Having fun raising funds!

Last weekend we held a fantastic party in London, raising £580 for the Abolicao Trust!

Group members from Abolicao Synergy did all the organising and preparation, which included putting up lots of colourful carnival decorations and a piñata full of goodies, as well as applying beautiful glitter and jewels to faces throughout the night! Highlight of the evening was the chance to win some incredible raffle prizes, kindly donated by London and Oxford capoeiristas, including: a silver ring, a therapeutic body massage, a samba lesson and a one day ‘gardening experience and tuition’!

And of course, no capoeira party would be complete without squeezing in an impromptu roda - filling the room with good vibes and plenty of axe!

A big thanks goes to everyone who helped out, and came and partied with us, especially Anna (Princesa) from Abolicao Synergy, who put lots of time and effort into organising.

Most importantly we raised an incredible £580 to support students at the Hamburg project in South Africa.

So THANK YOU all, and if anyone else has any fundraising ideas, please get in touch on info@abolicao-trust.org.uk - we would love to hear from you!

BOA!

2013 Off to a busy start...

2013 has gotten off to a busy start for The Abolicao Trust! What have we been doing…?

Brazilian Beats

Our springtime fundraising drive was kicked off with a BRAZILIAN PARTY on 9^th March. Hosted by our good friend Fernando’s Café in the centre of Oxford the party drew in people from far and wide to enjoy an evening of Brazilian music DJ’d by Contra Mestre Luis Negao and with a special guest appearance from Mestre Biscuim for samba. A fun evening was had by all and over £250 was raised for the South Africa Batizado. Big thanks to Esquiva from Abolicao Oxford for the help in organising.

Abolicao South Africa V Batizado, Troca de Cordas

Easter this year was all about Capoeira! Contra Mestre Luis Negao visited Hamburg for 10 days with a select group of 5 UK Capoieristras, 3 returning to visit their capoeira brothers and sisters and 2 just starting their capoeira journey.

As always the visiting group were warmly welcomed by the people of Hamburg. Throughout our trip this year the growing maturity of the group was shining through, with a welcoming braii, an awards ceremony and for the first time guests from Cape Town making Hamburg the place to be in capoeira in South Africa!

As last year, CM Negao visited Lovers Twist with 2 UK capoeiritras to see the good work Tigre has been doing at the after school project run by The Keiskamma Trust, half an hour from Hamburg. The kids there showed immense concentration, with kicks flying high. Capoeira just keeps expanding in Hamburg, with hopes this year to establish another class in Mgababa, another after school project nearly an hour from Hamburg.

10 days was not enough to fit in everything, we had a very busy time, enjoying rodas on the beach, daily workshops developing strength, flexibility and of course, new moves. With a smaller group we were able to spend lots of time getting to know each other and sharing capoeira skills.

The highlight of the trip was of course, the Batizado, held over a very rainy weekend, this did not deter the group! Children were picked up from their homes which are mostly a half hour muddy walk away. We were very pleased for the Lovers Twist group to join us on Batizado day for a second year, even though the bus got stuck in the mud. And a first for this year, 2 students of Zumbi’s from the Cape Town group came to join in and were welcomed into the group with their green belts.

The Batizado was followed by an awards ceremony, entirely organized by the group. At the beginning of the day we wondered how this would go with no PA equipment, but as if by magic, through all the rain after a very busy Batizado day we arrived in the evening to find a sound system and microphone. Awards were handed out for the most motivated, best at music, best newcomer... Awards were interspersed with music and dancing from the community and Kieskamma music academy. It was an evening showing the true spirit of Hamburg.

All in all the visit was very successful, if only a little short. We are very pleased to see the group developing their organization and spreading further. The quote of the trip for this year has to be, from Tigre, the Hamburg instructor,

“We must be pioneers of our future, not prisoners of our past”

I think, that says it all, and can apply to us all. Boa!