The final budget at last!

After many weeks of discussions, negotiations, amendments, and corrections, at last the final and largest building budget for the Hostel has been agreed by Enos, Alfonse and our Emmanuel International missionary contact, Alan Parrett.
The work being quoted for is the fitting of 19 interior doors, the concrete floors of all the rooms and corridors, the interior plastering of all the rooms and corridors, wall and floor tiles for the toilets and showers, and the external rendering and cladding of the whole building.

This all adds up to 59,750,500 Ugandan shillings, or about £17,000.

Enos with two street boys outside the Hostel

In addition there is the cost of administration from January to April (about £750 for salaries, office rental and supplies), and all the costs of laying on a celebration and training day for the Hostel Opening on 24th March (about £1,000, for food for 50 street children and 100 invited guests, transport, hire of marquee and seating, public address, musicians and drama groups. You can't stint on such a day as this!).

Money in the UK Banks

We have got about £19,000 sitting in UK banks - the fruit of many months of generous giving by our donors - and we have been impatient to send it out and set it to work. The "OK!" from Alan only came late on Friday afternoon, but the bank's international money transfer system only works Monday to Friday, 10 till 3.30. So we can't send the money out till Monday!

But it is good that we have just about all we need to finish the building, with the exception of the verandas.

In June we expect to receive the tax repaid on Gift-Aided donations (I'm not sure yet how much that will be), so that will help towards any final jobs, and the furnishing.

But to get the place fully equipped will still need more money, so fund-raising continues.

chriscjenkin@aol.com