Child of Hope's slum kids' Christmas party

Child of Hope reports its children's slum Christmas party was a massive success with lots of gifts, dances, songs and presentations... for more pictures, click here: http://www.childofhopeuganda.org/latest-news/pics-kids-christmas-party/

Have a very happy Christmas!

Festive greetings from Lucy, Brian and Sophie and all the staff of Store & Secure self-storage at Bournemouth and Basingstoke.

Store & Secure get up front

Staff at Store & Secure enjoyed trade magazine exposure this month, but were surprised to see their Lucy Maidman Lucy on the front cover!: http://www.themover.co.uk/features/2017/11/14/building-a-self-storage-empire.

Child of Hope: Love came down

The children from Child of Hope’s slum school were very excited to be involved in a new project singing on a new Christmas song. You can hear it, and six more, by clicking here...

Child of Hope's 2018 Christmas videos

In the build-up to the slum kids' amazing Christmas party, Child of Hope will post a very short video each day, right up to the party. Please donate to help us run a whopping party and meal for them all!

Click here to donate!
https://www.justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/childofhopeuganda/slum-christmas-party

Store & Secure appealing for toy donations for sick children

Lucy and Sophie will personally help the charity - Amelia’s Rainbow Fund - deliver toys to families. Some will be delivered to children in local hospitals on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Donations of new toys can be made at Store & Secure up to Dec 12.

https://www.storeandsecure.co.uk/self-storage-news/please-donate-toys/

Child of Hope's slum Christmas Party appeal

Child of Hope launched its annual appeal to run a party for the 550 slum who attend its school in Uganda. Could you donate, please?

https://www.justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/childofhopeuganda/slum-christmas-party

Slum fostering update

Child of Hope has now successfully placed 18 of its orphaned or vulnerable school children in 11 foster homes, even though fostering or caring for someone outside their own wider family or clan is pretty much unheard of in Uganda.

http://www.childofhopeuganda.org/latest-news/fostering-expands/

New premium rooms - drive-up, 24/7

Store & Secure self-storage loves the first of its new-style 200 sq ft drive-up rooms, now in place at its Bournemouth facility.

https://www.storeandsecure.co.uk/self-storage-news/247-premium-rooms/

The water's back!

Child of Hope's Ugandan slum school taps are flowing with water again… after they ran dry for a whole month. 

http://www.childofhopeuganda.org/latest-news/we-have-water-again/

Child of Hope Uganda: Exam time

It was Child of Hope’s third year of Primary leaving exams (PLE) last week; if pupils pass this exam they can go on to secondary school; if not we will train them with vocational skills and possibly find apprenticeships.

http://www.childofhopeuganda.org/latest-news/examination-time/

Give a toy and give a smile to a sick child this Christmas

Kind Store & Secure self-storage staff are really getting behind an annual toy appeal for children in hospital – run by local charity Amelia’s Rainbow Fund – they’re going to help them deliver toys to families – and act as a drop-off point to receiving toys from donors, too.

https://www.storeandsecure.co.uk/self-storage-news/toy-appeal-2/

Bakery dream comes true

It took just a year – now this single mother’s dream of having her own bakery business is the way she supports her large slum family. 

http://www.childofhopeuganda.org/latest-news/bakery-dream-reality/

Child of Hope: We grew that!

Drying rice on plastic sheets in front of its Ugandan slum school; it will help feed the children at their upcoming annual Christmas party. childofhopeuganda.org/latest-news/we-grew/

Store & Secure eNewsletter

Occasional email newsletter for Store & Secure with a round-up of news and photography we have produced for them. In this issue:

• Its Bournemouth self-storage facility has won ‘Best Independent Facility 2017’ for the whole of the UK – for the second time in four years!

• Both its Bournemouth and Basingstoke facilities have gained British Quality Standard BS EN 15696:2008

• Colin Morris promoted him to facility manager at the Bournemouth branch.

• 3rd sign-written vehicle

• The secure yards at the Bournemouth and Basingstoke self-storage facilities are among the first locations for a pure water filling station for window cleaners… and the Bournemouth station features in the company’s promotional video!

