Help build a smokeless oven for World Environment Day

Wednesday June 5 marks World Environment Day, a day when people around the world, from all walks of life, come together and do something to help build a cleaner, greener, brighter future for us all. 

World Environment Day began in 1972, and has become one of the United Nations' main platforms to promote environmental awareness and action. 

Our contribution to a cleaner environment is to provide smokeless ovens in rural Uganda. Traditionally, many families in Uganda cook in a smoke-filled room. This exposes mothers and children to toxic fumes, which can lead to all sorts of respiratory illness. And so we encourage as many families as we can to build a smokeless oven.  

It's cheap and it's easy. It costs nothing for the materials – just the time to prepare the bio-mass used to construct it.  But we estimate that each about £30 for us to train people to make and use them properly.

Once constructed the advantages are huge – not only do they improve the health of the people using them, but they cut down on the amount of fuel that is used – and the amount of time spent collecting it.  Cooking is more efficient as two pots can be used at once cutting down on the time spent preparing the meal. A smokeless oven is also much safer than the traditional open fire.

So please help Ugandan families lead safer, cleaner, healthier lives.  Text SMOU13 £5 or more to 70070 to make a donation to this appeal.  Alternatively you can click here to donate online.

Who is in the Nightrider Team for 2013

UDS has been taking part in Nightrider since the inception of this event by Classic Tours in 2010.  It was a very small event then, with only 300 riders - 5 of which were riding for UDS.

Since then the amount of people participating and the size of the UDS team has grown - and this year there will be 4,500 people taking part - and the UDS team is 25 strong.

Trustee Helen Putland and husband Chris

We still have some of the original riders taking part - Trustee Helen Putland and her husband Chris, and Richard Craig, husband of our administrator Sue Craig.

She is taking part too - making it a family affair for the Craig family - as they have also recruited Richard's cousin, William and his daughters Ali and Lydia.  In addition Richard's brother Phil is riding - who was their best man, and Becky and Sarah - Sue's nieces who were their bridesmaids.

Helen has recruited friends and colleagues from her workplace Microsoft - and one of their departments are fielding a team of six from the Developer and Platform Group as well as Senior Managers Scott Dodds, and Anand Krishnan. Microsoft generously match their employees fundraising so we are channelling  all donations via Helen's Justgiving site.

Two other trustees - Laura Ferreira and Lizzie King have both recruited friends to ride too.

Laura and Nabeela

So please think of us when you go to bed on Saturday 8th June - whilst you sleep we will be pedalling our way around the sites - and hills of London*. Last year we raised £20,000 through this event - we would love to make it £30,000 this time - which would mean a lot more people in Uganda would be able to take control of their lives, and in the words of our founder John Maitland  “lift themselves out of the quagmire of poverty”.

Yes, we all thought London was flat but there is a reason why they put radio transmitters at Crystal Palace (start/finish) and Alexandra Palace (mid-point!).

More water tanks for rural families

The United Nations has decreed May 15 International Day of Families. All over the world this coming Wednesday we will celebrate the family as the bedrock of social relations.

Kevina collects water from her new tank

UDS will be celebrating and supporting the family in Uganda, as we do every day. One way we help families in rural areas is by constructing domestic water tanks, to collect rainwater and provide households with a regular supply of fresh water.

UDS has built five more water tanks in the first three months of this year, and our programme is forging ahead. Beatrice Kaguna in Bugaya subcountry is one of the lucky recipients of a new water tank. It’s changed her life. It’s also changed the life of her mother, Kevina Nambi, now in her late seventies.

Kevina spends her days looking after her five grandchildren. Cooking and washing for them requires a regular supply of water, and with only two pots to collect water from the local borehole Kevina simply couldn’t manage.

“I am a caretaker of five children; every day. I cook for them and I make sure they have bathed. This never used to be done with ease until I received a water tank here” she told us when we visited. “At this age, I can’t carry a big container, even if I did, I cannot do it many times because of the long distance.”

But on the day we went to see how she was getting on, Kevina visibly joyous as she prepared bananas for the evening meal.

“This tank is a blessing, it is a new year’s gift for me, and I don’t know how to thank you but God knows how he will reward you” she says. “My neighbours can now get water for home use too,” she added.

Fred Wandira with his 3,000-litre tank

And thanks to the initiative of UDS’ local coordinators and constructors, we may in future be able to provide bigger tanks. Our standard tanks hold 2,000 litres, but UDS coordinator Fred Wandira asked us for extra cement and built himself a tank that holds 3,000 litres. Following that, one of our water tank constructors decided to build a 4,000 litre tank at his father’s home. A tank this size can supply a household of 8 people for 30 days without rain.  

We’ve inspected these tanks, and so far they seem to be working well, so UDS is now evaluating whether we can start building larger tanks in the future. 

Each tank costs £350 to build. Please help us build more by texting WATU13 £5 to 70070



 

 

Smokeless Ovens for Mothers' Day

Here in the UK we've already had our Mothering Sunday, as noted in an earlier post in March. But most countries in the world - including Uganda, and the United States -  are celebrating mothers on Sunday 12 May. So that's an even better time to think of mothers in Uganda as well as elsewhere in the world.

Would you like it if your mother had to cook in a smoke filled room?  Or as a mother your children were exposed to smoke as they were with you in the kitchen?  Exposure to toxic fumes can lead to all sorts of respiratory illness which is why we encourage as many families as we can to build a smokeless oven.  

It costs nothing for the materials – just the time to prepare the bio-mass used to construct it.  But we estimate that each about £30 for us to train people to make and use them properly.

Once constructed the advantages are huge – not only do they improve the health of the people using them, but they cut down on the amount of fuel that is used – and the amount of time spent collecting it.  Cooking is more efficient as two pots can be used at once cutting down on the time spent preparing the meal.

So make a Ugandan mother happy today.  Text SMOU13 £5 or more to 70070 to make a donation to this appeal.  Alternatively you can click here to donate online.