Chairman’s Report
Greetings from the UK Committee
Dear Friends
Following the AGM in April 01 a new committee was elected. Tim Gomm who chaired the Mityana Charity from its beginnings some 5 years ago stood down due to his clergy training commitments, Gill Cronin finally handed on her role and Peter Bedall was unable to continue his valuable work with the charity. With publicity unfilled and me acting as chairman and fundraiser there are now fewer people to serve on the UK committee this year. However, it is a great challenge for us to work with our Mityana committee in supporting a variety of projects.
The following people are happy to give their time and special talents for the work of the charity for the next 12 months (from April 01).
ChairmanSecretary
Treasurer
Sponsorship
Sponsorship Co-ordinator
Fundraising
St Sebastian’s Representative
Wooburn
Representative
Whitchurch Representative
Publicity / Nigel Birch
Sarah Birch
Lynn Green
Jean Ashfield
Tracy Hooper
Nigel Birch / Catie Smith
Margaret Stainsby
Derek Burden / Imma Heidlindemann
Ken Neeves
Vacant
I hope this newsletter will be informative by giving our members and new readers an update of on-going fundraising activities and projects being done in Mityana.
Our current priority is to get funds out to the Mityana schools as quickly as possible having recently allocated funds for specific purposes (see list below). We have arranged that these funds are transferred via the UK and Kampala banks to ensure security. We are seeking assurances and agreement from the Mityana Committee that the funds are being spent on particular projects.
I hope to push our activities along as quickly as possible but we do have limitations in that the UK committee is reduced in number and experience. Only a very few of us have actually visited Mityana (maybe soon) and we are learning fast to ensure we can serve the people of Mityana effectively. My aim is to minimise administrative tasks and concentrate our efforts on the practical issues eg. Getting money out, fundraising etc. To enable us to do this we have decided to produce one news letter / year and the annual report. We will consider a 2nd Newsletter once we can get additional IT volunteer help. So if anyone in Wokingham / Crowthorne can help on IT please get in touch.
May God bless our endeavours,
Nigel
Mityana Charity Newsletter Issue 6 - July 2001
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Mityana Charity Newsletter Issue 6 - July 2001
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News from Victoria Lukwago (Co-ordinator of Send a Child to school)Mityana Charity Newsletter Issue 6 - July 2001
Page 3
Dear Jean,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord.
Happy New Year 2001.
I bring greetings from Mityana mostly parents and children from this programme. The year has started fairly despite a few illnesses and deaths.
This is mainly to talk about projects in Butega.
The Goats
These animals are doing well. The exotic female has started producing using the bull. The community members have been bringing their local she goats for service. Many of these local goats have produced very nice breeds. Many produce twins (and female) which is quite beneficial to the owners.
Not only does this bull serve the Butega community, it has served other areas as well: these are Namukazi, Bulera and Namboale respectively. We have realised an important thing (which is a community comment) that they grow very fast and a very nice looking breeds.
The very first batch of cross breeds are now being brought for service, which is quite interesting. The breed in the community, therefore is very much improving. Thank you for your support.
The Rabbits
Only one rabbit is left in the house. We have decided to leave this project totally since there is no market.
Chickens
We feel strongly this project can be a substitute for silk production because market is now available. What it needs is proper maintenance.
Management requires the following :-
· Good housing
· Feed at all times
· Feed troughs
· Drinkers
· Water at all times
· Lighting at all times
· Medication / vaccines
· Buying chicks
Costs
1. A chicken house is built once and for all and well planned. This depends on how many birds we want to rear. We have realised that to have better profits we have to rear 600 – 1000 birds. We need 4 – 5 well ventilated rooms which will take a capacity of 200 birds each
We need 2 more rooms. To make an extension possible we will need to renovate 2 old rooms or build a different shelter of a poultry style and leave the other rooms as planned. This will cost us £300.
