ABH Projects
Australia Bringing Hope’s CEO, Phill Grigg, has been permanently based in Kaihura, Uganda since January 2009. Prior to this ABH’s work in Uganda has involved short term visits, and while valuable outcomes have been achieved, having Phill residing in Uganda enables us to better assess needs and monitor all projects.
Beekeeping Project
Phill, an apiarist in South Australia, saw an opportunity to increase the quality and quantity of honey production in this part of Africa. Fully self- funded, Phill shipped his apiary equipment in a container to Uganda, which arrived in May 2009.
The beekeeping project is part of ABH’s Income Generating Project. The beekeeping project, while there have been many people interested in getting involved, is progressing slowly. We have had bees now for almost a year but there hasn’t been a lot of honey around. However, conditions at present are the best they have been for the past eighteen months. The honey plant is set up and is producing small amounts of honey which will increase as the number of hives grow. We hope that in the future there will be enough honey to export.
General Workshop
ABH’s main focus of the Income Generating Project is the workshop that carries out mechanical repairs, carpentry, welding / engineering and also electrical work, mainly house wiring. There are ongoing challenges in training the staff to a high standard and finding customers that are able to pay a fair price (as staff are often welding or repairing a vehicle for $1 an hour). In March we were completely self funded, however, the past four months we have only been able to earn enough to money to pay half of our wages. There are now a number of bigger and better-paying jobs, for example, one truck for an in-chassis engine rebuild, a pickup motor for a full rebuild, several steel windows and doors on order, and several pieces of furniture being made as well as daily small welding jobs, motorcycle repairs, and maize milling.
Phill and his team of staff are hoping to soon begin training young people from Dorcas Vocational School in mechanics, carpentry, welding and engineering. This enables ABH is train young people who otherwise wouldn’t have had these opportunities.
ABH until recently has been employing 14 staff members, but unfortunately due to insufficient funds we have had to put off five staff members. ABH employs a full time cook who gets paid $10 a week. She is very happy to have her job as she is now able to buy clothes for herself and her four children. ABH supplies the staff with lunch daily and for some this is their only meal for the day.
At the ABH income generation project, we have been trying to raise money for one of our mechanics, to help build him and his family a house. The Blyth Primary School has joined us and is busy raising money for Adolf and Jennifer and their three young children. Adolf lives about 14km away. He travels to Kaihura by taxi on Monday mornings and then stays in Kaihura until Friday night when he returns home. His wife, Jennifer, is left to look after their children as well as working in the garden. She cultivates by hand about three acres and harvests crops like maize by hand, picking up to one tonne of maize and then stripping off the grain by hand. She also does the usual jobs at home like washing clothes by hand, fetching water using jerry cans from the local well and cooking on an open water, of course getting firewood from about a kilometre away. Adolf and his family are currently living with Adolf’s father in a very small mud hut. Adolf earns about $20 a week but spends up to $10 per week on his food, transport and accommodation.
Bringing Hope to the Family’s (BHF) Projects
ABH partners with BHF and has been involved in supporting their projects since 2006.
BHF is committed to helping to improve the quality of life of orphans and vulnerable children within the Kyenjojo District. Since its operation, BHF has helped to bring hope to children whose lives have been severely impacted by HIV/AIDS, poverty, and unemployment by providing education, free health care, food, shelter, and life skills.
Supporters of ABH can donate specifically to these projects.
Orphan Support
BHF supports around 2600 orphans in Kaihura and throughout the broader Kyenjojo District, enabling them to have access to education and health care. BHF’s orphanage, Home Again, has over 70 babies and children in full-time care and the numbers continue to rise.
High Hope Nursery School
The nursery school is run by BHF. There are currently 51 students. The majority are orphans who are supported by BHF.
Dorcas Vocational School
Dorcas Vocational School caters to orphaned and vulnerable young people and enables them to complete their studies. Most of the students at Dorcas are orphans who hadn’t been able to attend school or hadn’t been able to complete their schooling as they were too busy helping to look after their siblings after having nursed their dying parents. Around 100 of the students live on-site in the Dorcas dormitory. There are numerous courses available, including tailoring, carpentry, metal fabrication, handcrafts, nursery school teaching, and agriculture. On completion of their courses, some students are employed by BHF, while others return to work in the community.
Dorcas had a graduation in late June 2010 and around 58 students graduated. The graduating students were all given something to start their new lives in the work force. The carpenters were given tools and the tailors were given a sewing machine each. These gifts were paid by Embrace Uganda, Global Support Mission and personally by ABH’s CEO, Phill. A few months ago, Phill was involved in picking up one of these students from her home. She is HIV positive and also had malaria and was so weak and underweight that they believed that she wouldn’t survive. Phill carried this girl into his vehicle himself and was so blessed to see her graduate.
Hope Again Medical Clinic
The Hope Again Medical Clinic was started by BHF in 2005. It treats about 2000 patients, the majority of these patients have HIV/AIDS. The clinic provides care and support to orphans, families and communities living with HIV/AIDS, including HIV testing, counselling services, treatment of infections, clinical care especially treatment of malaria and other communicable diseases, and home based care. The clinic also includes midwifery and many babies are delivered on site.
Agricultural Project
BHF has a ten acre property that was donated to the organisation by a local pastor. They grow vegetables and breed sheep, and grow enough to support themselves, with some extra to sell. BHF uses this resource to train students from Dorcas Vocational School in agriculture. BHF also provides 30 to 40 families training in agriculture.
Manufacturing of catch boxes (Bee Hives) to increase honey production.
