The third Humana People to People Day took place on Thursday 27th September in seventeeen European countries simultaneously, and in the UK the event was held at the Stuart Road Community Centre in Corby. The headline for the day was 'Women In Action', emphasing the important role that women play in development projects around the world. During the day visitors had the opportunity to see a working model of a rope rump, view a selection of beautiful Friends Forever sculptures from Zimbabwe and to do a bit of shopping at our Sorting Centre stall, raising funds for children in Zambia. 

Our Master of Ceremonies for the day was Ravi Zutshi, who started working within Planet Aid UK's Promotion/Marketing department in August this year, and the day's programme began with a performance of traditional African music and dance by the Zimwomen of Northampton. Their performances at all of our Humana Day events since 2010 have proven very popular and add a real 'Touch of Africa' to the proceedings.

This was followed by a speech by Birgit Soe, the Managing Director of Planet Aid UK, in which she talked about her own experiences meeting women that work in Humana's programmes in Africa. The importance of collecting and re-using used clothes was the topic of the presentation by Torben Soe from our sister company Green World Recycling, who attended the event along with some of his staff.

Next came a speech by our Guest of Honour, Mr. Steward Nchimunya of the Zambian High Commission, who attended on behalf of the Zambian High Commissioner for the UK. Following his speech was a short film about Zimbabwean women working with health in their community.

A lively presentation by Rutendo Nyatsine, the chairwoman of the Zimwomen, followed in which she explained how the Zimwomen offer support to Zimbabwean families living in and around Northampton. Another of the Zimwomen, Belinda, later spoke about her involvement in youth work in Leicester.

The entire audience were asked to get involved when Dumi Senda, a poet, activist and humanitarian originally from Zimbabwe, stepped up on stage to recite one of his poems.

Then came the DAPP UK Fashion Show featuring items available to buy from their two charity shops in Northampton and Warrington. The show was organised and presented by  volunteers from CICD and featured a surprise appearance by Birgit Soe!

Rounding off the first half of the programme was a presentation by Elizabeth Adongo of the Corby Food Co-operative, concluding with an invitation to everyone present to enjoy the wonderful buffet lunch which had been provided by volunteers from the Co-operative.

The second part of the programme began with a beautiful acapella recital of a traditional African song by Rumbi Mukoyi which really helped set the scene for the rest of the day. This was followed by presentations by Julia Hailes MBE and Melinda Watson of E For Good talking about their respective charities, Haller and Raw Foundation.

Local and International greetings were then read out by Ravi which included messages from Phil Hope, the former Labour MP for Corby and East Northamptonshire, and from Humana People to People India, including case studies of children who had benefited from Humana's projects in the country.

Next came a presentation by Wendy Dunnett-Dag about the important educational work being carried out by the College for International Co-operation and Development in Hull followed by a film from Zimbabwe and Malawi about women involved in education.

Then the audience were treated to the second part of the Fashion Show which included a very colourful display of traditional African costumes.

The programme ended with a show of gratitude from Birgit Soe to all her staff in which they were presented with a box of garden bulbs for their hard work over the last twelve months, symbolising the continued growth of Planet Aid UK and the important involvement the staff have in the expansion of the organisation.

If you would like to see more pictures of our Humana Day 2012 please visit our Photo Gallery