A Frustrating Meeting!

© Carol Allen Storey

We are planning an Exhibition of Carol Allen Storey's photographs of the Kasese Street Kids. It is to be in the beautiful Parish Church of Holy Trinity, Kendal.

We have brought a small Committee together to plan this; it includes

· an artist-cum-printer, who will print, mount and frame the large (A2) black-and-white photographs;

· A local businessman and entrepreneur, with many contacts around the county;

· the wife of our Bishop;

· a churchwarden of the Parish Church;

· another man who has agreed to be on the Committee but was away yesterday is a retired doctor with a lot of experience of Médecins Sans Frontières

· and Mary and me.

The Committee met yesterday for the first time in the Parish Church. We found the church was in chaos, setting up tiered seating for a forthcoming concert. We started our meeting in the church office - but a few minutes later had to leave there as someone had to do a mass of photocopying. So we went into the church side-chapel, where we had to compete with thunderous organ music!

However some useful decisions were made, like where in the church the Exhibition would be, and that we could use the church's own display board system.

However one critical factor is cost - to print and frame these large photographs (measuring 2 feet or more) will cost about £500; add lighting, publicity, food and drink for the Guest Preview etc... It all adds up.

We are NOT prepared to divert money donated for the Street Kids project to pay Exhibition costs; so we will need sponsors. Various local businesses were suggested as worth approaching - but the present climate is tough for many businesses. Without sponsorship, we can't go ahead. (Any volunteers out there?)

Radio Broadcast

Tomorrow, Wednesday, we have been asked to do a broadcast on BBC Radio Cumbria – just taking part, by phone, in a chat programme. We are always glad of any means of spreading the message – though media coverage seldom, of itself, leads to donations.

£100

However we did get a donation of £100 yesterday! Some old friends had been watching Comic Relief – I don’t know if they donated to that, but they said that it all reminded them of our project, and so £100 was added to our funds via www.justgiving.com/kasesestreetkids!

Kasese Accountant appointed

This is Moses, who has been appointed as the Accountant for the SKILL project in Kasese. He is a trained accountant, who has been working for a Youth Organization (Young and Powerful Initiative) linked with the Church of Uganda. Now he will be working full-time for SKILL, and sending monthly reports and statements both to Alan Parrett in Kampala (the Emmanuel International In-Country rep for Uganda) and to us in Cumbria.

We have always felt that it is enormously important to ensure that money - given so generously and indeed sacrificially by people in UK - is being properly spent and accounted for. (You hear so many horror stories of money for Third World projects apparently disappearing into a hole in the ground!)

So we are now in a position to send more funds out to Uganda, for the next stages of the work. This includes all the windows and doors for the Hostel, as well as plastering the outside latrine, and paying for a night watchman.

More fund raising: Mary and I have two speaking engagements this week, at a WI and a Mothers' Union group; and also a meeting to plan a Dinner-Concert in June.

Some more generous people!

In recent weeks we have been receiving several kind donations.

We gave a PowerPoint presentation to Colby WI (near Appleby) and were given over £100. (That evening was nearly a disaster - the laptop/projector interface wasn't working - luckily a lady could pop home and get her laptop, then all went well!)

Then last Sunday I was preaching at Newbiggin-on-Lune Methodist Church, and just mentioned the Street Kids in passing; and came home with £60!

Today there was £300 in the post from Appleby Rotary Club (we spoke there a month ago).

And this afternoon we spoke to Flookburgh Mothers' Union, and they not only said nice, appreciative things about our presentation, but gave us donations totalling £100.

All very encouraging!