You can see where the CRU dental mission has been active in Uganda with the establishment of Dentaid dental surgeries and also where pain relief clinics have been organised and staffed by volunteers using portable dental equipment. click to view clinics map
mobile dental surgery
A Fundraising Cycle for Christian Relief Uganda
By Robin Yeoman and Dan Roberts
I recently cycled 240 miles in 4 days from Dieppe to Paris and back with a great friend of mine, Dan. We wanted to do something to support the great work that is going on in Uganda and raising this money has presented us with a huge challenge. Self-funded, mapped and organized, it has been an absolute pleasure to undertake and it proves how easy it is to get out there and raise the awareness of CRU. Mukund Patel is a personal friend of mine who will be joining the teams Dental Mission in November – the money we have raised ensures people will benefit from all those saddle sores and sweaty brows!! Please follow our blog at www.2wheelygoodguys.tumblr.com to see more photos.
Please feel free to keep sponsoring – we are on £635 as we speak!!!
Dan Roberts & Robin Yeoman cycle to raise money for dental
The Library at K.P.P.S. Maria’s Care is in used daily and since its refurbishment, reading has improved dramatically especially for the younger classes. It’s a long journey to turn an empty room into a well equipped Library, but great progress has been made over recent months, thanks to supporters. Classes use the books regularly, including the deaf children, and clearly enjoy doing so! More furniture is needed, and the list of books required is unending!
These are bought in Kampala, gradually building up stock of literature and reading schemes appropriate for Ugandan pupils.
Library at Maria's Care Aug 2010
Congratulations to Maria’s Care K.P.P.S. pupils who won the recent Music Festival in July 2010. This was the Kamuli district event and our pupils went on to compete and do well in the regional contest.
This was made possible, thanks to donations from supporters of Christian Relief Uganda, who also went out to enjoy a ‘Uganda Experience’ visit with Rhona Marshall.
Playing African instruments requires lots of serious concentration!
Music Festival winners
Godfrey contracted polio as an infant and the muscles in his legs never developed properly. He grew up at Mara’s Care, in Kamuli from the age of 12 years old. His usual means of travel was by swinging himself along the ground using a sandal on each hand. This never stopped him working hard at school. He went to Kamuli Parents’ Primary School, then on to schools in Jinja doing ‘O’ levels and ‘A’ levels, and eventually to study at Makerere University, Kampala.
An old hand-operated wheelchair he was given eventually gave up! But now through supporters help, it has been possible to get an electric wheelchair.
Godfrey's electric wheelchair en route
Thanks go to airline KLM for getting the chair through for us, and especially to ‘Helpful Hands’ in Macclesfield and travel agents ‘Opodo’s Customer Service team.
The chair went out in July with visitors to Mara’s Care and Godfrey was delighted!
Godfrey shares the moment in his new wheelchair with his friends.
Barbara Koffman has built up close working relationships with several of the local Ugandan dentists, one of whom, Gilbert Rwamwitani, joined a dental team and wrote a personal journal giving his impressions of his experiences. Gilbert Rwamwitani writes…‘One thing that I appreciate is that volunteers save up a lot of money and come miles to help our poor people – folk who would normally never get dental/oral attention…’
Click below to read more about Gilbert’s work and studies to influence Ugandan policy on Infant Oral Mutilation: Gilbert Rwamwitani
Gilbert being interviewed for a CRU video
Thank you to all those who are using Just Giving to send money to CRU since we launched the website.
With the very recent tough budget from the UK government, we wonder how this will affect giving to charity.
If you’d like to make a donation then
Just Giving is the easy way to do it.
Click on Donate Now box and you’re there.
It’s so quick.
Remember – your gift could change a life today
Learning together for hearing and deaf.
New Headteacher Mr. Ssembatya Moses and his staff have taken a great step forward in education with exciting results at K.P.P.S. (Kamuli Parents Primary School) at Maria’s Care. Since January 2010 the Unit for the Deaf and hearing impaired pupils has grown to 75 and now includes all Primary classes P1 through to P7. Finding staff to sign and specialise in Maths, Science, and English for the older classes is very difficult in Uganda. So integration in learning has proved the answer to improve standards for the deaf, who have to sit the same exams as the hearing children. Signing for deaf children is now part of joint classes for pupils of P6 and P7. There is an added benefit to hearing pupils because they are quickly learning signing too!
Integrated learning in P7 of deaf and hearing children
CRU Trustee Roger Hand spent four days staying at Mara’s Care in March and said,’ My overriding impression whilst there was the enthusiasm of the deaf children for learning. They enjoy being with the rest of the school, sharing lessons and excelling in music, drama and sports.’
James and Fiona were out in Uganda for 3 weeks in April as part of the dental mission.
They wrote: “From Jinja we would set off every weekday at 8am in a hired school bus. Our targets were surrounding villages that had been informed of our arrival in advance. There we would administer much-needed dental treatment to folk who have never had access to it. Imagine walking around for two years with toothache – this is commonplace.”
To read more click the link below -
Anne Powders writes about her experiences as part of the dental team who travelled around rural Uganda in April 2010:
“I have a real interest in working in different cultures and communities, so when I read about the dental projects and volunteer opportunities with Christian relief Uganda, I was eager to find out more, and possibly become a team member myself! This is my story… ”
Click here to read her whole report.