Tag Archives: supporting schools

Progress at the Skills Centre

The First Major Project

The community church at Bulumbu is situated alongside the Little Angels Primary School. Both the school and the church are important co-members of the extended village community that we want to help.

To get the sewing project under way (it was during the school holidays), it was agreed to help members of the church to learn sewing machine skills and to produce uniforms for their choir. Eight members of this group are very needy single mothers with children at the school.

Of course these women had never benefited from schooling and a positive side effect of this work is that now their children see their mothers involved in the project, and they are encouraged to see it also as an opportunity rather than just a job for people who lacked formal education.

The Children’s Turn

The new school term is now under way and this group of pupils has already been given an introductory lesson in the operation of the sewing machines. Practical work will follow.

#skillscentre

The Sanitary Towel Programme

The 2^nd tranche of the generous grant the we received from the LYT (Let Yourself Trust) has now been transferred to our colleagues,

The sanitary towel project was introduced before the Covid lockdown and this grant will allow it to restart and grow, supporting girls at both secondary and primary school levels as well as for disadvantaged young women in the village community.

At the time of writing, the materials have been ordered but not yet received. The course will start as soon as they arrive and suitable times have been arranged with the trainer.

The New Term Under Way

#supportingschools

The Hatters Half Marathon

The event – in early September – took place on a lovely Sunday morning; pleasant for both runners and those of us acting as marshals.

Our grateful thanks go out to Andy Titley for carrying the FFoU banner in this event. His efforts helped us to raise almost £750 in support of needy children.

County Player Ambassador

Fraser Horsfall continues to act as our ambassador and to spread the word to County fans. Thank you Fraser for your support for our cause – and keep up your good work on the field of play.

#stockportscounty

Greening the Schools

The heavy rains that have hit the villages made it possible for our vegetable garden to thrive. In addition our colleagues are also planting more flowers around the walkways. It will make our schools both greener and more beautiful.

The downside of this weather is that all too many children are arriving late and tired at school. Some parents are not allowing them to attend until they have worked in the family gardens. A move is on to use the local leaders and the church elders to talk to the families and to explain how their children are too tired to learn when they arrive in class so late in the day.

Keith,

FFoU

Note: We only send this blog to people who are interested in our work. If you no longer wish to receive it, please tell us and we shall immediately remove you from our mailing list.

Back to school

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#primaryschools

Term 2 is now underway for all of the children. The pleasure they receive in getting back into the classroom can be seen in their faces.

#schoolsinuganda

Gifts from sponsors

It is also the time for girls and boys to be presented with the extras provided for them by caring sponsors.

#sponsoring

#childwelfare

Our Sponsorship Programme

As I can’t help but keep repeating, our sponsorship programme is at the heart of what we do; giving poor village children the opportunity of a meaningful future well beyond anything they could otherwise expect.

Helping others to help themselves is an expression that we regularly use. What better way can there be to achieve this than by giving them an education.

Our generous supporters are at present helping 130 youngsters from nursery school right through to university and vocational courses. Many other young women and young men are already pursuing careers that would otherwise have been impossible.

#sponsorship

£75 is the basic cost for a full 12 months of education at Little Angels Primary School. Not a great amount for the advantages it provides, but we are only too aware that this can be problematic for many among us.

In addition we offer a voluntary enhanced scheme where sponsors can opt to pay extra to provide stationery essentials and school uniform. That so many of you are prepared to do this is humbling.

#sponsorshipprogrammeFFOU

Secondary School

We are all too aware that costs rise when girls and boys come to the high school stage of their education. Again, that so many of you find a way to continue to assist your child is wonderful.

We know that it is not always easy. £250 is a not inconsiderable amount, but most of you manage to find a way to do it.

We always seek ways to make this more achievable. For those who cannot afford this amount in a lump sum, we provide either monthly or termly alternatives. Another imaginative solution is when people come together in a group sponsorship. One of our students for example is supported by 4 different people across two countries. Wonderful!

#supportingschool s inuganda

Not everything goes to plan

We have not reported on the progress on the new dormitory recently. Unfortunately the heavy rains caused a serious set-back to its completion as well as causing degradation to other school buildings. Happily things are now being dealt with – at a cost of course!

#supportingschools

Support from Manor Green School

At the time of the Covid lockdown, we were grateful to receive shirts donated by parents at Manor Green School in Denton. At long last we were able to present them during our recent visit.

