Hat Foundation – Bringing you up to date

Niroshan
In 2006 we sent money to the parents of Niroshan. They needed another £250 to pay for Anti rejection drugs before a kidney operation could be carried out.We sent £250 and the operation was a success.

We then left four post -dated monthly cheques, to pay for ongoing medicines and aftercare  (average cheque £17.50). We simply asked for receipts to be sent to us on a monthly basis and we would send a cheque each month. However, we only ever received one receipt in four months, even after sending our friend,the taxi driver “Nimal” around to the home. Sadly therefore, we had to stop sending money, as i cannot justify giving them money without a receipt.

Nimal our taxi driver has told me that Niroshan is well and therefore must now be receiving the neccessary medicines free of charge from another hospital.The family has also asked if i could supply pipework and a pump in order to pump the
water from the well to the house. I have not supplied them with any further funding but i will be visiting them in February this year. They are a large, poor family and i will possibly help with food and/or clothes when i visit. Should anyone, however, still decide they want to help Niroshan and family specifically, then your money will only be used for that purpose. However, without our initial funding, the operation may well have not taken place, so we have already made a huge difference to this young boy’s life.

Samina
We send out an extra 1000 rupees (£4.70) per month to help with food for Samina. We have had lots of contact and we personally ( myself, Deb & Aimee) have sent out presents for birthdays and Christmas. Nimal, our taxi driver, has been assisting us trying to obtain a copy of Samina’s birth certificate, as without it, she would not be able to attend school. Samina now has an official
letter which allows her to attend school while awaiting to receive the birth certificate. ( it has probably been received by now).
“Shoes for Children” This will be our main project again as it is so rewarding. It helps so
many children for a small amount of money. Last year, we helped over 450 children and
hopefully we would like to help a similar amount again. This project has proved to be so
rewarding,with many of the children wearing shoes for the very first time.

Udumalla Village
This small village is where Samina lives. There are approximately ten houses and roughly
the same amount of small children. Hopefully, if we have enough money, we would like to
buy school uniforms and shoes, to encourage the children to attend school every day

Water Well (Udumalla Village)
Should the land owners decide they will sell at a fair price, i will start the process to
purchase land. Once purchased, to arrange to sink a well. ( Once i have read up on well
building) This is another project i will complete as soon as funds and time allows. Last year
the landowners could not agree or were asking for too much.
Horigampita School
This is one superb school but, unfortunately has no facilities or books etc. As it is situated
approximately 20kms inland, it was not affected by the Tsunami. However, as it is out in
the sticks, the main employment is farming and the wages are very low. I am really
determined to help this school over the coming years.This school really does have an air of
enthusiasm for learning and once we obtain our goals, hundreds of children will benefit for
many years.
I hope as soon as funds become available, to put a computer classroom together. I will be
purchasing second hand equipment in Sri Lanka. Computers ideally need to run in
Singaleese as well as English.
£1000 will set up a ten computer classroom (used machines and computers are quite
expensive over here) Not sure if the school will be able to afford the internet connection,
however, there is a huge amount that can be accessed from disks and the childrens educaton
would benefit enormously.
Also, i have collected books from St Helens Schools, but due to business commitments, i
have been unable to organise shipping as yet, so i will sort out all details while i am there
and ship the books over when i come back to the U.K.
Probably the most astonishing fact of last year, was an email I received in October.
We had a letter from Horigampita school saying that they had received more applications to
join their school than ever before. The reason why, – “ some crazy Welshman had walked
in and bought a pair of shoes for each child”. I had not, at this point, promised any further
help. So it appears that a £3.00 pair of shoes could educate a child for a year.
Immensely satisfying and yet very sad at the same time.
Apart from the above we do buy food and clothes for some of the poorer families.
We do not interfere with any religous beliefs or way of life but, where possible, we insist
that children attend school regularly, if they want us to continue trying to help them. We
firmly believe that educaton is the best way to to a more secure future.

