How and why did I start the Project

On September 14th 2000 I traveled home to take a vacation and visit my parents. On that day at around midday I went to the little Full Gospel grass thatched church where I was raised up to pray and have some quite time alone. As I approached the church I looked at it and it had not changed from the same church I had seen fifteen years ago; grass thatched, tinny, and now starting to collapse on one side. I decided in my heart that this had to change. I decided to become a beggar on behalf of this church and community.

I returned home that afternoon and instead of a quite time I developed a riot time. I thought several times why was the church like this? The whole of that night my heart wandered around the village, home after another home, thinking of how the community was being wiped out due to HIV/AIDS, seeing children left in the cold fatherless and motherless. I could only see children and the elderly left behind to take care of the families and themselves.

The problem was not on the outside, it was inside the people. Neither was the problem one of not wanting to have a better church but the community was in trouble. Men and women between the age of 30 - 45 were being swept out and those that are left behind are children who are vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and to early pregnancies.

I came to realize that building the church was not the priority but rather helping the families have hope, bringing joy to the dying widows, and a good future for every orphaned child. This would have more impact than constructing the church; thus the birth of the name Bringing Hope to the Family.

With only $3 to live on in my new calling I left my job at The Source, in Jinja, where I worked as a manager and a computer instructor.



Achievements

Bringing Hope to the Family has been operating in the district of Kyenjojo and plans to extend to the district of Kibale, Kamwenge and Kabarole. We have already received requests to extend to these districts.

Purchase of Land. The project currently owns a 4 acre plot and on this land we want to build a technical school, a mini hospital, staff home, and the project offices. We are planning to purchase and additional 15 acres of land for the construction of a secondary a school.

The project is currently working with 98 children and 27 widows. The need is greater than this but we have given fist priority to those that are total orphans and those that are in greater need.

Our tailoring classes for the widows and young girls is currently operating with 6 sewing machines. Two of these machines where donated to us by the International Women organization and the others donated by friends. We currently have ten active students.

Medical Attention. Mrs. Edrona Bakiiza, a retired Nurse and a volunteer in this project, helps with the counseling and recommending children to hospitals and administers treatment when necessary. Her son is a medical doctor.

Regular Classes and Training. Working with children every first and last Saturday of the month teaching them various skills.

School programs. Our project has school programs and we visit schools to educate children on issues of HIV/AIDS and currently we are working with the one local school Kaihura Primary school.

Distribution for Samaritan Purse. We have worked with Samaritan Purse's "Operation Christmas Child" by performing the distribution of boxes to the intended needy children.

Operated for 2 years on faith donations. We started the project without any investment capital and have added programs since our humble beginnings.

Obtained a commitment to build 10 houses from the East Kampala Rotary Club for the orphans and widows in the Kaihura Trading Center village where the Project office is located.


Challenges

Lack of sponsorship for each child makes it difficult to provide to the children on day-to-day basis, and even more so when they are sick, things such as scholastic materials, clothing, and bedding. We need support of $15 - 25 per month to help an orphan go to school and have a happy life.

Lack of Provision for administrative expenses like rent, water, electricity, warfare, transport to the villages and families, email, telephone and other expenses make it difficult to run the project on a day-to-day basis in a consistent way.

Transport to reach out to the people effectively, to visit the children, and work with the communities. We have many women groups in different villages we visit, but in a week you cannot visit more than two because of the communication to the deep villages and the lack of a project vehicle.


Renting of office premises drains resources that could otherwise be used more directly for the benefit of the children and widows. It is our desire that we be helped to construct an office block and a home for the domestic science girls that travel long distances on foot for the domestic science training.

Good instructors need to be well paid if we are going to produce good girls in tailoring, cookery, domestic care, typing, and nutrition as young mothers.

The widows need to be equipped with income generating skills which can bring in at least 20 dollars in a month to be able to support the families and enable the children to be well nurtured.

Needs

We desire $2283.50 monthly to provide for 105 of our children in primary school, secondary school and those in the Domestic science school or individual sponsors for every child for about $15 -25 a month.

We need to raise more support for the orphans on a monthly basis to be able to provide for more of our children in primary school, secondary school and providing to those in the Domestic Science School. Education is the only reliable way in Africa to overcome poverty.

We need more financial support on a monthly basis in order to increase our travel to the villages and work with the women groups, to pay rent, electricity, water, welfare, teacher salaries, and security. We are looking for more individuals or organizations to join our existing supporters in meeting the monthly $605.20 required to operate on a day-to-day basis.

We need financial support to initiate a program that would provide each family unit with a cow. This cow can provide 110ltrs of milk monthly. This would bring in an income of $18 monthly and would take care of the basic needs of one family. A cow ready to give birth to a calf and providing milk can be purchased for apprx. $300. The calf would be given back to the Project who would donate it to another family. In this way, $300 is buying 2 cows.

Support for the for $2500 craft project is needed to equip widows in becoming self-supporting.

We need a vehicle and a scooter bike to help us be more effective and timely while we work with the sick and families in to the deep village.

We need equipment: A computer, a printer, generator, a scanner or digital camera, a photocopier, typewriters, video camera, VCR (to show educational films to the children at the children's center), a film projector, and educational films for the young people in schools. These tools will enable us to teach vocational and training skills. There is little hope for a villager to obtain the money required to move to another town and attend a school. We must bring the school to them.

We are in need of Carpentry tools for vocational training for the boys who drop out in primary school and are unable to continue with education due to lack of school fees.

Construction of office block and dormitory for the girls (Domestic Science school) and the clinic. The land is already available.



Methodology

It is beneficial for the reader to understand that the cost to provide the needed resources in Uganda is very inexpensive as viewed by the world economy (particularly labor, food, rent ). Further, the beneficial exchange rates of U.S. dollars, the British Pound, or the Euro provides great leverage. (The dollar amounts quoted herein are in USD)

Our approach is one of making an investment in the individual or programs that are designed to become not only self supporting, but one where the individual contributes back to the project in assistance of still others.

By way of example, if we provide a pregnant cow to an orphan or family unit they will soon have a calf to donate back to another project family and will be ready to milk and sell the milk in a short time.

Another example would be a scholarship program for school fees. The child will donate part of their income back to the Project from the job they are able to secure after graduation. Further, we will ask that they perform a community service project for their home village within 2 years after graduation.

Yet another example would be the fruit of the vocational training. Once the widow is able to produce products with her tailoring skills she can return part of the income back to the project as well as support her family unit.

Education is the only reliable way in Africa to overcome poverty. Education is not provided free by the government as in other countries. This means that the student must pay his school fees starting in secondary school through university. 'Government provided' primary schools are not available in every village and many children must pay to attend primary school. Even in government sponsored schools there is only a minimal support given. There are even fewer secondary, senior, and universities located near their village.

Upon reaching secondary school (7th grade) there is little hope for a villager to obtain the money required to move to another town and attend a school. We must bring the school to them. We are teaching our people to be job creators, not job seekers.


The Promise of the Future

We have been supported during these last two years by 15 individuals and organizations through a combination of one time gifts and monthly support. We have been faithful in providing progress reports to our supporters.

We have seen Uganda make great strides in education and economic growth in the last 2 years. The support received in Uganda has produced much fruit and has raised up many contributing Ugandans who are now able to be productive.


Respectfully submitted,

Faith Kunihira
Director
Bringing Hope To The Family