Dear Youth With A Vision friend, supporter, and donor,
When we first heard of the global COVID-19 outbreak, we were uncertain and wondering how we would best provide for the needs of children, youth, and families under our care.
We closed our doors which quickly meant many of our children and youth may not have lunch, supper, and essentials. The cost of food and essentials soared yet the incomes we increasing going down.
We put out a call to see our supporters could assist.
You came through.
We were completely overwhelmed by the outpouring of support for children, youth, and families under, and those outside our care. You donate money, and you donated food!
In a crisis, you thought of others. When people needed it most, you stepped up.
In addition to a September month of food distribution to over 86 children and youth under our foster care, we handed out over 30 bags FULL of groceries for other vulnerable families whose workplaces are still under closure due to the pandemic.
In this trying time of uncertainty and fear – you provided comfort to our community – Thank you for your extraordinary generosity.
We will continue to work through the right ways to keep children, youth, and families in the Masaka community safe and strong. Please do the same for your own family and we’ll get through this.
We would like to bring to you what your support and donation have helped to accomplished during the past month. Hopefully, you will be inspired.
You improved children's health and welfare
As you are all aware that poverty is the main cause of poor health and illness, illiteracy, and violence among communities. In Uganda, 6 in 10 children and youth live in poverty. The roots of poverty include poor young people’s lack of resources, injustice, unequal income distribution, civil unrest, and hunger itself. Therefore, all of our interventions focus on eliminating the root cause of poverty.
During the past month of September 2020, we intensified home visits across all our foster families. The purpose of this visit was to closely monitor how families are continually adhering to measures put in place to stop the COVID-19 pandemic. We were encouraged to observe that families had vigorously practiced regular handwashing with soap, and kept a record of any unusual occurrence in the family and among members. And by then, there were no signs and symptoms of the pandemic to worry about.
We conducted a de-worming exercise to keep children in all our foster families healthy. All the 86 children were dewormed, and we will try our best to protect them not only against COVID-19 but also against all other diseases affecting their development.
Your generosity spiced up the hope for food in trial times
Hunger is something intolerable; and especially in these hard times of the pandemic, where some workplaces are still closed, and those that are open struggle to regain from the impact of the pandemic. Families that rely on these workplaces are lacking the income to put food for their children on the table.
Children under our direct care and families whose workplaces are still closed need our protection against hunger through the pandemic. And we will continue to mobilize resources and ensure that struggling children and families have food on the table every day, and as long as we can.
We believe that when children and youth are healthy, they will become productive members capable of bringing out the positive change needed in society today.
Some of our children got sponsors.
Providing for the needs of the less privileged children and youth have never been simple without you.
We are so grateful to have you all, and because of your support, three of our children including Achan Catherine, Naluyinda Shirat, and Ssemate Raymond got sponsors.
We appreciate and welcome to our child sponsors family, our new child sponsors - Lisa Seedhouse who is the sponsor of Achan Catherine, Joe Varey who is the sponsor of Naluyinda Shirat, and Chay Targett who is the sponsor of Raymond Ssemate, and this is the second child Chay is sponsoring with us!
Thanks, Lisa and Joe for joining our child sponsorship family comprised of Chay Targett, Dr. Andrew Mugenyi, Alton Thelwel, Catherine McMaster, Andrew Hince, Ella Oates, Laura Ashley.
Child sponsorship helps less privileged children to have hope for a brighter future.
We received a new monthly donor.
Knowing about the source of income for our vital projects is very crucial furthering our mission with the disadvantaged children and youth.
Heather Swailes joined our family of monthly donors comprising of Andrew Hince, Nantale Kitali, Dr. Andrew Mugenyi, and Gemma Fletcher.
We are excited that this family is growing, and we acknowledge, appreciate, and warmly welcome Heather to our monthly donors' family.
You provided vocational skills to girls
We understand that sometimes formal education may not work out for all and that not everyone will become an engineer or a doctor or an accountant. In regards to this, we are equipping less privileged young people with vocational skills that they can employ especially when things don’t work out the way they thought they would, to successfully navigate through the challenges they face along their life journey.
We provided weaving and knitting skills to 15 girls, and they are able to make baskets, scarfs, tablecloths, and doormats. In addition, we provided business skills to empower them to sell their finished products and get income for their other needs. We believe that even when children, due to unavoidable circumstances fail to make it through with their formal education, with these vocational skills at their exposure, they will not be frustrated, instead, they will be able to sustain themselves and become assets to their various communities.
We have provided weaving and knitting skills to 15 girls, and they are able to make scarfs, tablecloths, and doormats. Even when children, due to unavoidable circumstances fail to make it through with their formal education, with vocational skills they will be able to sustain themselves. We have also started a tailoring class to equip children with tailoring skills. This is aimed at producing all-round and self-reliant citizens.
