At Easter this year, we are going with our Auntie Jilly to stay in Muyembe in Eastern Uganda to help African Village Support with some of the work they are doing which helps the local people to improve the quality of their lives.  We will be visiting local schools and working with the children as well as getting inolved in some of the AVS projects, such as distributing Mama Bags.

We also plan to introduce some of the kids to the pleasures of Rugby - at least Jake does.  Some second-hand kit has already been promised, but old shirts and tag belts would still be welcome.

While our trip has been paid for by our families, we would love to raise some money before we go to donate to AVS to help with the great work they do. So here's a bit of information about this special charity.

African Village Support is a small charity that was set up by Marie Cates following the time she spent as a volunteer for Voluntary Services Overseas.  Upon her return Marie set up the charity to support small villages in eastern Uganda with the aim of improving the quality of life of both adults and children in some small way.  The villagers are mostly subsistence farmers living in very poor conditions without running water or electricity.  Their needs are wide and varied, ranging from support for the development of basic living conditions to support that adds some enrichment to daily life.

Everyone who runs the charity works one a voluntary basis and all money raised goes directly to the villages.

 

When we are there we will be involved with some of the projects.

 

Helping with the Community

As subsistence farmers life is hard and villagers simply eke out a living for themselves and their children.  AVS are helping in a number of ways:

• working with women’s groups
• providing computers and training for the community
• developing a community/youth centre
• developing income generating projects to help the community become self sufficient
• helping with youth projects

Health and Hygiene

Conditions in the villages making people vulnerable to disease.  AVS help by:

• supporting the building of pit latrines in schools
• providing water tanks at local schools and bore holes for communities
• purchasing mosquito nets
• supporting individuals with HIV and AIDS
• looking after some of the most vulnerable by working with the Red Cross
• providing Mama Bags to pregnant mothers

Helping with Schools

Primary education in Uganda is free but once a student leaves school after their Primary Leaving Examination choosing to send their children to secondary school is impossible, for many reasons, for most parents.

Conditions in the local schools are very poor and resources, beyond a board and chalk, almost non existent.

AVS helps to:

• sponsor children
• renovate and build classrooms
• provide books
• support nursery schools
• provide a hostel for girl students who live too far from the nearest school to be day students

Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.  Thank you!!