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Hi everybody, I've had a few comments that i'm not keeping up with my blog which isn't true! Every night before I go to sleep I jot down what happened that day and then when I get a minute (which ive not had including being held in a Ugndan jail, getting an ameoba infection, organising fundraising for ASCO) I type it up. If anyone's interested what ASCO is all about i've made a letter to the people that are coming to the coffee morning and i'm going to post it here now, its just about ASCO's background and my personal link to it!
Dear All,
Firstly the fact that you a reading this means you have come to the coffee morning and paid your entrance fee so for that I am so grateful. £5 over in Jinja, Uganda is around 15,000 shillings and can buy such a wide array of things. It can buy 75 chapatti (local pancake), it can buy 15 "bunches" of bananas, and it can give 18 street children hope to start a whole new life that they never ever dreamt would happen…..
The African Street Children Organisation (ASCO) was founded by Moses Kiyimba who at 21 years of age has not had an easy life himself. Moses is an orphan and grew up in a foster home ran by missionaries. He had a sponsor who paid for all his education and a sponsor who paid for his accommodation and living expenses. He was doing well in school but unfortunately a year and a half into his secondary education his sponsor pulled out due to financial difficulties. (Sponsoring a child through education varies in cost depending on school for primary it's around £150 for secondary it's around £300, a year) Instead of becoming down and depressed Moses concentrated on his passion and love for traditional African Art and hoped that one day with hard work and commitment along with raw talent a good career could be made from his art alone.
Now, years later Moses is one of the most well known artists in Jinja, not only are his cards and paintings sold at many of the shops on Jinja High street, he also teaches art at local International schools and is known throughout Jinja for overcoming his hardships and going on to achieve great things. Not comfortable with achieving success for himself Moses decided in December last year that he wanted to try and teach street children art. After befriending them and earning their trust and respect Moses used his own money to rent a small property in the centre of Jinja where he taught a small number of street children art and gave them porridge.
His vision at first was just to give them one good meal a day and give them a chance to make something of themselves instead of having no chance or hope in life. Moses saw that without the help and support of the place he grew up and the love of the others around him he would have had no hope or chance in life and wanted to give something back. So Moses strived everyday to work hard and concentrate on his art to save up enough money to give the boys porridge everyday and money for art materials to not only feed the boys but to keep the project sustainable.
Soon more boys heard about the project and the number of boys coming quickly doubled. Moses knew that without the help his "brothers" who he grew up with his project would go nowhere so Dan, a university student in Kampala, was asked to run the project at the weekends when he was back in Jinja and Amos, Moses' brother, was asked to teach Art to the boys when Moses was teaching art as his profession, Joseph was also asked to lend a hand as his experience at running a charity was vital due to his involvement at a local orphanage. The project was running and the boys were coming everyday happy and leaving happy, however some of the main issues the boys have were not being addressed.
The street kids in Jinja have mainly been displaced from the north, where there are constant troubles and civil wars but some are local to Jinja from places nearby like Bugembe. All of them have troubled backgrounds and many have no parents or parents who have substance abuse problems. The boys range in age from 6 to 14 and for various reasons, mainly because there families are so destitute they do not have a place at school. There is Universal Primary Education in Uganda but there is a catch families still have to have money to buy the extras that the school stipulates and none of the boys' families have any means to afford the uniform, materials, food and top up fees. Although the project was giving them an escape from begging on the street all day the boys were still dirty begging in non-project hours and at night sleeping rough on the streets. Moses also saw that as his project was growing more people were willing to help him and assured him that if he got the project set up then they would support him. So he set about getting CBO status. In Uganda charities have various stages of registration and the first is a community based organization, ran by the community for the community, which makes the project legal and allow people to donate knowing that their money is safe.
ASCO really got its wings when Sarah Kelly became involved. Sarah is a social worker in England working for the Child Protection Unit and after two visits to Uganda realized that this was in fact where hopefully she would like to live for the rest of her life. Sarah became involved in ASCO after meeting Moses though mutual friends and when she came back out at the start of January became involved in ASCO, helping out any spare time she had, which turned out to be more hours than a nine to five job. Sarah became interested in the project due to the similarities between her work in England and the work Moses eventually wanted to do with the street kids, as she ran a hostel for abused and underprivileged kids in England. Although the work in Africa is a lot more difficult due to lack of government support, funding and obvious language and culture barriers, Sarah found the work very rewarding and knew she had a lot to offer not only Moses but the boys as well. Sarah's social worker experience and incredible organizational skills are vital to ASCO and her qualities as a person, determined, calm, caring and selfless, make her liked and respected by everyone around her. Sarah used her own savings to pay for the boys to have medical care buy them new shoes, give them food and is constantly putting her hand in her own pocket to but the resources that ASCO needs to survive at the moment.
Those of you who've read my blog will know where I came in but if you don't here's my blog entry from my first day at ASCO.