Our colleagues are now so grateful that they are able to use them as a school uniform back up – for children who cannot afford them and for those whose uniforms are no longer useable.

#visitinuganda

We have again thanked the parents at Manor Green for their thoughfulness and confirmed how valuable their gift is proving to be.

Keith,

FFOU

Note: We only send this blog to people who are interested in our work. If you no longer wish to receive it, please tell us and we shall immediately remove you from our mailing list.

Off to Uganda

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Let us give you a quick resumé of the current situation before Jeanette and I fly out on 17th March. The Covid outbreak meant that we have been unable to visit since the beginning 2020.

#supportingschools

It means that the chance to meet up with our Ugandan friends and colleagues is even more special and more important than usual. We shall be able to take a close look at the developments that have been undertaken and to assess the damage that lockdown has done to the children and their families.

#sponsorshipprogramme

The plan is also to meet and take photos of each and every sponsored child so that you can see how much they have grown up during that period. We shall hardly recognise many of them.

We’ll give you a report once we get back. Promise!

#primaryschoolinuganda

A New School Year

The 2023 year has started with a bang!

Our congratulations have gone out to all the children who succeeded in their PLE (Primary Leaving Exam). Every single sponsored candidate passed.

#goldencollege

And on to secondary school

The wonderful news is that as a result of our supporters generosity, we can tell you that 13 girls and boys have been able to enrol at Golden College for the next stage of their educational journey.

In addition to this two boys have started on the road towards the world of work. One is studying woodwork and carpentry, while the second is doing a course in welding.

Every one of our sponsors is helping to make a difference to the lives of these young people.

#littleangels

The dormitory at Bulumbu

We have now completed the full payment of the estimate into the construction of the dormitory. This means that the builders have been able to ensure its security by completing the roofing.

Sadly, the rampant inflation that has hit Uganda meant that costs have risen. This will be the first time in 20 years that our colleagues have not been able to complete the work on budget. It means that we are still more than £1,000 short of our target and so the use of the building has had to be delayed until we can meet the new target,

We’ll get there; but rather later than we had hoped.

#primaryschoolinuganda

Amazon Smile

We are grateful to all of you who used this programme to help boost our funds. Sadly it exists no more. Amazon pulled the plug on the scheme at the end of February.

Our New Membership Secretary

Please allow me to introduce Anne Boulton who came on board at our AGM. Welcome to the FFoU family Anne.

So ……. if you are already an associate member and get your reminder from someone new this year, you now understand why.

If you are not a member and receive an invitation to join us, please do think about supporting us in this very specific way.

We all know that girls suffer from being in a very unequal situation on the gender playing field. Membership is an important way of raising funds to help schoolgirls (the income is ring-fenced for this very purpose). Every small amount counts.

Keith Mills,

FFoU

Note: We only send this blog to people who are interested in our work. If you no longer wish to receive it, please tell us and we shall immediately remove you from our mailing list.

Plenty of good news … together with a new problem

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Berna and George Ssenyonga with their son, James.

The driving force behind Little Angels Primary School and Golden College

Ugandan schools are just now heading into their 3rd term of the school year. After the awful 2 years loss of childhood and education that the children have suffered, that is something to cheer – and very loudly.

We have now distributed last term’s school reports, both primary and secondary. If you are a sponsor and have not received yours, let me know and I shall put it right. Getting hold of feedback for the few post-secondary school students is more complicated, but I shall do all I can; certainly before the end of the year.

Unfortunately one crisis always seems to be followed by another. This time it is caused by the distressing rise in the country’s cost of living which has had a negative impact on running the schools and on feeding the children. We did not feel it right to raise sponsorship fees for a 2nd time in two years, and so we have had to tighten our belts in order to increase what we send per child. Many thanks go to those sponsors who voluntarily send a little bit extra each time. That is making a big difference.

#sponsorship programme

#sponsorship

Another massive success for our sponsorship programme has come with the success of Maria Nanyonga.

The first photo shows her with Jeanette as an early sponsored primary school girl in 2008.

She has now graduated in Law from Kampala International University. We offer her our heartiest congratulations – and all our thanks to her sponsors.

She now aspires to attain a Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice with the aim of becoming an Advocate in the Ugandan High Court.

Maria – we are very proud of you.