So far in the two previous years “together” we have achieved the following:
A new Brick built home for The Lounaris family.
Furnished the above home.
Paid for electricity to be connected.
Put funding in place to pay for milk and food for Samina.
Bought new beds, pot, pans etc.
Purchased bicycle.
Purchased many new clothes for Samina and Niroshan and families.
Put the funding in place so that Niroshan’s operation could be carried out.
Purchased approx 450 pairs of shoes.
Purchased 50 School starter packs ( uniform books rucksack etc)
Purchased food parcels.
Put funding in place to help three children learn the English language.
Bought approx 70 writing books and pens to help small nursery.
Helped many other people.
Incredibly, all the above has been acheieved with the help of just 120 supporters/donors
In two years we have collected approx £5500.00 and at this moment
we have approx 90,000 Rupees in the commercial Bank of Ceylon.
This means that all of the above was completed for approx £5100.00
We also have approx £1400.00 in Barclays for this years aims.
Special thanks to the Teachers and especially the children at St Helens Infant School for
their continuing support.

As we have mentioned previously, all running costs are paid for by ourselves i.e stamps,
letters, printing etc do not come out of any donations.

Many thanks, once again

Cavan A Sullivan – Director Welsh Windows

How to clean a window

How to clean a window or glass door to a perfect shine, in a few easy steps. Save money on your window-cleaning bill and do it yourself by following this straight-forward video.

Step 1: You will need

some warm water 1 bucket or bowl some washing up liquid some Clear household vinegar 1 window cleaning washer 1 window cleaning wiper 1 pair rubber gloves some black & white newspaper

 Step 2: The weather

First of all- look outside. Is it sunny? Cleaning windows is one thing best done on a cloudy day. The sun will dry your cleaning solution too quickly, and leave streaks of dried solution.

 Step 3: Preparation

There are two options. Soapy and vinegary solutions are both effective in cleaning windows. You may even wish to use one after the other to really get the shine you want.

Put on some rubber gloves, to protect your hands.

For the soap solution, add a little washing up liquid to half a bucket of warm water. This mixture may seem simple, but many professional window cleaners use it. Washing up liquid makes the window slippery, so you can collect dirt without scratching the glass.

For the vinegar solution, add a generous amount of clear vinegar to a bucket of warm water. Vinegar gives a real shine to the window, and prevents streaking.

Step 4: Outside first

Start by cleaning the outdoor side of your window first. Gather all your equipment together so you won’t have to run indoors again while you are cleaning.

 Step 5: Sponge it down

Here we are using a special window washer like this. The handle allows for easier cleaning. However, you can also use a natural sponge. Manmade sponges are too abrasive to use to clean glass, and not as absorbent as a natural one.

Soak the window washer in the solution you have chosen. The wiping technique is the same for all cleaning solutions.

Wipe over the window in an up and down and side to side motion, removing as much dirt as you can.

 Step 6: Wiping

Now use your window wiper blade to wipe down the window.

Using an even light pressure, wipe the wiper blade from one side of the window to the other. Wipe the blade with a cloth. Then repeat the motion, this time overlapping the previous stroke. Continue in this manner until the window is dry.

If you don’t have a window wiper, find some old black and white newspaper. Crumple up a few sheets, and rub against the glass in a circular motion until the glass is shining like new. Newspaper with coloured print will not work as well, and may even transfer colour onto the window. However, even black and white newspaper can transfer ink onto your hands, which is why it’s a good idea to keep those gloves on.

 Step 7: The inside window

Before you begin to clean, protect the floor area from drips by surrounding the window area with old newspaper.

As before, use the window washer to wash the windows with the washing up liquid or vinegar mixture. When you’re done, wipe the window with the plastic blade.

When you wiped down the outside window with the plastic blade, you worked horizontally, from side to side. When you wipe the indoor window, move the wiper vertically, from top to bottom. This way, if you end up with any streaks, you will know which side of the window they are on.

 Step 8: Perfect your work

When the windows have dried, check to if there are any remaining streaks of cleaning solution or dirt. If you do spot any, crumple up a sheet of black and white newspaper. Rub this against the streak, and the glass will soon be spotless.

