Dear Mwenya Uganda supporters, First of all I’d just like to thank you for supporting our work in Uganda. As a new organisation it really means so much to have people’s moral support. Our thanks don’t just come from the UK volunteers, but also from the Ugandan volunteers, from those at the heart of Mwenya Uganda.
Well, this is a ‘newsletter’, so here’s our ‘news’!
Equipment
We have had many fantastic equipment donations from generous supporters for our team in Uganda, including 5 laptops and 512 tubes of Toothpaste from Thaxted Dental Centre and 4 personalised running vests for sponsorship events from AW Supplies. We have started sourcing trusty travellers on the Lonely Planet Forum to transport equipment to Uganda for us for free. We’ve had a great response and have created a page on Kate Humble’s great website ‘Stuff Your Rucksack’ to help.
Our office in Uganda has had a very colourful and artistic lick of paint and we’re waiting for our second office inspection from the Ugandan NGO authorities. Last time we were very proud to receive this feedback:
“ I have come to know your country director Sempa Yahaya (Jhon) as a principled, transparent, determined
person and so willing to learn, seeks and takes advises, since the organization started he has come to my
office and to me in person several times for advise and he had told me about you, and the team in the UK ,
the work and all the support your giving the organization. On behalf of the NGO board of Uganda we are
so impressed with the work your doingand the progress of the organization.”
Fundraising
We are making our way towards being registered with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, once we’ve got Queen Lizzie’s support we’ll be able to claim Giftaid on any donations we receive and we’ll also be able to start applying for larger scale grants. Thanks to lots of help from the lovely lawyer Richard Armitage, who helped us with the HMRC application, we’re hoping to hear back from HMRC very soon.
We’ve had a great month with money coming in from St Mary’s School Cambridge, from their home clothes day (£500) and Jane Farrington running The Great South Run for us (£245, of course donations are still hugely welcome click here and write ‘Jane’ in the purpose box!). Come Dine With Me’s have been taking off in Exeter again as the university students continue last year’s legacy. With a netball and hockey fundraising events planned at Warwick University by “This Is Africa” society and the Hockey club, we’re so happy to see lots of students jumping on the Mwenya Uganda smiling bandwagon. The well known photographer, Michael Bailie, has produced a beautiful Christmas Card of Thaxted in Essex. He has kindly decided to donate a percentage of the money raised from the sale of these cards to Mwenya Uganda. These cards are available in most shops in Thaxted, Essex.
I’ve have spent many a late night finding great ways for you to financially support Mwenya Uganda for free – yes, it is possible! The organisation, Easy Fundraising allows online shoppers to find great deals on all their online purchases and a percentage of whatever you spend goes straight to Mwenya Uganda. There’s no catch, Easy Fundraising sources customers for online shops and as a ‘thank you’, the online shops donate a percentage of what was spent to the charity of your choice. From plane tickets to ASDA home delivery shopping, from children’s toys, to printer ink cartridges – whatever you’re buying, you can earn money for Mwenya Uganda for free. We would really appreciate it if you sign up for free here: Easy Fundraising for Mwenya Uganda
If you all do all your Christmas shopping through that link, just think how much money you’d save and raise for Mwenya Uganda. Don’t hesitate, it’s safe, no personal details needed, free to sign up and saves you money...the difference it will make to our projects is huge!
In Uganda
In Uganda, the team have been working extremely hard as ever, recruiting volunteers to make up our teams on the ground, painting and repairing our office building, meeting volunteers to collect equipment as well as planning all our projects. We now have volunteering teams of: dentists, doctors, nurses, teachers and construction workers. We’re also about to start our research project. This project will run in local schools in the town of Mpigi, the dental team will examine pupils to see what the main issues are in Mpigi. Once we gain a better understanding of the oral hygiene situation we can then target our treatment and preventative education more efficiently. This is some of the first dental research that has ever taken place in Uganda.
For the next 8 months we are working extremely hard to spread the word and fundraise in the UK. Then, after our launch in Uganda next July, we will be able to run more sustainably with more funds and supporters behind us.
We are in desperate need of certain items in Uganda which will hugely help our work in Uganda. If you think you or anyone you know has any of the
following items lying around your house, or at work, please do get in touch:
- · Laptops
- · Printers
- · Digital video cameras (for recording educational hygiene videos)
- · Digital projector
- · Dental equipment
- · Speakers
- · Microphones
- · Any solar powered/wind up gadgets for our Outreach beneficiaries.
- · Anything listed on this page
We always welcome any feedback, positive or constructive! Keep an eye out for an email about our range of Mwenya Christmas presents that will be available that will be sent DIRECTLY to our Outreach beneficiaries, so you can really change lives in Uganda this Christmas.
Our website is now also accessible through this link www.HelpingUgandaSmile.org so please spread the word! If you haven’t had a look recently, why not have a browse, we’ve added lots of information.
We all hope you have a week full of ‘Mwenya’s (smiles),
Best wishes,
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