#educationalsponsorship

The Next Step

The ultimate objective is to enable our Ugandan colleagues to be able to stand on their own two feet without the constant need for support from FFoU’s generous followers. They want to be totally viable at the same time as being able to continue to give support for those who cannot afford to go to school. As things stand, this latter group is in the great majority among pupils at Little Angels.

To reach this next stage, they need to be able to attract fee paying pupils. They have very few of these at present.

We hope that our next project will help them on the road to sustainability. We recently sent funds to start on the construction of a dormitory to allow them to take boarders from outside the immediate area.

At this stage we do not know how long it will take to complete this project. All we could afford for now was enough to make a start on digging the foundations. We hope to have enough by the December holidays to allow the next stage to get under way. Fingers crossed!

#schoolsinuganda

Holiday studies

Even during the school holidays, pupils who will take their PLE (Primary Leaving Exam) in November came in to take advantage of extra lessons during the break. Thanks are due to members of the teaching staff for making this possible.

#littleangelschildrenhome

Little Angels Children’s Home

July’s transfer of funds to Uganda included an amount to help feed the girls and boys in the Little Angels Children’s Home.

That brightened up their week!

#readingforpleasure

The teachers are keeping the reading for pleasure programme going.

And no! We’re not taking away the books. This was just a push in a new direction with the children gathering for songs and poems.

During the school holidays it was time for a catch-up on jobs that don’t get done while the children are there.

This time it was:

. Cleaning and painting the roofs of the teachers housing at Bubebbere in order to prevent rust.

. The grass has been being slashed.

. The tyres that the children use for play were painted.

#pleasedonate

It’s about time that I gave you all some feedback on my 80th birthday walk in association with Stockport County.

Because …… your support has been wonderful – both in moral backing and in donations to Forever Friends of Uganda.

And so ….. I can now tell you that you gave us just short of £2,000. That is phenomenal and we are so grateful for that support. I promise you that every pound will be well and properly used in support of these children who have nothing.

Thank you all.

At the time of writing, trustee Da n ny McGregor was in full flow preparing for his effort. He is running the Hatters Half Marathon to raise more funds. The race will take place on Sunday 4th September, but the appeal will remain open if you would like to support his efforts after the day.

https://gofund.me/83596681

Keith Mills,

FFOU

Note: We only send this blog to people who are interested in our work. If you no longer wish to receive it, please tell us and we shall immediately remove you from our mailing list.

Sad but True

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Three weeks ago I prepared an optimistic Blog which looked forward to a return to normal for Ugandan children. It is heart-breaking that I have had to scrap that article. From an improving situation in the villages, they have fallen to the worst position yet.

First of all the government put all schools back into lockdown for another 42 days, intending that classes would resume in mid-July. But now? Who knows?

The number of cases and, sadly, fatal attacks have risen sharply. In the villages where we work, more than 20 people have died (although it is likely to be more by now). Everybody has lost someone in their family. Previously there hadn’t been a single case in Bulumbu or Bubebbere. As I understand it, this has been caused in part by people fleeing the city. This includes those who brought their dead to the rural areas to be buried.

There is a chronic shortage of vaccines. In a country of 40 million people, they have received fewer than a million doses. Testing charges and costs for those hospitalised are prohibitive for people who struggle to feed themselves. Patients in a hospital’s high dependency unit are billed daily for (among other charges) doctors’ and nursing costs as well as basics such as the provision of oxygen.

When I started to write this, the staff of Little Angels and Golden College were planning to meet in order to seek a way forward. Since then the government has locked down transport and people are not allowed to move from one district to another. Additionally a night-time curfew has been imposed.

If it were not for the finance that we provide, the 3 schools would be at great risk of closing permanently. Already 600 Ugandan schools and their buildings are up for sale; the futures of a generation of children are at great risk.

We are very grateful

As many of you are aware, I was very worried that the Ugandan school lockdown would adversely affect the sponsorship programme. You have been wonderful. Not a single sponsor has dropped out.

Even better. Since the start of the school closures early last year, 12 new sponsors have come on board. That is an amazing and heart-warming fact.

I recently made a direct appeal on social media platforms. A new kind of poverty has hit the villages where we work – caused purely by the Covid pandemic. City dwelling parents who could no longer afford to care for their children abandoned boys and girls with relatives who are themselves in poverty. We wanted to get these youngsters back in school.

The appeal immediately brought in three new sponsors.

Two abandoned children happy to be sponsored

You are now directly sponsoring 123 children, the highest number to date. In addition to that, we are supporting 22 girls in the Little Angels Children’s Home.

