Outreach ...
... The SEVA Challenge
In 2010 Tammy took part in the Seva challenge with attempt to raise $20 000 for the Linawo school in Cape Town.
It was a daunting experience that taught a myriad of lessons,  one that she will never forget. 



15 million children around the world have been orphaned to AIDS... please help me try to make their lives a little happier...










Off the Mat, Into the World® (OTM), a nonprofit organization is dedicated to bridging yoga and activism. Founded in 2007, OTM’s mission is to use the power of yoga to inspire conscious, sustainable activism and ignite grassroots social change.







Each year, OTM sponsors an international service project called the Global Seva Challenge. The Global Seva Challenge is a transformational journey that builds community, provokes critical consciousness about global issues of social justice and equity, and raises significant funds to support communities in crisis. In our first two years, the Global Seva Challenge has raised over one million dollars for NGO’s in Cambodia and Uganda and has left a powerful legacy in the communities we have served. In 2010 our Seva Challenge will be focused on HIV/AIDS prevention and education in South Africa.

 Seva Challenge participants  are asked to raise  $20,000 each and by collaborating with their local communities. Upon reaching their fundraising goal, participants embark on the Bare Witness Tour, a journey abroad where they will spend two weeks working directly with the organizations their funds support.


For more information please visit their website:

What is the Seva Challenge? 


The Seva Challenge asks participants to raise significant funds in support of a select few organizations working to eradicate the tremendous financial and health crises that exist in Africa, and creating sustainable solutions for communities in crisis. This effort helps participants know that they are leaders who have the ability to find, support and manifest a dream. We then take a small group of leaders and push them to expand their self-confidence and capabilities by exposing them to unique physical and spiritual challenges. We will leave Africa knowing we have been in deep service and have left a powerful legacy.

Off The Mat, Into The World         www.offthematintotheworld.com
is an organization committed to helping alleviate the suffering of children, working towards sustainable living, and helping to create a higher quality of living in some of the most impoverished areas of the world. OTM is also dedicated to ‘supporting cultures and communities where basic human need are at risk' through their yearly Seva Challenge.

"Over 33 million people are living with HIV/AIDS today, with 67% living in sub-saharan Africa. "
                                image courtesy of OTM


The money raised will go towards the following:
Working closely with YouthAIDS, TAC and the Linawo School in South Africa, we will help to fund and build health and education programs that will provide tools and resources for the prevention of HIV/AIDS.



About Linawo School 

Linawo Children's Home was started in 2002 by Ivy Konisi and some members of her Khayelitsha based church. The home was started in response to the need to provide these children with adequate care that, for various reasons, their parents were not able to provide. Soon children were being left with Mama Ivy resulting in her needing to find alternative accommodation for the children. After a few temporary destinations, LCW now has the use of an unused creche in Elsies River (about 15km from Cape Town). The home currently accommodates 15 children between the ages of 1 and 10 years. There are 4 full-time childcare works, a full-time cleaner, part-time secretary and a full-time manager, all of whom receive a stipend for the work that they do.
The breakdown of funds and where the funds go… 


Direct Community Support: up to 80% of the funds raised will support creation and sustainability of partner projects in South Africa.

Seva Participant Travel for Tour: 5% support for air and ground travel, accommodations and trip facilitation for two weeks for each Bare Witness Tour participant.

OTM Administrative and Urban Seva Support: remaining funds support continued expansion and sustainability of the Urban Seva Project, as well as administrative support for all OTM programs and projects.