Who will I be helping?

All the money raised through the sale of the beautiful handmade products in our shop are used to provide education grants to children like Jaliya who have been orphaned by hiv and/or have been born with hiv so they can complete the basic primary education that is vital to their future….but you’ll be doing much than helping to pay school fees…

Jaliya Nankandi, aged 11 

After losing both her parents to aids she was sent to live with her uncle in Bwaise, a slum area in Kampala, Uganda. For months Jaliya was forced to live in her uncle’s outhouse: a hut barely high enough for a 7 year old child to stand up in.

She slept on a sack in the corner, she was banned from touching the family plates and soap and was forbidden from playing with her cousins or attending school.

Knowing her parents died from Aids her uncle feared she might also be ill and “contaminate” his own children, he kept her in total isolation and half starved.In May 2007, after hearing reports from neighbors of a sick child,

Regina , a member of the Tusitukirewamu Women’s Group, found Jaliya. She had a swollen stomach; the rest of her was painfully thin. Her arms and legs were covered in red bumps and she was coughing blood.

After much persuasion, her uncle allowed Regina to take his niece to hospital but doctors demanded a relative be present before they would treat the child. The uncle was cajoled into accompanying them the next day. Jaliya was found to be HIV-positive and suffering from tuberculosis.

Three years later, Jaliya’s life has been transformed. She now lives with Regina, whom she calls "jaja" or granny, she is healthier, happier and one of the top pupils in her class.

The grants and how they work

Although primary education is 'free' in Uganda there are many hidden costs (school uniforms, shoes, school dues, lunch, books and pens etc) that means education is out of reach for children these children.

Most of the children are living with a guardians who also have hiv or extended families, hunger is a problem as most guardians struggle to earn enough to buy food for more than one meal a day – this is especially dangerous for our kids as most are on anti retroviral treatment or other meds for hiv or related illnesses which must be taken with food.

To help them look after the children better we provide a small start up grant to help them build income generating business.

a. 66600/= (£23) school fees each of the three terms in a year (for seven years) = £483

b. 180,000/=(£62) per year for warm clothing, mosquito net, mattresses, school uniform and scholastic materials.

c. And 200,000/= (£69) per year as support to a small business of the guardian of the child. The total per child is: £483 + £62 + £69 = £613.

The more money we raise the more children like Jaliya we can help.

Read about Edrine, 8 years, and his mum Nakuya