Their goal is to raise $30,000 — half of their operating budget for the year.
And they hope to collect those funds on Saturday at a silent auction and dessert night at the Riverside community church in Port Coquitlam.
Carli Travers, a BC Christian Academy graduate, and her husband Robert Birungi are back in her hometown to drum up support for Abetavu, a safe haven for youth in Uganda.
At their inaugural event last year, the couple brought in $20,000 — money that supports, among other things, their home for orphaned and vulnerable children, a youth soccer club, a girls' group, an outreach for children with special needs, school sponsorship for more than 200 students, adult literacy classes and advocacy for children and women who have survived assault and rape.
Travers, who moved to Uganda after a three-month Douglas College practicum as a social service student, said life hasn't been easy in the African country lately.
Over the past year, the couple has had to settle their biological children in B.C. as their lives have been threatened. Travers has been involved in a case against a man "of importance" in their village who has allegedly been raping girls and young women for the past decade.
Recently, a four-year-old girl died in Travers' arms as a result of his actions, she claimed.
"It is devastating for us to have to spend time away from our family and project in Uganda but my husband and I will be going back and forth to see our precious family and further support the development of our project," Travers said.
Travers said their fundraiser on Nov. 26 is a good way for people to do their Christmas shopping early while benefitting a good cause. "It's also a nice way to have a more personal connection with Robert and I as our organization has always been very grassroots," Travers said, noting their children will also be present at the fundraiser.
• To purchase tickets at $10 each, visit abetavu.com. Tickets will also be available at the door (1477 Lougheed Hwy., Port Coquitlam). The event starts at 6:30 p.m.
jcleugh@tricitynews.com
