When friends of ours came to visit in the summer and we sent them out for the day to visit a children’s home we didn’t realise what we would start. The children’s home used to be based in Kampala and we supported them through our capacity building project here. However the rent for the property they were using was too high and the landlord was evicting them. Our project manager encouraged them to relocate outside of Kampala where they own land and establish themselves there. They have lots of land to be able to grow food and they wouldn’t be paying rent so they could use their few resources for other essential things.
The main problem with this plan was that the land they owned was basically a field. There was no property on the land so they relocated and lived in a large tent. Obviously not the ideal situation but less stressful than always struggling with rent and the threat of eviction. When our friends went to visit they were literally ”moved with compassion” and set about to try to raise money for the project to build two permenant houses, one for the boys and one for the girls. Within a few months they had the money and work began. Each week I am amazed at the process. Amazing how quickly things can happen when people put their minds to it.
- Week one – foundations are down
- Week two – walls are up
