Show me the money...
on The Cowans in Kampala (Uganda), 15/Mar/2010 09:51, 34 days ago
Several of you back home set us the onerous task of finding the most worthwhile projects here to which you could donate and be confident that your hard-earned cash is being appropriately and effectively used. We have been giving that a lot of thought and have identified 3 such projects that would benefit enormously from any financial input and in which we have some involvement.The first is the Royal Pride Academy, which is the school mentioned below. Every time there is significant rainfall, the place turns into a mudbath- which although useful for pottery classes, is somewhat disruptive to running the school. The money would be used to put down some concrete flooring at the bargain price of fifty pounds per classroom, of which there are 9.The second is supporting a good friend of ours, Naomi, whom we have mentioned several times before. She came to Uganda from the UK for a 2 week trip some 8 years ago and, moved by the huge level of need in Kampala slums, has never left. As well as looking after 14 local street children in her own home, she also works with several families and helps them find ways of supporting their own children. She does this through facilitating small income-generating projects such as bread-making for them. She also has her own pre-school, Sparkling Stars, where Alan helps out on a weekly basis. She uses the funds from this business to pay school fees (on average 30 pounds per child per term) and not just those children who live with her. She is personally responsible for funding the schooling of up to 30 children! The income from Sparkling Stars is small so she relies heavily on donations from friends and family.Finally, Alison has already mentioned below some of the community health projects in which she is involved. Most of these deal with people suffering from HIV and who otherwise would not be able to access healthcare. They are funded by the International Medical Foundation (IMF), who in turn are supported by the hospital where Alison is based and also receive donations from the Suubi Trust. IMF also helps fund Hope Ward at the hospital, which provides hospital care to those who cannot afford it. You can read more about this at the websitehttp://www.suubitrust.org.uk/If you would like to donate to any of these causes, please drop us an email atalcowan@doctors.org.ukand we would be happy to facilitate it.