EcoAfrica Social Ventures

The night of Wednesday 12th November marked the Peter Godwin Book-Signing event to raise money for a community of crafting artisans and their families in Zimbabwe. The event served to both raise funds and further spread awareness of the evolving humanitarian disaster taking place in that beleaguered land.

Peter Godwin's fine book "When A Crocodile Eats The Sun" narrates the downward spiral of events in Zimbabwe leading to the situation several years ago when his book was published. Since then the inflation rate, the worst ever recorded in world history, has reduced the local currency to ashes, destroyed the once fine infrastructure on every level, ruined the education system, devastated the hospitals, wiped out the food and clean water supplies, and created a raging cholera epidemic to add to the ongoing unabated AIDS pandemic. Life expectancy is now down to 34 years for women, 37 for men, millions of whom have fled across the borders to neighboring countries leaving their wives and children to survive alone.

Leila and Mickey Straus opened their beautiful home on Central Park West, New York City to the event and over ninety people were riveted by Peter's book reading and his perceptive and sometimes gut-wrenching accounts of life in today's Zimbabwe, not far back the breadbasket of Africa and the model of literacy, with a heath and education system once enviable throughout Africa. He gathered this latest information during his visit to Zimbabwe for his stunning piece published in August's Vanity Fair Magazine after he spent several months undercover at great risk to his personal safety. Journalists report from there at their peril.

The evening included several silent auction items including a fabulous safari, a large-scale wildlife canvas, and a series of stunning gift baskets made up of the the papercraft products produced by the artisans of Eco Africa crafting communities. The funds raised will be used to maintain the artisans and their families with food supplies and other essentials to keep them healthy and motivated and able to continue to be economically empowered through the crafting skills they love.

For a slide show of photos from the event and the previous four summer fundraisers check out http://www.flickr.com/photos/ecoafricasocialventures/show/

To help spread the word about Eco Africa Social Venture's activities to help women in Zimbabwe and what is happening in that beleaguered land please pass on this URL to your friends, colleagues and anyone you feel would be interested.

To hold a Home Party or Church/Synagogue/Office/School Sales Event to offer the work of the artisans to the public and your friends, to support the women artisan communities in Zimbabwe, please contact Isaac at Helping Hands For Africa. isaac@helpinghandsforafrica.com Telephone: 973 648 0777