When it comes to helping children in Africa, people are giving from their hearts, even in a down economy.

Last month's Celebrate Hope benefit raised more than $122,000 for the not-for-profit organization Heart for Africa to construct an orphanage in Swaziland.

"I never thought we could have done it all in one night. I thought it would take us years," said Celebrate Hope co-coordinator Raelenna Ferguson.

After returning from a mission trip to Africa in July with a dozen other Cape Girardeau residents, Ferguson said, she was haunted by the children she saw walking barefoot and naked down Africa's dirt roads.

"It rips your heart out. It's not OK with me. And I knew people here had hearts and would help," she said.

That firsthand experience contributed to the fundraiser's success.

"It's different than a charity asking for money on a TV commercial," Ferguson said. "When you see someone local who has been there, then you know what you give is truly going to make a difference."

More than 8,000 children become orphans each month, according to the Heart for Africa website. The country has the highest HIV rate in the world with more than a third of people infected. The average life expectancy in Swaziland is 29 years.

When Heart for Africa vice president Janine Maxwell told Ferguson what it would take to build an orphanage, she and a group of friends began planning a benefit to raise the money. Maxwell also is the author of the book "It's Not Okay With Me," which chronicles the conditions children in Africa face.

The group set a goal of raising $100,000 and didn't waste any time contacting local businesses for donations. In the end, 13 donated food and drinks with 20 more signing up to be cash sponsors.

"We went to Red Lobster, and their manager agreed to donate a shrimp platter. We left him a copy of Janine Maxwell's book 'It's Not Okay With Me,' then he read it on vacation the next week and when he got back called to say Red Lobster would donate food for 450 people," Ferguson said.

Nearly 600 people attended the Celebrate Hope event Feb. 27 at The Venue in Cape Girardeau. Donations were collected through ticket sales, sponsorships, a silent auction, oral auction and a one-carat diamond raffle. Auction prizes included a week's vacation in Florida, tickets to the U.S. Open and a guitar autographed by Sheryl Crow. A painting created during the event by Atlanta artist Brian Keith Daniel sold at auction for $8,500. The buyer donated it back to Heart for Africa so it could hang in the new orphanage after it is constructed.

With the Celebrate Hope event behind her, Ferguson is turning her attention to her next Heart for Africa fundraising project, a run-walk is scheduled for 8 a.m. May 1 at Cape La Croix Church.

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