ugive2uganda

Ever thought about sponsoring a child in Africa?

It will be light soon. I’ve not been able to sleep for the last hour. I’ve been lying here on my mat listening to my little brother. I know he has not slept well because there are many mosquitoes in our room. They have been biting him all through the night and he has even been scratching his bites in his sleep! I have been saying my prayers to God that he would not catch malaria like my friend Grace did last month. He has not become sick yet so I think my prayers are being answered. I do worry about him though. If only I had the money to buy him a mosquito net! But they cost 9,000 shillings (£3) each and I know my family will never be able to save this money.

In a few minutes it will be time to get up and fetch the water from the river before I go to school. I have to use our large container so it is very heavy for me to carry when it is full and it’s especially hard when it rains and I slip in the mud. I’m slowly getting used to the weight now but I’m always tired by the time I get back to the village. But it’s important that I help my mother because she works hard all day in the fields to grow our food. She seems to be a little weak lately but I don’t know why.

On Sunday we will go to church and I will say my prayers because at least we have maize, bananas and beans in the evening - even though on some days there is not enough. My brother cries if he is hungry and this upsets me. If only we had money to buy a goat or some fruit trees how happy we would be! But we eat all that we can grow in our little field and there is never anything left over to sell so that we can buy the goat.

My best friend is Betty. She is sad because her father died last month. He became sick so the men of the village made a stretcher from firewood and a blanket and carried him to the nearest health clinic eight miles away. When they arrived the doctor was not there. They waited outside the clinic until the next day but when the doctor came he said that Betty’s father needed some medicine. The men had not enough money for this so they had to carry him back home to our village again and he died a few days later.

Last week some people came and brought a guest from England called Mr Philip. He was a Muzungu! (white person) He told us that he lives in a place called Huntingdon. I’m not sure where that is exactly but I expect it’s a bit like our village.

He bought us some mosquito nets but I don’t think there will be enough for all of us. I am praying that there will be one for my brother.

Mr Philip asked us many questions about how we live each day. We told him how we help our mother before and after school and all about our family life. I asked him if he could help us buy a blanket for my brother and my mother because it gets cold on some nights and we have nothing to cover us. I also told him that my friends and I sneak out of school on some afternoons – which makes me ashamed. But none of us have breakfast or lunch on school days so we run home to see if there is anything to eat.

My friends and I were more interested in asking him about his home in Huntingdon. He says many strange things that we don’t know whether to believe or not. When I asked him if the children there also eat bananas and maize he said the children eat different food every day! I don’t understand how there can be that many different kinds of food. I think he is teasing us. Mr Philip told us that many people in Huntingdon kept dogs and cats in their houses. He said that they give these animals meat every day, and my friends and I laughed so much because we have had no meat this year so we know that this cannot be true!

I overheard him saying to our helper that it was ironic that because we had never seen something called a TV, or eaten a fish, or owned a proper toy, we didn’t miss them. But I didn’t understand this word. I think we are poor but I’m not sure because all my friends have the same things as we do. Teachers in my school have told me that there are people in the big town of Mbale who have many possessions but I’m not sure if I believe them.

When I lie awake at night I dream that when I grow up I could be a teacher or a nurse and then I could help my mother, our family, and the village. My mother has worked so hard to look after us and I want to make life better for her when she is older. But I worry that we do not have enough money to pay for me to finish school. So I try to be brave but now and again I think my dream is hopeless and then I have a little cry when I know no-one is looking.

I know Mr Philip has gone back to Huntingdon now. He has promised that he will try and ask other people to help us. I will think of him and his friends in my prayers tonight and my wish will be to hope that he succeeds.

Sarah Besigye (aged 13)

ugive2uganda

Ugive2uganda is a UK registered charity (No. 1115196) dedicated to supporting the people in and around the town of Mbale in Uganda. We help children through:

· Our child sponsorship scheme

· Our emergency medical aid program for sickness and disease

· Our music program that gives children a chance to be creative and learn to play a brass band instrument

Our Health Programme

Imagine that you are a parent and your child fell sick and there were no local doctors or dentists in your area. And that although you had heard that there were doctors in the towns you didn’t have any transport to get there. Then you also realise that even if you could get there you probably couldn’t afford to pay to see the doctor anyway, let alone pay for any medicine that the doctor might give you. Then imagine how helpless and desperate you would feel. This is reality for many people in Uganda

So we intervene when we can when we hear of cases where a child is suffering because of the inability of their parents to pay for medical treatment. These cases may be the result of a disease like malaria, an accident, or an underlying condition.

Mrs Vivienne Duffy visiting her sponsored child Margaret in September 2006

How Sponsorship Works

The wonderful thing about child sponsorship is the way that your life, and the life of your sponsored child, is changed forever. With your support, and the support of other caring sponsors we work with a child's family and the entire community to develop a more sustainable ability to flourish in the future. The support that you provide enables a child to attend and thrive at school and gives them access to basic medical care and hygiene education.

