Christmas Capital

CHRISTMAS CAPITAL

At this time of year, we are encouraged to reflect.  Many of us have good reason to be thankful for the security in our lives and take time out to consider those who have so little that their basic human existence is challenged every day. Here is Ssebowa, a young boy who lives in the Kosovo slum in Kampala, who has the good fortune to be known to a Ugandan community group called CEFOVID that works in partnership with HUGS.

The soiled piece of foam, he stands in front of, is his bed. His house, and his neighbour’s houses, are frequently flooded by polluted water, and everyone’s beds are soaked. Rather than being a place of comfort and safety his bed is a health hazard.

Through your generosity, HUGS is going to change his future. Capitalising on his family’s ingenuity and drive we are going to invest in his Human Capital.  Human Capital is defined as the knowledge, skills, and health that people accumulate throughout their lives, enabling them to realise there potential.  HUGS is investing in a clean water supply for his family, an income for his mother and a quality education at a school outside the city, where he will receive two nutritious meals a day and have a safe place to learn and play. (below is the new school with construction paused for Christmas)

The effect of Human Capital is obvious. It is expressed in many ways.  The most powerful is the ability to refuse to be dominated.  One day Ssebowa will be able to stand tall and say, ‘That’s not good enough, I am worth more than that’,  ‘I have a right to be respected’,  ‘I have choice and I will do what is best for me and my loved ones’.

For now, Ssebowa is delighted with the new mattress which the Mulchand Foundation kindly donated, through HUGS, to him and 100 other families.  It came with a pillow and a waterproof cover. He’s also lucky enough to have an older brother to help him carry it home.

Thank you for your kindness and generosity. Here are a few smiles to warm your heart during this reflective time of year.

Merry Christmas. 

Richard Bircher

HUGS Chair

Helping a Community from every angle

I'd like to introduce you to the students on the Two Tone Garment Making Course. 15 single mothers who live in the Kosovo slum in Kampala.  They have children and they have a drive to improve their lives. They commonly experience violence, extreme poverty and loss of incomes as their homes are flooded every time it rains. They face illness, from drinking contaminated water and their children struggle to attend school. And here they are, about to sit their examinations, to be awarded a nationally recognised qualification which will springboard them to a life of improved security, income and opportunity.  Thanks to the HUGS donors who have supported their education.

I'd like to introduce you to their children. When families, who live in the slum, receive an improved income their number one priority is to invest their children's education. Most families struggle to pay for books pens and school uniform. Many children do not own a pair of shoes. Through the dedicated work of a local Ugandan NGO (CEFOVID) and working with an exceptional, caring UK organisation called Jamies legacy 100 children now receive a bursary to attend school and they love it. Thanks to the HUGS donors who have supported this initiative.

Children from the slum, miss about a month of school a year due to illness, mostly caught fro drinking filthy water. HUGS has been working with generous individuals and Rotary International to supply clean water points to the poorest households.  We are progressing a project to fit 200 new public standpipes which will be used by 10,000 people, 6,500 are school aged children.

Finally I'd like to introduce you to the builders who are constructing the next HUGS school. They have completed the foundations and now are building the classroom walls.  300 of the Kosovo slum children will attend this school. It is north of Kampala in the countryside, boarded by woods, farmland and valleys. It is a place where children will have space to play, peace to learn and security to flourish.  It has 8 acres of land to grow food, to feed hungry minds and growing bodies.

HUGS is able to help improve this community from every angle, only because of the generous support of our donors. If anyone would like to help any of these projects further please donate here or contact me on hugs.chair@gmail.com

Thank you
Richard Bircher. HUGS Chair

Ground Breaking

Building work has started on our new school. Situated in Busunju, an hour’s drive north of Kampala, the New Kosovo Hope School will dramatically and irreversibly improve the lives of the 300 primary school children who will be cared for there.

The children currently dwell in one of Kampala’s slums, where living is blighted by disease, violence, and poverty.  Most children have never seen the countryside and have never felt the joy of running freely in fresh air or drinking water which is safe.  Many have never been to school and aspirations are often as low as their opportunities.  We are about to change this.  Other HUGS schools have witnessed miraculous things that happen when children, with a lust for life, are given three square meals a day, books to read and safe places to play.  We look forward to sharing these stories with you.

