Greetings to you all,

I hope you are well. On the news and the internet, I have seen that the western block is so hot, over 100F. 

The story changed this week for us here, with us receiving the first rain cloud in about three weeks. It was so dry and dusty but we had about 1.5 hours of rain and it felt good. You could see the look on people’s faces here. 

The lack of rain caused a lot of shortages in the local agricultural market, with onions and tomatoes becoming very scarce. A lot of food supplies like beans and maize have continued to increase in price becoming more expensive but regardless, we have to continue. 

I went on to visit and ensure that the Mamas were doing well and the results were better. 

Rashida has been very ill for the last few days. I visited her twice the first time she was not there. I later spoke to her on the phone and she was at one of her local hospitals. She suddenly got a headache and she was taken to hospital as she was unable to see, breathe well and she was in extreme pain. When I went to her stall, I found her daughter attending to it and it was almost empty as no one had gone to the main market to shop for foodstuff. She had asked the girls to miss school because she wanted them to empty the stall so nothing goes to waste as she gets treatment.

Aidah her neighbor is doing okay. Her daughter Angella is doing okay too but faced some challenges last term and she declined in performance. As we talked we realised that most of her teachers have moved from the school and yet children usually like stability so this greatly affected her performance so, Aida will revise her decision whether to keep her in the same school or not depending on what the performance will be this term. Otherwise, the business has been okay, only halted by the rain that she had to move in and cook from within the stall rather than the outside as always.

Pulakiseda is doing very well. She has maintained her boost and is doing well. The shop and items look really good and I am glad we supported her in this effort. I was also able to get a few supplies like Sugar, cooking oil, salt and rice.

Harriet is also doing well. The business has been slow a bit because tailoring can be funny sometimes but for now she is good. She is excited about the fact that she will get a boost soon as she has been trying to get some fabric to have some clothes done for sale and display at her tailoring shop. 

Annet is doing okay, especially with her porridge business as the rain and cold mornings have guaranteed some market for her. She is also still doing her soap business every Sunday, she makes a batch that she sells throughout the week and that is good. This is what I have been encouraging her to do especially with this unexpected weather in Uganda, the reliance on this type of business is hard more so if you have 4 kids.

Jane is continuing to work on her tank as now her neighbour has been moved permanently. He was paid off and his house was demolished so the tank had to be moved to the next gate for safety but I am glad that we are working on its removal as soon as possible. We have bought cement, sand and stones already but we are waiting for the builder to come by and start the process.

Rovence is also hanging in there as the business has been very tough for her in recent weeks. Food has been really expensive, she said. Her mother has also not improved much but has been able to work through all these tough times. I was privileged to have a meal at her restaurant as it rained during my visit there. I had nowhere to go so I just had a meal there. I had plantain, rice, pumpkin and meat.

It was rather a short week for me but I was glad to have some work done especially since we raised some funds for Harriet and Lilly, I am glad that we can have both of these Mamas set up for their ventures and work at large. We can ensure that they have some kind of support to sustain their families as we edge to the close of the year. It is always a pleasure to work with the Mamas and support their dreams and aims. Thank you to all of you who support the program both financially and morally. There is not a thing we would do without you all. 

Report by;

Andrew Echel

Director of Programs, Uganda

ISEE Solutions Society.

Day 6 in Ghana

For consistency sake I am going to grace you with a day six update, only to tell you that this was primarily a day of rest. Travelling through Ghana seems to make many hours in both directions and so when we leave the house for activities we are often gone for hours and hours at a time. Aside from lounging around, I took a brief solo walk around the neighbourhood and successfully found my way back! 

Thanks for reading 🙂

Day 7 in Ghana

On the seventh day of Ghana, the country gave to me ????. It’s important that you sang that.  Anyways, moving on… 

Today we traveled outside of Accra to Suhum, a city about two hours away, and landed at Suhum New Town High School. With a group of twenty Project One Million volunteers, we prepared to give separate presentations to both the girls and boys about personal hygiene, grooming, menstruation and, of course, distribute the sanitary kits.  Us women and girls started all together in a room before breaking off into smaller groups.  As is my typical experience when we do these presentations in Uganda, we were told to expect 70 girls and about 120 of them filed into the small gathering hall.  Kassia, facilitator extraordinaire and mastermind behind Project One Million started with some introductions about the work before handing it over to yours truly to give a demonstration of the sanitary kits. 

My favourite part of these presentations is when we shift from talking at people, to talking with people and open the floor up for questions.  Many of the girls had questions about their flow, cycle length, hygiene, and everything in-between. It’s such a gift to share our experiences as women and watch the girls recognize that while their experience may be unique, it is still normal. The girls learned how to care for their sanitary kits as well, and were excited to hear that when properly taken care of, these kits can last up to three years. 

Did you know? These sanitary kits are sewn by tens and tens of women (and several men) from ages 8 to 90in Kelowna.  We are so grateful to their support over the last ten years! 

“Hello, Canada!”