2. Feeding troughs – 25 troughs costing £45; these are bought only once.
3. Drinkers – 25 drinkers costing £45; these are only bought once.
4. Feeds (2 months)
(a) 200 birds need 15 bags
(b) vaccine needed twice
(c) lighting
(d) charcoal
(e) water
Total cost £200
[Note : Selling 200 birds brings in £310]
5. Buying chicks – 200 chicks costs £70
Management – total requirement£300 (chicken house)
£45 (feeding troughs)
£45 (drinkers)
£200 (feeds)
£70 (chicks)
£660 (Total cost)
When all is done the profits will be saved to buy more chicks.
Why do we want to embark on this project ?
· We have had enough practice with chicken rearing; we are now quite experienced
· The chicken project is quite viable. There is a good market in Kampala and Mityana Town; but we sell all in Mityana. The only problem is transportation !
· The above project is intended to cater for secondary school students. It is easy for our sponsors to help the primary children, but it becomes expensive when they get to secondary colleges and universities.
· We hope that the sponsor who is unable to push the child further to secondary education can continue with the £64 and the difference is met from this project (rearing chicks). As the project grows it can be quite independent and helps in many other things concerning the child.
· We still have some more needy children whose parents can’t afford 2 meals a day and others can’t afford clothing or medication.
· We wouldn’t like to see a child helped in primary education being dropped without further education. We shall be grouping these children and help them accordingly. There are those who are academically able and need help into secondary level and even at college level. Others are average (medium) and may need to be taken to vocational institutions
Mityana Charity Newsletter Issue 6 - July 2001
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SPONSORSHIP PROGRAMMEThe programme is going on well, despite the few problems encountered during the course of operation. All of 1st term’s fees have been paid and scholastic materials distributed. Uniforms also have been bought.
There are four secondary children whose feed aren’t enough for secondary school requirements for a complete year. They have only £64 and £84; these children include :-
Nabuuma Hadijah (S.5),
Rabinah Nabucwa (S.5),
Mugerwa Herbert (S.5),
Segawa Daniel (S.6)
Jullie Bubaale and Kisekka Disan will be replaced because they moved to distant places due to the problems with guardians.
Children go to :-
· Mityana Secondary School
· Mityana Junior School
· St. Annes Primary School
· Trio Primary School
· Fareway Primary School
· Mityana Town School
· St Laurence Mityana Secondary School
· St Laurence Citizens High Kabakaslake Campus
· Bukomero Secondary School
· Kasemji Secondary School
· Glenbunie Butega School
· Kabule Primary School
Children have benefited a lot. They are very grateful because, according to a survey taken, most children would not have had a chance of continuing with their education. Most of these children’s conditions at home is very poor. Clothing generally, feeding, bedding and lighting is still a problem.
VISITING HOMESIt is my duty as co-ordinator to follow up these children both at school and at their homes. I have done it ! To those with such problems it is my duty to see how much money each child has after paying the fees and other school requirements, then I provide some domestic requirements.
DAY TO DAY RUNNING OF THE PROGRAMMES· Transport to and from
· Photographs per child at home and at school
· Visiting homes
· Postage for monthly “thankyou” letters and any other information
· Photocopying reports, “thankyou” letters and any other information
All the above activities are also so expensive but I try to sacrifice and also try my best to use the little money available. N.B. All “thankyou” letters, photos and reports for term 1, Yr2001 will be collected and I will send them by post office as usual to Jean Ashfield.
GOD Bless you
Victoria Lukwago (Co-ordinator SEND A CHILD TO SCHOOL)
Classroom builder gets Gold !! / Hazel Longman who visited Mityana in the summer of 1997 has been awarded the highest level (Gold) in the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme. This scheme aims to give young people an opportunity of personal development by participating in a challenging, rewarding and enjoyable programme of activities. Her involvement in Mityana has helped her achieve this award. / She helped to build two classrooms at the Mityana orphan school with a group of young people from St. Sebastian’s church and other Wokingham churches led by Tim Gomm and Gill Cronin. This has also coincided with Hazel gaining a 2i degree in Natural Sciences at Cambridge UniversityCongratulations Hazel
HOW YOUR MONEY IS BEING SPENT!!
As most of us find that it is our financial resources which dictate our standard of living I thought it important to give a more detailed account of what your money is being spent on in Mityana where most people have so little.
