It is always exciting when one of our shipments of items donated in UK arrives at our projects. In October 2019 we were able to pick up 34 boxes and 12 sewing machines which had departed UK in December 2018!
A massive thanks goes to Tools With A Mission (TWAM) and especially the team in Ipswich UK and Margaret at MindSet in Uganda who help us with shipping and had been patiently storing the boxes for us, waiting for our Trustees to pick them up.
Every item sent was successfully delivered to Bwindi. They included hundreds of story and information books for our libraries including hundreds of books donated by Hanwood School in Shropshire as well as many others. The books were taken to our existing three libraries and more than 200 have been taken to Mgahinga where a new library will be opened in early 2020.
There were also hundreds of pencils, pens and rulers donated through Pens 4 Kids UK thanks to Malcolm and Charlotte in Northants. Some of these have already gone out to schools with the rest being kept for the new school year in February 2020.
The sewing machines were mostly used to help graduates of the Bwindi Community Vocational School set up on their own, although one was donated to a school leaver, Ellon, in Kyeshero village who had shown great initiative and persistence in her desire to make a future for herself despite having no chance to attend further education beyond primary school. Another was taken to Rushaga Community Primary School so that they can start to teach tailoring skills and may have the chance to make school uniforms from school.
Our next shipment will leave UK in early 2020 and contains over 2000 books for the libraries.
