit of every child we serve to be revived - giving them the freedom to be the children they are, the knowledge that they have the right to play, and the understanding that even through their trials and tribulations, there is happiness to be found. Our child care workers and ark managers will also benefit from a renewed sense of hope and joy.
Noah would like to extend its heartfelt thanks to Sarina Condello for her fundraising for and facilitation of this conference, as well as the infectious and continued energy that she brings to the greater project. We would also like to thank USAID and PEPFAR for their financial and material support of the conference, and each and every organiser, sponsor, donor, speaker and performer who has given of their time and/or resources to help us invest in the Noah child. Further gratitude is extended to participants and guests external to Noah whom we hope will enjoy, contribute to and take something away from the conference. Lastly, and unequivocally, we would like to thank the Noah staff who are here to learn from and to grow during this unique conference, and who will take this knowledge back to the communities we serve thereafter.
Our aim over the next 2 days is, through the power of the arts, to reinforce the importance and relevance of playful experiences for the Noah child, to expand the skills of the Noah child care workers and Ark managers and to empower them with renewed understanding and meaning in working with children. It takes just one small spark to light a roaring fire!
Karen Krakowitzer
CEO, Nurturing Orphans of AIDS for Humanity
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