Nov Blog 2022

 It is hard to believe that 2022 is drawing to a close. And, I think for many it has been a tough year and hopefully 2023 will be a year of more sustainable and peaceful outcomes.

‘What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what   difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.’ – Nelson Mandela.

This powerful quotation from a great man, who knew about making a difference to many people’s lives. The following people are helping us to help KHC patients.

Volunteers that are ‘Walking the Talk’.

Many people ‘talk the talk’ but few actually ‘walk the talk’. This is an important life skill, putting your words into action- showing that you mean what you say, by actively doing it yourself.

KHC we are extremely grateful to those people who have given up their time to volunteer with us. This year we had the privilege of hosting from Germany, Josy, Marie, Philipp and Lore. One of the many advantages of having volunteers are the skills they can pass onto us and their amazing enthusiasm for what is being done for our patients. Often it is motivating for our staff when the work that they do, is recognised by people from outside the organisation.

Linda has been with us as a volunteer since August. She is Ugandan and spends most of her time in the UK with her husband. She was keen to do some volunteering in her hometown and volunteered at the children’s hostel one day a week.

“There is nothing in the world like the feeling of giving back and helping others. I began volunteering at New Hope Children’s Hostel to help and bless others. However, through my experiences, I have found that the patients and their families have been a blessing to me. At New Hope I always feel like there is a purpose for me, that I am doing something very important, no matter how small the task is.

The experience of being a volunteer once a week at New Hope Children’s Hostel has become a unique part of my life. Although I have volunteered in other areas, this position fills my heart with gratitude for the opportunity to feel as though I’m really making a difference.  Volunteering is an opportunity to offer patients and their family members a sense of support, comfort, understanding, and respect.  Volunteering at New Hope not only gives me the opportunity to pay it forward, but it is also a gift to be able to share my Christian faith with others. I could not be more thankful for the opportunity to volunteer.

I’m always amazed by the children’s courage, upbeat attitude, and positive response to a simple smile or a small gift.  The humbling reward for the investment of time and emotional energy given once a week is knowing that you’ve made a difference in their time at the hostel. The patients’ gratitude for what I do is abundantly witnessed by their smiles and frequent expressions of thank you. Every day is a new normal for these patients. Hopefully, as a volunteer I can help ease the worry, pain, or fear of the unknown.”  Linda Zake

 On the Road Again!

KHC is very excited to announce that our 2 hand -4-wheel drive vehicle is back on the road again. This is fantastic news not only for the staff but for our patients.

We are very grateful to our supporters, Anni Fjord, Culture Without Borders and Carol and Tom, for providing the money to get a new engine for the vehicle. I think after clocking up 824,770 kilometres in the 12 years we have had it, a new engine is the least we can do for this amazing workhorse.

We would like to thank our wonderful friends who made this possible, we really appreciate your continued support and for being there for us. Thank You!

Kalaz – Giving Back to the Community

Kalaz has been a friend of our New Hope Children’s hostel for a number of years, as well as providing graphic and design client services to KHC. Recently the organisation celebrated their 5-year anniversary. Congratulations to the team at Kalaz on your milestone.

Kalaz believes that it is important for organisations to give back to the community and provide a helping hand to those who need it. To celebrate their 5-year anniversary, during the month of November, Kalaz, galvanised their friends, family and clients to support New Hope Children’s hostel with the aim to raise donations of money or in kind, for basic necessities that the hostel needs on an ongoing basis.

The donations will be handed over to the hostel at a celebration party with the children at the hostel.

Thank you Kalaz for your wonderful support of the children and I am sure they are looking forward to celebrating with you.

 

Generous Support for our Hostel

The wonderful in-kind donations that groups provide our hostel, is vital as it enables us to continue to support these amazing children. We were very pleased to welcome this month to the hostel:

Watoto Church group

It was a wonderful time for the children and caregivers as not only did they provide in kind donation but also gave counselling and spiritual guidance to the children and caregivers in their own language, which was very much appreciated by the caregivers.

 

North Gujarat Association Uganda

This group is very familiar with the difficulties needy children experience and through their Smile Forever project, they provide food items etc for needy children. 

Your generous gifts certainly bought a smile to the children.

Thank you for visiting us and helping us to help the children.

 

The Rotary Beach Bash

The patron of this event is Rotary Club Kireka Movers, and the beach bash was recently held, with the funds raised going to support the New Hope Children’s hostel.

