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/.

Computer training for the deaf

A central part of UDS’ Development Centre in Kamuli is our internet café, where we offer training in computer skills to various groups in the local community. One of those groups is deaf people, whose isolation and social exclusion can be overcome by learning to use computers and access the internet. This aspect of our work has received a major boost in recent months with the launch of a pilot scheme to offer formal group courses in ICT.

The opportunity came about thanks to a grant last year from one of our donors, a UK-based legal firm. It also came about thanks to the vision and initiative or one of our beneficiaries in Kamuli.

Elias Tabu is chairperson of the Kamuli Association of the Deaf.  He undertook computer  training with UDS back in 2005, and quickly understood the huge benefits for deaf people of the knowledge he acquired – both in terms of social inclusion and of future employment and business prospects.   Elias had remained in close touch with UDS,  so when last year’s cash grant came though he was quick off the mark to help us set up a pilot scheme which in the first year has involved 22 members of the community.

Elias provided crucial help in identifying the types of training needed, the potential beneficiaries from the local deaf community, and in signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kamuli Association for the Deaf.
Then in December last year, our first two trainers – themselves deaf – undertook their training so they could in turn become trainers.

As a result the initial intake of six students, all still at school full time, began their training over the Christmas holiday period. They hope to resume their studies once the school year has ended.

A second class of eight young people embarked on their training in February of this year. They attend a local vocational centre for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, but as they are close by they have been able to continue attending regular IT classes at UDS, which will continue until June.

A third group of eight older trainees, in their 20s and 30s,  is also meeting regularly. Whereas the younger trainees focus on basic computer skills and basic programmes such as MS Word, the older group is looking at e-numeracy,  and the use of emails and chat programmes, particularly in relation to self-employment. 
 The benefits of the training scheme are clear. Elias Tabu says his own experience showed him that the avenues of communication made available by computer knowledge help the deaf fell much less isolated. Two of the trainees have already said they plan careers in the world of IT.

The challenges remain great. Frequent power outages are a constant source of disruption, and UDS needs to acquire more computers to accommodate a potentially growing number of trainees. But the plan is,  depending on funding, to continue the scheme into a second year and give more deaf people access to a world that was previously closed to them. 

Kamuli looks forward to Easter

In common with much of the rest of the world, Ugandans are preparing for Easter. 

But for at least one resident of Kamuli, the holiday has its downside too – the UDS Development Centre and its facilities will be closed for the long weekend!

More seriously for local farmers, the holiday is coming at a time of unseasonal drought.

Mugabi Michael Kiika, 37, works for a Ugandan bank implementing the government’s Rural Financial Services programme.  For him UDS’ internet services form an essential lifeline, especially for his post-graduate studies.  Although he regrets that the internet will be unavailable for a few days, he also welcomes Easter as a few days of reflection, shared with his loved ones.

 He writes:  

“This is a time I will have to spend with my family in Namunyingi, Kamuli,  sharing the reasons why Jesus Christ was sent to us, reading the Bible that will give me hope for life after death.

“However as an internet user, I miss my UDS services during the holiday as this is the time I also get to concentrate on to my post graduate studies  online. What a great miss!”

Throughout the community in Kamuli, he says, the  Easter holiday means sharing memories of the life of Jesus Christ through church services and music. But this year’s celebrations come amid a very harsh drought, compared to previous Easters which have coincided with the rains and better growing conditions for crops.  

Michael says he’ll find it very hard to get through the holiday without accessing the internet services, as the café will be closed.  

He notes that even when it is open, the  big challenge at the UDS internet café is the lack of a standby generator to cope with the frequent power cuts.

He signs off: “I salute all the staff at UDS Kamuli, please keep up the good teamwork spirit extended to us users of the internet.

“God bless you, wishing you happy Easter Holiday Celebrations.
“Mugabi Michael Kiika.”

Mothers' Day

Thursday, 15 March 2012

It’s the time of year again for those of us in the UK and Ireland to honour our mothers, on  this coming Sunday 18 March, Mothers’ Day.

This year,  how about thinking of a mother in Uganda as well as your own?  A donation of £10 could go towards a smokeless oven – it makes the home more healthy and saves labour.

It costs only £30 to train somebody to build a smokeless oven - the materials are free! Donate now to our smokeless oven project or read more about them in our previous blog.

In Uganda young people are thinking about their mothers too. Esther Nalungoda is a student who uses UDS’ computer facilities for her studies, and for internet access.  She is a long way from her mother, so plans to send her a message by text as soon as it turns midnight  the night before.

Prossy and Sandra both do computer training with UDS.  They say everyone should celebrate Mothers’  Day.  Men should celebrate by thanking  their mothers for giving birth to them. Prossy said it’s a day when she does everything for her mother,  like cooking a special meal for her, buying  her a present and thanking  her for bringing her into the world. It’s also a time to express her appreciation to her mother for all the love, care, education and everything she’s done for her.  For Sandra, it’s a day when she expresses her happiness at being a child to her parents,  especially to her mother.

So when you are thinking about your Mother, think about Ugandan mothers, and how you can make their lives healthier and easier with a smokeless oven.  Donate now