Help vulnerable children go to SAMaritan Schools!

Black Friday or Giving Tuesday …. Which do you prefer?

Thanksgiving Day is behind us and all the media attention has switched to Black Friday and Giving Tuesday.

Which day attracts your attention most? Do you feel a tension between the advertisers wanting you to spend more and the charities asking you for donations?

As regular visitors to Uganda we feel this tension. When we go to the supermarket to buy our provisions, we pass many local markets and ramshackled shops. We drive a car whilst we see people walking along the road carrying their loads on their heads. We are torn between our needs and theirs.  But it’s also the reason why we help. We do what we can knowing that we can’t help everyone. Sometimes it feels like a “drop in the ocean”, but we also agree with the words of Mother Teresa, “If you can't feed a hundred people, feed just one.”

Samaritan Day Care and Kindergarten (SAM) wants to keep helping disadvantaged and vulnerable young parents and their children. The kindergarten opened in September and we are planning to open the Day Care centre as soon as possible. As the school year in Uganda starts in February and ends in December, it wasn’t really logical to open the Kindergarten  and to wait until the new school year begins, but we wanted to make good use of the buildings straightaway, so that the children could  benefit and start their education immediately.

Here is just one example of how SAM is already helping a family:

Zam is 26 years old. She came from a deprived family who were unable to continue paying her school fees, as a result  she had to leave secondary school after the second year. She attended a Government aided school, but still needed money for uniform and books. She looked for work but has never had more than menial and temporary jobs.  Whenever extra help is needed at our project she is asked to help out and of course earns the going wage.

She is married and has 2 lovely daughters, four-year-old Veranah and two-year-old Victoria. Her husband is a builder. They live in Nsasa, near SAM and attend the church on the campus.

Verenah is one of the first children to receive help from SAM. She joined the “baby class” of the kindergarten, along with 7 other children. Her mother, Zam, has seen a great change in Veranah since she started going to SAM. She is much more talkative and is learning to speak English. (English is the main language spoken in the schools in Uganda.) She is happier and gradually becoming more responsible. She likes doing homework and reading the wall charts her mother has hanging on the walls.  Her parents are very grateful of this opportunity to send their daughter to kindergarten and they hope that, in future, Victoria will also be able to attend. In order to be able to help Victoria and other vulnerable children attend the Day Care and Kindergarten we need your help. Will you please consider supporting SAM on Giving Tuesday?

What happens on Globalgiving #Giving Tuesday?

This #GivingTuesday, GlobalGiving is giving away $500,000 in matching funds to its nonprofit projects. This bonus fund will be shared by all the participants proportionally based on the final sums raised on Giving Tuesday. This means that your donation earns us an extra bonus! The more funds we raise the larger our share of the bonusfund!

This year we are asking for support for SAM or for our wall project. You may already know that Sam has very secure compound. It is located at the back entrance of the 18 hectare campus. However, a 400 meter section of the connecting boundary fencing needs replacing by a high security wall. This brick and concrete wall will be 2.5 meters high, topped with razor wire. It costs £65 (€75 or $85) per meter to build the wall.

We’d be very grateful if you could help us on Giving Tuesday and join millions of other global givers on December 3. Please choose one of our projects by donating at www.globalgiving.org/42553 to support SAM or www.globalgiving.org/43969 to help build the Wall.

Please note Giving Tuesday Dec 3, starts in the US at 00:00 hrs till 23:59 hrs ET.

UK at 5am till 4:59 am GMT Dec 4 and in Europe at 6:00 hrs till 5:59 hrs CET Dec 4.

 You can also share our cause on social media using the hashtag #GivingTuesday and sharing our website, Facebook page and Globalgiving projects. www.kinderhulp-afrika.nl/en/preschool, www.facebook.com/Kinderhulp.Afrika.

Thank you so much for supporting our work in Uganda. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me jill@kinderhulp-afrika.nl or our office info@kinderhulp-afrika.nl

I will be writing a new report before Christmas.