What is FENSA?

 A very important thing to look out for when choosing a company to install windows and doors is to ensure that they are Fensa accredited. Here is an extract from Fensa`s web site which provides a simple explaination of who they are and why this regulation is important. 

FENSA stands for the Fenestration Self-Assessment Scheme. It has been set up by the Glass and Glazing Federation (GGF) and other industry bodies with Government encouragement in response to the current Building Regulations for England and Wales.

When having windows and doors replaced homeowners must comply with current thermal peformance standards and ensure that they get a certificate of compliance from FENSA or from Local Authority Building Control. FENSA also enables companies that install replacement windows and doors to self certify compliance under these Building Regulations.

• FENSA – The industry Gold Standard for Building Regulations compliance in replacement windows and doors
• Over 7 million homeowner certificates sent
• 28% of households in the UK have used a FENSA registered installer
• The scheme trusted and demanded by homeowners and local authorities

The Hat Foundation – How it all began

Who can forget that awful day in 2004 when we woke up to the news that a tsunami had devastated Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand among other countries.

Hundreds of thousands of people were killed, hundreds of thousands more lost everything and some of the poorest countries were left wondering how they were going to pick up the pieces and start all over again.

For Cavan Sullivan, a businessman from Barry, the event spurred him to action. Like millions of people watching the horrific events unfold on our television screens, Cavan knew he wanted to do something to help.

“I decided I didn’t want to give money to a charity. Instead, I decided I wanted to pay for house to be built for one family” he said.

Quick tips to help you when buying double glazing

 Any improvement to your home or business premises will unfortunately cost you money. Hopefully the following tips will help you get the correct type of double glazing  and will  also ensure that you have value for money.                 

 So here we go ……   

• Always try to use a company that has been reccomended by others.
•   Do a little research on what you want and be armed with some facts. 
•  Get yourself two  or three quotes, but no more than four at the most. If you are obtaining more than this then you are wasting yours and a lot of other people’s time. Someone who asks for lots of quotes is normally looking for cheap. If you really want this, email or fax your sizes to ten companies saying you want the cheapest.
• There can be a huge difference in prices and an even bigger difference in quality of products and installations.
•   Anyone fitting windows/doors in the UK must be Fensa registered and they should be able to give their registration number.
•  If you want to D.I.Y you can fit yourself and your local council can certify the windows. Make sure your windows have the right glass fitted or you will fail the inspection. The inspection charge is normally between £100 and £200
•   A lot of companies use sub contractors to fit their windows and the quality of installation can vary hugely.
•  Ask if the fitters are employed direct and how long have they been fitting windows.  If a company is “extremely cheap” the reason should be obvious. Local companies may well be able to offer a better after service which is very important. Even the best products can go wrong and with most companies offering a Ten year warranty you are more likely to get a good response from a local company. Imagine if your door won’t close at 4.00pm and the company are a hundred miles away! what do you thing your chances are of having the problem sorted quickly.
•   Having double glazed windows will reduce your heating bills but cannot be guaranteed to stop condensation. See www.welshwindows.co.uk/condensation Insurance backed guarantees are a must, however some insurance backed guarantees are as much use as a “choclate fireguard”, So do some research. (Read my ebook) http://www.welshwindows/ebookfactsaboutglazing
•   Companies normally need to ask for a deposit, but check if the deposit is guaranteed (see above) Paying by credit card will guarantee your money is safe but many companies do not take cards. Why not agree a deal with your installer that you will pay a percentage the day he turns up and rest on completion. Most companies will agree to this. However if everyone decides not to pay a deposit the company may well struggle financially.
•   You and your home should be treated with care and respect and all respectable companies will do this.
•  Remember fitters have feelings to and plenty of hot tea is always welcome. As you normally will have been given a price, giving them tea and biscuits wont cost you much and who knows they may well seal along that bath for you.  

 As usual anyone reading this must agree to our disclaimer. www.welshwindows/disclaimer