Volunteers Needed for Our Partnership Project in Pakistan

Our partnership project in Pakistan is in need of volunteers. The political instability in Pakistan has made it harder to recruit volunteers for the project site. Yet, they would certainly appreciate any help.

The partnership project is a youth organization providing educational programmes for the local youth, with the vision of empowering the youth to seek employment in the future and to develop into fulfilled individuals. Volunteers can get involved in organizing educational activities for the youth, teaching, administrative tasks, fundraising, or any other useful activity that they and the host organization can think of.  

The project is located in Murree, in the Punjab region, not far from Islamabad. The area itself is safe and has not had any security threats for a very long time. Historically, the area has suffered from high youth unemployment, which is the reason for the project to have been initiated.

Volunteers do not need to pay towards any placement fees. They will lodge with a host family and also be treated to a couple of nights in a hotel by the host organization. All they need to pay for is their flight and insurance costs. During their stay in Murree, volunteers will also have a chance to visit other branches of the organization. All of such trips and airport pick up will take place in secure cars provided by the host organization. The organization welcomes volunteers at any time of the year, for any length of stay.

For more information on this opportunity, please contact: tiija.rinta@gmail.com.

For more information on Murree, please see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murree

Fellow Organisation in Palestine

I had the pleasure to meet an old friend recently when she popped over to London for a few days. She works for the UN in Palestine, in the Gaza district, and does some amazing work over there with organisations serving children who are physically or mentally disabled. 

In Palestine, there is still much stigma around issues to do with disability. Such children are often hidden away by their parents and so one would not see them on the street or have much contact with such children. In some cases, the treatment of disabled kids is disgusting. For example, there was a case when such kids were tied to a tree with ropes for days on end. 

My friend gave me a present from one organisation that she works with called Atfaluna. They do valuable work with disabled kids in the Gaza district. One aspect of their work is to have the kids and adults they work with do handicrafts and then sell them online and otherwise for fundraising purposes. The little handbag that I got is stunning traditional Arabic embroidery and a very special gift to anyone. 

Have a look at the organisation's website and see if you can support them by ordering any of their goods - as in many parts of the world now, the organistions in Gaza are also struggling financially and would appreciate any help!   

www.atfaluna.net

Scenic Update from Uganda 3

This year the school did very well at the national music competition. They came 6th in the region and enjoyed a 3-day camp in MBale town as part of the competition. 

A new IT project with 2 laptops is now taking place at the school. Both students and teachers are learning valuable IT skills. 

Scenic Update from Uganda 2

The new library building also has a hall that is now used for studying, teaching and events. 

A near-by school paid a surprise visit and brought shoes for all Year 5 and 6 students. 

Scenic Photo Update from Uganda 1

Here is a photo update from our partnership project from Uganda - enjoy the photos that take you on a journey of fab development during 2012:  

Solar lights that provide light during the dark hours and make the 12-hour day last longer. Now they are used by the project managers as well as the children to do work and study at might. 

New books in the library - the new library building is growing fast with new books and resources.

New Beds for Ugandan Orphans

Volunteer East received a generous donation of £500 from a private trust fund this August. It was agreed with the donor that the money would be spent on the Ugandan partnership project. 

In July, I discussed the donation with the project team in Uganda and we agreed that the money would be spend on new beds for orphans. The project now houses a number of new orphans due to landslides that keep taking place in the region and that keep leaving many children without parents and in need of a shelter to live under. Therefore, the project now has boarding facilities for orphans so that these children can receive an education and a brighter future. 

However, up until now, these orphans have had to live in crammed conditions, with many of them sharing a mattress as a bed. As a result, it has been easy for all kinds of illnesses and germs to spread and make the living conditions less than ideal. This is why new bunk beds are going to be purchased this week with the donation money. This way, the children will each have their own bed and more personal space. This is likely to result in less illness and better educational outcomes for the children. 

Photos of the new beds to follow soon. 

A huge thank you to the donor for choosing to support the project in Uganda! 

Volunteers and Child Sponsors needed for Ugandan partnership project

I have just come back from our partnership project in Uganda. I spent a month there, sorting out a donation for their library (we bought many new useful books) and for the new buildings that now function as dormitories for orphans who board at the school (we are planning to buy new beds and mattresses for them). 

Also a friend of mine came there with me and spent a month doing IT training with the teachers and pupils. She had successfully obtained funding for bringing two laptop tablets, solar lights and chargers for the project. All in all, this is a great new development for the project!

The project is going from strength and to strength and developing all the time. However, they are in need of volunteers who could go and stay there for a couple of months. They primarily need volunteers to come and look after the orphans that now live at the school. There was a landslide in March in a nearby village and the school now looks after some of the kids who were left orphan because of it. 

Volunteers are needed for:

* Daily caring for the orphans (cooking, cleaning, helping with homework etc..) 

* General help at the school (cover teaching, after-school clubs, assisting teachers etc.). 

The school is also looking for sponsors for the needy children who come from homes that can't afford their school fees. If the school gets more individual sponsors, all the orphans can keep studying at the school for free and thus receive the much needed education for their future. 

If you are interested in sponsoring a child with as little as £25 per term (there are 3 terms in a school year), please get in touch. You would be changing a child's life and also supporting the school to run and keep serving orphan and needy children.