. "At 10 the street kids showed up and the relationship they have with Sarah and Laura is so heart-warming. She's been helping out for a month now and you can tell all the kids completely respect her and more importantly trust her. None of them have shoes so Sarah, once again out of her own pocket, rewards them for good behavior by getting them a cheap pair of flip flops from the market. On the way to the Market we found Kanichi semi- asleep on the street, a little boy that had been missing for a couple of days who is really ill with Malaria and a throat infection. He also has a serious paraffin addiction and so during the day is usually non-responsive and very tired. We took him with us to this little restaurant by the side of the Market which literally was like being sat in someone's back yard with stoves at the back. We gave the boys all poshu and beans which was really cheap and water was free as they are used to the tap water. I was so surprised by how patient the boys were and how they all shared and waited for Sarah to divvy up all the massive plates of food. Moses met up with us as well which was nice and he can translate for us what the boys are saying. Because of Moses' background the boys can all relate to him and they can look up to him for guidance. At breakfast we also gave the kids that are on their medication their tablets. At the minute for of the kids are on meds. Kanichi has Malaria tablets and cough medicine. Lamer has a really big gauge in his foot and on his leg which is going septic so he's on antibiotics and vitamins and needs bandages. Peter has a rotting toe and so he has to have bandages antibiotics and vitamins. John's foot is also really bad he can hardly work, it's swollen and septic but luckily Sarah and Laura have managed to get a family friend to sponsor his treatment. After lunch we all piled on bodas and headed to the clinic to get dressings changed and we managed to persuade the nurse to give them all free tetanus jabs which is pretty essential living on the streets. They are all so shocked, bashful and proud when their in the doctors' surgery. Most of them have never had any kind of aid in their life and don't know how to react to people trying to help them. After the surgery Moses suggested we all go to Cool Breeze hotel where some local musicians were playing as the guy who was organizing it said we could bring the street kids there for free. The music started pretty late and we were literally the only people there but the best part about it was the small playground at Cool Breeze where all the boys could literally just act like kids for once. They all went up and down the slide and played together on the swing and it was really nice. All the street children who come to the project are boys and they range in age from around 6 to 15. After Cool Breeze we headed to the project house which is literally a dirty dingy room with an adjoining front room. The boys really enjoyed playing with my camera and Sarah and I got them some biscuits and oranges that they can take their tablets with. Moses eventually when the project is well established and self-sufficient wants to make the project into a place where the boys can stay but at the minute it's just not feasible. However he did arrange for a few of the sick ones to stay so their bandages wouldn't get dirty and they could have a chance at getting better. Once I got back to the guest house I was absolutely shattered. Cathy rang us and told us that the timetable wouldn't be ready till the end of this week so we had the week free to do what we want, which luckily gave me a chance to spend as much time as I could with Moses' project"
So since my 13th day here I've spent every minute when I'm not teaching eating, going out or sleeping at ASCO because it is a project I am immensely passionate about. My latest blogs will be able to inform you of the ins and outs of what has happened so far but basically this is where we are up to as of 25th of March!! Two months ago since I first arrived.
ASCO is now one day away from CBO status, we only need a stamp from the head officer in Jinja everything else is stamped. ASCO has a new house with six months rent paid which has a large compound with place for the project to grow and expand and all 18 boys to live there. After regular meetings we have drawn up budgets and expenditure lists and thought about different ways to keep the project up and running along with medical records for all the boys, consent forms off all the 18 boys who have parents or guardians, for them eventually to be able to live at the project and be sponsored to go to school in the day, and still learn vocational arts and crafts in the day.
At the minute ASCO runs as a day centre with food and materials donated by Sarah, Moses and I. The project starts at nine o'clock in the morning and the boys have a snack and then are split into groups where they learn basic Maths and English they then have porridge and fruit, or whatever we can afford and in the afternoons play sport or complete traditional arts and crafts followed by their favourite thing to do have a shower and clean their clothes.The boys, who are all absolutely so special and the change I have seen in them since I have been here is unbelievable all are so grateful for everything that we are doing for them and constantly say thankyou "Auntie Liberty, Auntie Sarah and Uncle Moses etc". They are happy bright boys who are desperate to go to school and learn and with the right care guidance and attention will be able to succeed. There boys that without ASCO would be on the street sleeping rough and begging for money to survive that day
I literally could write reams and reams about this but I'll stop as I am literally on the go non-stop and I know that I can get carried away..but if anyone ha any questions about ASCO or would like any more information please email me [email protected]
So basically, what we need now is funding and sponsors and my role as Fundraising coordinator is to secure any donations sponsors big or small either to contribute to starting up costs or a long term involvement of sponsoring either child for everything (around £60 a month) or for education or living expenses (around £15) or a £5 donation which will go towards beds and desk and chairs and materials that we so vitally need. Any contribution you make won't be unnoticed and when our website is up and running you will be able to see exactly where your money is changing lives.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. I hope you get as excited and inspired by it as I have.
Lots of love and best wishes Liberty
xxxxxxx
- comments
Mum A cross between bob geldof/maddonna/mother teresa was quite worried you would never come home but your request for me to bring georgio Armani foundation out with me has given me hope !!!!! Love you lots keep making a difference but never change we miss you xxxxx