Our children engaged in Jerusalema Dance Challenge
In the light of the pandemic, many children have been stressed, and as a remedy, we have engaged them in music, dance, and drama, netball, and football activities. This approach has enabled children to curb idleness and cope up with the stress they face as a result of school closure. Last month children on our kid's choir performed the Jerusalem dance challenge. This also helped them to explore and develop their individual talents. We are trying as much as possible to keep children active while protecting them against idleness, stress, and antisocial behaviors.
You helped more children to access Home Schooling
For a 12-year-old Fred Kalyango, simply having an education in a lockdown is privileged.
‘’Every time I am in need of learning materials, I simply go YWAV office to get them. And when I finish the exercise in my workbook, I go to my local teacher for assistance,’’ he says.
Your donations greatly keep our Home Schooling programme running.
We continued to provide television and radio classes as well as self-study materials to support the education of the less privileged children through the lockdown.
Recently, the government of Uganda announced the 15th October 2020 as the day of reopening schools for only candidates, and finalists in Tertiary Colleges and Universities. So we are now preparing for the facilitation of our students in this category to resume their schooling as directed by the government.
We shall continue to provide educational opportunities, through television and radio classes and self-study materials for the rest of students whose classes are not yet open.
Youth empowered to make recovery steps through the pandemic
In growing economies like that of Uganda, starting a youth enterprise is another thing, and maintaining it during the COVID-19 pandemic is a different thing that requires paramount determination and resources. Many youth established enterprises collapsed due to diversion of capital to food and essentials during the hard stages of the pandemic while others collapsed due to the perishing of stock. As a result, many young people are stranded and demoralized. The support you give us places our Youth Finance Scheme in a central position and helps to assist youth whose enterprises collapsed, and others that lost employment due to the pandemic to get back to their feet. We are engaging and mentoring youth to scale down, re-plan, and re-invent their enterprises, and supporting new fellows to start-up enterprises based on relevancy and demand in order to become sustainable. For those youth whose enterprises are still afloat, we have engaged them into new innovations to rekindle their enterprises.
Hear what some of the beneficiaries say.
"If it was not for the continued mentorship and support from Youth Finance Scheme, I would have given up on my retail shop enterprise. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, all my potential customers retreated to their respective home villages. And as a result, my business remained in the shadow of income for three months. This forced me to close the shop and entered into some small scale farming as an alternative. Even though my business was not earning, my Landlord kept on asking for his monthly rental fees. On my business mentor’s advice, I vacated the house so that I tame the rental fees from accumulation. I acquired a new relatively cheap house for my enterprise. I am now re-setting up my enterprise,’’
says Abbey Enoch Kamya
Your support has enabled us to maintain vital mentorship and support for struggling youth like Abbey Kamya, and helped them to draw an effective recovery roadmap.
Watch the video Testimony from one of the beneficiaries of the Youth Finance Scheme
All our plans for the Youth Finance Scheme for this year have been hindered by the pandemic. The scheme depends on paybacks from previous beneficiaries to reach more deserving youth. Since enterprises collapsed and no reliable paybacks, we are leapfrogging instead and appealing for your support to help recapitalize the collapsed enterprises, and support new fellows to start their own enterprises and become financially sustainable.
What would you do if you did not complete your school due to poverty, became a single mother of 3 kids, and you lost your job due to COVID-19?
That has been the reality for Prossy Nakasirye and it is extremely difficulty for her to take good care of herself and her children when she has no an income.
‘’When I dropped out of school, things worsened for me due lack of a source of income to provide for my basic needs. In November 2019 I got a casual job with a local restaurant until when I lost it in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I happy that I have acquired skills in finance literacy, business planning, management, marketing strategies, and an internship. I am looking forward to receiving a loan and kick start my Coffee Shop enterprise’’.
Says Prossy Nakasirye
When we empower unemployed young people like Prossy to startup their own enterprises, they will have an income, become sustainable, and in the future employ other unemployed young people. They will also payback the fund in installments for Youth With A Vision to fund other enterprises for youth who lost their jobs due to COVDI-19.
You improved Menstrual hygiene for girls and women
As you are aware that last August we partnered with Lucy Honeyman and her Project The Project - a UK based Charity. The partnership aims at lessening the sanitary and financial hardships impoverished girls and young women face during their menstrual periods. Throughout the last month, we have been monitoring the girls and young women that we trained to find out how they are progressing with the skills and knowledge of making and managing reusable sanitary pads. We were encouraged to find out that all the girls and women had already used the surplus material we gave them for further practice, to hand sew their own reusable sanitary pads.
Empowering girls and young women to make their own reusable sanitary pads has not only increased their access to sanitary pads but also improved their menstrual hygiene.
‘
’I am grateful that I am able to make and manage my own reusable sanitary pads. So I am no longer worried about where to get money to buy sanitary pads for my menstrual periods. I will always have normal menstruation’’
Says Catherine Namujju one of the girls benefiting from the reusable sanitary pads programme.