Betty's wedding

CHILD OF HOPE, MBALE, UGANDA: one of the NGO's longest-serving staff members, Betty, was married on Saturday at St. Andrew's cathedral.  http://www.childofhopeuganda.org/latest-news/bettys-wedding/

Store & Secure self-storage: Ultra-pure water for window cleaners

Photography and online PR to announce that Spotless Water pure water filling stations for window cleaners are now hosted at the secure yards at Store & Secure's Bournemouth and Basingstoke self-storage facilities. The Bournemouth station features in Spotless’ promotional video (below)!

https://www.storeandsecure.co.uk/self-storage-news/ultra-pure-water/

Child of Hope: Betty’s introduction

This was the traditional Ugandan form of a wedding engagement for Betty, one of our longest-serving staff members at CoH Uganda... read more and see more pics: childofhopeuganda.org/latest-news/introducing-betty-and-sam/

New apprentice Ellie is settling in well

Groveley Precision Engineering: Latest addition to the workforce is engineering apprentice Elisha (Ellie) Hancock. Now, 20% of the current workforce have come through Groveley's apprenticeship scheme. Read more: groveley.co.uk/latest-news/articles/new-apprentice-ellie

Online PR and photography by Phil Dowding.

Store & Secure promotes Colin to facility manager

Bournemouth self-storage company Store & Secure has promoted Colin Morris to facility manager. Read more: storeandsecure.co.uk/self-storage-news/promotion-colin/

New video: Child of Hope’s family support team in action

Child of Hope's Family Support Unit in action from Child of Hope on Vimeo.

The social impact of a slum Family Support team in action, seen in this 3-minute video... read more: childofhopeuganda.org/latest-news/new-video-child-hopes-family-support-team-action/

Top award... again!

They did it... Bournemouth-based Store & Secure self-storage has won a top industry award – for the second time in four years!

For details: storeandsecure.co.uk/self-storage-news/top-award-won/

Child of Hope: Betty is prospering with pigs

With a large family to support and in her mid-fifties, slum mum Betty wondered what more she could do to secure a steady income. She owns some semi-permanent slum homes that bring her a modest rental income, but as a single mum with many family members dependent upon her, the monthly family expenditure has always exceeded the rental income.

Well, on the advice of Child of Hope’s IGA team, a sceptical Betty bought four piglets as a further investment. The piglets prospered under her attentive care and, as adults, have produced a further fifteen piglets! Betty has sold two of the adults to supplement the family income and is excited by the prospect of extending her family’s prosperity – all thanks to the new piggery business. 

The Income Generating Activity scheme is bringing lasting change to numerous families in Namatala, lifting them from poverty to self-sufficiency. Could you help support the team that trains the mums with a £10 regular donation each month? If so, please click here!

Shoot and eat

Great fun photoshoot this week at cafe/restaurant/bar Cargo Lounge in Broadstone – to help promote its amazing new buffet selection.

After we photographed the food... we ate it. Delicious.

William and Lynnette provide the buffet for corporate and private functions from quantities of six upwards.

They make everything with ingredients from local suppliers based on quality not price, and it’s all made fresh on the premises, cooked to order. And they do extensive vegetarian and vegan versions. You can find them at www.cargolounge.co.uk

Child of Hope: Nursery teamwork

Our nursery teachers are pioneering an effective learning system for children that you won’t see in other nursery schools in Uganda.

On the whole, nursery education in Uganda involves children sitting in rows and repeating whatever the teacher says. They then struggle with a pencil and an exercise book for a bit, copying whatever shapes the teacher has put on the blackboard and then they go outside to go and play on the swings. But – thanks to input from various British education professionals that have helped us – that’s very different to what happens at Child of Hope!

In our nursery, teachers use a highly-organised system of several different activities happening at the same time in the same class (and sometimes going outside for some activities) based around group work. This helps children with their social skills and at the same time encourages creativity. The various activities mean that usually there is something during every lesson which every child will be good at – and they will also have an activity that they find challenging. For example – some kids are good with written work, others are good with more practical playing skills, others are better at oral/listening activities. It also means that they don’t get bored!

Of course, it does require the teacher to be super-organised ahead of every lesson, and needs extra adult help (teaching assistants) during the lesson to ensure all the groups are progressing well. The teacher then keeps an eye out for any particular children who are struggling in order to give them specialist attention. Our use of phonics is going particularly well.

http://www.childofhopeuganda.org/latest-news/nursery-teamwork/

Child of Hope: Sickle cell – the fight is on

Two of our pupils, Andrew and Rachel, suffer from sickle cell disease, which affects the blood of some African children. It can cause anaemia which leads to terrible pain in the body and sadly often leads to an early death.  

Rachel (6 years old) was diagnosed recently by our local friendly clinic run by a British GP. Now we ensure she receives daily dosage of folic acid to boost blood production in her body. She also joined our nutrition programme, giving her extra fruit, vegetables and carbs to give her the best chance. Even with this intervention, she occasionally becomes very sick and ends up admitted at Joy Hospice. 

