How You Can Help

Even relatively small sums of money can be of real assistance to the projects and people discussed in the blog. If you're interested in helping, please contact me (email at foot of page) to discuss how you can donate or get directly involved with any of the projects.

See below how you can contribute and where your money would go. Current viable projects include:

Ojama Health Centre

When current building is completed and operational this will operate as a health centre for approximately 7,500 local people and will offer blood testing facilities; HIV screening, testing and advice - together with administration of ARV’s (anti retro-virals); treatment for malaria and malarial diseases; health checks on children; pre and post-natal care and health education for the entire community, including family planning advice.

If sufficient funding can be raised, land is already purchased behind the clinic to build a maternity ward. This would provide a safe delivery suite for pregnant women, together with after-care.

Right now:

$10,000AU or approximately 7000 UK pounds, would complete the clinic including provision of fittings and medical equipment and construction of eco-system toilets from which waste, the product can be used as fertiliser on a nearby community farm.

A further $20,000AU or approximately 12,000 UK pounds, would build the hospital ward.

All contributions to these projects will be administered by the legally constituted SECODEI - Serere Community Development Initiative.

SECODEI Chicken Farm

The demonstration farm built and managed by the community initiative needs to expand now that basic husbandry skills have been acquired by the group. Money is needed to establish a bigger farm using day old chicks to create a viable number of birds for sale either as egg producers or for their meat.

The community has demonstrated its commitment to this initiative and determination to expand their farming skills into another area, including a goat breeding program. Land already in owned by them has been identified for an expansion of the chicken project. Another would be suitable for a goat breeding project.

The village savings scheme has been in existence for more than five years. It's a proven method by which this group save money and use it for the betterment of the entire community. The scheme encourages me to think they will succeed in expanding the existing project and initiating a new one.

Right now:

$2000AU (1000UK pounds) would enable erection of housing, including heating, for a chicken farm to accommodate approximately 150 day old chicks; offer free ranging safe land for the birds; vaccination as they grow; advanced commercial feed products; consultancy from a local agricultural adviser on growing the birds to their optimum level in terms of egg production or meat.

Goats are more expensive to purchase than chickens but if successfully reared, have a higher sell-on value as meat: a goat costs approximately $85AU (200UK pounds). Seventy goats would provide income for a whole community of 30 families.

Initial target: 10 goats at a cost of $750

THE AIDS SUPPORT ORGANISATION

For the past 15 years TASO has been providing practical advice, HIV testing, education around prevention and distribution of ARV’s (drugs) in its clinics throughout Uganda. It is a highly organised and efficiently run, receiving funding from a number of agencies outside Uganda, and limited funding from the Ugandan government health department.

However, due to the high numbers of Ugandans infected and affected by HIV/AIDS the funding is constantly having to be “reassigned”. Vital community programs - like economic self-sufficiency programs for people living with HIV/AIDS or some of the youth peer group programs - have suffered from income loss.

Income-generating programs for 21 support groups of men and women who are HIV positive need financial support; either for set-up funds or to encourage expansion of existing viable projects. There is also great need for ongoing training of the support groups in how to manage small businesses including evaluating existing projects; SWOT analysis for proposed business; purchase of equipment and in some instances, small amounts of land on which to manage a project.

Right now:

Any amount between $1000AU (500 UK pounds) and $5000 AU (2,500 UK pounds) would dramatically increase the probability of either expansion of a business or provide total set up costs for a support group (membership of each approximately 20 HIV infected people) to begin their own income-generating business and include costs of local advisers to ensure a successful outcome.

Any contributions toward the work of TASO would be managed directly by TASO in Kampala, Uganda.

Aged Care

Aged care in Uganda is woefully thin on the ground. From my most recent visit, I identified two immediate areas of need: funding to begin a small business manufacturing re-usable continence aids and access to commodes and walking frames.

Right Now:

I am seeking a specific commitment to fund a TASO support group to undertake a SWOT analysis of the continence aid and set up a small business to manufacture and distribute them: estimated costs $3000AU (2000 UK pounds)

Right Now:

Purchase of up to 100 commodes and similar number of walking frames and shipping costs from either Australia or UK to Uganda of those equipment items that would then be distributed through a number of health centres to frail aged.

Costs for these would be approximately $150AU for each walking frame and $175AU for each commode.

Shipping costs would be determined at time of shipment but would probably cost a couple of thousand dollars. (These items are not available to purchase in Uganda and difficult to come by in neighboring countries although it may prove cheaper to ship them in from South Africa)

School Fees

Although the Ugandan government provides Universal Primary Education at no tuition cost there are several problems: parents are still required to find the cost of uniforms; school books and food. Those requirements alone can amount to between 30,000 - 65,000 Ugandan shillings per term. (Approximately $120AU per annum - money that many families cannot afford and particularly not for more than one child).

Universal Primary education in rural areas is of mixed quality: the standards of education are very low and this acts as a disincentive to struggling parents to ‘bother’ sending their children to school. Teachers in primary education qualify to teach from a very low education base themselves - equivalent in some to having passed Year 10. When a parent is assisted to put a child through a privately funded school, the standards of education are greatly enhanced and the child has a real chance of graduating and going on to tertiary education.

$500AU would fund a child’s school requirements for lodging, books uniform for one year (most children attend boarding school).

$3000AU will fund a year of tuition and associated costs for a university student - accommodation costs would probably be approximately $500 per year extra.

Because of my long association and contacts within Uganda, I am constantly meeting young children and teenagers who would enormously benefit from financial help to complete their education. Denis Omiat - the young doctor establishing the Ojama Health Clinic of his own initiative - is a shining example of what a difference can be made by ‘educating’ one professional to then serve an entire community.

GET INVOLVED

Please contact me directly at loispollock1@gmail.com if you are interested in supporting any of the projects and remember, even a small amount will go towards something bigger!

If you are not in a position to assist financially but feel you have skills to share, please contact me anyway: I can always use skills in ongoing teaching, training and development work. Specific skills that would contribute greatly would be a practical knowledge of microfinance; creating successful small businesses; making grant applications. I plan on returning to Uganda in late 2011 or early 2012.

Lois Pollock

Lois in Uganda, 2010