Pledge “Amims-college-2”
"I will contribute £7 towards Amim's college fees but only if 27 other people will do the same."
— Amanda S, 'Friends of Bwindi Orphanage' volunteer
Deadline to sign up by: 31st January 2009
28 people signed up (1 over target)
More details
First of all, a big Thank you to everyone who contributed to my pledge last year. 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 is a student at Makerere University Business School, Kampala, Uganda. He is sponsored by 'Friends of Bwindi Orphanage', 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 eBay auctions, particularly the 'Monthly Daft Charity Coalition' (MDCC) (see http://www.friendsofbwindiorphanage.org/... and our eBay account at http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/*friendsofbwin...). Amim is studying on a 2 year, 4 semester diploma course and is currently in his third semester. The amount aimed for in this pledge would cover the tuition fees for the fourth and final semester of Amim's diploma course.
Last year I started a Pledge to raise the fees for Amim's second semester. This was very successful, raising much more than we hoped. The money from the Pledge together with sales from our charity eBay account have funded Amim's course so far.
The worldwide price increase for food and fuel combined with changes in currency exchange rates (reducing the value of the £) means that it will cost more to fund Amim's final semester. The cost of tuition, 475,000 Ugandan shillings, which last year equated to around £145 is now £190 and the amount needed for food and other living expenses has increased.
Of course we are also feeling the pinch in our household budgets, making it more difficult to afford to make donations to charities. Rather than ask for a higher amount this year I decided to look for a few more people to join us - so the Lucky £7 stays the same but I am asking for 27 people (instead of 19) to join me in the donation. Please ask your friends and family to join us in supporting Amim - or if you can afford more than £7 any extra amount raised will go towards Amim's living expenses (and bank fees to transfer the funds). He may have the opportunity to continue at college to complete a degree course if he is able to find funding, and of course we would love to be in a position to support this (beginning September 2009).
I hope that £7 is still an amount that most people won’t miss at this time of year - maybe you could cash in your coin jar, search the sofa or ask 6 friends to contribute £1 each? Or sell something to make space for your Christmas gifts!
I am Amim's main contact in our organisation and we exchange emails most weeks. He very much appreciates the support shown by his sponsors and is determined to make the most of his opportunity. I have never regretted for a moment the work I have put in to support Amim's expenses; he is a very thoughtful and caring young man, with great empathy for the many young orphans in his village.
We asked Amim to find out about PO Box rental so that he could have a reliable postal address; it costs around £10 per year so we sent money for this in his last payment. Inspired by campaigns seen on TV Amim asked whether he could use the PO box to solicit parcels of clothes, scholastic items (pens, pencil cases etc) and other essentials for orphans and women in his village, which he will take home at vacations. There are huge numbers of orphaned and vulnerable children in Uganda as a result of the HIV/AIDs epidemic. This is Amim's own project - find out more on his website http://sites.google.com/site/amimsorphan....
Amim is delighted at this chance to help other children in his village – the comment at the top of this pledge comes from an email I received after telling him the first parcel is on its way.
You can contribute towards Amim’s college expenses online to the ‘Friends of Bwindi Orphanage’ account using a credit or debit card or your Paypal account, using Paypal's secure online service. We can accept online donations in any currency. You do not need a Paypal account to use this service. We can also accept postal donations.
'Friends of Bwindi Orphanage' has been awarded charitable tax status and can now claim gift aid payments from the Inland Revenue on eligible donations made since June 2007. Using Gift Aid we could receive an extra 28p for every £1 of eligible donations - that's £2.80 for every £10 (£1.96 for £7). Even if you cannot afford to donate this year, if you have supported us in the past you may be able to contribute to our funds just by completing our online gift Aid declaration – see our website for more details or to donate
http://www.friendsofbwindiorphanage.org
