Mission Critical: Help Replace Our Programs Vehicle
Written by: Executive Director, Pamela Brannon
When it comes to keeping Children of Uganda moving – no one does a better job at that than our wonderful driver (affectionately known as) Uncle Richard.
Richard has been faithfully employed with us for over 25 years. He has dedicated much of his life to navigating the busy streets of Kampala, as well as the many highways and byways that connect Uganda’s capital city to the villages where our families reside.
Field work is vital to our mission – demanding the security and reliability of our own van and driver. There is no such thing as ordering up a Lyft on your smartphone – especially in remote parts of the country where many of our vulnerable children are from. Uncle Richard knows every road, every shortcut and every route there is to be known and has always transported our hardworking staff safely.
Whenever I have landed in Uganda – no matter how late or early – there is one smiling face I can always count on seeing. And that’s Uncle Richard’s. But while Richard’s energy for the job never seems to wane, COU’s vehicle is definitely winding down. I recently spent 3 months on the ground and our car broke down multiple times. In fact, last year alone we spent over $2,300 in repair costs.
No doubt – this vehicle is as much a part of our programs as our social worker. A typical work week in Uganda during my latest trip had me and members of the team visiting families and delivering food supplies, traveling to partner medical clinics to oversee our children’s checkups, shopping for back to school requirements, traveling several hours to another district for guardian meetings and much more. And, now that schools are fully open, our vehicle is busier than ever.
COU’s vehicle is truly the heartbeat of our life-saving work and the impact that’s been made is beyond measure.
Children of Uganda purchased the van you see pictured above back in 2013. It has served us well for over 9 years, but we now urgently need to replace it in order to better serve our children and their families across Uganda.
Here is Program Director, Ritah Namakula, and Uncle Richard to explain more:
