EWAD Update - November 2013

8/13/2019 EWAD Update - November 2013

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EWAD UPDATE Iss

EWADUpdate

Issue 2November 2013

ENVIRONMENTAL WOMEN IN ACTION FOR DEVELOPMENT IN THIS ISSUE

Following the installation of the gutters and

the outdoor work in October, its been all go

at the Katabi Childrens Home this month.

The whole team has been out in force toclean and paint the childrens dormitories

and the beds, and the bathrooms. The place

has been transformed and is really starting to

look like a nice place to live.

The walls are being painted white, with

coloured borders around the bottom of the

rooms and doorways. The beds are being

painted in bright primary colours, and the

bathrooms are being painted with easy-to-

clean blue gloss paint.

Weve also had the electricity connected by

UMEME (the Uganda National Power Board),

and our electricians came to finalise the

building wiring, so that we were able to have

the first big switch on of the house lights!

Ready for ChristmasThe remaining work for Katabi includes the

building of the outdoor kitchen, the purchase

of the final triple decker beds and around 40

mattresses, and the final touches such as

buying plates, forks, shower curtains and

other necessaries. This should be complete

by early December.

Around 42 EWAD sponsored children will be

finishing boarding school in late November

and will be moving into Katabi Childrens

Home. These children do not have any familyor safe environment to return to at holiday

periods, so the newly refurbished building

will be very welcome. The children will be

able to have a safe and happy Christmas.

Thanks are extended to all those who have

contributed to the Katabi work whether

through donations or through good labour!

The Board of Directors MeetEWADs Board of Directors met at Busia on 23/24

thN

They toured the mines and learned about theimprovements that have occurred, including retorts

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A Demonstration Mine in BusiaOne of the steps for Fairtrade and Fairmined

certification is to fence the mine off completely anthe Busia mining organisations are starting this now

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Full Steam Ahead for KatabibyGraham Johnson


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EWAD UPDATE | Issue 2

During the week of November 18th

-24th

,

EWAD board members went to Busia, in

Eastern Uganda, to visit the artisanal and

small-scale miners and mining sites EWADmembers are working with. A first time in

Busia for all the board members except one,

their visit consisted of visiting 3 of the 4

mining groups EWAD has been working with

Siyanyunja, Amonikakine, and Tiira. The

goal of the visit was to show the board

members the work that is being done and

the progress these 3 groups have made since

EWAD began working with them.

Their visit consisted of visiting the mining

sites to see the conditions these miners have

to work in, and the safety precautions they

are now taking as a result of working withEWAD. These include fenced-off mines,

better mercury processing, gender

sensitisation, child labour reduction, and

development of a mining community.

Each group gave a presentation on their

work and accomplishments as the board

members visited each site. Pop and roasted

corn was on the menu with each group,

which made for an enjoyable yet educational

experience for the board members.

The board members

seemed thoroughly

impressed and

congratulated EWAD

and more importantly

the mining groups for

the great work and

progress they have

made and urged them

to continue theirprogress towards the

goal of becoming

fairtrade mining sites.

As EWAD moves

forward in their work,

now with the graces

of the board

members, we will be

starting three new projects with the mining

groups.

1. The use of Solvatten cans for clean water

practices. The use of Solvatten cans willallow for miners to purify and access clean

water in hopes that if used properly and

repeatedly it will reduce the rate of

contraction of water borne illnesses, such as

typhoid and cholera, and also the rate of

mortality due to such diseases.

2. The use of retorts. Retorts are self-

contained apparatuses that allow for the

burning of amalgam without being exposed

to mercury fumes. This is the next step

EWAD has taken for the education and

prevention of mercury exposure.

3. First-aid kits. EWAD hopes to supply eac

mining site with a medical kit and train the

miners in basic first aid in case any injuriesoccur while on site.

There is still a long way to go but the chang

that has occurred since EWAD began

working with the miners is astounding. The

mining groups now openly embrace change

and seem tireless in their efforts to become

fairtrade mining sites. We can only see

positive developments in the future for the

mining sites and our partnership with the

miners of Busia.

A few additional helping hands joined EWAD

in the month of November. These were Kelly

Geelen and Jeremy Fielding, from the

Netherlands, who volunteered for just over a

week on the EWAD projects. Also joining in

was Julia Cummiskey, based in Entebbe.

Kelly worked at the Early Learning Primary

School, home to around 50 of EWADs

sponsored children. She taught a number of

classes, and her lessons included topics on

the solar system, the total eclipse, poetry,

drama and English.

As well as the more serious lessons, Kelly

also taught the kids a few fun dances the

Macarena, and the Birdie Dance! This was a

huge hit with the kids, and now the entire

school is able to do both dances.

Jeremy spent the bulk of his time working a

Katabi Childrens Home, where his electrica

engineering and housebuilding experience

was put to good use. He worked with the

local electrician to determine what

equipments were needed, helped reinforce

the compound wall, and also got stuck in tothe cleaning and painting. His favourite

contribution must have been the paintings

the skipping dog on the dormitory walls!

Julia has been a great help with painting an

cleaning at Katabi, and she also taught a

lesson on health and hygiene at Early

Learning School. She has also contributed t

purchasing of beds and mattresses.

Thanks very much to Kelly, Jeremy and Juli

for their great work!

The Board MeetsbyThomas Abrahams

More Helping HandsbyLisa Peacocke


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PICTURE CORNER

llustrating the Walls of Katabiome budding artists in the EWAD team have enjoyed

rawing some fun images on the walls of Katabi.

Eating in Mamas Dinerhe Katabi workers have been refuelling every

unchtime at the local Mamas Diner a great little local

tchen with fantastic matooke, beans and beef!

FUNDING FACTS

42%he percentage of funding received from the amount

eeded to finish Katabi Childrens Homeat Oct 27th

.

