Background.

Last Summer, we travelled from our home in the North West of England to Uganda in the heart of Africa. We went with our friends, Graham and Shebah, who were getting married there. Shebah was born and grew up on a farm in Mbaba, near Lake Victoria and not too far from Kampala, the Capital city. She was lucky enough to have received a good education which enabled her to travel and train for a career. We had a marvelous and eye opening time in Uganda and had many of our media driven previous impressions swept away. We saw at first hand how, when life in Uganda is good, it is very good indeed. We also saw some of the poverty, and medical and social problems that Uganda, is trying so hard to overcome. Its most effective weapon is education and though education is not yet compulsory for Ugandan children, it is free until the age of 13 to any child who can attend a school. After that, any further education has to be paid for.

Why do we want your money?

The family in the picture are friends of Shebah's family. The parents died a few years ago and the Grand parents are now over 80 years old. The older boys were working on the farm to keep the family going but last year, a local road building scheme affected their land. The well silted up, irrigation was badly disrupted and the banana plantation, a major source of income, was destroyed. The situation has been referred to the authorities and a request made for financial assistance, however this will take time and there is no assurance that any help obtained will be enough to keep all the children in school.

In the meantime, there are 7 children who need to find a way to continue their education. Though school itself is free for the younger children,they still have to pay for their own stationery and books etc. These are not cheap in Uganda. They also need uniforms. The older ones have to pay per term. For example, the young lady fourth from the left on the photo could not pay her school fee in full last term. As a result, she was not allowed to take her exams and will now be held back a year. She is a bright and promising student and this seems a terrible waste.

The new school term has already started. We want to make sure the children can join in.

Please can you help us to help these children and young people continue the education which will help Uganda to move forward into the prosperity this beautiful country deserves. Winston Churchill called Uganda 'The Pearl of Africa'. These kids are the ones who could make it shine.