October 2020 Update

Hello!

I send you warm greetings from everyone here at Youth With A Vision in Uganda.

It has been a month ago since we lasted updated you. Our hope is that you and your family are safe and doing well. We thank you for all your donations, sponsorship, and support you give to Youth With A Vision. We are so thankful to you all who read through our updates and send us encouraging remarks! What you might regard as small words, make our vital work rewarding and enjoyable!

We are glad to update you on what we have been up to during the month of October 2020, and hope you will be inspired. 

We believe that education is every child’s brightest hope for a better future and that every child offers something special. So we make sure children and youth are safe, access education, grow healthy, and gain skills to become sustainable, and who they want to be.

On 15th October 2020 Schools and colleges opened up for only candidates and finalists. The government is observing how this partial opening of schools and colleges will go, if it goes on well, lower classes will be allowed to open. However, the challenge is that the government has failed to engage school heads who have deliberately refused to abide by the set opening guidelines on tuition collection, and examination fees structure. Schools have turned a deaf ear, and have shut their doors behind students who have not paid 78% of the tuition, and the full amount for examinations.

20 of our supported children are in the category of candidates. 16 of them are in Primary seven while 4 are in senior four, and according to the government, this is their second term of the year. For all our children that already have sponsors, their funding came in on time and we provided them scholastic materials, tuition, lunch meals, and sent them back to school. But for all children who don’t have a sponsor yet, they haven’t returned to school because we are yet to raise their tuition and examinations fees so that we can send them to school too. And it is unfortunate that they will miss out on some lessons until we are able to raise their tuition.

Thanks for a £100 donation from Chay Targett, which enabled us to pay for examination fees for 5 students, bringing the total to 17 students whose examination fees we have paid so far. We are now short of £88 for examinations fees for 3 students, and £280 for tuition for 6 students to go back to school.

We are making all efforts to provide education to all students.

Besides tuition, small things like a pen, book, geometry deter less privileged children from accessing school. Some children are now hawking different stuff to get money for scholastic materials. When children miss access to school and are not occupied they keep roaming communities, girls are at risk of rape and early sex acts that expose them to early and unwanted pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases. When boys miss school and become redundant, are at risk of child labor, drug abuse, and likely to commit a crime for survival. All of which affect the economy of the country.  So, for students whose classes are not yet opened, we have continued to provide television classes and self-study materials for them to access education at home. Thanks to a £229 donation raised by friends from Redland Quaker Friends Meeting in Bristol UK, it helped us to purchase another Television Set for additional 20 students to access television classes. 

We worked to provide for proper children's welfare   Whenever children’s welfare was threatened, we worked every single day to protect them. We visited foster homes and families where children in our care stay, and found them happy, smiling, and performing well. We provided nutritious food, medication, and healthcare for 86 children in our care, and 10 families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.  When we visited Catherine Achan, one of the children whose hope had been deferred, and got a sponsor, we found she had greatly improved and looking healthy. Catherine can now than before having access to nutritious food. The impact of child sponsorship starts from day one.  Watch the video to discover how sponsorship has helped to provide nutritious food and healthcare for Catherine during October 2020. 

You have stepped in to support non-sponsored children My name is Jackeline Nakyajwe. I’m 19 years old, and I’m in my final year of High School at Trinity College Nabbingo. I don’t know what went wrong between my mother and father. I even don’t know where they are, but people say they’re alive. I last saw my father, I think when I was 4 years old, and for my mother, and I don’t remember well when I last saw her. I am grateful that I have got this opportunity to write down something about myself and my career. Perhaps it may help to change someone out there. I’m passionate about education but I'm always troubled with the schools I have had to go to. Many times, I have been dragged out of lessons, and even exams for none payment of fees. Sometimes when it’s time to go back to school and my funding has not yet been raised, I get so worried about the rudeness of my school administrators. They are merciless when they are asking for a zero balance of tuition. I used to cry whenever they dragged me out of lessons and exams and even insulted me for school fees defaulting. Because I know that it is not my fault, and even if I cry, no school listen to my plea. Even though my access to education hasn’t been such smooth, it’s not yet over, and I am thankful to the people who have often been called upon to contribute to my education and they responded! I remember early this year I was denied access to the school premises, and a kind lady - Ella Oates rescued me, by paying tuition for that period. All your continued support energizes me to focus on the future. Nonetheless, when I get a chance to go back to school, I will work hard to get good grades and I join the university. Despite not knowing what happened to my parents, and all the valleys and mountains that I have encountered along my education path so far, I have not been stopped from focusing on my career.  However, I am determined, and my dream is to become a civil engineer and help fix the escalating gaps in the construction industry, which has led to the deaths of many innocent people in Uganda.