We are now working on the provision of tailoring skills for girls and young women to work with a sewing machine to make reusable sanitary pads for their personal use, income, and other impoverished girls and young women.
An Appeal
The global COVID-19 crisis has dramatically and rapidly changed the lives of everyone, hitting hardest the already vulnerable children and youth in the Masaka region in Uganda. The pandemic took a toll on our resources and affected our fundraising events specifically our annual Dine So They Can Day which we had initially scheduled for Saturday 3rd October 2020. And because gatherings are not yet possible, we will not be able to host this fundraiser.
Instead, we are merging this year's Dine So They Can Day fundraiser into online crowdfunding and giving campaign code-named #RiseOverCovid, running from 3rd October to 31 December 2020, with a target of raising £28,000 ($36,000) (£34,000) (UGX: 126,000,000) for;
This is what your gift can do
A donation of £1.5 will provide 1 piece of wood for roofing
A donation of £1 will buy 1 kilogram of nails
A donation of £2 will provide 1 piece of wood for roofing
A donation of £9.5 will provide 1 iron sheet for roofing
A donation of £8 will buy 150 bricks.
A donation of £8 will buy 1 bag of cement
A donation of £12 will provide 1 tin of paint
A donation of £24 will provide 1 ton of hardcore stones
A donation of £30 will pay 10 workers per day
A donation of £31 will buy 1 ton of Sand
A donation of £31 will buy 1 ton of stones
A donation of £43 will provide 1 metallic window
A donation of £78 will provide 1 metallic door
Providing financial literacy, business internship, business mentorship, start-up, and stimulus loans for 30 to start up or boost their enterprises to become sustainable.
This is what your gift can do
A donation of £16 will facilitate a business mentor per month
A donation of £35 will provide internship for one youth
A donation of £233 will provide a loan for one youth to start an enterprise
We are all a big family, and families come together in times of crisis.
PLEASE;
Make ONE day between 3rd October and 31st December 2020 your day of giving to support our #RiseOverCovid Campaign. Please Donate with your card or PayPal account on https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=9J4AERSAYCP72&source=url
OTHER WAYS YOU CAN GET INVOLVED
Sponsoring a child is an effective way to contribute your help to individuals and communities in need, without ever leaving home.
Your gift will help provide your
sponsored child and other children in desperate need with the basic
necessities that can help them reach their God-given potential, including access to resources like clean water, better nutrition, basic healthcare, education, spiritual nurture, and economic opportunities for his or her.
No matter what, we are committed to provision of opportunities for prosperity to all children and youth. And this is why we need you all alongside us, and more to facilitate students who are resuming school on 15 October 2020, and continue providing homeschooling opportunities for those students whose classes are still locked down.
Help us to own this motorcycle for our transport needs
Help us to raise £1,100 (€1,320) ($1,400) UGX: (4,950,000) so that we buy a motorcycle to have a breakthrough with our pressing transport demands.
Contributions can be made on www.youthwithavision.info/donate and specified as "motorcycle".
A donation of any amount will be highly appreciated.
SUPPORT OUR 2020 KIDS CHRISTMAS FOOD PARCEL AND GIFTS PROGRAM
In the spirit of Christmas, on 12th December 2020, we are organizing a Christmas Day nice food and a small gift for 200 less privileged children who will not have anyone to provide for their Christmas Day, to feel loved, remembered, and cared for.
Please make a contribution today and you enable us to provide a memorable Christmas Day food and gift for 200 less privileged children we work with here at Youth With A Vision in Masaka Uganda. Your gift for this year’s Christmas Day food parcels and Gifts will have a positive impact on less privileged children, which in turn will lead to better health, hope, and confidence in humanity.
This is what your gift can do
A donation of £8 provides a special food parcel and a small gift for 1 child.
A donation of £16 provides a special food parcel and a small gift for 2 children
A donation of £55 provides a special food parcel and a small gift for 7 children
A donation of £543 provides a special food parcel and a small gift for 70 children
A donation of £775 provides a special food parcel and a small gift for 100 children
This is how you can make your donation through.
If you can, please make a donation to this cause, through any of the following ways.
Online
Click the donate button below to donate with PayPal.
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=UTCHGVXYDRKRN&source=url
Direct into our Bank Account
Country of Bank Account: Uganda
Account Number: 5053284001
Account Holders Name: YOUTH WITH A VISION
Bank Name: DIAMOND TRUST BANK UGANDA LIMITED
Bank Address: DIAMOND TRUST BUILDING 17-19 KAMPALA ROAD, KAMPALA
SWIFT/BIC: DTKEUGKA
Buy from Our OnlineShop youthwithavision.info/shop and Gift Catalog https://www.youthwithavision.info/gift-catalog are great places to pick up lots of great gift merchandise for you, your friends and family, all of which are just another way that you can make our vital work with the vulnerable children, youth, and families possible.
Most of these merchandises are made by children and youth on the program!
