ICT Rural Youth Project

 

Youth leaders meet to promote UDS ICT Rural Youth Project

At the end of September, Robert Ssebuliba, UDS’  I.T. Project officer in Kamuli,  got the youth leaders together from the major areas of Kamuli district, and from Kamuli town itself, to discuss UDS’ ICT Rural Youth Project and ways of expanding it out into rural communities. 

The Ugandan government has recognised that the lack of I.T. skills in the rural communities, and access to computer equipment are holding back progress in this area.  UDS is seeking to fill this gap by increasing IT awareness among the rural youth and encouraging young people to train with us in our Kamuli centre.

The aim of the meeting was twofold – first, to brief the youth leaders themselves on what UDS could offer them, and second to discuss how best to attract the involvement of the  local youth.

The leaders are all aged between 18 and 35 years old, and the majority of them are teachers.  They were all very enthusiastic, and agreed UDS’ ICT Rural Youth Project  could bring great benefit to their communities. But they all expressed the reservation that many young people are concerned only with “food and money”, and it would be a difficult job convincing them to participate.All agreed that they would have to work hard to change the young people’s attitudes.

Finally, Robert took the youth leaders on a tour of UDS’ offices and facilities so that they could tell the young people what UDS has to offer. 

A UDS wedding in Kamuli

UDS recently celebrated the wedding of long-time library volunteer Peter Kagoda and his bride Fatuma Birungi.   Peter is well-known man in the community, and very popular, and so it was quite a crowd of UDS staff, relatives and friends who joined together on a colourful, romantic day.

It all took place in Kamuli on Saturday 25 August. According to Ugandan tradition, in the morning Peter’s bride was first introduced at her parent’s home. This is when the bride-price formalities were carried out..  the traditional payment from Peter’s family to that of his wife-to-be.

The wedding ceremony was held at  3.30 pm at Kamuli Pentecostal Church, already jammed with guests who had been enjoying music from a number of  choirs.  As the bride and groom arrived at the church the guests ululated, and danced as they sang wedding songs. 

And there was of course a reception to follow.. 

 

We all wish the bride and groom a happy life together.

Computer training for young and not-so-young

UDS’ training in use of computers and of the internet is mainly aimed at students and schoolchildren. To maximise the use of our limited space, sessions are organised in two-hour slots across a 12-hour day – covering different groups including primary school children, secondary school children of different age groups and university students.

But it doesn’t stop there. Two of UDS’ regular trainees are a long time out of school, but still appreciate the need to acquire and upgrade their IT skills.

Sam Kabanda

Sam Kabanda, interestingly, is an administrator with another charity working in Uganda.

Helping Hands is a charity concerned with the welfare of children in Uganda. In his work, he has to communicate with many different people and organisations, so Sam decided, at the age of 60, that he needed to improve his computer and internet skills to do this. And he came to UDS for help.

Sam feels it’s unfair to ask others to type up reports, minutes of meetings and so forth for him so he’s now studying Microsoft Word and Excel in addition to leaning general computer and internet skills. It’s not all plain sailing though. Sam says the frequent power cuts often disrupt training sessions, and he wished he had his own computer to practise on. 

Robert Okwir

Robert Okwir is 53, and deputy head of a girls’ primary school. Back in 2009 he realised that his lack of computer skills were hindering his work.  So he also signed up for the UDS training scheme and can now type, use Microsoft Word and Excel, and knows his way round the internet. He says he can now work from home, using his own computer – and he’s still learning.  

If you would like to help Sam, Robert and our other computer trainees – make a donation specifically to this project via Just Giving.  We have in the past relied on donated computer equipment from the UK, but unfortunately two years ago the Ugandan government changed their policy on  importing of second hand computer equipment.  Until such time they realise that this policy is seriously preventing growth in this area we have to buy all equipment now. Donate now and help us train more people with this much needed skill.

Nightrider 2012 - Sue's story

UDS Fundraiser Sue Craig (www.justgiving.com/sueandrichardcraig) 

decided to take part this year .... 

Working for UDS I know how much a difference the funds raised from this event makes to us.  

Nightrider first started 3 years ago - and I persuaded my husband and some friends to take part.  I was originally going to join them, but a bad back prevented me.Last year, I convinced myself I was needed to be the support - our team was bigger and I felt that my efforts were best spent making sure that hot coffee and cheery greeting was waiting for them the following morning.

However this year, after commuting regularly from Teddington to Ealing by bike,  I decided I would have a go.  I managed to persuade my husband Richard, to take part again and training started in earnest with our friends Chris, Helen and Mandy.  All three of them had taken part the previous years - and Helen (who is also a UDS Trustee) did a splendid job in recruiting colleagues from Microsoft. 

