This content comes from Jenny's Newsletter of Home Sweet Home Orphanage.
Please read through and if anyone is interested in sponsoring any of these children please email me at renata_em@yahoo.ca or post a message on this blog with your email and I will respond to your request.
On behalf of the children and Jennifer, THANK YOU for taking the time,
Renata :-)
Message from Jennifer Martin
It’s been a year since I launched a modest but determined initiative to support the thirty children residing at Home Sweet Home Orphanage in rural uganda. These children are thirty of the 2.3 million orphans in Uganda today. One million of whom have been orphaned due to AIDS.
Growing up in an institution is a poor substitute for a loving home. Often isolated from surviving family members and under the care of one “Auntie”, the children at Home Sweet Home Orphanage are greatly lacking in love and attention. The orphanage offers shelter and one daily meal but struggles to meet the children’s growing need for education, medical treatment and psychosocial care.
While the challenges these children face are tremendous, with access to education, proper care
and encouragement these children can thrive. With the services of Just Care in Uganda and your support we can ensure that they do. Because of your generosity all the school-aged children are now attending a local primary school where, in addition their classes, the students are receiving two daily meals. Furthermore, the children are now accessing medical care as needed thanks to your donations.
This is our first newsletter and it is an opportunity to share in detail our accomplishments of our first year as well as share our ambitions for the upcoming year. On behalf of the children and myself thank you for your support.
BACK TO SCHOOL
Currently we have seventeen children enrolled at Tower Primary School. In addition to their tuition the children receive a uniform, school supplies and two daily meals. With seven new children at
the orphanage and the little ones reaching school age we will be sending twenty-five children to school in the new year!
WATER
The orphanage director is constructing a well on site to bring potable water to the orphanage.
Clean water will greatly improve the children’s health and mean a lot less time spent fetching water!
HAPPY FEET
Two of our supporters funded the repairs needed in the children’s dormitory. Some of the bedding
was replaced and a concrete floor poured. With the dust gone the children are experiencing fewer parasitic foot infections are taking much more pride in keeping the dormitory clean!
WELLSPRING CHILDREN’S MEDICAL CENTRE
To date 73 visits have been made to the medical clinic where the children have received treatment for malaria, waterborne illnesses and communicable infections. In the new year the children will begin receiving medical care at Wellspring Children’s Medical Centre. The clinic provides excellent medical care and has an ambulance service with a well reputed hospital. The clinic shares the same site as the children’s school, which means the children and staff can access medical care just two kilometers from the orphanage!
AMBITIONS
In the spring I will be returning to Uganda. The return trip will allow me to implement new programs to better care for the children’s physical and developmental needs. My goal is to improve the children’s nutritional and health status, to better meet their psychosocial needs and to develop a care plan for the HIV+ children. My hope is to help the children of Home Sweet Home Orphanage access the following: a nutritious breakfast; the care of a social worker; and monitoring and treatment for those who are HIV+.
Breakfast Program
Outside of the meals provided at school, the children receive one
daily meal at the orphanage. In the spring we will introduce a
breakfast program of Corn Soy Blend; a nutrient rich porridge.
The added nutrition will allow the children to recover from
malnutrition and will minimize visits to the clinic.
Grief Counseling
These children have faced tremendous obstacles in their lives. Many watched their parents
succumb to AIDS and later were abandoned by extended family. Hiring a social worker to provide
programming and counseling will help the children work through issues of grief and loss and to
build healthy coping strategies.
HIV Positive
The HIV+ children living at the orphanage require extra care to
minimize infections, to access proper treatment and to meet their
unique dietary needs. With the guidance of specialists in the field of
pediatric HIV/AIDS we are developing a treatment regimen to
ensure these children remain healthy and enjoy quality of life.
To Donate:
This initiative is solely funded by donations. All donations go directly to the children and are greatly appreciated. All administrative costs and travel expenses are self-funded. Cheques can be made payable to Jennifer Martin in trust. Note: As we do not have charitable status we unfortunately cannot issue tax receipts.
Contact:
Jennifer Martin
e-mail: martin.grad.2008@gmail.com
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