Andrew (13 years old) is currently in P6 (penultimate year of primary) and hopes to become a civil engineer when he grows up – helping to construct roads and build bridges in Uganda. He comes from a very poor family and was abandoned by his parents – he now stays with his Uncle who also struggles financially. Lately his sickle cell crises have been increasing in frequency and severity, requiring him to be admitted at JOY Hospice several times to be transfused with extra blood. Now we have started him on a drug called Hydroxyurea which should, in the long term, reduce the number of times he has to be transfused. We hope to start Rachel on this medication too. 

These drugs cost about £15 per month but we hope that, when Andrew starts his civil engineering job, he’ll be able to pay for them himself!

http://www.childofhopeuganda.org/sickle-cell-fight

Entire Badjao village burned down in Philippines

Disaster Emergency bulletin from The Fathers Refuge on Palawan...

Sunday 3rd September began like any other day at the Badjao village in Puerto Princess on the Philippine island of Palawan... until a fire broke out that destroyed the whole settlement in just two torrid hours. More than 1,500 people lost everything, although miraculously no lives were lost.

In one fell swoop four hundred families lost their homes and almost all of their belongings. Most escaped with just the clothes they where wearing.

The village captain sorted out emergency food, portable toilets and bivouacs for night shelter. He pleaded for fresh clothes and underwear and a wash kit for all the women. So on Monday the team went to buy, pack and hand out 560 parcels. As well as bringing comfort these distributions have lifted the women's self esteem significantly.

The Badjao have always been a rejected people and have lived on the brink of survival, building shanty villages in the shallows near the land. A key role for The Father's Refuge team now is to advocate on their behalf for a suitable piece of land to be granted, which is near enough to the sea for them to maintain their traditional livelihood as fishermen and pearl divers.

In 2015 The Fathers Refuge team spent seven months building the only safe pathway in the community and a spacious, well equipped centre for education, ministry, food distribution and health care (both pictured right). The end-of-jetty is all that remains. They named the pathway Tulay ng Buhay (Bridge to Life) – which became prophetic as the major reason there was no loss of life was this stable and wide escape route.

Please can you lend a hand?

The Fathers Refuge has opened a special emergency fund in partnership with UK charity Tikvah Trust, and is inviting help so they can supply essential needs to the community in the short term and help with the resettlement longer term. Each clothes pack with wash kit costs £10 and a simple charcoal burner with cooking pots, plates and ladles costs £20.

Donations may be given through online banking to Tikvah Trust:
• Account No: 00010540
• Sort code: 40-52-40
Please put reference 'Badjao' and 100% of your gift will reach this needy community because all the staff, transport and administration costs are already covered.

We can vouch for The Fathers Refuge.. our son works there and we have visited the Badjao village twice before it was destroyed. Please help if you can.

www.palawanrescue.org

Child of Hope: There’s a transformation in the slum

Here’s a new video that lets you see into all the work Child of Hope does to help alleviate poverty in the Namatala slum. It’s more documentary in style than our usual videos (where you need to have a hankie ready!)… a great summary for anyone who hasn’t been to Uganda to see the work for yourself.

There's a transformation in the slum from Child of Hope on Vimeo.

Shortlisted for national award – again

They can't help being excited... Store & Secure Bournemouth has reached the finals of the UK Independent Facility of the Year Award... for the fourth year running!

Fore more detail: storeandsecure.co.uk/self-storage-news/shortlisted-award-4th-year/

Store & Secure: It's airshow time!

Castlepoint-based Store & Secure welcomed crews and visitors in Bournemouth for the town's annual airshow.

Child of Hope: The Fixer

A former Ugandan street kid is now training as an electrician with good prospects of a future job.

Child of Hope primarily takes in nursery-age children, giving them support and education throughout their school life. Occasionally they step in to help older ones; here’s one of them…

Former street kid Elijah went to Mbale Secondary School, paid for by a local charity called Child Restoration Outreach (CRO). However, his funding ended at the equivalent of ‘O’ level, which didn’t give him a qualification for employment. So, at the age of 18, Child of Hope initially employed him as a classroom assistant in the nursery. He spent two years there, and then transferred to classroom assistant in the primary department for one year, which he really enjoyed.

However, Elijah always wanted to be an electrician, repairing appliances, so we paid for him to attend a three-year course with Christian Childcare Project (CCP) which includes vocational training. He is now in the middle of the second year and is already making great progress.

