A WIN WIN Proposition QCD Tax Savings!

Dear Friends of ChildrenUP

We have a WIN WIN idea for our senior-citizen supporters to consider:

Are you 70 ½ years or older?  Then you know you are required to take the required minimum distribution from your retirement IRA funds each year.  This money is taxable income.

Have you heard about Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD)?  Some

of our supporters have begun using QCD (qualified charitable distribution) which allows them to give a of portion of the minimum distribution directly to ChildrenUP.  The QCD is NOT considered taxable income.

WIN WIN!

 

YOU WIN by not increasing your income for tax purposes when you share some of your minimum distribution as a QCD (qualified charitable distribution) with ChildrenUP.

ChildrenUP WINS by gaining funds to support more students in their education.

Contact us for further information at childrenup@gmail.com

Your financial advisor has the forms you will need to move the money directly from your IRA to ChildrenUP.

So Many Flowers!! 2017 Spring Gala

We are so excited for this 2017 Spring Gala!

So many flowers as well as so many way to participate in this year’s Spring Gala!  We all love choices, so choose the one that fits your needs!

• I will be attending and want to buy a ticket.

• I am not able to attend but would like to make a donation.

• I would like to look at the silent auction items.

• We have a variety items that you are able to place an early bid on even if you are unable to attend the gala. Those items are listed in red. Unfortunately, you maybe out bid on the night of the gala.

 

Things work differently in Uganda!

Sending Newsletters

A very real challenge this year has been communicating with Children UP back in the states.

When electricity does not work…neither does Internet. For several days in a row the electrical was out in the evenings and mornings.  Not having electricity also means not being able to recharge phones and computers.   There are places in town with generators if you happen to be close to them.

Roads and Traveling

Traveling by bus has its challenges.  Many long destination buses will not leave until every seat is taken, ensuring that it is a profitable run.

A seven a.m. run may not leave until 9 or 10.  This was our experience in 2005 when we first traveled toUganda.  Since then we have discovered the Post Office buses, which leave on time.  They are also recognized as having the safest drivers.

We have learned the hard way not to plan to travel at the beginning or end of a school term when all the students are coming and going to boarding school around the country.  The buses are sheer chaos as everyone scrambles for available spaces.

Then there are the roads.  Not all roads are paved.  During the dry season when we are here each year the dust is flying everywhere.   At the end of the trip when we retrieve our luggage from under the bus carriage, all the bags look the same…. dusty red!

In most places the edges of the tarmac have worn away due to heavy traffic and the dirt slants down toward the ditches.   When a bus passes another large vehicle, you find yourself awkwardly tilting toward a ditch.  As you get close to a town, there are improvised speed bumps that have a significant presence.

All of this and I have not even written about the motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians.

Betty and Charlies’s First Leg of the Journey to Uganda 2015!

Getting Here. . .  

Twenty hours on a plane, seven on a bus, six hours in airports.   We are exhausted.

Our most interesting adventure so far was arriving in Entebbe without one large piece of luggage.

We went back the next day to see if it was in. I think we will just have to do without.

Luckily all of our most important items were in our carry-ons.

We are slowly making connections with Ugandan friends that we will meet in the next few days.  We are always excited to make this yearly trip to meet with our coordinators, have our meeting with the students we are sponsoring and reconnect with our friends.

Charlie’s News!

In Entebbe we stayed at a backpacker hostel.   We met Gertrude, a woman selling her banana leaf crafts.   She took the time to show Betty how she takes a leaf and is able to use it to weave handicrafts.   During our conversation she mentioned an American she knows well, Tony Kambich, from Evanston.  I was surprised that I would know him.  A few years back he met with Children UP to explain his work establishing Montessori schools in Uganda.   I did have the pleasure of visiting one of the schools a few years back.

Thanks to one of our supporters, we had a contribution of a computer.  We were able to give it to a friend.  George is not part of Children UP.  George works at an Internet cafe.   When I was here in 2010, George was an incredible help with Internet and with practical advice.   I was pleased that I was able to return the favor.

Betty’s News!

We cannot say enough positive things about Entebbe’s backpacker hostel.  Benjamin  at the front desk, Colin and owner Frank were all wonderful to us. What a special place. They make improvements by adding solar panels which has reduced their bill by 20% and creating a water reserve.  Lots of positive energy there!

When Colin’s car got a flat tire, his dad come to drive us to the post bus…

WOW, Frank is a gracious hands-on owner! We had a great conversation and made it to the bus with three minutes to spare, THANKS, Frank!

