£7,500 sent out to Kasese

Work on the Hostel building has been at a standstill for a while - which we found frustrating, as we want this little lad to be able to stop scrabbling in the rubbish tips and have a home there and be looked after!

But at last the budgets for the next two phases of the building work have been agreed - the electrics, and the plumbing - and Alan is satisfied that they are fair (there were questions on why the electric budget was so much more now than the first figures in October 2010; it was that a third solar panel, and a lightning conductor, had been added).

So he has asked Emmanuel International HQ in Sussex to send out £7,500 (31,670,000 Ugandan shillings).

Hopefully this will allow Enos in Kasese, and the accountant Moses, to engage the electricians and plumbers to start their work.

Two kind donations

Our village school had their end-of-term show - two performances before all the parents and other friends of the school - and the retiring collection was divided between the school funds and Kasese Street Kids; and we were in due course given a bag of coins and notes worth £87. Thank you, children and teachers - and generous parents!

On Sunday 24th, we had been invited to take a service at a little village church south of Kendal; we got a lovely welcome, I preached, and this led into a fairly brief PowerPoint presentation. People were very appreciative, and we came home with £120. Some people took away our leaflets, and so it is possible that further cheques may come in the post in the coming days!

All very encouraging.

chriscjenkin@aol.com

Adoption of SKILL by Emmanuel International

On Friday 15th July, the Board of Emmanuel International agreed formally to adopt SKILL (Street Kids Information and Learning for Life - the name for Kasese Street Kids used in Uganda) as an E.I. Project.

Emmanuel International (www.eiuk.org.uk/cms) has been our "umbrella" organization from the start, especially because Alan and Cheryl Parrett, who are EI missionaries, were our hosts for both our visits to Kasese. Alan continued to supervise all the work, and especially was overseeing the financial accountability systems. The Parretts are now based in Kampala as EI In-Country Reps, but still visit Kasese regularly (despite the 8-hour drive), and check carefully that money sent out from UK for SKILL is being properly used and accounted for - an absolutely vital function.

We have also been able to send out funds via EI, and as they are a registered charity (which KSK is not) it has meant that gifts through EI can be Gift Aided.

Now, however, we have been formally adopted as an EI project, and this should lead to stronger links between us.

One of the ways in which EI operates is to send out teams of young people, for short or medium terms, to work under the supervision of the In-Country Rep, on a variety of tasks, always in co-operation with the local church. Perhaps such a team will be able to go out, from UK or Canada (EI is an Anglo-Canadian Mission) to work with the street children, maybe once the Hostel is complete and open to receive the children.

The fund-raising goes on

A generous church
Trinity Church, Barrow, which we visited on June 12th, had a two-week retiring offering for Kasese Street Kids, and the result was the magnificent sum of £993.90. We are so grateful to those generous folk!
Primary Schools
We have also been encouraged by various village schools locally.
* Tebay School have given us a cheque for £74.75.
* Warcop School invited us to do an Assembly, and have promised some fund-raising.
* Orton School had their End of Term Summer Show last night, and took a retiring collection - half for school funds, and half for Kasese Street Kids.
Private Schools
We have invitations to visit some private schools next term - some definite dates, other provisional bookings; and donations are likely to result from these.

Photographic Exhibition

Plans for the Photographic Exhibition are proceeding - in the beautiful Holy Trinity Parish Church, Kendal, in October and November.

Invitations to the Guest Preview on 13th October, addressed by Margaret Sentamu, have been sent out to 80 head teachers of schools in south Cumbria; and a mailing list is being prepared of clergy, Rotary Club presidents, and various distinguished citizens of the county, who will also be invited - but those invitations won't go out till late August.

Carol Allen Storey, the photojournalist whose work is being featured, hopes to come, and has suggested another meeting, perhaps next day, in which she could speak about her work and experiences in Africa.

We would invite photgraphic and arts societies, journalists, and students doing photography or journalism.

It would all help to raise the profile of Kasese Street Kids.