90%he percentage of funding received from the amounteeded to finish Katabi Childrens Home at Nov 27

th.

CONTACT INFORMATION

For further information on EWADs activities, or

to donate towards their projects, please contact

MARGARET TUHUMWIRE, EWAD DIRECTOR+256 414 321 948 or [email protected]

This month, the EWAD team has twicevisited the Busia gold mining area as part of

the Extending Fairtrade and Fairmined Gold

to Africa Project (EFFGAP). EWAD has been

working with the artisanal and small-scale

miners (ASM) in Busia since May 2012.

The November visits aimed to initiate formal

mine plans for the four ASM organisations

that are part of the project, and who should

eventually become certified as Fairtrade and

Fairmined gold producers. As part of this

certification, each will set up a

demonstration mine that meets the Fairtrade

standards.

The first visit worked with the Busia United

Small Scale Mining Company to select and

measure out the demonstration mine area.

Following this, fenceposts, barbed wire and

fencing nails were bought, and work started

to build a secure fence around the mine. This

will prevent children and other people from

entering the dangerous mining area.

A logo has also been created for this ASM

organisation, and a sign built to show the

demonstration mine to other local miners, to

raise awareness and encourage others tobecome part of Fairtrade.

The three other ASM organisations were

visited also, and their demonstration mining

areas selected and agreed. Their next step is

to build the secure fence around the

perimeters. Other elements also necessary

for the demonstration mine include:

A pit latrine A pond for sluicing and processing An office area

In the second visit, with the board, suppliesfor two more fences were purchased and

construction got underway. The Busia Unit

fence is now complete, and the ASM

organisations are motivated and moving

forward, ready for their first auditing by

Fairtrade International early next year.

Demonstration Mines in BusiabyLisa Peacocke

The demonstration mine that is

being fenced off at the BusiaUnited Mining Company in Tiira


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Cake Sale in the UKOn Tuesday 29

thOctober, a team of Astrium

Stevenage employees in the UK ran a hugely

successful charity cake sale, with all profits

going to EWAD. Jo ORourke, Liz Seward,

Julia Ryan and Jess Housdenbaked up a

storm (see Jo and Liz in the picture to the

right). A huge amount of delicious cakes

were produced and then sold to the hungry

Astrium employees throughout the day. The

support was outstanding, with 540.50 being

raised.

In addition, cakes were sold at Ensoft in

Harpenden, UK and an additional sum of

money was donated from a pub quiz night,

leading to an additional 386.10 being raised.

This fantastic effort means a grand total of

$1500 US has been raised! EWAD is verygrateful for this outstanding support, and

extends a huge thank you to the baking team

and all the cake eaters!

Netherlands FundraiserJust before Kelly and Jeremy came out to

.

Uganda, on Monday 28th

October, they held

an evening fundraiser that involved games

and cocktails with their friends and

colleagues. This event raised 160 Euros,

equivalent to $216 US! Thank you!

Individual DonationsIn addition to these fundraising events,

EWAD has seen a significant boost to the

final building of Katabi House thanks to the

following very generous individual donors:

Steve Puttrell, Colin Borrett, Ronan Wall,

Joseph Smith, Erik de Witte, Tina & Martin

Johnson, Jan Chapple, Laura Johnson,

Gerard & Lynne Prins, Guillaume

Chambon, Irving & Wendy Johnson, Cara

Philips, Sanjay Vijendran, Shawn Orford,

Marianne & Bill Peacocke, Simon Jones,

Sally Wren, Ed Bean & Claire Creedon, andShirley & Ron Abrahams.

Together, they have donated a grand total of

1597, or $2576 US! This is massively

appreciated, and all money is going straight

to the building work at Katabi House.

EWAD

Update

Plot 1 Station Road

P.O. Box 883

Entebbe, Uganda

[email protected]

[email protected]

+256 414 321 948

+256 701 444 066

+256 772 444 367

Meet the EWAD Team!meetSarah Kagoya

How long have you been at EWAD?

I have been at EWAD for 7 months now since May 2013,

and hopefully wish to spend more months here as all is

well.

What is your background and what do you like to do?

I was born 23 years ago and am the f irst born in a family

of five. I went to Main Street Primary School in Jinja,

later to PMM Girls School for my high school, and had

my diploma in Fisheries Management and Technologies

at the Fisheries Training Institute in Entebbe. Im

planning to do my degree still in Fisheries Management

and Technologies and now volunteering at EWAD. I like

watching movies, chatting, travelling, acting/drama,making friends, listening to music, dancing and visiting

loved ones not forgetting cooking.

What is your role at EWAD?

Mainly the ECLAVP project where we are conserving

Lake Victoria, fish farming and management, fish

preservation & processing. I also help in other projects

like CSP where I visit the children, talk to them, play

with them, and anything that promotes their wellbeing

as I love children and like to see them smiling. Also in

administration where I file documents, keep our library

in order and any other duty assigned to me.

What is your favouritething about EWAD?

The EWAD family. I

call it family as we are

one right from our

mother the director.

She is free and loves every

one of us, so this keeps us going as there is no day

regret volunteering with EWAD. The advice, coura

love, hard work and team spirit at EWAD really

motivate me. If I was to vote, my director would be

Woman of the Year, and due to her wonderful

personality, I believe that is why EWAD is on the m

Tell us something funny about EWAD or Uganda!

If you found the EWAD team seated together, you

not know who heads who because we are one hap

family. To us, its not when the cat is away the mi

may play.Instead, when the cat is around, the mi

still play because we dont have to run away or kee

silent because someone superior is around. What a

joyous family!

Do you have a favourite quote?

The only true wisdom is knowing that you know

nothingSocrates

Fundraising Efforts from Abroad

Documents

EWAD Update - November 2013