Yes, the Post Buses do deliver the mail!

Meet Moses Akantorana….. An early success story!

When we first started going to Uganda we met Moses.   At the time he was working in a field lab in southern Uganda.   Though he had graduated from high school, he was not able to finance a college education.  He was interested in both tourism and in conservation.

We are happy to announce that Moses is now employed by the Max Plank Institute studying the lives and health of the mountain gorillas in the Virunga Mountains.  Because he studies the gorillas on an almost daily basis, he says that the gorillas now recognize him and he also recognizes the individuals in the group.

We congratulate Moses in helping the world better understand the lives of this endangered species.

Women’s Cooperative!

Sewing Room

We were interested in buying some Ugandan crafts.  In Gulu we found the Wawoto Kacel.   It is a cooperative organized by the Catholic Church.  They have a small store with beautiful fabric items, necklaces, baskets and other items.

There are times when as a consumer you wonder about the conditions under which items are made. What is so impressive is that the craft persons on the premises in well equipped studios.  We saw rooms for weaving, sewing, paper-making, bead necklace and dying.   I am certain we did not see it all.

The women were delightfully interactive as I walked into each area with my camera, wanting to see the pictures.  Meanwhile, I had left Betty to finish the shopping with Rachel.  As we left, we watched two women who had just finished dying large pieces of cloth, leaving them to dry on the lawn.

It is good to support the people creating the work.   On another note, Rachel knew that we were attracted to a certain product in the craft market.  Since she is a tailoring instructor, Rachel organized a young woman who just graduated from tailoring school to make for us some I-Pad bags made from locally bought Kitenge cloth.  Rachel is also planning on contacting a local basket maker for us.   Even shopping is different in Uganda and in the process we are making friends.

More Fun Pictures:

Women Making Seed Bead Jewelry

Betty and Rachel shopping!

Arrived and Thriving in Uganda!

So much to do in so little time!!!  Working with the

internet in Uganda makes you appreciate the internet at home.

We had a wonderful and productive meeting with the mentors.  We gathered the information to select our

three new students.  Almost there!!!  We spent a huge amount of time learning about “A Le

vels” and how we can help our students make the transfer from “O

Levels” to “A Levels”.

 

Betty has been spending time with Rachel getting basic supplies for the students.  We used motorcycles to get the supplies to the ChildrenUP office. Betty’s first time on a motorcycle!!!  We decided to walk the two miles back to town.

Looking forward to meeting the students, attending a local rotary meeting, organizing the supplies, crossing the “t’s” and dotting the “i’s”!

We are enjoying the warm weather!  Stay tune for more to come! (If the internet works!)

Charlie

Getting ready to see our Ugandan friends

We are getting ready to go back to Uganda fro our annual trip. This year there will be a new person to meet. Akidi Doria Nicole was born about a month ago to our mentor Rachel Akullu and her husband Fred Watum. It will be good to see Walter and Sam again as we work out our program for the next year. We are excited to see the students again and to add three more students to ChildrenUP. We have a lot of work to do when we get there and only 2 weeks to get it all done. I am hoping to squeeze in a Rotary meeting or two. We have other friends whom we will attempt to fit into our schedule as well as doing a bit of shopping.

Coming out of Hiding

It has been a while since I have done the “blog-thingy” Now I have come out of hiding! I do OK keeping up facebook posts, but I get somewhat intimidated by the whole blog concept. So now I am trying to embarrass myself into doing it

Nancy Akumu – Brief Professional Profile

Nancy Akumu started her professional career as a Research Assistant with BBC World Service Trust while at Makerere University.  Immediately she completed her first degree in Forestry, she volunteered with Opportunities for Environment Planning (OPEP) Consult Ltd- Kampala and later became an Environment Officer in that same consultancy firm.   She worked in partnership for various local and international consultancy firms in Uganda including COWI Ltd, VSHydro Ltd, Uganda Investment Authority (UAI), Green Label Serveices (GLS), Uganda Coffee Processing Industry (UGACOF), among others. Later, she started a forestry business with Global Woods Uganda and still progressing well. This business was aimed to help her family members in paying school fees for her young siblings.  Presently, she received an Environmental training opportunity as a Young Environmental Trainee with WWF (World Wide Fund for nature)-Uganda Country Office for a period of six months i.e. from June-December 2012.

In August-2012 I will begin my master’s programme in ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT at Makerere University. After my master degree, I hope to actively participate in combating climate change in Uganda and the world at large.  After my master’s degree I look forward to new opportunities having been recognized by various worldwide institutions and organizations.