Turning sweet 16
It’s official – S.A.L.V.E. has now been running for 16 years – and what a milestone this feels like! I feel very blessed to have been able to celebrate this with our tremendous team and the inspirational children currently undergoing rehabilitation at our residential site.
When I co-founded the charity back in 2008, I had no idea how far we’d go or what we could achieve, and I’m deeply humbled to have been able to have been at the helm for all this time.
My current trip to Uganda however isn’t all just cake and reminiscing in the sunshine (sadly!). Unlike your typical 16 year old, this is an organisation that doesn’t get lie-ins!
During this trip, I am supporting our team as we aim to strengthen our services to try and keep up with the sky-rocketing demand for our support. We are looking at new ways in which we can be more sustainable, such as seeing how we can make our Business Training programme focus on the most environmentally friendly businesses and bolstering our Permaculture offering so we can help children and families find different ways they can respond to the changing climate.
Right now in Uganda, children are returning to school after their long break over the Christmas period. We currently have 34 children in our Education programme whose education costs aren’t being covered by Education Sponsors or our Education Fund. We also have 7 children who are safely resettled home, but we currently have no way of helping them realise their dreams of going back to school. So we are also looking at ways to increase our fundraising and partnerships to ensure we can support as many children as possible.
We will soon be sharing with you details of how you can join our raffle where the proceeds will support our work (and you can win wonderful prizes). Please also put Tuesday 16th April in your diary for our S.A.L.V.E. Get-Together: an online, evening event where we will share with you what we’ve been achieving thanks to your support.
In amongst all that, I might just squeeze in time for a little more cake….
Have your say in our 60 second poll
We are still looking for your help in shaping our fundraising activities for later in the year. It takes less than a minute but will make a big difference to hear your views.
Please take part in this 60 second poll to let us know what activities most appeal to you and what would motivate you to take part.
Latest S.A.L.V.E. news
👀 Read our latest blog from our Permaculture Teacher, Peter, about why his work teaching children and caregivers sustainable farming skills is having a big impact.
📚 We shared the findings of our latest Drug Research, looking at the trends of drug use amongst street connected children in Jinja, it’s causes and consequences. Read the findings here.
🏠We were very busy in January resettling children who were on the streets back to family homes. As the school holidays in Uganda are longest at this time of year we see an increased number of children on the streets trying to earn money to help pay for their school fees but with this, more children are tempted to stay on the streets. We try to intervene as quickly as possible to help children return safely back home.
📺 We were delighted that the Chair of our Ugandan Board, Juliet, and Ugandan Director, Alfred, were given the opportunity to talk about our head counting research on national Ugandan TV. Watch the clip here. This has helped us to spread the news of the 192% increase in the number of children on the street far and wide.
Listen to our podcast
Ever wondered why children on the streets use drugs? Or how they access them? And how do our team approach children who are using drugs regularly?
Listen to our latest episode, Tackling Drug Addiction in Uganda’s Youth, on Spotify and hear our Drug Rehab manager, Brenda, explain the story behind why drug use is on the rise and how S.A.L.V.E. is trying to tackle this issue.
Lottery for Change
Congratulations to Alice – this month’s winner of £100 in our Lottery for Change.
Would you like to be next month’s winner? For just £3 a month, you could be in with a chance of winning £100 and provide a street connected child with lunch for a week! Find out more here.
Webale nyo
None of what we have achieved would have been possible without the support of you, our amazing global family. Thank you for continuing to be part of our community and for standing in solidarity with street connected children with us.
If you have any questions or feedback, please do not hesitate to get in touch. We always love to hear from you.
With love, cake and lots of sunshine,
Nicola and the whole S.A.L.V.E. team
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