So many
opportunities
 In Lira District we have so many opportunities.
It is just amazing how things are unfolding
as we seek to help people whose lives
have been affected by the rebel activity
during the past 20 years. There is a prevailing
peace at present resulting in 1000’s
of families returning from camps to their
original homes. There is much digging
going on as people plant crops to assist
their food security. Homes are being rebuilt.
Schools are returning to their original
sites. There is so much to do!!
LightForce International is partnering
with Unicef and Memisa, Belgium to implement
a project with a diverse package of activities.
We have been busy distributing an assortment
of items to people who have returned home.
We have assisted over 12,000 households
with a total of more than 60,000 people.
Each household has received: 2 blankets,
3 cooking pots, bucket, washbasin, tarpaulin,
5x mug, plate & spoon, a knife, collapsible
jerry can, 2 large bars of laundry soap,
5 items of clothing and a mosquito net.
This project is expected to reach a further
12,000+ families in the next phase bringing
help to a total of 120,000 people.
For school children we are distributing
shorts & t-shirt for boys and a dress
to girls. In the New Year the school children
will receive school kits and we will have
classroom kits for teachers too. The project
is targeting a total of 32,000 children.
Some of our volunteers helped survey
27 Health Centres in the summer. We have
funding to rehabilitate these Health Centres,
provide medical equipment and supervision.
Returning schools are finding their
facilities damaged or suffering from the
neglect of the past 3 years. LightForce
International has been monitoring the
situation in 57 schools, providing data
and analysing the information, following
which we have submitted a proposal to
work on school development in the next
12 months. Teachers need houses, pupils
need desks and other essential works need
carrying out. We have adopted Otuke County
as the main focus of our efforts.
In Otuke we have commenced a programme
of Early Childhood Development (ECD) in
partnership with Unicef. The pilot project
has reached two communities. We trained
caregivers to work with under 5’s
in pre-primary education. It is chiefly
a programme of learning through play in
a creative and fun environment. The caregivers
have commenced work at 10 sites in the
two communities and between 900 and 1,000
children attend each weekday. It is the
plan to extend the ECD project to each
of the 45 primary schools in Otuke County.
We have registered hundreds of special
needs children in Otuke. They need a lot
of support and care. We have begun to
work with those living in Orum. Two of
our workers, Clara and Esther are working
in Orum & Adwari each weekday developing
the ECD project and in Orum with children
with special needs. Housing has been secured
to enable them to live there from Monday
to Friday each week and become a part
of the community.
In Lira town work has been going on
with special needs children since January.
Numbers have decreased as children have
gone home to the rural areas. We continue
to care for around 30 very needy children.
In some cases our timely intervention
has saved lives. Our social worker, Lydia,
visits the children once or twice weekly
according to the need. Here are some stories:
Sarah is 12 years old and until
recently lived in a wheelbarrow. She
has a physical disability. We were able
to obtain a wheelchair for her and her
life is totally changed. She is already
trying to push it and our advisers believe
she has the potential to walk. We have
two other children, Bonny & Walter, who
need wheelchairs to give them mobility
and the independence to get to school. Chairs can be tailor made in Lira and
will cost £85 for Bonny (9yrs old) & £100
for Walter (12yrs old). To sponsor a chair for Bonny or Walter
click here.
Yuventino is 7yrs old and has cerebral
palsy. Due to the difficulty he has
eating solid foods Yuventino was found
severely malnourished. He weighed just
11kg. In 2 weeks he would have died. We
were able to put him into a local hospital.
His treatment and his mother’s food
for 3 weeks cost just £10 and Yuventino
left weighing almost 18kg. We took him
a pushchair from the UK. For just £10
we saved a life.
Betty, Kemis, Tonny & Morris are
all around 8 yrs old and deaf. For
£10 a month they can go to a special
school for deaf children where they will
learn to communicate and receive a basic
primary education. We would like to send
them to school in January 2007. To sponsor these children click here.
Ariko is 12yrs old. He is physically
disabled and his parents are dead and
he lives with an uncle who doesn’t
really want him. He is on the verge of
becoming a street child, as he is prone
to wandering off. It is hard to imagine
how this young life can be destroyed.
We want to put him in secure boarding
schooling. It will cost £174
for the next school year. To send Ariko to school click here.
This Christmas would you consider a
gift to help one of the needs above or
a similar child with Special Needs. We
will tell you who you have helped and
send you a photograph.
YOUR GIFT COULD CHANGE A CHILD’S
FUTURE.
|
