As part of our Christmas celebration we intend buying all the children in the school 5 pairs of pants – there are 98 boys and 172 girls, which means 1320 pairs of pants. Sylvia will co-ordinate the purchase and transportation of the underwear to the village – alongside some sodas and snacks for the children to enjoy whilst the gifts are distributed. Our total expenditure on this will be 1,834,000 ugx – which is £405. As you are aware we ask sponsors not to send gifts to their sponsored child as this can be difficult when others don’t receive anything – but we would be very glad is any sponsors or donors wished to contribute to this cost.
We would like to give sponsors and donors the opportunity to buy ‘good gifts’’ this year - as a refreshing alternative to giving unwanted items you can give your friends and relatives a warm glow knowing that they have given someone something which will be valued and appreciated. Let us know what you want to give and we will provide a paper or electronic gift-card describing the gift and the difference it will make.
£5 provides 5 pairs of pants for three children –raising self-esteem and promoting dignity
£10 provides 10 pairs of sandals to prevent jiggers and protect the children’s feet
£20 provides menstrual cups for discreet protection to allow 4 girls to attend school regularly.
£30 provides food parcels containing soap, salt, sugar and tea for 4 older villagers.
‘Uganda has the second youngest population in the world, with high rates of sexually transmitted diseases and adolescent pregnancy. Access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information and resources is a challenge, especially for very young adolescents (VYAs) aged 10–14. The majority of VYAs had been exposed to SRH information in the media (television, radio or newspapers) with at least one third of them accessing media with sexual content, while far fewer had received such information in schools or from their
parents. As these students are already being exposed to sexual information in the media, it is important for schools and parents to provide accurate information’ (research paper by E Kemigisha)
As mentioned last month Diana has provided a lesson for the older girls at Jackie School explaining the facts about sexual health and reproduction. Additional menstrual cups were also distributed – obviously this project will be continuing as there will always be more girls needing this support and information
Diana and Sylvia were delighted to be able to report that most children were wearing shoes – and to remind those that weren’t why they should!