School All 7 children shall be starting at Eden Valley School in January, which is brilliant news and is down in no small part to the efforts of Andy, Josh and Carly.
The school is in Buswelu and the education provided there is to a much higher standard than that of any other school in the surrounding area, as well as having much smaller class sizes. The children are very happy with this news and are looking forward to going to school, something most of them have not done in a long time, if ever.
To fund this more expensive schooling option we have been appealing for individual sponsors to pay the schooling fees, something a few people have very kindly done. We are however still looking for people to sponsor the remaining four children. Doing so will entitle the sponsor to updates and school reports on the child, as well as doing something truly special. Contact enquiries@upendo.org.uk for any questions or if you are interested.
The Building
The walls are currently going up on the first building after construction began in August, and the most recent pictures shall be added soon. This is one of the most expensive phases of construction considering the materials, labour, transport costs etc. and donations are gratefully received.
Buswelu September-December
After six of the eight summer volunteers left Buswelu at the start of September, Josh and Andy remained at the house to maintain Upendo's presence in the area. This has involved overseeing the construction of the first building and teaching the children among other tasks. They have proven successful at all of these tasks considering the progress of the building (that shall be looked at later) and the development of the children, especially their grasp of English and Maths. Upendo would not be where it is today if Andy and Josh had not remained and put in so much effort, and we are very grateful to them for it.
Christmas Volunteers
Over Christmas we have both returning and new members in the newly refurbished volunteer house to join Andy and Josh. Upendo founder Carly has gone with her dad Graham and sister Gemma, to be joined later by Diana and Suze. We wish them well for their time in Buswelu that I am sure will prove to be all too short.
Upendo Fundraising in the UK.
So far our fundraising has been based largely in Manchester (apart from bag selling and other events further south which we are appreciate hugely), and we would like to change this! Wherever you live in the UK ,USA or Isle of Man, you can get in touch should you wish to organise an event, and we would be very happy to work with you and provide you with all the information you need about Upendo. If fundraising is a side to an event run primarily for something else you are involved in, such as a sports team, we would also be happy to be involved.
Engineers Without Borders
Upendo has recently begun a project with Engineers Without Borders at the University of Manchester to design and implement one, some or all of the following systems: Rain water container, grey water container, an efficient sanitation system and an efficient power system. We are very pleased that Engineers Without Borders are working with us as they are a very well-established and respected group, and it is a privilege that they see potential in our project.
Red Rum
At the end of the semester a club night was held at Red Rum in Fallowfield, Manchester, in which entry was free but an honesty donation was suggested. This proved successful as we managed to raise £255.53 in what was a really good night that we would like to make a regular event. We'd like to thank Lewis and Will for their organising of and DJing at the event - it's much appreciated!
World Aids Day
Wednesday, December 1st and the week around it was a busy one for Upendo and its partners at the Student Stop Aids Campaign. We set up a presence around campus promoting awareness of HIV and the steps being taken to fight the virus. Our main goal was getting hand prints for the 'Push for the Pool' petition; a UK wide attempt to get pharmaceutical companies to pool their twenty year patents on HIV treatment drugs, forcing prices down and allowing the drugs to be combined to increase effectiveness. Click here for more information.As well as this we were handing out condoms and of course telling people about the Upendo project, raising money by encouraging people to 'buy a brick', for a pound (although £1 buys about 23 bricks).
We would like to thank all of those who have so far donated to the project and helped its progress.
These updates shall hopefully become much more common and therefore easier to read!
Merry Christmas!
Lots of love,
James and everyone at Upendo xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx