UGANDA UPDATE: April 2025
Hi everyone, it’s Sarah here!
It has now been four months since I returned from my life-changing charity trip to Uganda. Many of you may remember that, on my very last day before flying home, I unexpectedly met a homeless mother and her 4-year-old triplets. Their living conditions were heartbreaking, and their food supply was extremely limited. I knew I had to do something.
After looking into ways to help, I learned that £9,000 would be enough to buy land and build a home for this family. Determined to make it happen, I set out on a mission to raise the funds. In the meantime, my roommates from Uganda and I have rented Dina some accommodation and have been providing monthly food drops so they don't go hungry. We have also enrolled and are now sponsoring the triplets at the One Love Project School.
When I returned home, I launched a Go Fund Me page to share their story and reach out to family and friends for support. In just a couple of months, I raised an incredible £6,000, enough to purchase the land and begin building their new home!
Above we have the very sweet Claire, Monica & Julian, followed by the initial picture I was sent by Martin, my amazing Ugandan contact and mediator of the house build. The planning of a house on an A4 bit of paper!!! The next photo includes Dina, the mum during the formal proceeding of the land being purchased in her family name. She has looked quite dazed and confused in all the update pictures I have been sent. I think it is very hard for her to take in and believe what is happening at the moment.The photos then show the very start of the house build on Dina's land 😍 The £6000 I initially raised got us as far as the pictures above, with some questionable foundations being laid here (somehow those foundations are working) and the roof is going on - no health and safety in Uganda!!! Look at that view though!
The roof is on and then the money run out!
Thankfully, I had organised a fundraising event on 14th March that raised another £2600. This was enough to complete the house build, including a solar panel and lanscaped garden and Dina and her triplets will be in their house very soon.
My next goal is to raise money for soft furnishings (I say that loosely) it will be small mattresses and pots and pans etc and then I fly back out on 23rd October this year where I plan to help Dina set up a small business growing crops or rearing animals to sell so that she can earn money and sustain hers and her children's life going forward, so this will also need funding. Any surplus money will not go unused. Dina and her triplets are just one of hundreds of thousands of people that need desperate help in Uganda.
Who knows, I may even move onto the next house build project thereafter! My dream at some point in the future would be to have a registered charity that goes by the name of 'House of Hope'. On my return to Uganda, I will be taking donations out again, like I did last year. I will confirm what that might be soon.
As always, thank you for reading, and listening and supporting my trip and fundraising. I am forever grateful.
Wishing you all a fabulous April - Best Wishes Sarah, Vicky, Jenna, Kate & Evie xxx
After sending out the newsletter on my return, a few customers asked for my Go Fund Me page, so I am going to pop the link below:
