ST MARY'S PARISHIONERS AT WORK UGANDA GROUPSt. Mary's Friends of Uganda Registered Charity no. 1092109Comprises a small fundraising committee, who would welcome with open arms new members to bring along new ideas for enjoyable money raising events.
We are assisted by monthly subscriptions from the generous supporters of
St. Mary’s Parish, £1 a month increases in size when added together with
others.
Our aims are to support the:-
Wisdom School for the Blind in Mbarara and the
Uganda Martyrs Orphan Project in TororoThe connection with the school for the blind was formed after the
death of Christopher Jackson in 1996.A chance meeting with Fr Charlie Beirne, a Montfort Father on home leave
from Mbarara led to Christophers Braille machine and other useful items
being shipped out to the Wisdom School.
In 2003 I visited the school and spent three weeks seeing the conditions that our
“Third World” neighbours have to live in. The warm and friendly welcome I received everywhere I travelled was wonderful. The head mistress Sr. Jacinta Tuhairwe said I should have stayed for three months and they packed in three months travelling around in the area during my three weeks so that I could see all the effort that is going into trying to improve life for themselves. There are Schools all over but education has to be paid for, Educating the young is seen as the way out of poverty.
Fr. Charlie had a queue at the mission doors as it was the start of a new term and children were hoping he would have enough funds to pay for another term at the school for them.
Whilst I was there he had put up a notice explaining that he had no money left to pay any more school fees.
Life on a day to day basis is not easy if you live in a mud hut with no running water or electricity, all things we take for granted. The mission had water but electricity is only on for short periods of time. Recently during a dry spell when it should have been the rainy season the water level in Lake Victoria dropped so much electricity could not be generated and as they export it to neighbouring countries that was the first priority.
Our friendship with the Orphans Project began with another chance meeting of John Vause and Fr Matthew Okoth in Lourdes.
Father Matthew a patron of the project assists with funds for the education of the children and helping to provide work projects to make them self sufficient on leaving school.
Tororo is close to the border with Kenya and eight hours travelling time by car from Mbarara but I was fortunate to be taken there by Fr Charlie so that I could meet up with the children and Fr Matthew and see the work projects that are going to give these children a better future.
If you are interested in helping or just want to know more about the projects please contact me kathleen.j@talktalk.net
The latest email from Fr Charlie talks of the global recession everything there has rocketed in price especially fuel and food, for example a sack of rice has more than doubled in price and cooking oil has also doubled in price this year.
He is heavily involved in a project to construct a hospital for children. It will be a referral hospital specializing in paediatric care for children from birth to the age of 12. The first of its kind in Uganda.
In Uganda one child in 7 dies before the age of 5.
Want to know more and get to know a little about life in Mbarara and surrounding villages click on to www.holyinnocentsuganda.org
ST MARY'S FRIENDS OF UGANDAJAN/.FEB 2010 VISIT TO UGANDADEAR PARISHIONERS,
The selection of photographs on display in the resource area highlight the projects that are improving the liferstyle
for people there. My Camera being an extension of my arm I have many more photographs that I have put on disc and
I am happy to lend out to anyone who would like to see more. Please ask me.
I travelled from Newscatle to Uganda via Amsterdam, this time with KLM airlines, the cost working out cheaper than my previous fare in 2003 flying via Heathrow with B.A.A. some of my vaccinations needed updating being 7 years since and others needed a booster. I can recommend shopping around for anti malaria medication - on this occasion Tescos was the cheapest. I can also recommend National Rails assisted travel, without their help I could not have lifted my suitcase on the trains at Newcastle!
My arrival at the Mission House at Nyamitanga, which is home to Fr Charlie Beirne and Fr John Mary Ngabirano coincided with the start of the new school term. Every morning there was a queue of youngsters and parents at the door all hoping for help with school fees to enable them to attend school.
St Helens and Wisdom School Annexe is a boarding school and I was there to see the pupils arriving complete with the mattresses they have to provide. New blind pupils arriving with their mums looking apprehensively on as their child
wandered off with a suitcase balanced on their head! Aprehensive but happy their child is receiving an Education:- All thanks to your effort in fund raising.
Improvements have been made in the school with your help. New windows in the classrooms provide a much brighter and fresher environment.
For the younger pupils one large room with several tables for the different age groups, working with two partially sighted teachers - both former pupils.
The older students are now integrated into the mainstream school with the sighted children, which prepares them for life when they move on to secondary education. Eight girls have continued their education at the "BoniConsilii Girls Voc. Sec. School" at Kyabirukwa - a couple of hours drive from Mbarara.
I had an overnight stay there to meet up with the staff who had agreed to take the blind pupils on my previous visit.
It has been a success and six girls have gone on to furthetr education.
Constance who qualified as a primary school teacher came to see me at Nyamytanga, She was looking for help to increase her qualificationswith I.T. Skills which would increase her chances of employment.
I met two of the girls, who are still there, Helen and Miriam we met previously in 2003 at "Wisdom" and what a change, two confident young ladies looking forward to a future.
Improvements in peoples lifestyles was evident in the scenes of more brick buildings going up, though the outlying Districts still have mud shacks but not so many as previously.
The new structures have pipe work installed ready for when the water gets connected in the future.
Electricity at the Montfort Mission House has been boosted with solar panels which is a big help when their supply gets cut off regularly, most places I stayed at a torch is a necessity.
Mbarara Town has grown and now has a brand new childrens hospital, the first in Uganda, the Americans have been
very involved in this project and Fr Charlie raised funds from sponsors here in our parish and his home town of Leeds when he ran a half marathon in aid of the hospital.
I was impressed on my visit there how child friendly it was.
It was only opened recently and was already full . More building was in progress.
One of my companions at the Mission House, a retired nurse from Ireland was working (voluntarily )for three months in hospice care outreach this meant she was travelling daily to peoples homes administering drugs to people with cancer and others with aids.
Medication is increasing the life expectancy of aids and HIV victims.
Education is decreasing the numbers of these patients. So a big improvement.
Sr Jacinta Tuhairwe Headmistress of the school sends you her thanks for your help, be assured of the prayers of St Helens for all the members of St Marys Parish.
Remember all the funds raised goes to the projects in Mbarara and Tororo and the only deductions are bank charges
Two cheques were payed out in February of £1,900 .Sr Jacinta is on one of the photos receiving hers on behalf of the school. A card of thanks is also on the Board.
Anyone wishing to make a monthly subscription in an envelope provided
will be very welcome, A pound a month mounts up and makes a
difference to the lives of so many.
For more details contact Treasurer Michael Carus 01257 262658
or Kathleen Jackson 01257 272133
