Planting for Hope Uganda

Bewdley Rotary Club member, Elaine James, visited in February 2018 the little bush village out in the sticks of Uganda called Kititi where Planting for Hope, Uganda (PFHU) are working hard to raise money to enable the people of the village to become self sufficient. Land bought by Bewdley Rotary is already planted with the crops growing well. The locals work hard in the fields from dawn to dusk.

I was amazed and impressed by the progression made since I last visited two years ago. Last time the Charity had just purchased a rundown school that was barely habitable but even so the teaching continued.

Now the Charity has raised money to almost rebuild the school and already accommodates children, some of whom board. Teachers have been retrained enabling the school to achieve the best results in the area.

However, the most notable achievement and major step forward must be the construction of the Borehole which Bewdley Rotary, in conjunction with Kinver Rotary raised money to pay for.

Before this the water was collected from a nearby swamp where cattle excrement and other unmentionable substances were washed in. I personally witnessed this and could not possibly begin to explain how awful it was. The locals had no choice but to gather water from there.

The Borehole is situated just inside the school grounds, which are also in walking distance from the village, enabling fresh water for all.

However, the work for PFHU is never ending and although the charity has achieved so much over the last few years, raising money is still an essential part of their work to enable the village to move forward to eventually become completely self sufficient.

A few years ago these people were just existing, but now they have a real goal in life and I have been asked, on behalf of PFHU, to thank Bewdley Rotary for their kind support and donations over the past months.