Dear friends, I mentioned in my last post that I would make enquiries about providing facilities for hand washing at the school and as soon as I spoke to my wonderful friend Innocent about it, no sooner did I get the information. And, within a week of asking he had bought the materials, constructed, delivered and installed three sets of handwash facilities, one at each latrine block and one in the kitchen area. Everyone was so pleased with these gifts especially the children who may not have even seen or used a tap before! As you see by the photos and the two video they were very excited! Innocent was taking the video and I noted that he instructed them to turn off the tap between use. After all they will have to collect the water from the borehole each day! So a good job has been done by all, especially Trust Greenbelt who provided 80% of the cost and Innocent Kayondo who justly deserves the title of Project Manager – I couldn’t do without his dedication, hard work and honesty! Particularly honesty as it is not always easy to find in Uganda! Innocent doesn’t see this website but I have thanked him on WhatsApp and will be thanking him in person when I return to Uganda in June. ENJOY THE VIDEOS!

Containers bought, labelled and taps added.

The boys salute their friends in the UK for the gift of the new handwash facility!

The girls are excited to be able to wash their hands

The cook who provides a meal for every child every day,can now keep her hands clean in the schools outdoor kitchen

From this….

To this…….

What a difference! The children and teachers at Brain Trust Primary and Secondary School had a lovely surprise when they returned to school at the beginning of their new school year at the start of this month, February. They not only have new latrines but also their school hall which doubles as a community church has a strong new roof supported by concrete posts, a big improvement from the bits of sacking attached to unstable tree ‘poles’! I want to thank Trust Greenbelt, the charitable giving side of the music festival held at Boughton House each August Bank Holiday weekend, once again for financing both the latrines and the hall roof. Both have added a lot of relief and pleasure for all members of the school. I look forward to sitting in comfort while teaching under the new hall roof instead of chasing the shade or shelter around as I had to do during my last visit in October 2017! These simple improvements also better the status of the school within the area and encourage teachers to come to work there. http://www.greenbelt.org.uk                       Thanks must also go to my young friend Innocent Kayondo who has organise all the work and seen it through to its conclusion. Innocent is now looking at the cost of simple hand washing facilities which are so important.

The recent changes at Brian Trust in photos x 2. Firstly the latrines, then the hall roof: Please click on first photo of each set to move through slideshow and to see captions.

341 children and six teachers use these latrines!

School latrines to be rebuilt

Men at work

Boys Latrines completed!

Pit for the new latrines for the girls

Slab for new latrines drying in the sun

Doors arriving at Girls latrine block!

The boys outside the renovated BOYS latirne block

The girls outside the brand new GIRLS latrine block. The girls had never had a toilet before!

The hall/church roof as it was in October

Sat in the shade reading to the younger classes

Getting the whole school in the shade or under cover when it rained was impossible

The sun was never far away! Here I was being given gifts of oranges!

The builders measure up and work out where the new poles should go. Note the bent poles cut from trees often having to be replaced because the termites ate through them!

The wood casing surrounds the concrete poles as they dry off

The wide roof on strong termite proof concrete poles.

View from end showing strong rafters holding up the corrugated roof

Happy thankful school children!

GREAT NEWS! MOSES IS ON THE MOVE!

Moses the elderly man who was found living alone in a terrible condition, has now been moved to temporary accommodation awaiting his new home. The bricks from his old home have been transferred to a new site near his brother Asenge who will help rebuild the walls and will also care for Moses from now on. The family and community he was living near when we first met him refused to help him as they thought he was mad! If you remember he had been robbed and beaten and left physically and mentally disabled, he is not mad! Unfortunately lack of education in many rural areas in Uganda leads to much misunderstanding and suspicion of ‘evil spirits’. (Please take a look at the previous posts from 20/12/17 (x2) & 9/1/18 to see the story of Moses)

Thanks to those of you who have already contributed to helping Moses. I have received £120 so far of the £150 needed to rebuild the walls of his his home and put on a new roof as his original one was full of holes! It would be wonderful if you could make a small donation towards this new home for Moses please.  We need to buy 10 corrugated iron sheets for the roof @ 26,000 Ugandan Shillings each (£5); 30 ‘roof timbers’ at 12,000 Ugx (£2.50); as well as nails. cement, etc. Do get in touch if you can help.

Hopefully we can eventually raise a little more cash to cover the mud floor with concrete and plaster the walls. My friend Godfrey has told me that Moses was ‘all smiles’ when he realised what was happening. These recent photos of him certainly show him looking much happier!

The bricks at the new site

The brick walls of is old house has been taken down

Moses posing at the site of his new home wearing the jeans Amasa gave him, as he had no trousers!

Moses at temporary residence awaiting his new house

And with Mr Asange, his brother who will help rebuild the walls and will now care for him

Mr Asange’s home and family. Moses will have the company of people who care for him

Dear friends firstly I want to wish you a HAPPY NEW YEAR! Do you remember me telling you the story of Moses the elderly disabled man who was discovered living in a terrible state when my friends in Uganda were delivering mosquito nets before Christmas?

Amasa when he first met Moses while delivering mosquito net.

Well on the 22^nd January the walls of his old dwelling are being transferred to a plot near relatives where he will be cared for at last after the terrible time he has endured in recent years. BUT I need to raise money for the work and for the materials needed. I have donated £40 from not sending Christmas cards and sending my greetings online instead this year, but would be very grateful for your help please.

For example we need to buy 10 corrugated iron sheets for the roof @ 26,000 each (£5); 30 ‘roof timbers’ at 12,000 (£2.50); as well as nails. cement, etc. If you can help me to give this dear old man a roof over his head then please get in touch with me for how to donate. I will make a point of visiting Moses when I go out to Uganda in July but in the mean time would love to make him more comfortable.

FYI Please scroll down and read the initial blogs about Moses along with the photos. I look forward to your response. X

HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and that 2018 is a good year for you and your family. The children and teachers at Brain Trust Nursery & Primary School in Nawanyago are going to have a wonderful surprise when they return to school at the start of the Uganda school year in February as they will have new latrines and a new roof for the school hall which doubles as a community church. I owe a massive thank you to Trust Greenbelt who have awarded a grant for the work.

As soon as I let Innocent, my young friend and ‘project manager’ know the good news about the grant, he got to work organising the building work . The first job was to repair the present latrines and urinals that were in a terrible state, if you remember me mentioning in a blog when I was in Uganda, and as you can see by the photos!

Second was to do a completely new build to provide the girls and female staff with their first ever latrines! Both are now complete and ready for the children returning to school early February. Enjoy the photos and also the short You Tube video

https://youtu.be/XvUANpUI03o

Innocent has now started arranging for the school hall that doubles up as a church for the local community to have a new roof. Watch this space!!

Building materials arrive at the school

School latrines to be rebuilt

Urinals!

Men at work

Boys Latrines completed!

Pit for the new latrines for the girls

Slab for new latrines drying in the sun

Doors arriving at Girls latrine block!