Pledge “Amim-college-3”
"I will contribute £7 towards Amim's college expenses but only if 19 other people will do the same."
— Amanda S, Friends of Bwindi volunteer
Deadline to sign up by: 29th January 2010
11 people signed up, 8 more were needed
More details
First of all, a big Thank you to everyone who have previously contributed to my pledges. You are making a big difference to Amim's life and future prospects.
‘I can't stop thanking you. Through you, I have got and continue to get the best of my life.’
Amim Asiimwe is a student at Makerere University Business School, Kampala, Uganda. After the death of his father in 2005 his mother struggled to keep him in school but he managed to complete his education and was offered a place at college in Kampala.
Amim's college education is sponsored by 'Friends of Bwindi', a small UK-based voluntary organisation set up to support the community in south west Uganda near to Bwindi Impenetrable Rainforest, and the funds for his fees and expenses are raised from a variety of fund raising sources including two pledgebanks. The first was at the beginning of Amim's course, over Christmas 2007, and the second was last Christmas when Amim was starting the second year of his diploma.
Amim is now nearing the end of his time in Kampala. He needs to return to college after Christmas for some final assessments - he had hoped this would not be necessary due to the extra costs involved, and it delays his search for paid work to help support his younger siblings, two of whom hope to be in high school next year if the family can afford it. As well as supporting Amim's expenses, Friends of Bwindi have provided some family support this year as his mother has struggled to meet the extra expenses of high school for Amim's brother.
Amim has made the most of his time in Kampala, learning new skills and making new friends. The parcel appeal that he started to support the orphans in his village has been very successful, and he has lots of presents to distribute to the children when he goes home at the end of December. He began his appeal at the end of 2008 and had a few things to distribute last Christmas, then at Easter he was able to go home to distribute more parcels. He also took pencils for some of the students at his old school, now attended by his brother, when he returned for a reunion in October.
Amim has greatly appreciated the support of his 'sponsors' who pledged their support over the last two years. Some have also given considerable support to his orphan appeal. Amim has now started a Facebook page for the appeal as well as his website at http://sites.google.com/site/amimsorphan....
Amim did not want to ask for more funding and would be relieved to know that he was receiving specific support once again. The amount requested will hardly be missed at this time of year but will go a long way in Uganda. I have stuck with Lucky Seven (pounds) - an amount that might perhaps buy a snack during your christmas shopping, and which could be lurking down the back of your sofa - but if you are welcome to contribute any amount!
It could be the most valuable gift you give this year.
Please ask your friends to consider joining too!
Friends of Bwindi is has charitable tax status. If you are a UK taxpayer you can add 28p to every £1 donated by making a Gift Aid declaration, which can be done on our website (if you make a donation by Paypal you should be automatically returned to our website).
Our organisation was started by a visitor to Bwindi who has experience of charity management and is run entirely by volunteers working from home (including me). Our overheads are minimal and 100% of donated funds are used in direct support of our beneficiaries in Uganda.
Thank you for reading. Please help us to make a difference.
http://www.friends-of-bwindi.org
- Be Keen on Clean
- vote for Hank Williams Jr. in the Primary Election
- contribute $25 per month to DVGRR
- pledge 100USD
See more pledges, and all about how PledgeBank works.
Things to do with this pledge
Current signatories (
= they've done it)
Amanda S, the Pledge Creator, joined by:
- Anne campbell
- Ramana Kumar
- amy
- Ratfink
- Sheena*Shiny*Shoes
- GAIL IREDALE
- 5 people who did not want to give their names
Comments on this pledge
http://www.friends-of-bwindi.org/student...
Unfortunately it's too late to update the pledge on the website, but several people have already offered to make their pledge payment (one has paid already - thank you!) so we might still make the target amount!
I have sent a message to pledgers. Many thanks for your support.
I can't send another email message via Pledgebank (they only allow one post-pledge email to ensure that you don't get too many messages!) so I'm using the public comments messages instead.
Thank you to everyone who joined the Pledge to support Amim's college expenses in Uganda. Although it did not 'officially' succeed, most people made a donation (including several considerably over £7!) and the supporters who joined after the deadline more than made up the extra amount. This means that the target of £140 was exceeded, with £156 raised from the pledgebank. Several donors made a Gift Aid declaration which will add to the final total.
If you did not donate and would still like to do so it's not too late - you can use the Donate buttons on our website to make a donation by Paypal or using your credit card or debit card (using Paypal's secure web service). http://www.friends-of-bwindi.org/student... or if you would prefer to send a cheque visit http://www.friends-of-bwindi.org/donate....
If you would like to receive email updates and are not already on the list please send me your email address - if you're not sure, send it and I'll check! As I said in previous messages, I don't know the email addresses of pledgers unless you have contacted me separately, as the site keeps your email address confidential.
To sign up for general Friends of Bwindi email newsletters please visit our website and complete the form below the navigation links http://www.friends-of-bwindi.org
Best wishes,
Amanda