The UDS Team ready at Crystal Palace

I really enjoyed the training - I was seeing parts of my local area that I had not discovered before - Esher Woods, Epsom Common, Windsor Great Park to name but a few.  I was very apprehensive about the night though - particularly as the weather was so dismal and I knew how high Alexandra Palace was. 

But I am pleased to say that for once the weather was in our favour.  We had a clear night - and a beautiful morning.  London looked lovely - although I wasn't allowed to stop to take photos by my husband.  Several of the hills had to be pushed up - but coming down from Hampstead to Camden was sheer delight!  We completed the ride in about 8 hours - which we felt was a respectable time (although nothing like as quick as Wayne!) 

Dawn over London from Alexandra Palace

Thank you all for your donations and kind words of support. Also to all the people who took part - and to Mark, Nicola and Ali who provided the back up this year.  Will we do it again next year? Probably!

Nightrider 2012 - Wayne's Cycling World

Various of our Nightrider particpants have contributed to our blog - here is one from Wayne Meyer (www.justgiving.com/Wayne-Meyer) a participant who lives in Maidenhead - and who decided to cycle to the start in Crystal Palace.....

Tower Bridge from Potter's Fields

Saturday night I started the night ride and finished up early hours of Sunday morning.. Whilst I had initially thought I would ride around 180km, this in fact turned out to be 227km – this was completed in 8hrs 29min,  The ride into London was a calm 60km with near perfect weather, the 100km starting from Crystal Palace became a race where 4 us tore through London in around 3.5 hrs (having to dodge traffic and party go’ers) … the ride home was thinking about  the funds I raised (little over £1,500) and how they would be used to make a change…

Working for Microsoft - any donation Wayne gets on his fundraising page is automatically doubled by his employer.  So please reward his efforts.  He has shared with us his map of the route he covered - and the amount of hills he tackled ...

The route followed by Wayne - Maidenhead/Crystal Palace/Nightrider Route/Maidenhead

And the amount of hills he climbed

Also some statistics about his training !

Just some of the (absolutely useless) data captured in training up for this event since Jan 1^st 2012

-          3,100 km cycled

-          104 cycling events

-          117 hours in the saddle

-          18,830m elevation gain (Everest is 8,848m)

-          Average speed 25km/h

-          Average cadence 85rpm (almost 600,000 peddle revolutions)

-          83,155 calories burned (that is 170 Big Mac burgers)

Where does he get the energy?

Our Nightriders prepare

It’s now just over a week away.  A group of UDS supporters is among thousands of fundraisers now well into their training regimes for a big Saturday night out. ..and praying for good weather.

Nightrider will see 3,000 cyclists undertake one of the UK’s most exciting sporting charity challenges.  On the night of Saturday 9th-Sunday 10th June they will don their helmets and  hi-viz jackets to pedal a 100-kilometre route around London, taking in the famous sights,   the empty city streets, and some serious hills.

And among the riders is our local vicar – Reverend Peter Mackenzie (pictured).

This  will be the third annual Nightrider, and this year UDS has 29 participants, up from five the first year we took part.  UDS is just one of 250 charitable causes raising money on the night.

Reverend Mackenzie, vicar at West Ealing’s St. John’s Church,  has been training for months. Asked whether he’d ever done anything like this before, he said:  “First time for me.  I did quite a bit of cycling when I was younger, but not much for years.”

There are two start/finish points – one at Alexandra Palace in the north, the other down south at Crystal Palace. Staggered starts run from 11 pm to 01.35 am.  The route  follows two huge loops round north and south London, and takes in some 50 famous landmarks, including Tower Bridge,  St Paul’s Cathedral, Canary Wharf, the Houses of Parliament and the Albert Hall, as well as the West End and the City. It also presents some formidable climbs at Tulse Hill, Muswell Hill and Hampstead..and some exhilarating descents.  Most riders complete the route in 6 – 8 hours.

It’s a unique way to see London. And it goes right through the night.  Asked what he was looking forward to most, Reverend Mckenzie said: “ I’m tempted to say 'the downhill sections' but I am really looking forward to enjoying this magnificent city lit up at night and especially going over the iconic Tower Bridge.”

Last year, with 15 riders, we raised over £10,000 for our work in Uganda.  This year we’re aiming for £15,000.    Reverend Mackenzie knows the ride will be tough, especially the final hill at Crystal Palace, but says it’s all in a good cause:  “I am doing this to raise money and awareness for the wonderful work of Uganda Development Services in dramatically improving the lives of some seriously disadvantaged people.  It is about helping others to help themselves out of poverty. If my small efforts go some way to helping people gain the education and employment opportunities that we often take for granted, then it will all have been worth it.”

He won’t be taking the ten o’clock service at St John’s on the Sunday morning though – he’s asked a deputy to do that.

If you would like to sponsor Reverend Mackenzie, please go to his JustGiving page - http://www.justgiving.com/Peter-Mackenzie0 .

For more about Nightrider, visit http://www.nightrider.org.uk/.