We found out how our £5,000 donation helped communities in Uganda

News

We were delighted to receive an email yesterday from Abaana, a charity based in Bangor (Northern Ireland), about the impact of our £5,000 donation towards supporting some of the poorest communities in Uganda

Three of Abaana’s schools were chosen to benefit from the purchase of animals which empowered families with the skills necessary to successfully rear and manage goats, sheep and pigs.

Abaana estimated that a total 170 families would receive training and the gift of an animal, which in turn would provide support for approximately 850 total beneficiaries.

How will these gifts help?

• The experience and knowledge of rearing animals will be retained, but can also be passed on
  to other family members and friends
• Psychological well-being – participants will also benefit through being able to help
  themselves through looking after the animals and producing additional income for their
  families
• Financial benefits – through the scheme, we hope that participants and their families will be
  able to generate additional income sources, which they can use for a range of purposes,
  including daily necessities, starting up small business ventures and paying for their children’s
  school fees

We were especially delighted to hear from some of the children it would benefit:

Gatrude is 13 years old and in Primary 6. She was so excited when she received her goat and said,

“I am so pleased with this gift of a goat I have received today. I never in life thought of anything like this, it is a surprise. Thank you for the great love you have shown to me and my family, I feel that this is a special moment in my life. We are going to ensure we provide good care for this goat so that it will multiply and help us meet our future needs. Thank you, Abaana Ministries, and thank you Giveclarity.’’

 

Robert Kasule, from Lweza Primary, was very excited to take his piglet home and said,

“I am very happy because of this piglet. I am going to take care of it during this holiday and make sure that it grows well and bigger. I want to thank Abaana for giving me this gift.”

 

George, age 13 said:

“Today is a memorable day for me, my mother and my siblings… When I was told that I was going to get a gift of a sheep, I wondered! How is that possible? A whole sheep? Who can give that? But now I know that there really are people who care. I now have my gift of a sheep with me, and my heart is really filled with joy. May God bless every hand that has given to me. Now I have the opportunity to learn and grow in sheep rearing and transform my life.”

Scott Baxter, CEO of Abaana, also emphasised the critical nature of this support in the current global climate:

“Uganda like the rest of the world is being affected by the global oil prices and seeing inflation shoot up (currently 10%), which is putting a particular pressure on basic items like food. 2022 was a very challenging year for Uganda as it was also the first year that schools went back after Covid. At times like this, the community support means even more.”

 

Abaana is a Christian based charity set up for the benefit of less privileged people in Africa. The word “Abaana” comes from a language found in the country of Uganda (East Africa) and means “children.” Most of their work is geared towards children in Africa, but not exclusively.