A long overdue update
January 05, 2010
Much has happened since our last blog in February!
Much has happened since our last blog in February! As the person who updates the blog has been in Uganda with minimal access to internet, we have lapsed a bit, so here is a very brief summary of the last 10 months: The chickens purchased in December 08 contracted a horrific disease and most of them died over a period of about three months early in 2009. This meant that only 175 reached laying age and they were unable to generate sufficient income to grow the business or provide profits to cover the cost of Kibooba primary school. AMIGOs helped us replace half the birds that died and we purchased the additional half with donated funds- and we began again! We upgraded the chicken house infrastructure, implemented strict infection control procedures, and so far, this latest flock of birds is holding steady. As of December 2009 we have reached laying age for the approximately 500 birds and along with eggs comes shaky sustainability of the poultry business. Our goal continues to be to generate sufficient profit to support the school, but we are not there just yet....
BUT, thankfully the Kibooba primary school has not been left high and dry because of the finicky poultry! We formed a partnership with US-based organization 4oneworld who have taken on the operational costs of Kibooba school until the income generating projects reach profit. They will also complete the school infrastructure upgrades started by Friends of Kibooba, (we added doors and windows this year) and they will take over supporting the food security project for the orphans! What an immense blessing it was to have them come on board this year. Their website is: www.4oneworld.org if you would like to check them out. Additionally, check out our 2009 newsletter (link on our home page) for updates on other fabulous new partners who are working with us to move forward.
2010 will be our final year for Friends of Kibooba! The curtain is closing, our goal of becoming obsolete is on the horizon. We will be working hard to complete the water project this year: we want to implement a rain-water collection system, set up biosand filtration systems at the school and a construct a hand pump irrigation system for the food security project. We also have a number of tasks to complete in finishing our health goals; all of which we made a start on in 2009. We thank you for your on-going support and appreciate your continued assistance as we move into this final year!
BUT, thankfully the Kibooba primary school has not been left high and dry because of the finicky poultry! We formed a partnership with US-based organization 4oneworld who have taken on the operational costs of Kibooba school until the income generating projects reach profit. They will also complete the school infrastructure upgrades started by Friends of Kibooba, (we added doors and windows this year) and they will take over supporting the food security project for the orphans! What an immense blessing it was to have them come on board this year. Their website is: www.4oneworld.org if you would like to check them out. Additionally, check out our 2009 newsletter (link on our home page) for updates on other fabulous new partners who are working with us to move forward.
2010 will be our final year for Friends of Kibooba! The curtain is closing, our goal of becoming obsolete is on the horizon. We will be working hard to complete the water project this year: we want to implement a rain-water collection system, set up biosand filtration systems at the school and a construct a hand pump irrigation system for the food security project. We also have a number of tasks to complete in finishing our health goals; all of which we made a start on in 2009. We thank you for your on-going support and appreciate your continued assistance as we move into this final year!