A ‘lifeline’ for orphans at a Ugandan medical and crisis centre has been protected thanks to the delivery of a new pick-up truck by Solihull Rotarians.
The £40k vehicle is the result of months of fundraising by Solihull Rotary as part of ongoing support following their visit to Potters Village, in Kisoro, by Club President Phil Godfrey.
The vehicle is needed for: travelling into communities to visit and assess babies’ homes; resettling babies back with their families; transporting babies to and from other hospitals; taking babies to court at the time of acquiring care orders; transporting social workers to communities and, at times, collecting babies from far communities; transporting the psychiatric nurse and social worker for home visits to treat mothers with mental health problems and shopping for baby products and food.
With the support of St Helen’s Church in Solihull, other projects in the last two years, totalling more than £30k, include funding equipment to Potters Village including 18 cots, intravenous pumps and a CPAP breathing machine as well as upgraded training for nine nurses (to cover the next ten years); baby clothes and donations towards kindergarten education and materials.
Most children end up at Potter’s Village because their mothers died in childbirth or were unable to care for them due to psychiatric illness. Some children have simply been abandoned.
Friends of Potter’s Village provide financial support for these children, and this continues once they are settled back into the community, usually with their family.
Phil said: “After our visit to Potters Village in April 2023, we were very concerned that the staff had so many challenges to combat and we decided to help, along with FoPV (Friends of Potters Village), based in Marple, Cheshire.
“This help included finding the necessary funding for the vehicle. It is essential to the village to have this type of vehicle, or it will not function, and it is our pleasure to have helped towards this major part of their lives.”
He added: “Due to the isolated area and shocking state of the roads and tracks, and on occasions the appalling weather, this type of vehicle is essential. Thank you to the many Clubs and people that have contributed to the purchase of this truck, please rest assured that had we not been able to collect the £40,000 plus, Potters Village would not have been able to operate.”
Fundraising efforts, which included quiz nights, fish and chip suppers and raffles, were bolstered by donations from three churches in Solihull – St Alphege, St Helen’s and St Michael’s – as well as a contributions from other Rotary clubs across the West Midlands.
Solihull Rotary Club has pledged to continue its support for the project alongside a charity established in its name in 2007. Friends of Potter’s Village is a UK-based charity supporting the work of Potter’s Village Ministries, raising funds and awareness of the work being carried out among children and their families in Kisoro, Southern Uganda.
Phil joins Vicci in giving regular talks about Potter’s Village to help continue to raise as much awareness as possible.
Find out more about Friends of Potter’s Village at: https://www.pottersvillage.org.uk/