Giving youth tools to navigate through unemployment challenges.  Through our Youth Finance Scheme, we worked to help youth whose enterprises collapsed due to the pandemic to recover, and unemployed youth to kick start their small businesses to become sustainable. We continued to mentor and appraise enterprises supported by the Youth Finance Scheme. During October, we visited 5 enterprises and shared with owners how to manage through the challenging times. We engaged 20 youth and helped them to draw insights into recovery techniques including business rebranding, scaling down, customer management, product marketing, and saving as much as they can, for the sustainability of their enterprises. We engaged youth into looking up for small profits as a strategy to sell their products in bulky. We provided business planning and management skills and enabled field study trips to model enterprises for 18 new youth yearning to start up their own enterprises. On top, we provided vocational skills including liquid soap making, sewing skills for 7 youth to fight poverty in their midst. These 18 youth are now ready for an internship, and then start their own enterprises and this is where your help is needed to raise funds for 18 internships and start-up loans one by one.   Watch the video to discover how Nsubuga Joseph's enterprise weathering the pandemic, is a source of encouragement for other youth who are finding it very hard to access employment.

We believe that employed youth have the possibility to recreate a better future for our society. This is why we are putting more effort into their employment and building them into valuable humans in the community.  Together we can touch more youth, we can be the hope of that one youth that could become a problem to society and provide employment opportunities to him/her.

Another monthly donor signed! We are excited to announce that Marjolein Soederhuizen became our monthly donor on 12th October 2020. Monthly donations help to sustain our vital projects benefiting less privileged children and unemployed youth here in Uganda. Thank you once again Marjolein for your generous donation and for all your support. A disabled boy got a wheelchair Eric Wasswa Kanakulya, a disabled boy who has been constantly crawling in dirt and waste whenever he wanted to go to the toilet exposing him to infections, has got a wheelchair donated by Chay Targett. In our next update we will bring to you Eric expressing his gratitude for having a wheelchair. Eric is a disabled child

and in need of a sponsor. Could you be the one to sponsor him or help him get a sponsor?

APPEALS We are running a number of appeals and campaigns, and we can't have a breakthrough without you. Therefore, we are kindly requesting you to support Youth With A Vision in any of the following ways you can. We need a motorcycle for pressing transport needs We need a breakthrough with the acquisition of a motorcycle to effectively conduct regular appraisal and mentorship of youth enterprises. We need our own and cheap transport means for regular distribution of study materials for students who are still studying from home. We need to make regular checks on the welfare of children in foster care. We also need to carry sick children to the hospital, and to pick and distribute medicines for children living with HIV/AIDS. Please if you can donate to provide a motorcycle. We are in need of £1,100 (€1,320) ($1,400) UGX: (4,950,000) so that we buy a motorcycle to have a breakthrough with pressing transport demands. Contributions and in-kind donations are welcome.

We are collecting Christmas Food Parcels and Gifts for kids A year ago, no one would have expected the world to change so dramatically. We’re facing a Christmas like never before – a Christmas with face masks and restricted access to family and friends. For the children, families, and individuals in the communities where we operate, and those who rely on the help of Youth With A Vision, Christmas is a time of struggle and hardship. And, this has been a difficult year ever, as work and food became harder to access. Children look at this year's Christmas as a time where there is no food - meat, rice, soda to enjoy, and no gift to unwrap. All because of the pandemic. This is where Youth With A Vision’s Kids Christmas Day Appeal steps in and where YOU can make a real difference. And we are inviting you to donate so that disadvantaged children, families, and individuals in poverty and in Youth With A Vision’s care in Masaka, who would otherwise go without receive joy this Christmas. In-kind donations of non-perishable food are also acceptable and welcome. Watch this video to discover how your kind Christmas gifts in 2019 helped children to keep the excitement of Christmas alive in their communities.

