The picture above was taken on Monday, December the 8th, which is my birthday. I spent part of the day in the village of Sir Lowry's Pass with some of the children from our Project group. We prepared a special birthday celebration lunch for them. It was a very hot day, as summer has come early here, and the children enjoyed a cold lunch of salads followed by ice cream and cold drinks. Wilma prepared the food, and here she is being assisted by some of the older girls in her kitchen.

Our Project Co-ordinator, Wilma, is also five months pregnant, and she and her partner Sam are expecting their first child together in April. Wilma already has a grown up son, Dominic, who works for the Starchild Project. So, we are expecting our own little African "starchild" to be joining us early in the new year.!

Here you can see some of the delicious food that Wilma prepares for the Children. Sponsored, of course, by you, our much loved readers around the World. I would like to express our deep gratitude to all the people who have donated to the Starchild Children's Foundation and our work in the course of the year. Your assistance is much appreciated here in Africa. It is images like these, taken in this week, that allow us to know that we are helping to create abundance through food security, at a time when there is so much concern about the cost of food and scarcity of food, especially in Africa.

Here in Africa, there is still much suffering and hardship in the lives of the majority of people. The situation in Southern Africa is very difficult. In this community, many of the parents die prematurely from aids and tuberculosis, both of which are part of life for these people. To the north of our borders, the country of Zimbabwe continues to crumble, and the latest is that cholera has broken out there and is moving into the northern regions of South Africa. Food has doubled in price here in the last six months, as in many places in the world.

So, at this time, we would like to ask that if you feel you would like to help us, and you feel moved to do so in your hearts, we would appreciate donations. These will help us to fund our Christmas party for the little ones in this community, and go towards our projects for 2009. These include our food program for the children, and also the food parcel program for households in need, especially in the winter months. Then, in 2009 we are paying for the training of an HIV counsellor and we will be setting up an HIV/aids community support program. We are also aiming to aquire a vehicle and get drivers licenses for Wilma and Dominic, as at the moment I am the only one with a driver's licence and a car, and I have to do all the running around and shopping as well as the normal work for Starchild. This is all part of empowering the community to help themselves.

At this point I would also like to say a special THANK YOU and MUCH GRATITUDE to the following people who contributed to our work in 2008:

• The people at the World Congress on Illumination at Lake Louise in Canada in August 2008, many of whom were from the USA. Thank you for your generosity and love!
• The people who came to the events in Toronto, Peterborough and Port Hope in Canada, and who contributed so generously from their hearts, and to Cheryl and Val who helped to organize the collections!
• Lynne de Caro and the people of Muskoka in Canada. Lynne and her community collected scrap metal and donated 800 Canadian dollars. This money will be used towards the training of our HIV counsellor next year. Thank you so much, Lynne and neighbours in Canada!
• The people who attended the 4th Spiritual Awakening Festival in Greece, and to Paschalis and Frixos who organized a collection for our Children's Project. Thank you, beloved friends, we appreciate your support!
• The people who attended the Starchild events in Germany, Spain, France and Portugal, and who also donated towards our project. Thank you, from our hearts, to each and every one of you!

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DONATE TO OUR PROJECT, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

PS. If you would like to donate something towards Wilma's baby...please just write me a letter and let me know that the money is for the new baby!

Thank You All.

We here in Africa wish you a Peaceful and Happy Holidays, and for those of you who celebrate Christmas, may it be filled with Peace and Love for you!

with love

Celia and the Children of Africa Staff and workers.