United Kingdom

More than 40 years of civil war in Angola came to an end in April 2002 with the historic signing of a peace agreement. Soon after, an urgent request to The Oneness-Heart-Tears and Smiles was made to help strengthen the peace by sending humanitarian assistance to the country. Immediately The Oneness-Heart-Tears and Smiles world-wide began sending large amounts of pharmaceuticals, medical and surgical supplies, food, clothing and more to Angola.

In August 2008, Oneness-Heart-Tears and smiles sent their first container from UK to Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania. Contents included over 50 bicycles, 23000 pencils and other school equipment including 24 computers, paints, books and videos.

One of our most successful international projects was the Drawings of Love, through which 22,000 children from 30 countries send drawings and messages of affection, which were distributed to the thousands of children orphaned by the tsunami 2005 in Banda Aceh.

After the earthquake in May, 2006 we delivered thousands of Kids to Kids packs to the affected area in Yogyakarta, Bantul and Klaten. Ten thousand school packs with school supplies were distributed in partnership with Khalsa Aid bringing great joy to the children.

At the request of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, our international team of volunteers arranged for Kids to Kids projects to benefit the children in the Philani Nutrition Centres in Cape Town, South Africa.

We have worked closely with many schools in the United Kingdom to create links between British students and the children in Guinea-Bissau. The children in the United Kingdom learn about Africa and about Guinea-Bissau in particular. The students send toys, clothing, art supplies and personal messages and drawings to the children of Guinea-Bissau.

In July 2004, our members in the United Kingdom sent a full sea container of additional goods collected for Guinea-Bissau, including school equipment (approx. 200,000 pencils), stationery, computers, clothing, toys and medical supplies. The school equipment was donated to schools in rural areas of the country. The medical supplies were distributed to a major hospital in the capital city, Bissau.

A 20-foot sea container with school supplies, books, bicycles, toys, sports equipment and computers was sent in October 2003 from members of our group in Great Britain to the Salvation Army in Cape Town. All of the items were distributed to schools and comunity projects around the Cape Town area, the rural Vendaland state in South Africa and even the remote island of St. Helena!

After hearing news of the terrible tsunami, the Oneness-Heart-Tears and Smiles in Great Britain immediately supplied bags and boxes of dried food, including rice, soup, wheat flour, beans, milk, which were sent by air to Sri Lanka via the Sri Lanka High Commission.

In November 2002, Oneness-Heart-Tears and Smiles in Great Britain sent their first container to feed the Children in Angola. It contained dried food, clothes, pharmaceuticals, toys and stationery. For some of the children it was the first time they had played with toys.

A second 20-foot sea container with medical equipment and supplies was sent in June 2004 from Germany, and most recently a 20-foot container including many thousands of school books was sent from Great Britain.