Continue reading “Two more women’s groups receive water filters” →

During our trip in January we also visited students from one of the women’s groups who had completed a one year course in tailoring and were very impressed by their skills. One young woman cut out a complete outfit without any pattern or pins in sight and then proceeded to machine and complete the outfit in about an hour! For all of the women (and some men) this course has offered them the chance to earn a living and many testified to the way it has changed their lives, given them hope for the future and brought unity and friendship amongst the community. UWCM encouraged them to work together as a group – to share resources and to contribute a small amount each to repair and maintain the machines; to buy material in bulk and to keep on looking for new markets. Many of them already have contracts with schools to make uniform and bags and others make and sell clothes at the local market. They all thanked UWCM for the machines and accessories they had provided.

Two trustees and three UCUK supporters visited UWCM from 12th – 21st January this year and, as always, we came home greatly encouraged by all that UWCM are continuing to achieve and, despite many hardships, it was clear that people’s lives are continuing to be blessed by the projects we support. We visited both Prayer & Porridge projects and enjoyed the singing, dancing, Bible memory verse recitals, drama sketches and testimonies by the children and young people all confirming that these projects are valuable and that they continue to make a difference in their lives.

We also visited families whose homes had been destroyed by mudslides and who, with the support of the local Women’s group, are beginning to re-build their lives. Sadly, we also visited a very large landslide area where there was no Women’s Group and this highlighted how valuable these groups are to be able to channel resources and support.

We met with some of the young people being supported through their formal and vocational courses and, again, we were told how, without our funding, they would not be able to continue with these qualifications. We met a young boy who has been deaf since birth and who has, up until now, struggled to communicate at school as there were no specialist schools his family could afford. UWCM have found a wonderful, caring school for deaf students and, with our support, he will now be able to attend. We also fund the education for a young boy with additional needs and another who is learning braille. All these young children would not be able to get any kind of education without our support as the schools they require are too expensive for their parents/guardians to afford. Sadly, the list of children needing assistance with their education is steadily growing and we are having to make very difficult decisions as to who we can sponsor.

The trustees of UCUK and the staff of UWCM are truly grateful for all the support they receive – both financial and in prayer – the needs are great but UWCM continue to make a difference to the lives of so many.

The children at Sakiya Prayer & Porridge have been taught the useful skill of how to make petroleum jelly which is a product that every household needs. Learning new skills such as this not only keeps the young people busy, especially during school holidays, but is another way of fundraising for the club activities. They are hoping it will be more profitable than the soap making as it can be packed in smaller quantities and there is a ready market. Young people at Lwangoli P&P have recently had a refresher training on how to make liquid soap and managed to sell the first batch and made a small profit of approx £4 so they are hoping that this will continue. They will also be taught how to make the petroleum jelly.

Although education in Government schools is supposed to be free, in practice it is not as each child is expected to contribute towards monthly assessment tests, PTA requirements as well as providing their own exercise books, pens, pencils, Maths sets etc. Children are sent home if they are not able to provide these items or pay for their tests. As the children from both Lwangoli and Sakiya Prayer & Porridge clubs come from very poor backgrounds, the support that we are able to provide enables them to remain in school for which the children and their parents are extremely grateful.

The children are also always very happy to receive their weekly cup of nutritious porridge every time they attend the clubs. There are, on average, 105 children who attend each week at Lwangoli and when they are eating the porridge, the centre guides teach the children table manners and parents confirm that the children have learned to be patient and now also eat nicely at home!

Both Lwangoli and Sakiya projects continue to have a huge impact not only on individual children, but on the communities as a whole. There are approximately 200 children registered at each project and parents/care givers, as well as the school teachers, have noticed a visible improvement in the children’s confidence and behaviour. UWCM have recently introduced simple income generating activities for the older children such as making and selling liquid soap and body gel which help to raise funds for each project as well as teaching the young people new skills.

Generally, when we visit we are part of a larger group and play various ball games etc with the children but as there were only 3 of us this time, we thought a play parachute would be a good idea – turned out to be more chaotic than expected and we had to put it away as we didn’t want to risk injuring any of the children!