Splodgums spends a lot of time doing things for
Friends of Bwindi. My next ebay appearance will support this cause so I wanted to know more about it. Sometimes there are phone calls and messages from Uganda, and one day Splodgums was very happy because one of the orphans supported by Friends of Bwindi had spoken to her on the phone.
I hope I can raise plenty of money for Friends of Bwindi. It is a small charity, entirely run by volunteers working from home, so there are no staff costs or office rent to be paid. This means that the money I raise will all be used for things like paying school fees for the girl who spoke on the phone. She is an orphan, only 15 years old. She would not be in school without support from Friends of Bwindi or a similar organisation, and would have to stay at home and care for her two brothers whose expenses are also supported by the charity.
Splodgums told me about them - the boys like football, the girl likes earrings and prefers art and English to Science, and it made me think of the children I know, including the children I've stayed with at MDCC homes - they have schools, and doctors, and their parents are much less likely to pass away before they grow up - and if they do there are aunties and uncles and other friends who could look after them, without making their own children go hungry or give up school.
One day there was an email from another student who calls Splodgums 'Aunty' - she said their lessons were interrupted by gorillas who came into the school from the nearby rainforest! This does not happen in UK schools. This girl, Faith, was orphaned aged 10 and was left with her sister, only 2 years older, in a child headed household. They tried hard to go to school, sometimes managing to complete a year but other times unable to afford fees and books. With no mum to guide her, Faith became pregnant before completing school so Friends of Bwindi pay for childcare as well as school expenses so that Faith can finish school and support her little girl.
Friends of Bwindi also supports organisations in Uganda. People in Uganda want to help the orphans in their communities and they know some good ways to do it, but most of them are very poor and few people can read, write and use computers, so it is difficult for them to tell other people (especially from less poor countries) about their projects and ask for support. Stay Safe Children Foundation teaches orphans to do all sorts of useful things and about how to look after themselves, especially coping with adolescence and avoiding HIV/AIDs - the things their parents would have taught them. They also learn skills to help them earn a living, and sell their crafts to tourists. Friends of Bwindi help out by paying for rent and other expenses, and by making a website and trying to tell more people about their work to find more supporters. It is very difficult for them and they need to find more supporters soon or they may not be able to help any more orphans.
Another good cause supported by Friends of Bwindi is Bwindi Community Hospital. This hospital is quite new and still growing, and helps people from a wide area. Before the hospital was there, most people could not get a doctor if they were ill and more people died of malaria, childbirth and other things. Friends of Bwindi will soon be making a donation towards their maternity and childrens services.
I was shocked to discover that people living near conservation areas can suffer very badly. There are rare gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Rainforest, so a few years ago it was designated as a National Park and now it is an internationally important conservation area. Most local people lived a subsistence lifestyle, growing their own food and using natural resources from the forest - wood, honey, plants for food and medicine and other things. One group of people, the Batwa (or 'Twa) lived a hunter gatherer lifestyle in the forest but they were evicted in the name of conservation and are now some of the poorest people in the world with low life expectancy - before the hospital was started it was under 30 years old.