The Skills Centre at Bulumbu

The construction of the skills centre was initially delayed by heavy rains, but finally the contractors got back to work. And then …… as the government has stopped people from moving from community to community, progress came to a halt. The struggle is now on to find local labourers who can continue the work.

In a positive development, we are now able to use these concrete blocks which are being made at our Vocational Centre at Golden College in Nsaggu. But now this seems a minor bright spot in the whole run of things.

Amazon Smile

Thank you to those who have made us your nominated charity at Amazon Smile. Please carry on as before to give us this small but steady income.

However for those who prefer to use your mobile phones, there is a new AmazonSmile app that you can download. Your purchases cost you no more, but we also get something from it.

Note: The situation is changing so rapidly that I have had to rewrite the leading article several times. Please bear with us. Things may well have changed again by the time this edition has been published.

Keith,

Note: We only send this blog to people who are interested in our work. If you no longer wish to receive it, please tell us and we shall immediately remove you from our mailing list.

2020 – Not a year we shall want to remember

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What a distressing year it has been; both here and for the children we exist to help in Uganda. Despite all of the hardship and increased poverty, it is a credit both to our colleagues and to all of you who have helped our work that we have come through everything, if not unscathed, at least alive and ready to press on.

I have been fearful throughout because, with the children having been out of school for much of the year, I understood that some sponsors might be tempted to abandon the sponsorship of their children. Our deep gratitude goes to each and every one of you for sticking with them during these dark days. We now know that your trust will ensure that the school will survive and that the children, despite the setbacks that they have had to accept, will still have the possibility of an education and a meaningful future.

Our thanks go to all of you. I know that our Ugandan colleagues are truly grateful.

During the pandemic, children like these two little ones, have been deposited in the villages without means of support. An added problem.

Little Angels will survive

Before the lockdown, there were 10 primary schools in the 3 sub-counties around Bubebbere. Two of these were government schools and so they were able to reopen in support of examination classes. The other eight were private schools.

I apologise that you, as sponsors, have not had the normal feedback on the pupils’ progress. We understand that being kept up with your Ugandan child’s education is important. Covid-19 has beaten us in so many ways.

It is a credit to everyone that Little Angels is the only one of these 8 schools that has managed to start up again and support their children. Thank you to sponsors and all other supporters who have enabled them to survive.

The PLE (Primary Leaving Exam) classes continue their studies.

Looking to the future

We sent the funds for the new teachers’ accommodation at Bulumbu at the beginning of November. The work on the construction is now well under way. Just in time as it happens – because, as we told you in the last blog, a rough construction that housed some teachers and an elderly lady was damaged by heavy rainfall. It was deemed unfit and has to be demolished. By the time that this edition goes to press, we hope that the new construction will have its roof on.

Progress on the teachers’ accommodation.

Doors and windows being made for the new block

Now that this has been settled, we are concentrating our fund-raising on finding the wherewithal to build a skills centre to support all those in the local community who have not been able to acquire an education: those who dropped out of school either to support their families or to try to earn a meagre living and young mothers who were pressured into early marriage or who have been abandoned by the fathers of their children.

Girls in Need

You will know that until this year halted the progress, we were promoting a whole range of initiatives as part of our Abawaala Kumwanjo (Girls First) programme. Central to this was and still is our desire to support girls in need at the Little Angels Children’s Home at Bubebbere. Forever Friends of Uganda is already supporting 20 girls in this way and once things are back to normal we have promised to add two more to this total.

Once the basics have been purchased (beds, bedding and mosquito nets for example), the main cost is to feed the children. By our western standards, the cost is tiny. We have responded by initiating a “Feed A Girl in Need” programme. If you decide to support this new approach with donations (at whatever level you can afford), it will be warmly welcomed.

Donate with PayPal Giving Fund

Or you could feed a girl in the name of one of your friends or relatives as a birthday or Christmas present. We shall be pleased to provide you with a Certificate to pass on to him or her about the gift.

Of course our existing “Give a Gift” suggestions are also available.

Payments to Feed a Girl and Give a Gift can be made via our PayPal Giving account:

https://www.paypal.com/uk/fundraiser/charity/3233262

Greeting and gratitude to all our supporters.

Keith,

Note: We only send this blog to people who are interested in our work. If you no longer wish to receive it, please tell us and we shall immediately remove you from our mailing list.