Daily porridge for 750 Infants in Northern Uganda

First of all - A Very Happy New Year to you.  I hope that you have started the year well, we have and are so excited that the schools have finally gone back after nearly 2 years closed because of COVID.

We are so excited that the new nursery school in Putuke, was ready and waiting to welcome the children in on Monday.   We started building this school in the spring of 2019.  It was a project of love, blood, sweat and tears and we are so proud to have  finished our first building project.  Every nail and brick was accounted for, so if you are planning on building a village nursery school in northern Uganda - don't do it alone!  Get in touch, we love to share.

It will take a while for everyone to get back into their school routine and that will include daily porridge.  It is such a relief that porridge will be eaten at school and that we are no longer delivering to homes.

I could write a lot about the challenges and hardships of the last year, but now that we are halfway through January, and we have all heard enough about challenges and hardships, it seems much better to focus on the future.  Please do get in touch if you would like to know the detail about 2021.

We believe that the new nursery school will be transformative.  We have already seen that it is like a honey pot for bees.  Local health teams are using it for village consultations. The church is using it for services and the local parish council are using it for meetings.  It is going to be the heart of the village and we are so proud.  But... Putuke is one of five villages we support. They all need a nursery school and so in 2022, we are going to be bold.  We would love to build one or two new schools if we can.  It cost £12,000 to build Putuke and so it shouldn't be impossible to achieve.

The bold building of schools will not take us away from our porridge mission and we are already planning for the farmers to grow the maize/corn for the school porridge. Planting will commence in March/April (climate change is causing mayhem on planting patterns) and we will plan for the hungry season in the summer - making sure the most vulnerable have enough food. 

One good thing that came out of the 2021 challenges was that we have found the most vulnerable and hidden people in the villages.   They are no longer hidden and thanks to you and your generosity, we are able to support them as best we can.

Thank you for your support, we are so grateful.  Please don't stop and if you have a minute, please do visit our updated and fresh new look website.

With all best wishes

Alison

Links:

• Fresh and updated Seeds for Development website

So says a new survey on how young people are feeling about climate change.

10,000 young people from around the world were surveyed (led by Bath University in the UK) and nearly 60% of them said they felt very worried or extremely worried.  Three-quarters of them said they thought the future was frightening. Over half (56%) say they think humanity is doomed. Two-thirds reported feeling sad, afraid and anxious. Many felt fear, anger, despair, grief and shame - as well as hope.

It was the finding, that 45% of those questioned said that their feelings about the climate affects their daily lives that got me thinking about how it directly affects the daily lives (not feelings) of the people we support.

In my last report I told you that we are planning for the hunger that will come.  We planted 380 acres of maize, which we plan to buy back from the farmers when it is harvested and store it until it is needed.

That time is now and the maize is being harvested and stored as I type this email to you. 

Climate change, environmental damage, too much rain, not enough rain, too much sunshine, not enough sunshine.  It doesn't matter how you describe it, the weather is not behaving itself in northern Uganda.  This is having a major impact on the food security of the people we support.

When I started Seeds for Development in 2008, maize/corn was planted in March - when the rainy season was under way.  In May, the dry season starts, and the maize would be tall, strong and healthy and the sunshine would ripen it so it would be ready to harvest in July.  

Now... it doesn't rain until May (maybe a few spit-spots before, but not enough to get your seeds going).  The rain doesn't last long enough and then the sun shines down - too soon and too strong.  The seedlings can't cope and wilt.  The ones that survive just about make it and then the rain comes back again - heavy and hard, washing everything away.  The struggling seedlings get flooded and can't cope.  Families have no food, no money and no understanding of why this change of weather is happening.

That is where we are today.  The farmers are harvesting (it is the middle of September, so 2 months late).  The yields are low and the people hungry.  

We are buying the maize from the farmers and distributing it to the most vulnerable in the community again.  This is the third time this year that we have to do this.  We had hoped to store it until next year, but the situation has changed again and luckily we adapt and respond to their needs.

Schools are still shut, because of COVID-19, and so our daily porridge has to reach the children at home.  The vulnerable are also the elderly, disabled and young mothers with their babies.

We can't do it without your support.  Thank you for helping the people of northern Uganda and giving them hope for the future.

In that survey, one 16 year old said: "It's different for young people - for us, the destruction of the planet is personal."  It certainly is personal for every young person in northern Uganda.

With kind regards

Alison

Links:

• Seeds for Development website
• BBC article on the survey