In February, Jane and I spent 10 days in Uganda working with the team. They were busy days, travelling the roads of the area we serve, meeting local people, learning new things, and assessing how effective CFI has been in serving the districts north of Lira City. I can tell you that CFI’s reputation continues to grow, we are well-known in the area, and what this team is doing is very much appreciated. Read on to get a sense of some of the activities Jane and I experienced…
This is the CFI team working out of the Lira Uganda office. They are young, smart, and dedicated to the mission. Every day they see that the need is huge. The organization’s future is in good hands.
Assisted Devices: Wheelchairs continue to be our focus. We fabricate the chairs in our Lira office compound, both adult three-wheel hand-powered units and children’s chairs in two sizes. In October we made and distributed 30 children’s chairs, and in February, while Jane and I were in-country, we fabricated and distributed 25 adult three-wheeled hand-powered chairs, at no charge, in a ceremony at our office compound. It was a great day for the beneficiaries and their families. (photo below) We now have fabricated approximately 125 chairs. As mentioned in my last newsletter, the maintenance of the chairs in the field continues to be a challenge. We have to figure out how to deal with the distances and limited road access. But we will get there…
We continue to distribute new eyeglasses. It is rewarding to watch a person walk away with a smile that results from improved vision. There is a need for modern crutches and canes. We are working on how we can make those effectively available.
Beneficiaries and their families have come to the Lira office compound to pick up their new chairs. A few speeches, some refreshments, and a lot of enthusiasm.
Village Savings and Loans: There are now three self-managed rural groups, that all met at our Otwal field office to present their growth, and success stories and discuss the next year. (photo below) And what success stories!! We heard the examples of making 4 or 5 times the return on the amount borrowed by selling produce, raising pigs and chickens, expanding farmland, and even re-selling books. And all loans within the groups were paid back. The creation of these groups is one of the best things CFI has done. Other than the seed loans CFI has made to help provide capital, (seed loans that have all been paid back!!) the participants self-manage the process. I really like this program. I personally promised that for these 3 groups there will continue to be a flow of CFI seed money as long as they continue to pay it back. It is all about elevating the community economy. The issue CFI faces is the spreading desire by other villages to start up a VSLA, asking us to help them get started and seed them with capital. Not sure how much we can handle…. kind of a nice problem.
Dental Service: For the first time CFI hosted a team of dentists and technicians to provide dentistry to the area we serve. Hope Smiles, a Ugandan non-profit that travels to under-served areas of Uganda, providing professional service to people who would otherwise not get treatment, spent five days in Otwal and Agali. Free to some, or the equivalent of $1 to those that could pay, and teeth were cleaned, pulled, or teeth filled. Those with disabilities were given preferential treatment. Approximately 400 were served over the five days. CFI covered transportation, food and lodging, Hope Smiles covered the rest of the costs. This was a big success. We will likely do it again in six months. Hope Smiles impressed Jane and me with their professionalism and were great to work with.
The dental work was performed in a local school. The dental team was housed in local homes, and CFI cooked and provided their daily meals. Every day there were lines of community members waiting their turn, some realizing their first experience with a dentist.
General Comments: Our initial trial with supporting families with the raising of pigs is still being reviewed. There has been some success, but more failures than expected. Swine flu has taken a significant toll, leaving us with the challenge of deciding how to deal with it. With our rapid growth fueled by societal need and contract work with some major non-profit organizations, while visiting the operation, I spent time working with the team to create a more effective and efficient organization. This will be an ongoing effort as we grow with it. Jane and I had another rewarding and tiring time in Uganda, participating in the activities mentioned above. Once again, we left the country with the recognition that the need is profound, the people are so very easy to like, and they are so very respectful and appreciative of what CFI is doing.
What you have contributed is providing real material improvement in the lives of people who would not get it any other way, and almost as significantly an elevated awareness among the population of the dimension of the disability that exists within their communities. People of influence and the media are now approaching CFI to better understand the issues. We have become well known for the good work we are doing.
I hope you will continue to support Community Focus International with your contributions. You are doing a good thing!!
Bob Gilbert
Board Chairman, Community Focus International
