Life is so strange, isn’t it? I’ve mentioned before that although I don’t base any of my characters on real people – they really are themselves, I sometimes ‘borrow’ faces… although they change as I write about them. A handsome face I borrowed was that of an actor called Nick Reding who was the inspiration for the appearance of a character in one of my books. The character actually ended up very different, but initially he was dark-haired, stunningly good-looking, with a reserved but winning smile, an appraising look from very blue eyes beneath straight dark eyebrows.
I was thinking about Nick Reding the other day; he’s an actor and I remember him in ‘Silent Witness’; he was also in ‘The Bill’, but he was also in ‘Blood Diamond’, ‘The Constant Gardener’. and ‘Croupier’ as well as many other films and TV programmes. Wondering what he was doing now, I looked him up and found out that he is very involved in a charity which supports people in Kenya. It is not so much a charity, as ann organisation for social change and it is called S.A.F.E. .
- S.A.F.E. is a Kenyan NGO and UK charity that uses street theatre, films and community programmes to educate, inspire and deliver social change. We work to tackle a range of social challenges including HIV/AIDS, post-election violence, gender-based violence, female circumcision, unsafe drinking water and environmental damage.
- Our philosophy is that change starts with individuals: contrary to many images of Africa in the media, the Kenya we see is energetic, talented, industrious and progressive. At S.A.F.E., we believe people are rich in entrepreneurial creativity and have the spirit required to make change happen. We just need to give Kenyans the opportunities to lead development for themselves and for their own communities.
If you check out the web-site you will see that the charity has six main projects, HIV/AIDS, female circumcision, water, prisons, women and environment. You can understand that these interlinked areas are the key to stable life, prosperity and the health of any population, and that when there is a difficulty or deficiency in any one of the areas people (especially women and children) suffer, and sometimes die for lack of very basic and simple support. S.A.F.E. aims to offer that support, but it does it in a positive and open way using drama and music.
I think it is an amazing charity which has changed the lives of many,many people, and will continue to do so with enough support. Having come across S.A.F.E qote by chance, I shall continue to support them as much as I can.
Lois Elsden 