Cracking open the champagne!

It was my birthday Monday and I got an extra special present that I didn’t see coming at all!

 

It was news from Uganda that I had started to believe would never happen.

 

The last young person, from the children’s home I used to visit, has left and been resettled with a foster family. 

 

The final child is out of institutional care!!!

 

I received the news from my friend who lives in Uganda and she declared she wished we could crack open a bottle of champagne to celebrate together this huge achievement. 

 

You see it hasn’t been an easy journey to resettle this last child.  This young man is deaf as well as being autistic.  On paper, this young man would be tricky to place and would likely be someone who would horribly age out of institutional care and then end up back on the streets, struggling to survive.  The thought of this was a total nightmare for my friend and I.  He just wouldn’t survive.  It was a heartbreaking situation.

 

And then a miracle happened…..

 

In meeting with a foster family who already foster two girls who grew up with my daughter from the same home, my friend discussed this particular boy and the struggle there would be in resettling him.  To her amazement they offered to take him in for a weekend as a trial.

 

This went well and the girls enjoyed having a brother around, so the family have decided to foster him as well.

 

Over the moon is an understatement. 

 

It’s the BEST birthday present I could ever have asked for.

 

Unbelievably this boy has been out of school for some time as the home/charity failed to pay his fees for him to attend his specialised school.  The school works with hearing impaired children and offers a carpentry course that this special boy loved!  Not only that but he can board here alongside other boys with hearing difficulties or who are deaf, so he has his own social network.  He can then come home to his foster family on weekends and holidays.  It’s a brilliant opportunity for this boy to thrive.

 

Now you’d be thinking this course costs a lot and that would be why the charity have stopped him going there….

 

You’d be wrong!

 

The course and boarding costs a little over £100 a term!!!

 

Yes that’s right, it costs a little under £400 to send this precious boy to this specialised facility to do a course he loves!

 

(Why the charity were letting this boy down I never know but at last he is out of there and we can help him from here on in.)

 

So here’s where I need to ask for your help.  Could you give a one off gift to help this boy stay in school for the year?  If you can, no matter how big or small, you can make a difference to this boys life.  If you see me in person, I can accept your donations and pass them on to Reunite Uganda or you can donate here making sure you state that your donation is for the Reunite part of the Alternative Care Framework in Uganda.

 

If you’d like to hold a fundraising event or have any other ideas how we can continue to raise money for this boy and others like him, please get in touch. 

 

This young man gets to stay in his home country with a family who will love him and attend a school that meets his needs, but he needs a little help from us. 

 

Thank you in advance for helping. 

A Mother's Touch

Yesterday we celebrated Mothering Sunday (Mother's Day) here in the UK.  It is such a precious day and I love how my church celebrates ALL women, not just those who are mothers. 

My daughter certainly gave me a memorable day that started with breakfast in bed and beautiful gifts and cards, followed by a lovely family meal after church. 

In the midst of our adoption I longed for the day we would celebrate Mother's Day together.  I had a long wait to bring my daughter home. I had to fight systems, social workers and courts to be deemed worthy of the title 'mother'. 

I won the battle and I cling firmly to the privilege of being a mother. I cherish every moment of being a Mum. I am forever grateful for the blessings motherhood has brought to my life. 

For many, Mother's Day can be a day too painful, a day of heartache. There are some still battling for their title, through adoption processes or fertility treatment.  Others I know have had miscarriages and today they mourn. Others too have lost their children to disease or illness.  Today their grief is raw. They wish for today to pass unnoticed.  For shop shelves to empty of the keepsakes that are all too distressful a reminder of their loss. 

Then there are children who have known a mother's touch but who's mothers have been taken away far too soon. Today they grieve; they remember. They embrace the treasured memories they have. 

Around the world, children wait in orphanages/institutions longing for a mother's touch. I read a quote online recently that implied you only get one mother. For children caught up in care systems there is little hope in that statement. True enough, you only get one birth mother, but adoption or foster care gives children a second chance of having a Mum to call their own.  Adoption made me a Mum. 

So today, like my church, I want to celebrate ALL women: those with us and those taken away; those with children and those without; birth mums, adoptive mums, foster mums; those awaiting their precious bundles and those whose children have passed away from this world; those who choose to remain childless and those still battling for the role.  

Today I am thankful to have felt a mother's touch and to be a mother. More so today, I celebrate being an amazingly and miraculously made woman. Go and celebrate all the exceptional and extraordinary women in your life today. 

Talking Pants!

No matter how old your children are, they will always need protecting.  