It was a very successful event, and we had a lot of fun. Thank you to Rotary and the organising committee for such a great day.

 

November 25 – International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

This is a global pandemic that affects 1 in 3 women in their lifetime.

Gender Based Violence knows no social or economic boundaries and affects women and girls of all socio-economic backgrounds: this issue needs to be addressed in both developing and developed countries.

We can all do something about it:

1. Start a conversation
2. Hold each other accountable as violence takes many forms including sexual harassment at work and in public places.
3. Create a safer environment for everyone and challenge/ speak up when someone crosses the line.
4. Teach the next generation, as the examples we set for younger generations shape the way they think about gender respect and human rights.

Most importantly – gender-based violence is entirely preventable and making gender equality a reality is the best way we can end this insidious form of violence.

New Team Member

KHC is pleased to welcome Hope Tayebwa, to our team as our Resource Mobilization & PR Officer.

 What attracted you to this role at KHC? I am a real game changer that seeks to create a difference in people’s lives. Kawempe Home Care offered me an opportunity to be part of the team to enhance people’s lives. On October 5, I started my journey.  As ‘Being moved by Love’ is the slogan of KHC, I intend to extend my love to families and children that are in adverse life situations. Being a communications and resource mobilizer, it gives me an opportunity to be part of the change story.

I am happy that I am learning new practice methods, as well as using my passion and experience, especially in the field of communication. The KHC team is a pleasure to work with.

Obviously, communication is your area of expertise, and it is early days, but what areas do you plan to focus on? Building the organisational communication strategy through advocacy and creating awareness about the services KHC provides to support our clients need i.e., Cancer, HIV and TB patients. KHC has a very good reputation in the community and with local and international organisations and we need to build on that support.

What are some of the projects you have been recently working on? I have been developing social media content. It is important to connect with our funders and supporters and social media and regular news blogs are quick and cost-effective way to keep in touch about what KHC is doing.

As a not-for-profit organisation, we rely on the goodwill of our friends and partners to keep helping our patients and in particular the New Hope Children’s hostel, needs ongoing support to accommodate and feed the children and their caregivers, whilst the children access oncology treatment.

It is difficult for the children to be away from their families and community, especially during Christmas, they still need to continue their treatment. Therefore, we try and make it a little more festive for them at the hostel and plan to have a Christmas Party. I am currently sourcing donations for the party.  

We will be hearing a lot from Hope in the near future.

GivingTuesday – 24-hour campaign Tuesday 29 November

This is the final fund-raising campaign for 2022. We are extremely grateful to our friends who have supported these campaigns throughout the year. The money raised contributes to the ongoing costs of running the New Hope Children’s hostel.

The #GivingTuesday 24-hour campaign takes place on Tuesday 29 November from 00:00:00 EST to 23:59:59 EST. ( GMT: 05:00 November 29, to 04:59 November 30, 2022: AEST: 16:00 November 29, to 15:59 November 30, 2022; Uganda: 08:00 November 29 to 07:59 November 30, 2022) Only donations received during this period will be eligible for the Incentive Fund.

 We hope you can help us to end the year with a safety net of funding for the hostel, to cover the holiday break.

We would be grateful if you could share this link:  https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/keeping-poor-children-with-cancer-alive-in-uganda/   with your friends and family.

Is Buying Christmas Gifts Stressful?

I know you may not like to be reminded BUT, Christmas is just around the corner and if you find it stressful buying Christmas gifts, then it may be time to rethink what to buy people.

Christmas is a symbol of “Giving” and gift giving a practice intended to express love and friendship. But how many of these gifts go unwanted? In the US it is estimated that US$16 billion is spent on unwanted gifts.

If you have family or friends that are difficult to buy for or say they have everything they need, then they may appreciate a Christmas Gift Card that supports a worthwhile project. A gift that has lasting value and a gift that makes a difference.

 

You can purchase a Gift Card through GlobalGiving and the options are:

• Make a donation in honour of someone special and send them a note and if you wish to support our children with cancer, the project name is “Helping poor children with cancer to access treatment.”
• Or buy a Gift Card and the recipient can redeem it to a project that matters to them. Hopefully our project!

Find out more. https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/keeping-poor-children-with-cancer-alive-in-uganda/

Beat the Christmas rush this year and shop early and give a gift that keeps on giving.