Monday 5 June 2017

Uganda: Mission Accomplished!

Team Uganda and The Inner Wheel of Kampala successfully completed our last bed-kit distribution on Friday in Banda. What a marvellous sight to see the smile of the 5,500th child receiving her bedkit!  We were all trying to make the most of our last day playing and singing with the children, and capturing those special memories to take back to our friends, family and future donors.




A long bus ride followed where we stayed near the 'Source of the Nile'.  The Inner Wheel women planned a special reception at the hotel where we shared tea and tasty treats.  The highlight of the evening was a round table discussion with each volunteer sharing a touching personal story experienced during this distribution.  There were many laughs, a few tears and lots of fun! Saturday morning we toured the 'Source of the Nile'.  We ventured onto a small wooden boat to experience the birds and plants before visiting the exact spot where the Nile River begins from Lake Victoria.  It then flows 4000 miles before reaching the Mediterranean Sea. 


Sunday was a day of closure with the Inner Wheel Club of Kampala.  Team leaders met to review the financial records and evaluate the success of the bedkit distribution.  Then everyone attended a lovely dinner and an evening of fun to celebrate the conclusion of our journey together.  There were silly skits and lots of laughs, as well as sincere words of appreciation for the great contributions made by both the SCAW travelling volunteers and the Inner Wheel women.  They had a lovely cake made to acknowledge the contributions of both teams working together to successfully deliver 5,500 bedkits.  The SCAW team presented the Inner Wheel women with Canadian maple leaf scarves as a token of our appreciation for their hard work and partnership.  These amazing women have been partnering with SCAW for about 25 years, working tirelessly each year to register the neediest children, purchasing and packing the chosen bed-kit items, and then joining us for the actual distributions of bed-kits.  We are lucky to be connected with such a dedicated group of passionate women.


This morning we visited the uniform factory where the clothing was made for this year's distribution.  Unique Uniforms is a modern factory that designs, cuts, sews, irons, and embroiders school and workplace uniforms.  It was interesting to hear how the owner of the factory started his business with only 2 sewing machines and is now able to employ 135 Ugandan workers. 



Well, this is the end of our journey.  Thank you for following our distributions over the past two weeks and offering your support from Canada.  It makes a difference to know that others care about our work to improve the lives of 5,500 children in Uganda.


Signing off!

Team Uganda 2017
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