Grace loves tennis so she thought it would be a good way to raise some money to help Rise Africa UK’s  ‘Chicken Project’. Grace is going to hit 300 tennis balls every day for 2 weeks.

If you would like to help Grace reach her target for this great cause you can donate directly to her fundraising page, please just follow the link www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gracelawrence

JustGiving sends your donation straight to Rise Africa UK and automatically reclaims Gift Aid if you are a UK taxpayer, so your donation is worth even more.

Over the last few months, the chicken committee and the builders have been busy building our first chicken house as part of Rise Africa UK’s new initiative, The Chicken Project.

The building was completed on the 28^th September and 400 chickens were welcomed to their new home on the 30^th September. The chicken committee had their final session of training on how to successfully manage a chicken house as a business and will now take on the responsibility of caring for the chickens.

The chicken committee are a selection of the parents and guardians of the children we sponsor to go to school, who are unemployed and struggle to provide the basic needs for their children. Through the chicken project we are giving them a means to make an income through minimal labour and through being part of a group effort to succeed. The moral already is so high amongst the committee and they are so excited and grateful for this project.

Rise Africa UK will continue to support the project each month until it becomes self-sustainable, where the committee are selling the eggs, covering their costs and taking home the profits. The committee are a close group who share values and we hope this project will bring them all closer.

For more information on The Chicken Project CLICK HERE

This September, The Framery, will be showcasing the work of local artist Paul Kane through an exclusive exhibition in their gallery in Stonely. Paul, who has exhibited at the renowned Mall Galleries in London and Trafalgar House in the New Forest, initially established his reputation through his stunning realist-style representations of horses, but has since diversified his themes and techniques to encompass a much broader range. “I find that being predominantly a commission artist has meant that I have had to adopt many new and different approaches to my art, using a wide variety of media and methods. My clients trust me to choose the best way of producing the image they want, whether it’s a pet portrait, a loose abstract image or a full-blown Himalayan landscape mural”.

The exhibition will comprise Paul’s work in oils on canvas, sketches, acrylics, pastels and mixed media.

Paul participated in the Art4Africa event, spectacularly hosted by the Faulkner family in Riseley last June, which raised several thousands of pounds for the Rise Africa UK charity helping to fund school places for vulnerable children. “Art4Africa was a real inspiration, both for the worthy cause it supported and for the quality and diversity of the local art on display. That event, along with the added impetus of moving to a new studio at Ivy Lodge Studios near Sharnbrook this year really stirred my creativity” says Paul. ” The Framery exhibition will show people how I have stretched myself and evolved as an artist, and hopefully make some contribution to Rise Africa UK as well”.

Emma Wright is co-owner of the Framery. “In our business we obviously see a lot of artist’s work. It is really noticeable that the quality of much of the locally-produced art matches up to the nationally acclaimed names. Paul is a great example of that”, she says. “The previous exhibitions we have held have generated quite a lot of interest and it’s good to hear the feedback from people who tell us that they enjoy seeing the talent that’s here on their doorstep, ” she adds. “The opportunity to talk to the artist about his work is another feature of Paul’s exhibition which people appreciate.”

The Paul Kane exhibition will be open to the public at The Framery from September 16^th to the 23^rd, with an opening night exclusively for a select list of invited guests.

The Framery
The Old Exchange
1 Park Lane
Stonely (Kimbolton)
PE19 5EE

9.30 to 5 pm Tuesday – Friday

930 to 4 pm Saturday

Sunday 17th September 11am – 2pm

For more information go to www.theframery.co.uk or call 01480 860086 or email framery.workshop@gmail.com