(Food parcels prepared for families)
I’m absolutely thrilled to announce that our food distribution project in Kihembe was a great success. This was truly a collaboration to be proud of and there are many people to thank. First and foremost, we must thank our Ugandan partner Opportunity Africa, for developing the idea to provide critical food support to families during this time of COVID-19. As a result of the team’s foresight and organisation, we identified 190 families in the village of Kihembe who would each receive 10kgs of maize flour (for posho), 5kgs of beans, 1kg of salt and 1 bar of soap. On average, the team believe such a contribution will provide each family with food for one week, but many will be able to supplement this contribution with foods from their garden.
(A lot of beans before packaging!)
Next, we must say a huge thank you to all of our friends and supporters in the UK who donated money towards this cause. We raised just short of £800 in one week to contribute to this project (making up just under half of our overall target), which is remarkable at a time when many are without work and are being careful about spending. It really just goes to show the depth of the human spirit and we’re very grateful indeed for all of the well wishes and financial support that we have received.
(Families waiting patiently for distribution)
It was also a privilege for us to partner with the government of Uganda on this project. As an NGO, we tend not to get involved with politics and work independently of the government, yet we were delighted to work alongside the Resident District Commissioner and many local political leaders to make this project a success. We even have to thank the media who helped to spread announcements about our objective and supported us to mobilise families in a safe and responsible way to distribute the food.
(Opportunity Africa Director Mercy organising the distribution efforts)
There are many organisations doing great work to support people during this difficult time and we applaud them. Here in Uganda, it has been wonderful to be part of yet another successful locally led initiative where community leaders from Kihembe took the initiative to provide vital food support to many families who needed it. Our role was simply to provide funding to make this happen, which given the difficulty of making all of the necessary arrangements and corresponding with all of the stakeholders, was pretty straightforward!
(OA project managers Jims and Moses enjoying themselves!)
We once again thank everyone for being part of this initiative and we’re humbled to have been a part of it. At a time like this it’s important to understand that someone can’t help everyone, yet everyone can help someone. And we feel that by making this donation to the community of Kihembe we have been able to make a contribution. We hope you are all safe and well at home and we send our love and best wishes.
(A parent receiving food from one of the local political leaders)
Ross.