So, when the washing machine at Bex and Moses’ home stopped working, Elijah dismantled it and – with help from his tutor – got it working again. While there he also fixed a table lamp and a kettle, both of which had also stopped working; and at the church he dismantled an old electric piano keyboard and managed to repair the keys on it that had broken. That is now being used alongside a new one that was recently donated to replace it.

We love this… a young man originally with little or no prospect of a future has been transformed by the intervention of CRO and Child of Hope… and he is well on his way to becoming equipped to earn a good, honest living in his adult life.

http://www.childofhopeuganda.org/latest-news/fixer/

Store & Secure achieves a British Quality standard

[Photography, press release and online PR for Store & Secure self-storage]

Both Store & Secure's Bournemouth and Basingstoke facilities have gained British Quality Standard BS EN 15696:2008.

In the process it appears they are the first solely self-storage company to win the accreditation! Read more: https://www.storeandsecure.co.uk/self-storage-news/bsi/ 

Child of Hope: Wi-Fi boost

Sum school Wi-Fi boost: We’ve beefed up our in-school Wi-Fi, which enables all the staff to access emails and the internet. This enhances their communication and knowledge for creating better (and more fun) lessons – and, importantly, it also helps our expanding family support team to co-ordinate and share information better.

Previously we just had one router based in the administration area which only covered that end of the building. Now, after installing three boosters, we now have Wi-Fi for the whole building and even up to 400m outside the school compound!

http://www.childofhopeuganda.org/latest-news/wi-fi-boost/

Child of Hope's latest newsletter

All the latest news from Child of Hope and how we’re helping Ugandan slum kids like these (and their families) rise from the worst extremes of poverty... click the link below to read our latest newsletter...

https://madmimi.com/s/d5c1aa

And if you’d like to receive Child of Hope’s news from the Namatala slum in Uganda – direct by email into your inbox once a month – you can sign up by clicking the link below!

http://madmimi.com/signups/67994/join

Child of Hope: Getting a family back on the road

When Margaret’s vegetable business no long seemed to provide her family with enough money, our IGA team helped her find the solution and now she’s back on track!

Margaret, together with her husband and children, lives in a small hut about 200 yards from our school. She has been a part of our IGA programme since 2009, when we helped her to start up a vegetable stall in the local market. Over the years, this vegetable stall has provided them with a small but steady income.

Although the business seemed to be continuing on as usual, our eagle-eyed IGA staff noticed that, over a period of some months, Margaret was depositing less in her savings book than she had in previous years. This set off some alarm bells and we started to investigate to try and find out the cause. Read more... childofhopeuganda.org/latest-news/getting-family-back-road

Groveley Precision Engineering: Complex component manufacture

[Photography and online PR for Groveley Precision Engineering]

These are some of the complex, multi-surface parts we have manufactured recently; they are typical of components we produce with 3D computer modelling and programming through to multi-axis manufacture. They include a complex mill mill turn part from bar and a helical mill turn component.

Our capabilities – employed in the aerospace, defence, motorsport and medical equipment industries – are ideal for complex/prismatic geometries in components. Manufacturing processes include full 5-axis machining and full 4-dimensional milling.

3rd Store & Secure vehicle

[Photography and online PR for Store & Secure self-storage]

We’re delighted with our third company car… … a Nissan Juke, signwritten (of course) that will help us get the word out about our two amazing self-storage facilities in Basingstoke and Bournemouth.

Thank you Elite Signs in Poole for doing such a great job… click to see the 40-second time-lapse video of how they did it!

Child of Hope: Egasi's good choice

One of the first slum children to be supported by Child of Hope in Uganda is now doing really well on a carpentry course at the Mbale municipality polytechnic. 

Egesa (15) originally dreamed of becoming a doctor when he joined the CoH nursery school, but sadly his grades didn’t match that and – after not performing too well in his Primary Leaving examinations – Bex helped him join the local polytechnic.

Egasa came from a very poor background, living with his mother and two brothers and joined CoH when it started in 2008 in a church hall.

He said: “I’m happy Aunt Bex helped me join the polytechnic, I love what I’m studying and what I’m doing especially the practical part of the course. I’m also happy that I will be able to help my family in the near future especially my mom, she struggled a lot with us to bring us up.”

According to his teachers, Egesa is performing well in school and will soon be sitting his exam for the first year.

He added: “My dream is to open up my own business, probably my own workshop, and also teach some children at child of Hope who do carpentry like me; I want to be a role model to them and I want them to know that I did not make a wrong choice.”

http://www.childofhopeuganda.org/latest-news/good-choice/

Getting Ruth back

Child abduction is not a nice issue to face, but when it crops up with any of the children at our school, our family support team kicks into action fast.

