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Church team to lead Uganda mission project for Fields of Life
The team from Holy Trinity Parish Dromore preparing for the mission trip to Uganda.
A group of people connected to Holy Trinity Church, Dromore in Clogher Diocese will travel on a mission trip to Uganda this summer.
This trip is organised by Fields of Life charity in Northern Ireland which partners with local churches and communities to enable children and young people especially girls and women to access quality education and training, empowering them to provide leadership in their communities. They also promote access to clean water, good sanitation and improved livelihoods.
Some of the team members have been in south Uganda before, but this time, they are going to the north of the country to a village and school in the Zombo District. This school has an intake of 943 children, and they are taught by 13 teachers, four female and nine males. At school, they face many challenges, not least that only six very old latrine stances serving over 450 girls.
The team are committed to funding the building of a new toilet block and washrooms along with a water harvesting system to supply this new facility. They also hope to purchase in Uganda 1000 basins, soaps, toothbrushes, toothpaste which they will distribute to the local community. This area is very impoverished, and these items are a luxury with food and water being their top priority. Desks are also in short supply at the school, and depending on funds, the group is planning to purchase extra desks and build them for the school. The group will purchase required supplies in Uganda and this puts income into the local communities.
Women members of the group are delivering a programme for the girls’ and boys’ hygiene and as part of this programme, the girls will be supplied with reusable sanitary kits including pants supplied in a pull string handmade bag. They plan to purchase 500 kits to take out.
The men in the group will carry out painting and general repairs at the school buildings and build furniture for the school classrooms. The material used will be purchased prior to the trip through the Fields of Life office in Uganda.
In the past, the team was able to bring knitted blankets, jumpers and items of clothing, but owing to new government regulations, they are now only able to bring what has already been donated. The group would highly appreciate monetary donations to buy what they see as the greatest needs when they reach the area. All donations received go to the direct source and will impact the local communities.
To date, thanks to donations, fundraisers and money left in wills from various parishioners at Holy Trinity Church, the group has sent funding prior to their trip for a borehole well and pump. This has now been drilled near the school where they will be working. The schoolchildren and the wider community will benefit from fresh clean water. Prior to this, water was collected by the children from a shallow hollow in the ground where the animals were all using. When this dried up they would have to walk for miles to fetch water before attending school.
The team will be hosting various fundraising events before they depart in July and would really appreciate support. They would also welcome donations and contact can be made with any member of the group or team leader, Gordon Deazley on 078 5432 7878.
Among the fundraising events are coffee mornings in Dromore and Fintona as well as a Concert featuring the Silver Tones Male Voice Choir and a men’s breakfast.