The following is a list of projects for which the money was transferred last month (June) to Barclays, Kampala.
(a) Sponsorship £771
(b) Sale of crafts £10
(c) Administration £100
(d) Knitting/embroidery £704
(e) Teachers Salaries £1200
(f) Orphanage School £3000 (building classrooms)
Total £5785
Sponsorship speaks for itself but I will fill in details on the other amounts.
The crafts sold, were made by a lady called Constance, in Mityana and brought to the UK by Jean and Gill on their last visit to Uganda. They have been on sale on various occasions (at St Sebastians School and Parish Centre). Crafts are now being made by some ladies here (Lyn, Sarah, Margaret and Barbara) who meet about once a month and these have raised approximately £60 so far.
The £100 sent for Administration is for the Ugandan Committee to use for postage, photocopying, stationery etc as they keep up records on the sponsored children etc.
The £704 for knitting is for the purchase of knitting needles, wool, knitting machines to equip a self help project start up in Mityana. Might we see a Ugandan sweater for sale in the crafts soon? Coincidentally this was almost the same amount that Lyn Green was able to claim back from the Inland Revenue under the Gift Aid Scheme. Please will you fill in one of these forms (see end of newsletter) if you are a taxpayer and have not already done so. As you can see IT HELPS!
£1200 has been put towards the teachers salaries at the Orphanage School following ending of funding from the Miriam Dean. This is to be administered by the Ugandan Committee.
The Orphanage school are getting £3000 (again to be administered by Ugandan Committee) in order to build new classrooms. This £3000 has been raised from Catie Smith/Sandra Bridgewater’s meal last Sept (£1500), Gemma Potts (£500) and £1000 from Tracy Hooper,s sponsored running in the London Marathon.
I feel that this funding of education and self-help projects is what the Charity is all about and it is why I am helping on the Committee.
Sarah Birch (Secretary)
Proposed changes to the Mityana Constitution (Nigel Birch)
As the Charity has evolved it is inevitable that we need to review how we do things and make any necessary changes to enable us to do things better. At the beginning of this year we found that the Mityana constitution was worded in such a way that we were unable to help specific projects in the medical area. We felt that the children are unlikely to reach their educational potential without good health care eg. access to vaccinations / immunizations for the protection of diseases such as malaria, skin diseases, measles and chicken pox.
Support for improving the health of the orphan children through an immunization programme was proposed by Dr Christopher Kikongo of the Chigongo Medical Centre in Mityana (see below)
CHIGONGO MEDICAL CENTREP.O BOX 179 MITYANA
3RD APRIL 2001
Nigel Birch
6, Tangley Drive
Wokingham
Berkshire
ENGLAND
RG41 2NY
Dear Nigel,
RE. HEALTH SERVICES FOR THE MITYANA ORPHANAGE SCHOOL
I thank you for your letter dated 2/02/2001 in which you requested estimates for financial needs for pupils’ health needs.
Currently, the school population is 400 children; age range is 6 to 17 years almost 1:1 sex ratio. The main health problems met by the children are malaria; worm infestation, acute respiratory infections, skin diseases, and lately episodes of measles and chicken pox have hit the area.
On measles which is immunizable during childhood the current picture is puzzling. People of adult especially women of child bearing age are suffering from measles and other un-diagnosed (mis-diagnosed) viral ailments.
My plan is to give a booster dose to all the 400 children as a means of protecting the children. In any case, even when they catch the disease, it will take a mild form. The whole exercise will be done in collaboration with the district health office. For a successful coverage, we shall have to facilitate vaccinators, pay for vaccines, sensitive parents and community. With this protection, the children who are HIV positive will get enhanced protection.
I estimate to spend around two million Uganda shillings which comes to about 800 pound sterling.
I thank you for the support and interest in the health and social welfare of these helpless people of God.
Yours sincerely
Dr. Christopher Kigongo
We have agreed to provide the funds once the UK Charity Commissioners have authorized the changes we are proposing. The amendments to the Mityana Constitution are highlighted below as follows :-