What can small charities do?

The need for charitable aid around the world, home or abroad, does not reduce but one of the inevitable outcomes of the Oxfam expose is that thousands of people are cancelling their regular donations.

Understandable, yes, but how is this going to help the hundreds of thousands in need?

Most large charities need to have large professional teams to both raise the money and also to administer its delivery. Audit processes are not free.  Spending very large sums of money can be done quickly or can be done effectively but rarely both at the same time.

However as a small UK registered charity Helping Uganda Schools raises about £100,000 a year and relies on tried and tested local Teams in Uganda and Rwanda to deliver the work, build the schools and educate the children. They are local people. Three partners are Congregations of Religious Sisters and one is an organisation run by parents of deaf and disabled children

Partners like these bring strong codes of honesty and governance, continuity, and a local passion for the cause. They have members with degrees in a wide range of subjects and fully understand the needs and the culture of their countries and their people.

We have run this charity for 23 years with great Trustees,  no paid staff, with overhead costs met privately or from non donor money, and now have 7 schools, 1200 children attending, 83 past or active scholarships, a school for special needs children and with a small exception all the projects are self sustaining. We are starting a programme to tackle eyesight problems for children in Jinja.

There is a constant need to do more and I am wondering if there are people out there who could sign small monthly standing orders to Helping Uganda Schools?

Standing Order forms are on our website. www.helpingugandaschools.org

Or make a donation at https://mydonate.bt.com/charities/helpingugandaschools

Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults

A very serious issue has been very widely publicised this week in UK. It appears that employees of the UK charity Oxfam, have behaved very badly and abused their positions of trust, in particular in prostitution.

As a charity Helping Uganda Schools has no employees working in Uganda or Rwanda. We work with 4 different partners who are responsible for the work of building and running the schools and in helping disabled or deaf children.

Three partners are three Orders of Catholic Sisters and the fourth is the Organisation for the Parents of Deaf Children.

We have been in contact with them all this week to remind them of the importance of having up to date Safeguarding Policies. Local national legislation requires such policies.

I can reassure all our supporters that we do not have any known problems in this area.

New Term begins

As Uganda children return to school at the beginning of February following their long Christmas holiday we try to keep up with where our scholarship holders have got to. We start the year with 64 actively being supported by HUGS and a further 19 who have completed or graduated and are working in education, medicine, engineering, building and honey production.

Our scholarships are usually £150 per year at primary Level, £300 at Secondary and around £750 at Further Education or University .

And you see still some great ways to use a Boda Boda  (motor bike) in Uganda.

Chris Bishop and all his friends had a very successful HUGS and QUIZZES fund raising event in Manchester with the aim of reaching his target to fund the equipment needed for the Vocational Classes at the Asili Girls Secondary School which is about half finished. He made it!

Many supporters will remember Fr John Kyazze and will be interested to hear that he has been given a huge challenge by his Bishop. He has 35 churches to manage in a new parish and has to find ways to build himself a house to live in. There are 10,000 parishioners spread over a distance of 70 kms. Sadly it is a long way from his family home near Mubende

Aaron, the 14 year old who can now see with one good eye following a Corneal Graft (funded by HUGS and Primrose, an amazing Opthalmic Nurse from London's Moorfields Eye Hospital) had to have an emergency stomach operation this week but is recovering well. Here are Aaron and Primrose at the Source of the Nile at Jinja.