The matriarch of the Daughters of Charity, having cared for many thousands of orphans in Uganda, passed away earlier this week.  No one was more beloved among the orphan community and her loss is deeply felt by all of us.

I wish I could claim any responsibility for helping Ritah Nyamwiza become what she is today, but I can’t.  I have to admit that I only met this wonderful young lady after the pressures of a hard life were taken by her stellar character to form and burnish the precious jewel she is today.  An extremely gifted writer of high intellect and a caring soul, she is a joy to associate with.  I have read and occasionally reviewed some of her writings (I find very little in need of correction and can rarely suggest improvements), talk with her occasionally and- as of this summer- became her ‘business partner’.  If I ever actually go into semi-retirement and go to set up a small business in Uganda, Ritah would be the first one I would look to hire.  Alas, I fear I won’t be able to afford her by the time this happens; she’s too good and will likely be running an NGO by then.

Her proposal for business is here:

Dear Uncle Michael,
I was supposed to have typed this in ms word and attached it but I thought I would just send an email with the explanations.
With the increasing unemployment rates in the country due to the global credit crunch problem- young people all over the country have been encouraged to be job creators and not seekers. It is in light of the above situation that I came up with the idea of a small business. it would be dealing in ladies bags, shoes, accessories and clothes. This side income is very much needed.. I estimated that it would cost me 400000 and that is why am seeking for the loan as I plan to raise 200000 from savings. I would also request for a grace period of 2months and thereafter spread the repayment over a period of 4 months. Let me know what you think.
Regards
Ritah

My response is here:

I have read the proposal and approve it, with some modifications.

I have never seen a small businessperson who- starting out- sufficiently capitalized at startup; there are always excess expenses.  Therefore, my loan will not be 200K; it will be 300K loan (possibly a little more, depending on exchange rate).  My target for delivering this will be June 15th -16th; I cannot preclude some delay, but do not expect it.

A grace period of 3 months will be granted, with repayment spread over 12 months.  Repayment will not to me; you will serve as a charitable source  for that period.  You will report to me who, what and why you donated 25,000 that month, along with regular business reports (those reports will serve as your interest payment).  Frankly, this will be excellent training for the NGO world.

I also am fully aware (as hopefully you are) that most small businesses fail.  Should this occur in your case, I expect a fully detailed report on the what, why, hows and the lessons learned.  You will still be obligated even if the business fails; however, that obligation may not involve financial repayment.  It will take the form of specific charitable service to others; to be as specific and detailed as a payment version.  That can be tutoring or other assistance of significance to others.  I need consistent reporting in any regard.

This is as much a training exercise as anything else for you, not to mention a means of keeping up with you (which I enjoy immensely.  There is an additional long-term cost to this: Should I actually work out how to establish a small business for my retirment in Uganda several years from now, I will likely need a top-flight business manager to help make it successful.  I want the option to talk to you at that time about it, because I currently can think of no one I know there more likely to be a sure bet for that role than you.

BTW:  I am always available as a personal reference for you; if i was a hiring manager, I Would would hire you on the spot for almost any public-relations, presentation, and/or customer interaction role.  I expect anyone as impressive as you to be highly successful.

And this was the latest report from her:

This young lady leaves me speechless (no small feat ; Thank God for such people!

Now that Irene and Faridah are through secondary school, I had a little bandwidth to pick up another.  This time I worked directly though Children of Uganda and their monthly donation program.  I requested a Primary boy this time, because I need to mix things up a bit.  I was fortunate enough to draw Godfrey Mugisha, a young man who- according to Peter, the Sabine library manager- has been the top of his class since the first day he walked in the door.  I fully expect I have another college education to pay for in my future.

Godfrey’s family situation is tough.  Rather than being the typical orphan from AIDs, his father was seriously injured in a fall many years ago, was unable to work and finally passed on in 2007.  His mother and 7 siblings had to sell their cattle (cattle being a strictly man’s business in Uganda; both societal and practical, as cattle theft must be an issue.).  They bought a small tract of land and struggle to survive.  I’ll be helping his family where I can, so Godfrey can focus on school.

A new, long-term adventure and commtiment for me; I haven’t regretted one yet.  I look forward to getting to Africa and meeting Godfrey and his family.

Moud is now about 20 and a very talented artist.  He lost both of his parents to AIDs when he was 15 (and long before was in orphanages due to their inability to even care for themselves).  He has lots of hustle, is quite personable, and presents extremely well.  He helps care for a much younger sister that is HIV-positive but seems to be doing OK on medication.  This is one of the ‘kids’ I don’t worry about making it; he has the drive and skills to go places.

Some of the required components would be: 

Solar panels,  Battery pack, Transformer, LED-based lights, Sufficient wiring for flexible usage.

Some kits exist like this one, but this example lacks adequate power, wattage and likely storage to be effective. 

• A minimum of 30 watts of solar panels (polycrystalline would be the most durable and cost-effective)
• At least 6 lights of minimum 2-3 watts each 
• Battery pack capacity for 5 running hours of all lights when fully charged.

My experiences in Uganda made clear to me that a number of small mechanical, electrical and/or manual systems could be deleveloped as engineering projects at the high school or college levels, or as NGO-funded projects. The purpose of these postings is to establish the needs and general specifications of engineering projects that would be of extreme value in third-world, poverty-stricken areas.

