Last month we introduced Programme Manager Balaba Henry Bosco (Henry) who is part of the COTE Africa team in Uganda, and works with refugees from the DR Congo in the Kyaka II settlement. He told us about his work in Kyaka II and his hopes for the future, and then we threw it over to YOU.
Giving our supporters an opportunity to ask Henry a question. We were sent some fantastic questions which Henry has answered, read on to find out what he said about the most challenging parts of his job and how he helped to spread joy in the COTE Africa office at Christmas. We are delighted to announce that we will not only be benefitting from a second year of incredible generosity from the players of People’s Postcode Lottery, but funding will be extended to support our work with refugee children in both Lebanon and Uganda.
In Uganda, we support communities to create a protective environment for their children. Recently, we facilitated our annual 'Most Significant Change' exercise with the five slum communities we work with in Jinja, Uganda. People from each area gather to share their experiences and discuss which stories of change are the most significant to them over the year, and why. They then vote on which story they feel represents the most important kind of transformation for them as a community. This is the fourth time we have used this technique in the Loco, Masese I, Masese II and Masese III and the second time it has been used in Wandago. Here are some highlights from the stories chosen by each community. Namakusa Ruth - MASESE I
The last set of exams in Lebanon saw some great results. Overall the children achieved a 99% pass rate for the Arabic and Maths tests which were taken by 211 students, and a 100% pass rate for English which was taken by 68 older students.
Exams are graded on a scale of 1 -10 with 10 the highest, 1 the lowest and 6 a pass. The majority of students are high-performing with 70% getting a grade 9 or above in Maths, 67% in Arabic and 59% in English. You can see from the photo above that the children have loved celebrating, but what would they like to do with their skills in the future? Our partners asked them and here are a few of the responses... Top chef Tom Cenci and Montezuma’s Chocolates are supporting Children on the Edge this Mothers Day.1/3/2021
Top chef Tom Cenci is supporting Children on the Edge and helping to reduce food wastage this Mother’s Day, by selling his delicious Ginger and Rose Rocky Roads. Each Rocky Road is made from repurposed Montezuma’s truffles.
Meet some of the children, who have shown incredible resilience and helped to support their communities through the COVID-19 crisis. Setting up small businesses to help support their families, ensuring children don't miss out on their education, making face masks for people in their villages and holding campaigns to spread awareness of the virus.
Charity running costs or ‘administration’ costs have been given a lot of negative attention of late, with the implication being that many charities convince kind hearted people to part with their hard earned pounds and pennies, only to pocket most of it for their own UK staff, fundraising systems and glitzy offices.
We really don’t want our current or potential donors worried about this kind of thing. We want you to know that the utmost amount of your donation goes to the great cause that has moved you to give in the first place, but we also need to debunk a few myths about ‘running costs’. Running costs and administration have been demonised somewhat, when in real terms, charitable organisations need professionalism, best practice and effective management structures just as much as any organisation in the private or public sector. As a charity that values each child as individual and believes that every person should be treated with dignity, our first priority cannot be spending the very least we can on running costs, it has to be providing the very best we can. This means we won’t skimp on areas like research, planning, delivery, safeguarding, data protection, monitoring and evaluation. We’ll use staff who are up to the task, and work as efficiently as possible. It means we focus on ensuring a regular income, to guarantee stability for those we work for and are able to deliver programmes safely and smoothly. That said.. we ensure that this part of the cost is as streamlined as possible. We can’t line donation tins with fairy dust that instantly transforms your fiver into the realisation of children’s rights around the world, but we can do the following:
We are always happy to answer any questions you might have about this subject and keen to know your preferences about how much or how little you prefer to be contacted. Just keep in touch. Thank you. In July 2020 we broke ground on the start of our sustainable construction project in Kyaka II. Partnering with Haileybury Youth Trust (HYT), over two years we will be working alongside local communities to rebuild and refurbish 14 Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres that we support across the 30 zones of the camp.
|
RECEIVE OUR EMAILSBlog Categories
All
Archives
July 2024
|