Good governance: the quiet force behind your generosity
Governance may not sound like the most exciting subject for a newsletter. But HUGS thinks it matters enormously. In fact, good governance is how we make sure the kindness, you show us through your donations, is turned into the greatest possible opportunity for vulnerable children and young people in Uganda.
Every pound donated brings a question: what is the best thing we can spend it on?
Should we help a gifted young person get to university? Help a school become financially sustainable? Drill a well or improve sanitation? Buy something as small as new cooking pot, or invest in something as ambitious as an entirely new school?
These decisions don't happen by accident.
They start with the HUGS trustees. We are now seven people, with collection of skills and experiences. Richard, our Chair, is a doctor with an MSc in Sustainable Development. Jess is a Senior NHS manager. Suss is a Ugandan national with a degree in Development Studies and experience working in Uganda Children’s Services, Joanna is a Community Doctor, IT expert and oversees our finances. Chris is a Lawyer, specialising in commercial disputes, Pete is a Management Consultant, and soon to be ordained a Curate and Helen is a Creative Director and expert in media.
Different backgrounds, one shared responsibility: to steward your generosity.
Then comes the next layer: our trusted representatives in Uganda. They are colleagues and friends with an impeccable track record of honesty, commitment and compassion. They receive funds, oversee spending, report back to us and, crucially, help us understand what is really needed on the ground..
You may recognise their names. Father John Kyazze is helping us to build a new special needs school. Sister Theresa Abigada, is working to make her school sustainable through a pig-farming project. Sebastian Waiswa is helping teachers move into proper accommodation rather than live in storage rooms. Sister Agnes Nampijja is currently hosting our new 19-year-old volunteer, Alisha.
All of them have chosen incredibly demanding jobs, full of setbacks and problems. Yet they keep pressing on. And, importantly, they ensure not a single penny of HUGS money goes missing.
The story doesn't stop there. Around our representatives are committees and teams of local people: business leaders, landowners, chicken farmers, accountants, carpenters, teachers and—perhaps most importantly—the parents of the children we support.
There are an extraordinary number of people helping to turn your donation into opportunity.
So, governance at HUGS isn't dull paperwork. It is the network of people asking questions, checking decisions, solving problems and making sure that generosity reaches the people it is intended to help.
Your kindness deserves nothing less.