Earlybird shoppers looking for gifts with a difference, and the opportunity to benefit others at the same time, will be delighted to know that the Kathmandu Kids Club Christmas market is coming to town on November 20.

The venue is the Bermuda Society of Arts gallery on the upper level of the City Hall, the hours are 5.30 p.m. to 8 p.m., and the merchandise will again feature unique handmade jewellery, crafts and other gifts from Nepal and Uganda.

There will also be a mini-auction and raffle. All proceeds directly benefit projects run by The ISIS Foundation to help children in need in Nepal and Uganda.

Auction items will include handmade, knotted Kashmiri silk rugs, Tibetan Ting Sha chimes, and bronze singing bowls used as meditation aids by Tibetan Buddhist monks, traditional oil paintings from Uganda, gold leaf paintings from Nepal, silver necklaces and bracelets from Nepal, and an African sculpture. Raffle prizes will include dinners and spa treatments at some of the Island's finest resorts and restaurants.

The Kathmandu Kids Club will also be celebrating Universal Children's Day on November 20. On this day in 1959 the United Nations Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989.

"The Christmas Market is the perfect way to get into the spirit of the season," Natasha Merino, co-events manager of the Kathmandu Kids Club, said.

"People will be able to find wonderful unique gifts that they can't buy anywhere else on the Island. These really are gifts that keep on giving because 100 percent of the profits go to help The ISIS Foundation's work in Nepal and Uganda, where our dollar goes a long way.

"It's nice to know that the money people spend on our Christmas gifts will have a positive impact on the lives of children for many months and years to come.

"We hope as many people as possible will come out and enjoy a truly festive night. There will be plenty of seasonal food and drink, and we are delighted that talented young musicians from the Bermuda School of Music will be on hand to perform some Christmas music."

Tickets, $20 including refreshments, are available online from www.boxoffice.bm or the ISIS office on East Broadway, Hamilton. Credit cards will be accepted for auction items and membership only on the evening. Cash or cheques will be accepted for all other purchases. For further information telephone 232 9001.

The ISIS Foundation's mission is to make a positive difference to the lives of children in the developing world, primarily through health and educational programmes.

Its Nepalese projects range from the delivery of health care to 6,000 impoverished people from a clinic in a monastery, to support for women and children who are the victims of domestic, which include support for a rural hospital and funding for a home for street kids in Kampala.

For further information about the Kathmandu Kids Club and The ISIS Foundation, visit their websites on www.kathmandukidsclub.com and www.isis.bm