Henry’s Donations
Recently I was scrolling through my Facebook feed and stumbled across a truly special project. A close friend of mine by the name of Dr Henry Howard had decided to make the brave decision to donate 50% of his income for the year 2021 to charity. An absolutely awesome feat by all measures and one which I was quick to congratulate him for. Henry’s project knows no bounds, and to my delight he was eager to help our cause here at A4U. Myself, Moses and Henry spoke together about ways that Henry’s donations would best benefit the Lira community. At A4U we aim to support a variety of projects, from basic provision of food, to providing means for individuals to make a living. We eventually settled on the purchase of a sewing machine for a young tailor in a neighbouring village. This sewing machine has provided a young girl with a means to support not only herself, but also her whole family and we couldn’t be happier with the outcome. We thank Moses for identifying this need and giving us a way to help.
During our discussions it became clear that a local COVID outbreak was just beginning to decimate local supply chains, leaving the community without food. I could sense when talking with Moses that the situation was becoming dire, and that starvation was becoming a greater risk than the virus driving it. At hearing this, Henry immediately decided to help and sent a second donation. This donation was used to purchase rice, beans, and other bulk food items. Henry’s generous donations have not only supported the Lira community, but in this particular instance have also helped them to survive. For this we thank him and wish him all the best in his ongoing endeavour.
A Message From Moses
In October I asked Moses to write a few words about his work with A4U. In his own words below, Moses has outlined his role and commitment to the organisation. All of us here feel extremely lucky and honoured to be working alongside such a selfless individual and we thank you for your service.
How We Operate in Uganda
A4U is purely a volunteer organization, the funds are transferred to the Uganda where needs of the vulnerable women, Orphans and Vulnerable children those who are HIV+ are considered a key beneficiary. With the help of community leadership, Local council one, Partner organizations base on referrals or from health facilities we identify the most severe vulnerable households, the families are assessed to ascertain the real needs, level of vulnerabilities. We consider the first need of the families as we plan to support for empowerment and sustainability. The funds cater for food, clothing, seedlings for planting, supplementary medical support, payment of school fees and facilitating scholastics. We also provide modes of transportation to very severe households with bicycles. When the families/ households are identified and verified for support, we make sure that we build a relationship for long term support, the items are purchased from Lira City and transported to the families, during handover the local authorities are invited to witness the items so as to help monitor the usage of the items and assets and report to A4U representative in Uganda. We use the motorcycle as modes of transport to carry the items where we can’t access the motorcycle, we hire vehicle or trucks to deliver the items to the nearby locations agreed upon with the beneficiaries.
Food Items distributed during the COVID Pandemic so far by September 2020
We have been able to distribute food stuff such as beans, posho, rice, cooking oil, onions, bathing soaps, hand sanitizers, liquid shops, salt among others to support over 20 households during this COVID-19 lockdown that has turn the country into a different economic status.
Where we have to provide bicycle, we purchase them from Lira City, the bicycles are assembled from the workshop in Lira, then transported to the beneficiaries. We also make sure that each recipients of the bikes are trained on minor bike repair skills and some key spare parts like handpumps, tubes, tyres, grease are donated alongside as the family takes over operation and maintenance of the bikes. During this lockdown we donated four bicycles to 4 households who are HIV+ to support them access health facilities to collect their ARVS on monthly basis than walking on foot, this will reduce costs to hire Boda-boda, time spend while walking on foot, save time lining in the cue to collect ARVs and also facilitate them to access market place and sell their produce.
As a Co-Founder of A4U and a member of this communities who was born in this northern part of Uganda that under went rebels’ activities for 20years, I have seen the people live a very devastating life. We try to use all our donations towards supporting ministry work and make sure that operational costs are funded by us the founder members. We work well with district officials and local stakeholders in ensuring that our services go to the right people.
Compiled: Moses Fred Ogwal
Co-Founder A4U
Jack and Taylor’s Donation
In early November of 2020, Moses came to us to discuss a young girl that he had recently met. Her name was Jessica and she was unfortunately very sick with stomach cancer. Her family were unable to pay the fees for her to have surgery that was aimed at curing her condition. When Moses came to A4U with this problem, we discussed it with a close group of friends, who decided that they wanted to help Jessica. Our friends Jack and Taylor made generous donations which we then passed immediately on to Moses. Moses provided the donation to Jessica and her family, and she subsequently underwent surgery the next day. The surgery was successful and has undoubtedly saved her life. We have provided some photos of Jessica and her journey. We hope that this happy story fills you with joy and encourages more donors to help our mission here at A4U.
Donations For Bob Beja
I was lucky enough to meet Bob during my stay in Lira at the end of 2017. He was a local young man who had been hired by our host to cook, clean, and maintain the house while we were guests there. During this time I forged a strong bond with Bob and count myself fortunate to call him a friend.
After returning home to Australia, I have continued to support Bob over the last 3 years with monthly donations. With the support of these donations, he has been able to pull himself up out of poverty and has trained as a taxi driver. Bob has now become a bastion of his local community and helps us to distribute donations to the needy in his area. We continue to support Bob as he enriches the lives of those around him.