For this year's Christmas, we shall abide by the SOPs, and not gather children for a meal, instead we shall pack and distribute parcels to foster families and door to door. Your generosity will not only ensure that every child in Youth With A Vision's care receives a gift, but also surprise and delight children as they open a Christmas gift during a time of unexpected challenges. And will remind them that they are known, they are loved, and they matter. Click here to Read More about the Kids Christmas Day

Participate in the virtual Dine So They Can Day As you are all aware, that Dine So They Can is our annual and major fundraising event, it was affected by the COVID-19. Gatherings are not yet possible. So we are hosting the event online as a crowdfunding campaign which started on 3rd October 2020 and still running. Our goal is to raise £7,000 ($9,133) (€7,723) (UGX: 32,200,000) for the construction of a disabled access toilet at Safe Care Primary School and phase one construction of 2 classrooms at ST. Catherine and Auntie Sarah Primary schools that provide affordable and quality education to less privileged children in our care. Thanks to all of you who have donated in support of the campaign. So far we have raised £180! The community has already provided bricks needed for the construction, and some labor at half the price.  We are all a family, and families come together in all seasons. The more the supporters, the merrier it is. Please participate; help to advocate for the campaign, encourage and ask your networks to make ONE day of the week their day of giving to support the campaign.  Watch the video to find out how your donation can help to provide a conducive learning environment for the less privileged children who can't afford the cost of most schools.  MAKE A DONATION IN SUPPORT OF VIRTUAL DINE SO THEY CAN DAY  

Sponsor A Child

Sponsoring a child is an effective way to provide opportunities for prosperity to all children and communities in need. ​ When you sponsor a child, you help to provide to him or her the basic necessities, including better nutrition, basic healthcare, education, economic opportunities, access to clean water, and a place to call home to help them reach their God-given potential.   We need alongside us to facilitate the development of children trapped by poverty in Uganda.  The children below are in desperate need of a sponsor. Please sponsor or help them get a sponsor now. Nakyetiba Patricia Nalubega Alice Martha Sponsor Magezi Eliezer Sponsor Kalyango Fred Sponsor Naamala Prossy Kannakulya Eric Click here for the other children in need of a sponsor

To gift less privileged children and youth  an opportunity for a better life Donate Online with PayPal, Credit and Debit card

BECOME A MONTHLY DONOR

Your monthly donation will help to sustain our vital projects  By investing as little as £10.00 or $10.00 or €10.00 a month, you would help sustain Youth With A Vision and help us reach more children and youth who need our doors open all the time! Your donation goes farther to provide food, education and employment opportunities, and protection for the less privileged children and youth in Uganda.

MAKE A ONE-OFF DONATION

Your donation will fund our non-sponsored projects, non-sponsored children and youth who are struggling to turn a corner in life.

Donate Direct into our Bank Account Country of Bank Account: Uganda Account Number: 5053284001 Account Holders Name: YOUTH WITH A VISION Bank Name: DIAMOND TRUST BANK UGANDA LIMITED Bank Address: DIAMOND TRUST BUILDING 17-19 KAMPALA ROAD, KAMPALA SWIFT/BIC: DTKEUGKA

DONATE A KIDS CHRISTMAS PARCEL

By donating to Youth With A Vision’s Kids Christmas Appeal you can ensure that every child in our care receives a gift this Christmas.

DONATE A MOTORCYCLE

Buy from Our OnlineShop youthwithavision.info/shop and Gift Catalog https://www.youthwithavision.info/gift-catalog are great places to pick up lots of great gift merchandise for you, your friends, and family, all of which is just another way that you can make our vital work with the vulnerable children, youth, and families possible. Most of these merchandises are made by children and youth on the program!

In Gratitude and Solidarity John Mugabi Founder and Director Leandrew Muleme Project Manager - Child Development Juliet Nampanja Kizza Project Manager - Youth Finance Scheme #Tubayiirawoomubiri #RiseOverCovid #youthwithavisionUpdates

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