On our
July 2013 trip to Uganda, our van turned onto the road to St. Lawrence School
and unexpectedly followed the water truck, which was delivering water for St.
Lawrence School’s 500 students. It
contained six large drums with water for cooking and washing to be emptied and
stored in the school’s underground reservoir.
As we toured the school’s grounds with the Head Master, we saw the
workers positioning a makeshift gutter to funnel the water from the first tank.
As the water flowed by, I could not
believe what I was seeing.
The water was
literally yellow/green!! And this is the
water our children wash and cook their food with!! How could this be!! Where did the water come
from? It couldn’t be the pond, could it? The question was screaming in my mind.
We had
just come from the stagnant pond that collects the run off in the rainy season.
It hadn’t rained since the middle of May.
The pond water was green and the deep footprints of the cows were hardened
in the dried mud where the water had receded.
I knew this was the source of the community’s water which the women and
children lug one to 4 miles in 40lb yellow jerry cans each day to their
homes. What I didn’t know was this is
where the water came from when our school’s four 5,000-liter tanks are
empty. With conservative use these tanks
can supply water for 31 days. Now they stand waiting for the next storm which is not expected until September.
If it
is bad now, what will it be like in August?
And our patients in the health center. Can you imagine running a health center with inpatient beds for patients with malaria, HIV, accidents, labor and delivery without clean water? Today we don't even think of typhoid but our children and family members know it well. Why? poor hygiene due to lack of clean water.
You can help make a difference.
I am
writing to to ask you to help us make a difference and bring clean
water to the children of St. Lawrence School and the patients at the Migyera
Health Center. One of their most important basic needs is clean water. In the area served
by CALU, women and children spend hours walking to ponds to collect small
amounts of water, much of which is contaminated, making it the source of
illnesses such as typhoid and malaria.
In addition to the health risks associated with unsafe
water, the daily task of acquiring water for a family is time-consuming, thus
impacting women’s ability to work and children to attend school, and can be
very dangerous. These are the overriding reasons CALU has undertaken Quarters
for Water, a plan to bring a permanent solution to provide clean water for
students of St. Lawrence School, the health center and the rural village of
Migyera.
How you can help.....................
Through donations from US
school children and others we are raising the funds to provide clean drinking
water for our school and health center. A deep 512’ well is dug, a pump house built
and a 50,000 L water tower constructed.
We
need $30,000 to finish the project to lay 1.5 miles of pipe to connect the well
to the water tower and to distribute water from the tower to the health center,
school and community.
What we saw this
summer makes finishing this project before the next dry season imperative.
Give on line at www.changealifeuganda.org. $20 buys one yard of pipe! Attend an event during Fr. Lawrence's visit in September, donate a gift for the silent auction and become a sponsor.
Join us as we celebrate another year of giving:
- Friday, September 13th cocktail party, “Turning Wine into Water”, Lambertville NJ 08530, 7:00-9:30pm hosted by Johnelle Whipple
- Wednesday, September 18, 2013 6 – 8pm “Turning Wine into Water”, Beaverbrook Country Club, Annandale, NJ hosted by Rosemary Carroll and Alison Josyln.
- Saturday, September 14th cocktail party in Old Tappan...location and time TBD
- Friday, September 20, 2013, 6pm – 8pm, West Lake Golf and Country Club, Jackson, NJ 08527 honoring Dawn Mazarella for her contribution to CALU children and families.
- Saturday, September 21, 2013, 4 – 10pm ChangeALife Uganda Festival, Knightsbridge Farm, Middletown, NJ. Music, Crafts, Games, African Food.
Please go to our Facebook page to purchase tickets for the Festival,
Beaverbrook and West Lake Events or contact Kerry Chandler at kboo@aol.com for the Festival and Kathleen Brown
at kcb313@gmail.com for the other events.
We are planning a “silent auction” and
are in need of donations.
We would appreciate it if you could donate some of
your
business’s goods and/or services to our gift auction or raffle.
All monies raised will go directly
to
providing clean drinking water to our children.
Donations can be picked up by us or mailed to:
ChangeALIfe Uganda, 46 Oakmont Lane, Jackson, NJ 08527.
Thank you for your
support.
Jean Semler, President of ChangeALife Uganda
We invite you to become a sponsor for our CALU Festival as indicated below.
Grand Nile Sponsor $5000.00
Company or Family Name and or Logo on welcome sign
Name and logo on website
Appropriate promotion throughout CALU digital and social media activities
Name/logo in pre-event Publicity
Presentation on stage
Dedicated slide in slide show
8 tickets
Photos with Father Lawrence
1 dedicated email blast to CALU database
Event Photo Book Featured page
Lake
Victoria Sponsor 2500.00
Company or Family Name and logo
on stage
Listing on website
6 tickets to event
Photos with Father Lawrence
Name and Logo in sponsorship email
blast to database
Placement in Sponsors Slide in
slideshow
Event photo book
Lake
Albert Sponsor 1000.00
Company or Family name on driveway approach
Name and picture on special sponsor board
Picture with Father Lawrence
6 tickets
Name on web page
Event photo book
Lake
Kayoga Sponsor 500.00
Company or Family name on sponsor board
Picture with Father Lawrence
Listing on Web Page
4 tickets (2 adult and 2 children)
Lake
Bisina Sponsor 250.00
Family name on Sponsor Board
4 tickets (2 adult and 2 children)