Sending out positive, stay safe messages from an early age is essential but don't forget teens need protecting too.

From tots to teens - ALL children can be vulnerable to abuse. As parents (teachers, youth workers, social workers, neighbours, family friends.....add any other title here) it is our job, role, responsibility to protect them.

Safeguarding children is EVERYONES responsibility!

Did you know most children who are abused, are abused by someone they know?

This puts the whole stranger danger talk out the window. 

Children need stay safe advice that is relevant and that works. 

I know most parents would feel happy in explaining to their child that hitting is wrong and that they should tell an adult they trust straight away if someone harms them in this way.  But how would you fair in talking about sexual abuse with your kids?

Scary subject hey?  I mean how on earth would you ever bring this topic up in conversation with your kids?

Well the NSPCC are encouraging us to do just that. They have introduced a new campaign all about 'Talking Pants'.  

By using the NSPCCs underwear rule, children will learn how to stay safe from sexual abuse.  You can watch the campaign video on their website. www.nspcc.org.uk. The kind people at NSPCC have put together tips and advice for parents/professionals too. Take a look at the website for more information. 

So get talking pants people and let's keep our children safe!  

A year in the making

I've been pretty rubbish at keeping the blog updated lately. I apologise for that but I had some photos that jogged my memory that I needed to update the blog so here goes. 

A year ago we were holding our February Flush Fundraiser. Remember it?  Doesn't time fly hey?  So as the year progressed I kept getting updates from Uganda on the progress of our very own pit latrine that our money was helping to build. It was a pit latrine like no other, best in the district I'm told!  

So we had our trials as the first pit was dug when we visited last Easter. Then the rains came and the mud and rain filled the pit and the location had to be moved. A new pit had to be dug which added cost to our overall budget. We had to start from scratch. 

So a new site was found right next to the school and building work began once again. I sent over some additional money to cover the added cost and building continued. Then this week I received a wonderful email that included photos of how things are looking at the moment. I was really impressed at how good it looks. Take a look for yourselves. 

Isn't it looking good?  It's almost finished. (I am ever so envious of that bright Ugandan sunshine in the background of the photos too. It's been rain, rain and more rain here recently.) 

So you can see that there are a few little details needing to be added. There needs to be a gate on each entrance, that will remain locked to keep out intruders and animals, and there also needs to be doors attached to the actual toilet areas. Once these things are fitted then our work here is done and the school children have a toilet that is not only safe to use but a wonderful piece of construction. 

So if anyone has any bright ideas of how we can raise the final amount of money to cover the costs of the doors and gates, please get in touch as every little thing helps. We're almost there and he children will have a toilet to be proud of. 

And anyone heading to Uganda, make sure you head on over to use this toilet during your visit.

Blessing bags

A few weeks ago we headed to London for the day. The night before leaving we had a family project to do. 

It all started with a zip lock bag........

And a whole lot of items. 

We put some little essentials together and created blessing bags for the homeless people of London. We knew we'd see one or two homeless people while there as the bright lights attract so many people but we weren't prepared for the amount of homeless people we actually saw. 

Our blessing bags blessed a few of the many. We know for next time to make a few more. 

It was a little project we could do together that we could see the instant results of. It put love into action and helped us see how fortunate we are to have the home comforts we enjoy each day. 

Sometimes we can overlook the small things we can all do in life to bless someone less fortunate than ourselves. We can all make a difference to someone else's day. We just have to make the decision to try. 

Christmas Blessings from our house to yours

Proud Mammy Moment

I can't quite believe I've been a Mam for 3 years now. Doesn't time fly?

My girly makes me proud every day and sometimes I take for granted what she does each day. I forget it's only been 3 years. I forget how much she's learned and how far she's come. She takes everything in her stride and brings so much joy to all those lives she touches. You can't help but smile when she's in your presence. 

A few weeks ago it wasn't only me singing her praises. She won an award for 100% attendance for the whole academic year of 2012-2013. Our local education department celebrated every child who gained this achievement with a wonderful evening of celebration. 

School attendance is so important and we always strive to do our best, after all if you're not there, you're missing out on your education. My girly takes it to an even higher level though. She is so conscientious in attending each and every day. I am so fortunate that she has this attitude. There are never any grizzles or groans in the mornings. She aims to be there every single day. Even on those days when she feels a little under the weather, she always motivates herself to get in to school. 

School isn't always easy for her but still she goes, aiming to try her best every day. She never wants to let her friends down and has come on leaps and bounds in the last 3 years. Her confidence is flowing and there are glimmers of dreams and aspirations brewing.