Currently, the new school is all but large holes in the ground. To build a three-storey school, we need resilient foundations.  Not only in terms of steel and concrete but also in terms of partnership and respect.  We are blessed to have so many people we can call friends to help develop the new school. The Ugandan NGO (which will run the school) is headed by a warm-hearted man, with boundless energy called Ronald Kamoga. He is supported by a trustworthy and high-quality building company and our thoughtful and kind architect, Elly Wamala.  We give thanks to our funders, Sanjay and Venika, who are generous and caring and a long list of other supporters: Julie and Alec from Jamie's Legacy, Suky from Two-Tone and Lydia from REACH. Together we form a strong foundation which will ensure the new school will stand tall, be strong and always successful.

HUGS is a vibrant charity because of the input from so many people.  This year we are holding our Annual General meeting (AGM) in public. If anyone would like to attend it is starting at 19:30 tomorrow, 3rd of May, in Stockport.  Please message us if you’d like to attend.  You can also join us remotely.  We are only able to do our work because of the support given by so many people.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/6979922609

Meeting ID: 697 992 2609

Passcode: HUGS

Thank You

Richard Bircher (Chair HUGS)

Peter Mount. Small conversations to Big Actions

I have sad news. On Sunday 5th of March, the Founder of HUGS, a good friend to many of us and an inspirational leader Peter Mount died unexpectedly at home.  His departure leaves us with heavy hearts, reflecting on the how one man managed to change the lives of so many people. He championed the welfare of the vulnerable and leaves a profound legacy.

May his loving soul rest in peace.

Peter was an expert at turning small conversations into big action. This is how HUGS started. When Father John Kyazze was a visiting priest at Peter’s parish, in Stockport, they struck up a friendship and a powerful partnership.  One evening the conversation turned to the village where Father John was born and the plight of 9 children who were unable to go attend school because their families were too poor.  Peter organised a fund raiser, and within weeks the children’s education was secured.  In true ‘Peter style’, he didn’t stop there, and within two years Father John’s family had donated land and Peter raised funds for the first HUGS school to be constructed. St Zoes, (named after Father Johns mother) is now a beautiful, loving, safe school for 350 primary and secondary students. Its exam results are outstanding; its pupils lives improved by Peter’s passion and commitment. 

20 years later HUGS has built 7 schools, sponsored 100s of students and improved the education of 1000s.

The last school project, Peter championed was a special needs school, St Francis de Sales, in Jinja. The school has been open for 14 months and cares for some of the most vulnerable children in Ugandan society.  Where previously many of the children with disability were hidden away, receiving no education, they are now bright, loud, and carefree with a hunger to learn.  St Francis de Sales is still to be completed and Peter’s vision was for it to become a centre of excellence in Eastern Uganda in how to educate children who are unable to attend mainstream school.  Peter’s family have asked for this school to be the beneficiary of the Peter Mount Memorial fund. If you would like to contribute, please do so here.

https://gofund.me/8facb0ae

Thank you for everyone who has offered their condolences. Thank you for your kind words. 

Turning silent withdrawal into confidence and opportunity

This year just under a million children in Uganda sat the Primary Leaving Examination to mark the end of their studies at Primary School. This chart shows the performance of students with disabilities who took the exam in the Jinja locality. Children who are deaf score the lowest grades.

Jinja is where our special needs school, St Francis de Sales (SFDS) is situated, where half the pupils have marked hearing loss.  These results do not come as a surprise to the teachers who work there.  Hearing loss inevitably leads to profound communication difficulties, withdrawal, loss of confidence and social marginalisation unless special services are put in place from a pre-school age.  With the support our donors provide, HUGS is helping the teachers at St Francis de Sales stop the process of silent withdrawal and turn it into confidence and opportunity. If you are ever lucky enough to visit the school, you will see immediately how the children are far from marginalised; they brim with enthusiasm and demand attention.  

However, we have a problem. SFDS was designed to educate ‘differently abled’ children to year 4, where after we hoped they would be able to enter mainstream primary school. Disappointingly, not a single child has been accepted into a local primary school. A mixture of prejudice and poor resources has created an insurmountable barrier to bright, capable deaf children continuing their education.  Our solution is to double the side of the school and offer all 7 years of primary education.  We believe, it will not be long until these children are scoring the ‘Division 1’ passed they deserve. 

HUGS is proud to have Dr Emma Stapleton as a Trustee. She is a consultant ENT surgeon at Central Manchester Hospital, and an expert at restoring hearing.  She is leading a project to provide audiology and basic ear care at the school in order to screen for and treat hearing loss. In partnership with experts from Greater Manchester we hope this service will grow in time.

If you would like to become involved with any part of this project in 2023 please make contact.  Every contribution makes a difference, and your involvement states loudly that these children are important.