Saturday 9 June 2012

A hectic but fab couple of weeks!


As the title suggests it’s been a busy time! This is largely due to the arrival of Julie and Darren from the UK and their unrelenting enthusiasm to do as much a humanly possible during their time here!! They wanted to spend some time at the school and delivered an age appropriate lesson to every class! Darren also built shelves at the health centre thus creating a health store and myself and Julie gave mosquito nets to mothers who had brought their babies in for their vaccinations.We also decided to take food parcels to 25 of the most vulnerable families I have identified during my time here. This was a hard decision to make as I would not generally agree with giving 'aid' and certainly does not fit with my long term vision of development in the community but Julie and Darren had raised some money to spend whilst they were in Uganda and we decided to help this small number of families at a time of crisis.  The majority of the beneficiaries were elderly people caring for children who are either orphans or who have been abandoned by their parents. In order to have a an impact we calculated how much food a family would need to feed them for a week to 10 days, hence the large quantities! It was however a wonderful experience, seeing the shock and joy on the peoples faces and the relief that they would eventually be able to eat for a few days without worrying where their next meal was coming from.















































We also visited an orphanage in Mbale and the local nursery school






And also spent some time with a few of the local community groups.

Thank-you Julie and Darren for you hard work and enthusiam both before and during your visit....it has been very much appreciated!

I also hosted the exchange visit this week which I had been planning for some time.  I took 18 of the most 'active' community members from the six parishes of Bunambutye to visit groups in Muyembe and Sironko. After a few logistical challenges we were able to have a great day and the feedback was that it had been a great learning experience and rare opportunity for our community members to meet other active community members and to learn about projects and charities in other areas.





So, as you can see, there is never a dull moment here in Bunambutye!

I will be leaving this amazing place in just over three weeks time so I am now just spending time with the charities I have built relationships with and community members discussing our plans for the future and potential project development. And now comes the next big challenge...setting up a charity in the UK to support this work and hopefully making a real and long lasting impact on these communities!

I hope you continue to support my work and join me on this journey...if you would like to get involved in any way then please just get in touch and let me know!

Many thanks

Aimee

A few more photos...



You can always guarantee a group of children to follow wherever you go!







Such a beautiful place!!





An all too common sight unfortunately, children are often burnt by the unprotected stoves they use to cook their food.



3 comments:

  1. What an amazing blog and such touching photos too...you've done an amazing job out there Aimee, you're an inspiration!!

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  2. I am thoroughly enjoying your blogs and passing the information on to our Group. Please continue to be in touch. Val x

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  3. Amazing blog. 2 more weeks!! Tell me what I need to do, bring, prepare etc before we get there! Going to call your mum soon and go get the running gear. Lots of love xxx

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