Better Lives for Vulnerable People in East Africa

We’ve been busy helping to create ‘better lives for vulnerable people’ since our last report!

In Kenya this includes:

• Working with 60 male motorbike taxi drivers to prevent HIV and violence against women and girls.
• Refurbishing our HIV testing and counselling centre.
• Tackling poverty through goat rearing, tailoring and clean water for 60 people with disabilities, and fitting wheelchairs for a further 50.
• Training 20 special needs teachers and enabling 29 young people with intellectual disabilities to leave school and start income generating enterprises.
• Conducting research on teachers’ understanding of dyslexia.

In Uganda, your support of this project has enabled us to:

• Distribute community health kits to 24 vulnerable families.
• Train 79 young people in various trades and business skills.
• Support 152 people with epilepsy with knowledge, treatment and savings and loans groups.
• Establish a safe water supply in Katungulu village for up to 2,000 people.
• Hold 20 skin clinics to protect 500+ people with albinism from skin cancer and conduct 7 life-saving surgeries.

These initiatives are life-changing for those involved. For example, people with epilepsy in Uganda endure frequent seizures and are fearful of leaving home, at risk of accidents and abuse, denied education or work and left feeling isolated, frustrated and powerless. With donations from people like you, Advantage Africa is bringing hope to this bleak situation. With our long-term partner the Single Parents’ Association of Uganda (SPAU) and neurological experts from Butabika Hospital, we’re supporting people with epilepsy in several rural communities. Children and adults are now receiving tailored medication to prevent fits. They, and their communities, have learnt the facts about epilepsy so there are no more shouts of ‘drunk!’ or ‘bewitched!’ We’re also enabling families affected by epilepsy to access loans to start enterprises that will improve their independence.

Susan is 20-years old, has epilepsy and lives in a lakeside community. Abandoned by her wider family after the death of her parents, she has lived a difficult life, malnourished and lonely. Recently she fell into scalding water during an epileptic seizure and severely burnt her right hand and chest. A local woman called Judith heard about Susan’s desperate situation, treated her burns and now daily prepares nutritious food for her. Judith accompanied Susan to our latest community training sessions so that she could be assessed for epilepsy medication, find friendship with others and learn how to manage her condition. Judith spoke powerfully to the gathered community during the training: ‘Epilepsy is not contagious! People with epilepsy need our love, support and encouragement.’

Thank you so much for improving the lives of people like Susan by supporting this project.