Before we take a look at the latest news from Uganda and some great stories and photos, once again we need to ask for your help and support.

We are all familiar with rising costs where we live, but as a charity, this is hitting us hard on three counts.

The rising cost of living where we are based (UK) is affecting donations;
The exchange rate when transferring funds to Uganda has fallen by around 10% from this time last year;
The rising cost of living in Uganda means that those donations are not going as far as they used to, with some organisations quoting a 400% increase in food prices since 2020.

As a result of these changes, with school fees due for the final term of the year in early September, we are facing a potential shortfall of around £8,000 to £10,000.

Naome

The Children's Home has welcomed Naome who is 4 years old.

Mike

Mike came to the Home after being identified as a missing child in a local village some 7 miles from the Home.

During Mike's stay at the Home, the Social Workers embarked on several attempts in tracing for his family, including newspaper adverts, field visits to the area where he was found, and liaising with the local Police. Having identified his mother's family some 150 miles away, visits were made in order to start the resettlement process.

Emma (Social Worker) writes...

"Mike was welcomed back home with gladness. It was ululations* all over as everyone was filled with joy. His family had taken too long without seeing him since 2020. They had lost hope, and had fears that maybe Mike had been sacrificed by heartless people."

* ululation - to utter a loud, usually protracted, high-pitched, rhythmical sound especially as an expression of sorrow, joy, celebration, or reverence.

In order to ensure that Mike's resettlement is successful, we will need to pay for Mike's school fees. This will not only provide Mike with an education and a better chance of a good job in the future, but will also ensure that Mike is not free to roam the streets during school times, placing him in potentially vulnerable situations.

Tony

Tony has been at the Home since November 2018 when he was just 4 days old. He was found abandoned near a Mosque, and despite tracing efforts, no family members were ever identified.

Teddy (Social Worker) writes...
"Rose and Tony were both comfortable staying with each other. It was a perfect match because they both liked each other at first sight. Rose carried Tony on her lap during the entire interaction session and Tony ended up in a deep sleep.

Rose is willing to foster and adopt Tony. She is willing to undertake the required legal procedures involved in the foster and adoption processes to receive her foster child legally.

Rose together with her family are willing to receive Tony, which is an indicator that this child will receive parental love, care and protection as he has been here at the Children's Home."

Adoption

We are delighted that since the start of this year, two children who were being fostered have now been adopted. This is such great news that Rashida and Denis now have their forever homes!

Social Work

Without the excellent team of social workers, we would struggle to give the Children the best opportunities in life.

The team work tirelessly to trace for family members; assess situations to ensure that any placement is in the best interest of the child; supervising bonding visits; work with both the children and parents/ family members/ foster carers to build relationships and educate all parties in responsibilities and parenting; visiting and reassessing placements made; liaising with schools and monitoring education performance; and so much more.

Here are some photos from some of the visits and tasks undertaken recently.

A follow-up visit to see Sean and his foster mum

A bonding visit for Praise, Gideon and Mercy with their mum

A follow-up visit to see Samuel and Simon and their mum (with Teddy, Social Worker)

A visit to see Sarah at her college where she is in her second year studying a course in Tailoring

A visit to see Destiny at his vocational training where he is studying Agribusiness

Staff Changes

In May we said farewell to Jessica who has been a cook at the Home for many years.

She was sad to go, but her family is moving away from Namugongo.

We thank Jessica for all her hard work over the years and wish her well for the future.