This Saturday’s bucket collection is hosted by County fan Keith Mills, who is a key member of the Forever Friends of Uganda charity, which itself is closely linked with County.
We hope that County fans give generously, as ever, and support Keith and his charity.
Keith writes:
It is both an honour and a real pleasure for Forever Friends of Uganda to have been chosen to hold a bucket collection in support of African children who possess nothing; children who are often orphans with nobody to care for them; children who cannot afford a pair of shoes and so are susceptible to soil-based flea infestation; children who otherwise would not be able to have an education at all.
There has been a close connection between our Charity, Stockport County, and club fans extending over 9 years. We have been supported by the generosity of the Community Foundation which has provided kit for a Ugandan football academy which we support.
A range of County fans sponsor children’s education and there are others who are charity members; more still give regular or occasional donations. We are proud that among our most generous donors are Pat & Steve Parfett.
On a personal level, I have been a County supporter throughout my life, even though I have spent many years as a fan in exile. My first match was in 1948, all but 70 years ago. Today, there are always family members in the Cheadle End for our home matches. We are helping children thousands of miles away, but we are County at heart.
We have been working with our Ugandan colleagues for 15 years mainly, but not entirely, in two villages that had begun to die – they are situated at the end of a road to nowhere. People were leaving in droves, seeing no future there. When our friends – with our help – founded two new primary schools, things slowly began to change for the better.
We started a child sponsorship programme. We currently have 100 children supported, at every level from nursery classes through secondary school, vocational courses, and now finally at university. Without such generous support this could never have happened.
Over the years we have funded the construction of classrooms, a school hall, kitchens, latrines, and accommodation for teachers (staff hesitate to work in such an isolated spot). We support a village orphanage, have installed solar panels (there is no electricity) and have provided facilities for the provision of water – previously the children had to carry it on their heads from the nearest well in 4-gallon plastic containers.
Things have now moved on even further and on our last working visit (in March this year) we were delighted to perform the opening ceremony for a vocational training centre at the secondary school that our colleagues have now founded for boys and girls who otherwise would be unable to benefit from post-primary education. It is still in its early stages, but we have hopes that it will be possible to help youngsters to have a future which only a few years ago would have been no more than a dream.
We ask you to be generous today to help these poor children in need. Our ultimate objective is to help our colleagues to become self-sufficient, but there is much to be done before we reach that target.
For more information, please take a look at our blog: https://friendsofuganda.wordpress.com/
Or at our Facebook Page: Forever Friends of Uganda.
If you are interested or want to know more, please send me an email: [email protected].