Just two weeks ago, young Ruth (8 years old) was illegally taken by her father to a village where he lived a few hours away. She had been living with her mum Betty since their separation but would often go out for a few hours with her dad – but on this occasion they didn’t come back. Ruth was being kept at her father’s home and was not able to continue her education. Betty reported this to the local police who were unable to take any action due to their very limited resources and the fact that the case crossed district boundaries.

So, our family support team liaised with three police stations to find a way forward and the police were then prepared to give Betty some support. With that in place, we advised her what to do and gave her enough money for transport to go the village and recover Ruth.

The whole process took eight days, but Ruth is now very happy to be back at school. The picture shows Ruth with her best friend Chebet and class teacher Akoth Phionah.

www.childofhopeuganda.org/latest-news

Groveley Precision Engineering: 3D printing

Our 3D printing capabilities offer you the benefit of having a physical part to hold at design stage, rather than just a 3D image – and printing prototypes allows you to significantly cut down on development time.

We have two 3D printers; one is a UP Box using PLA or ABS filament – resulting in a strong and detailed print. The other one is a Markforged MarkOne and prints in nylon, with the ability to reinforce the part with continuous carbon fibre or fibreglass layers – which results in parts with enhanced strength.

Along with providing prototypes for customers (and for our own products), we produce these items • jigs for aircraft components • unusual component shapes • one-offs • replacement parts • fixtures • tooling to hold components during production... read more

Child of Hope: UK kids helping slum kids

Children in the UK are usually very interested in learning about the lives of children in Uganda – and two Hampshire sisters were no exception. After hearing about the work of Child of Hope, Lily (9) and Heidi (6), from Oakley, decided to get personally involved by making and selling cookies!

They started by making and distributing mini flyers about their cookie sale to all their friends. They then baked cookies of many different flavours, including white chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, smarties, popping candy, and coconut and raisin cookies.

Andy, the girls’ dad, had collected pre-orders from his team at work, so the girls bagged up those cookies ready for him to take to work the following day. Mum Laura had invited over a group of friends for lunch and so the girls sold cookies to them too!

Lily and Heidi then set up a stall in their front garden. The flyers had worked well and lots of their friends came to buy cookies, as well as a few sweetie bags and toys that the girls had donated.

By this time, the girls’ desire to raise money had been well and truly ignited and so, in the evening, they bagged up the leftovers and went around with their mum knocking on neighbours’ doors asking if they’d like to buy cookies, and they all did! Finally, on the Sunday, the girls sold their last few cookies (and some freshly baked cakes) at church.

Read more, including the cookie recipe: childofhopeuganda.org/latest-news/could-your-children-help-slum-kids-summer/

Child of Hope: Beating alcoholism with a new business… and a bit of help

An African slum mum is recovering from alcoholism – in her case, drunk for almost every waking hour - thanks to help starting a small business. Read her story!

childofhopeuganda.org/latest-news/beating-alcoholism-new-business-and-bit-help/

Child of Hope: Sports and games help children with maths

Yes, it’s true! We have found that physical activities can be hugely beneficial in helping struggling children to grasp basic Maths concepts.

Supporting slower learners is always a challenge and there can be a range of factors that cause individual children to struggle with their learning.

And then a few months ago, we received a generous donation of sports and games equipment, including ropes, balls, scrabble, Ludo and dominoes. Our teachers have been putting these to good use, not only in playtimes but also to enhance learning.

Teacher Stella explained that skipping games can be used to help children with counting – as the children jump, the teacher can guide the children to count. Ludo is helping children with counting and problem-solving. Dominoes are used to help with number identification, problem-solving and addition. Now, children who are reluctant to engage in writing activities have made great progress through learning number skills through sports and games.

childofhopeuganda.org/latest-news/sports-and-games-help-children-maths/

Store & Secure: Security is stronger than ever

With the opening of our additional 7,000 sq feet of self storage units in our Bournemouth facility, we have beefed up its 24/7 security with an additional eight CCTV cameras – to make sure your home and business storage is ultra-safe!

We take security very seriously in both our Bournemouth and Basingstoke facilities… you can read full security details here, but in short:

• Digital CCTV covers all the main access points to the storage area; constantly monitored throughout the day then during the night by an external security company.

• Facilities are staffed 7 days a week.

• Staff trained to monitor all security services.

• Facilities monitored by external security company after hours.

• Staff walk-around before reception opens and closes.

• Daily store patrols by staff.

• Fire & smoke alarm system throughout the store.