Just not meant to be....

We hoped to take our shoe cuttings out to Uganda ourselves at the beginning of August.  

Unfortunately we seem to have missed the best price on flight options and even though there are flights available for the dates we needed, it would mean paying more than double what they usually are.  I don’t know about you, but I’d rather my money go on the children or into the villages while we are in Uganda than some hugely wealthy airline company.  

We've tried every possible avenue to make this trip happen but it just doesn't seem to be working out unless we pay out a ridiculous amount of money. We even looked at the possibility of flying from Dublin!!!!  Yes you heard right.  Strangely enough it is cheaper for us to get a flight from Dublin to Heathrow and then a direct flight from Heathrow to Uganda than it is to simply book the second leg of that journey!!  We even asked the airline if we could book this option and board in Heathrow but sadly this isn't possible. We then thought about sticking with the saving of £300 by flying from Dublin and getting a flight from our local airport to Dublin but we hadn't figured that those little hour long flights were so cheap because they don't offer any baggage allowance. So we'd get to the airport but our suitcases with all our stuff and more importantly the shoe cuttings would still remain in Wales. Its just not happening any way we try to work it even if it means us going out of our way to get to our final destination. 

So, sadly, our visit is likely to be postponed until next year. 

 

Don’t worry though.  All our shoes are packed away nicely in my garage and are being kept safely for another year.  The donations made on the night will all be sent directly to Sole Hope to be used in the shoe making process and offering the shoe maker a fair wage. 

 

On a positive light, this means we have another year to hold some more shoe cutting parties and fundraise even more for some brilliant activities next year for the children.

 

We also fundraised through the Christmas bags and that money is sitting in a bank account all ready to go when we go.  We cover all the costs of our flights and accommodation ourselves and every penny we fundraise, goes towards the children, young people and families we meet along the way, wherever the need is most.  Now we get a little longer to do another fundraising push and raise even more for the wonderful people of Uganda. Plus we get to plan ahead and book those flights super early when the best discounts are available. 

Unless we get a lottery win or some miracle happens tomorrow and flights get discounted, our visit this year is going to be a no go. If there are any changes I will keep you posted. 

Party with a purpose

A few months ago we set up a party with a purpose!  

It was a whole new concept in partnership with Sole Hope.  Sole Hope are a charity working on the ground in Uganda.  They help fight the problem of jiggers by giving children closed toe shoes. 

 

Jiggers are nasty little creatures, a bit like a sand flea, that burrow into the skin on children’s feet and sometimes hands.  

They use the skin as a place to lay their eggs and the effects can be debilitating.  Often children with jigger infections can be seen as being cursed and are often ostracised from society.  Many fail to attend school due to the impact it has on their mobility. 

 

Many children in Uganda don’t own a pair of closed toe shoes and that is all they need to prevent jiggers from entering their skin.  It’s a simple solution to a horrible problem.

 

In July 2010 I had my own experience of jiggers.  Myself and my friend stayed at a guest house in the outskirts of Kampala.  It had gone a little downhill from the last time we stayed there.  We knew nothing of jiggers at the time.  Then my friend spotted something on her big toe.  She thought it was a verucca. The next day, the verucca had multiplied.  We spent our final day at the guest house before moving on to the nice hotel at our next stop.  Unbelievably, when we arrived, I had an itch in my toe and was astounded to find that I had now caught a ‘verucca’. Little did we know! 

 

When we got home, with these verucca like things on our toes, my friend booked a GP appointment and was sent straight to the hospital.  She rang me to say her GP thought it was jiggers.  I immediately rang my GP and booked an appointment.  I had two in my one toe.  My GP said he had heard about jiggers but never seen them before.  I was intrigued as he pulled them out of my toe and told me to use a disinfectant wash every day for the next week to make sure all the eggs were killed. 

 

Our experience wasn’t anything too horrific other than a sore toe for a few days but for many children, jiggers can be life changing!

 

Sole Hope encourage people to hold shoe cutting parties.  This was our party with a purpose.  We invited all our friends, family and community members along for a night of shoe cutting.  Each person had to being along any old denim they had and a scissors.  Young and old were able to take part.  Over the evening we cut 55 pairs of shoes and one lady took the pattern away and continued to cut out our pattern so many more shoes can be made. 

 

Everyone enjoyed the evening and it was lovely to do something different that also is a huge practical help to children in Uganda.  Sole Hope employ shoe makers in Uganda who sew together all the patterns we cut and add a sole made of recycled tyres.  It really is a wonderful project.  For more information visit their website at www.solehope.org 

A Christmas FUNdraiser

 I am still so behind on updates and missed what we did just before Christmas.  It was such an amazing fundraiser that I can’t help but recap and go back to share it with you. 

 

I had this bright idea that I could make some little bags of reindeer dust for children to use on Christmas eve.  In researching this idea I also stumbled across snowman soup bags.  I decided to give them both a go.  I made up a few bags and they sold out straight away.

 

I didn’t expect such demand and my kitchen turned into a factory line, with as many willing volunteers as possible, doing their bit to create these bags. 

 

We raised over £300 to take out to Uganda and use in the country.  We hope to hold a reunion of as many of the children from the former children’s home I visited previously as possible as well as holding a fun day in the village school we visit.  This money is invaluable in meaning we can make some wonderful memories for the children and young people to treasure forever.  Thank you to everyone who bought a Christmas bag off me – watch this space for this year’s creations!!!  Get your orders in now LOL!