The goal of each project is to engineer useful components for third world charitable operations.  All items must meet certain generic parameters

• The total system must weigh under 50 pounds when packed for shipping  (as luggage on an airline).
• It must be no larger than the luggage requirements of international airlines (length + width + height must not exceed 62 inches)
• It must be packed in a way to be assured survival in airline transport and it must be capable of being repacked.
• It must break down into backpack sizes and weight; not more than 30 pounds and 18 by 30 by 8 inches.
• The entire apparatus must be lockable in a secure case form to prevent theft.
• The system must require no or very simple maintenance.
• The system must be very easy to set up and use; consideration of third world knowledge base must be considered.
• The entire apparatus must be rugged, insensitive to environmental temperature extremes, and water/humidity resistant.
• The system should be reasonably cheap to produce.  Therefore, Nearly all components should all be off the shelf.

The types of projects involve attempts to bring lighting, water handling, medical, and educational capabilities where there is no basic infrastructure at all: power, communication, sewage, piped water, and paved roads may all not be available. The specific projects are as follow:

• Solar lighting system capable of lighting a home or small common areas sufficiently for comfortable reading.
• Backpackable materials- including books- sufficient to teach specific secondary classes (math, sciences, health, etc.) to a minimum of 25 pupils
• Water pumping and filtering systems.

The poor young lady has gone through a fair amount of hospitalization lately; complications (minor) after they took a clot out of her brain months after a pedestrian accident.

Update: The last hospitalization seemed to take care of a transient problem with dehydration.  Lat I talk to her, she had been fine for quite awhile and was concentrating on studies, as she should. 

 But does she look good in this video from before!

She looks too good!  I can also attest to something else from personal experience, but fortunately I’m old enough and ‘comfortable’ enough that the damage was minimal:  A big hug from Sandra delivered to any male with a functional endocrine system will drop said male’s IQ to match his age for hours.

Maybe I need to include this message I sent prior to the PAM Awards (the East Africa Grammys).  She didn’t win, but even being nominated was an honor.

Two things that real political conservatives- of all stripes- believe in are personal responsibility and ‘traditional’ values.  Note those traditional values are found in all of the great religions and deal with good and evil, as well as sacrifice and charity.  In this season, we Christians celebrate the birth of one who later made the ultimate sacrifice for all mankind and, in this season, it is appropriate to consider sacrifice.  We must think of those great people in our military, so far from home during these holidays, making such sacrifices for our country and the causes of peace and freedom.  We must especially think of those- American and her allies- who gave the ultimate sacrifice in those causes and the loved ones they left behind.

Even when they don’t come up to the level of those in the military, we must also contemplate our own sacrifices.  If we truly believe in personal responsibility, we cannot leave it to others.  And by sacrifice, I don’t mean merely signing off on a United Way pledge, or writing a check to a charity (although that, too, is needed).  Sacrifice comes as a personal commitment, generally long-term, to serve others that you are not obligated to serve. It means to follow through, make a difference and see it done.  Personally, I feel we are all judged at one point or another- whether in this life or after- and it’s best to have enough ‘good points’ over bad; sacrifice helps tilt those totals.

As I look back on this year and all the people and projects I’ve dealt with (primarily on my trip to Uganda), and consider that I’ve done just fair. ‘Fair’, some would say “You went to Africa for weeks to work personally, spent 12-15% of your income on this work.  Only ‘fair’??”   Yes, considering people like this, my family obligations made it difficult to make that kind of sacrifice.  More importantly, how can it be classified as sacrifice when I get so much out of it?  How much would you pay to be happier with your own life?  To gain an attitude that has led to less complaints and the strength to deal effectively with the adversities of my son’s serious medical issues?  To get the privilege of associating with great people of sweetness, character and strength, both workers and orphans?  However, fair will have to do, since that is all I’m capable of doing and still fulfilling basic family obligations that naturally have priority.

I ask everyone to- in this holiday season- consider the commitments in their life.  If you don’t already, consider making a serious commitment of sacrifice to support your belief in traditional values and personal responsibility.  It doesn’t matter what form it takes (though you are more than happy to support the group I work with, even if it’s a simple contribution.)  As the Nike ad puts so well, ‘Just Do It!’  Prove you’re a Real Conservative.

May you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

It is difficult for me to write this posting, as I have- since early in my adult life- eschewed asking others for anything.  But there is a need that is beyond my capacity to resolve, for some people I care deeply about. 

The Children of Uganda recently lost a major corporate sponsor and has been under financial pressure for some time.  They have reduced overhead- which was pretty minimal to start with- to the bare bones.  With these cuts, the organization thought they could manage operations; however, a big shoe just got dropped on them.  A group within the World Food Program, which has been supplying the majority of the food for the orphanages, is shutting down operations in Uganda.  As of January 1, there will be no food deliveries to the orphans from them.  Children of Uganda will need to come up with about $12,000 per year of additional funding to make up for this loss.  I suspect the loss from the World Food Program is due to their own financial stains described here.

Added to this is the age curve of the orphans themselves.  Many more of the orphans have reached the age to enter secondary school.  In Uganda, this is not paid for by the government, though the costs are fairly reasonable.  There is also room and board involved, as nearly all secondary schools board the students.  Even with all of that, it is no more than $900 total for a year.  These costs have begun to outstrip the donor base (I personally am fully covering my ‘daughter’ in college, plus partially covering several others in secondary to the tune of about $4,000 per year).

This all sounds like a lot of money, but every donation will make a huge difference.  A $70 donation I made will cover one staffer’s salary for a month and enhance the sustenance-level  meals for one of the orphanages for a week.

Thanksgiving is coming up this week and we all have so much to be thankful for.  And for the first time ever, I’m asking all friends and family I have to consider pitching in and helping some very special kids.  If you do see fit to donate online or by check, mark the contribution for Food or Tuition and Rob (the group’s CEO) and I will ensure that is exactly what it will go for.  If you can help, donate at this link

Again, forgive me for this request, but I have to try everything.  Including a picture of the standard  combination breakfast-lunch that has been cut back since I was there: