Gulu, Northern Uganda
The children's centre in Gulu, which was built quickly and relatively cheaply a year ago is now being used daily by around 200 children. It serves as a safe haven for those in danger and with very limited resources has been able to support traumatised children with food, clothing and some security. A range of activities is taking place there.
A team of 4 from Eagles Wings visited the Bar Me Produce, Layibi refugee camp & met around 200 of the children. Despite the deprivation and difficulties, they were so happy to see us and it was thrilling to see what our direct help can actually achieve in these young lives. The centre has working toilets and a special visitor's toilet for us! With our minimal overheads, it makes such a difference being able to target needs directly and make promises that will be fulfilled in the months to come.
The next stage is to build into the brick structure a safe area for around 20 children to sleep overnight, in separate boys and girl's rooms. We will introduce triple decker beds, like those used in Kenya, to maximise space and keep it manageable by the resident adult supervisors.
In addition to the children's work we have been able to finance a working tailoring school for 15 widows who have lost their husbands to AIDS and the war. There are 4 manually operated sewing machines being used in the centre during the daylight hours and this will help establish the women with regular work also freeing them to move back into the community with a skill. We have a paid and trained teacher who is working with dress patterns made from cement bags! I promised that we would seal the dust floor and plaster the walls of the centre to make it cleaner for their work and that I would do my best to find a supply of buttons, motifs, braids, dress patterns and materials for them to work with.
 |
|
|
| Tailoring School, Gulu |
The cost of the work is no more than £2000 and anything additional will be used for food, clothing, water, blankets and material which can all be bought locally.
With all our projects, my greatest desire is to see each one fully self-sufficient. The tailoring school provides a very small but valuable revenue for the centre.