The children benefit in so many ways. The contact that you provide through a simple letter or gift can be all the encouragement a struggling girl or boy needs to make it through another day of hardship. By following your child’s progress you'll be able to see how you've given them the chance for a better, brighter future.

When we begin working with a community the first thing we do is talk to the community leaders, parents, and the children themselves to find out what they need most. Their main priority might be access to clean water, a school building, a health clinic, or an income-generating scheme such as rearing livestock. We then create a plan to enable the project to proceed based on the income available from sponsorship and any other donations. The important point is that projects have to be sustainable and that the financial help is not wasted on a one-off item that carries no lasting value.

My own experience

I’ve sponsored three children in Uganda over that last seven years. I’ve never regretted it for an instant. I’ve been to Uganda to see how important my sponsorship has been and the difference it has made to the children that I’ve helped. My sponsored child Owen now has a blanket to keep him warm at night whereas previously he had nothing. I always look forward to seeing his progress and I’m always touched by the photographs, the letters, and the drawings that I’ve received. I know that I’ve made a real difference to his life and the life of his family and community. The special relationship that has developed between Owen, myself, and his family is something we both value and cherish. It’s simply changed my life forever.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: Why support a child through ugive2uganda rather than other similar charities?

Answer: Because I live in Mbale in Uganda and deliver the sponsorship myself instead of relying on others. In this way I can be sure that all sponsorship money is used wisely and properly. We aren’t some massive global charity that spends a large proportion of its donations on fancy headquarters buildings and new computer equipment. When you decide to sponsor a child I can guarantee that the child, their family, and their community will receive the money that you donate.

Question: How do I know that my child will receive the money that I send?

Answer: Because I live in Uganda to make sure they do! We keep a record of every child sponsor and I visit the villages that we support to see for myself the child’s progress and how the money has been spent.

Question: Surely it can’t be right to sponsor one child if many others receive no help at all?

Answer: Correct. The child that you choose to sponsor does not receive all the money that you send because it would be simply unfair for one child to be ‘rich’ and for most of the others to be ‘poor’. This would lead to jealously and discontent. Initially all the of the money that you send goes directly to the child and his or her family. After eighteen months we deduct 25% of your sponsorship money and this goes to the community as a whole. These community funds help by supporting projects such as improvements in the village’s water supply, cooperative schemes such as health care, and sustainable agricultural assistance like fertilizer, livestock, fruit trees, and so on.

Question: What can I expect to receive from my sponsored child?

Answer: First of all, you will receive a photo of the child and some personal information about him or her along with some family details. In due course you will also receive a letter that describes your child’s progress including how well they are doing at school. He or she will send you a Christmas card (you can return the gesture if you wish!), and you will also receive an annual report on the child’s village and community as well as our annual newsletter. Of course, you can write to your child as often as you wish.

Question: Can I choose my sponsored child?

Answer: Yes – to a certain extent. We’ll ask you whether you prefer to sponsor a boy or a girl, and in what sort of age range. We’ll then select the child in most need of support from our waiting list.

Question: How long does my sponsorship last?

Answer: The sponsorship normally lasts until the child leaves school. But you can choose to sponsor a child for all or part of this time.

Mrs Jayne Nelson visiting her sponsored child Zainabu in February 2007

Contacts

If you would like to make a donation to ugive2uganda instead then please send your cheque, made payable to “ugive2uganda”, to me at the address below.

Philip Monk

ugive2uganda

8, Woodlands

Hinchinbrooke Park

Huntingdon

PE29 6JQ

If you would like to help by sponsoring a child from the Mbale villages please email me at ugive2uganda1@aol.com or see our website at www.ugive2uganda.org.

What we really need is for compassionate people to become sponsors for children that so desperately need help. Small regular payments allow the communities to plan ahead and for families to feel reassured that they can face the future with hope. So please complete the form at the end of this leaflet to become a child sponsor and make a real difference to the life of a child. Sponsoring a child costs £15 a month. I know that this scheme works and is so worthwhile.

To enable people to monitor exactly what happens to their donations I’ll be updating my website regularly at www.ugive2uganda.org. Or you can write to me at the above address.

I hope you can help me to help the children of Uganda. Their cause is tremendously worthwhile. The children are not asking for never-ending handouts from people in the UK. They just need a hand to get started and the basic investment to enable them to earn their own living and to live their life with dignity and respect.

The children in Uganda are no different physically and emotionally from any other child in the UK. They are separated from us only by distance and culture.

Thank you very much.

Philip Monk

ugive2uganda

Registered Charity No. 1115196

“100 years from now, it will not matter how much I had in my bank account, how big my house was, or what kind of car I drove. But the world may be a little better because I was important in the life of a child.”

ugive2uganda

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