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2018/2019 Projects
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Eve Taylor and Hannah Steele returned to Uganda to continue ISSUE projects including 
  • Supporting the Anaweza Talents and skills project 
  • Malaria prevention
  • HIV prevention 
  • Days for Girls distribution 
  • Visiting rural health centers
  • Supporting Nazareth Children's home 
  • STEP 
Read the full report here
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issue_projects_and_treasurers_report_2018.2019.pdf
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Volunteer House

We are building a multipurpose house in Uganda. The house will serve to support the Tekera Resource Centre both financially and through the work of volunteers. Designed as a multipurpose house, it will cater for volunteers of the TRC and other organisations as well as students undertaking medical electives, and could also be used as a base for those who wish to combine an African holiday with worthwhile volunteer activities. People who stay at the house will pay rent with 100% of the profits to be donated to local worthy charitable organisations. 

Click Here to See Full Proposal 

The house is nearing completion. Based on current progress the house will soon be completed. If you are interested in volunteering please Contact Us For more information.

Research
ISSUE members Yoni Byron, Henry West and Dr. Ben Wood, along with UTAS School of Medicine academics Dr. Nick Cooling and Dr. Linda Murray have just published an article of original research and comment at The Journal of Global Health Promotion.  
Link: HERE
Byron, Y., West, H., Wood, B., Murray, L., Cooling, N. (2014). Commentary: The effectiveness of student-run organizations within global health promotion initiatives: Response to call for research. Global Health Promotion. 


Summer 2014/2015 Project

The budget for the projects was approximately USD$10,523  fundraised by the team. 

Our activities included:
  • Education for malaria prevention and provision of Long Lasting Insecticide-treated Nets. Nets were distributed one per family in rural villages and at clinics for HIV positive children. 
  • We also provided nets and essential equipment for survival to 25 elderly people during home visits.
  • Voluntary HIV counselling, testing and education (VCT). We did this by paying Uganda Cares Masaka to attend our health workshops with their mobile VCT clinic. We held 4 workshops serving 656 people, whilst enrolling those who tested positive (35 in total) into free lifelong support programmes.
  • We donated a dental chair and dental equipment to the ‘Health Centre Four’ facilities of the Masaka region. Previously the dentist had been doing procedures in a regular chair. 
  • The Anaweza Talents and Skills Development Project holds activities for more than 50 children as well as youth and single mothers. Activities range from textiles and building skills to drug abuse counselling, sexual education and family planning. One of the activities is The Anaweza Dance Troupe who performs tribal dances, guided by a volunteer choreographer. This encourages a sense of purpose in the children, while keeping them away from the streets and from drugs and alcohol abuse. Prior to our project, the dance troupe had to use donations from the community and NGOs to rent costumes and instruments. We were deeply impressed by the positive educational values that this programme holds, so we decided to make a contribution of beds, school supplies, sanitary products.
  • We also held a youth sports gala to gather all the youth in the Masaka region for Malaria and HIV education. HIV testing was available and those who got tested also received a net. 
  • We also provided education about safe sex, HIV, and malaria to local sex workers, followed by the distribution of condoms and nets.


For more information about the 2012/2013 project please refer to our project report below.


Income Generation Project

The ISSUE Foundation has teamed up with Julius Kiwanuka from Anaweza Skills and Talents an organisation based in Masaka, Uganda. The Income generation project is currently providing education and financial assistance to 50 families in and around Masaka. 

The income generation project provides education and support for locals living in poverty empowering them to develop successful businesses to support their families and to develop their communities

This project is ongoing as of mid-2014.
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2013/2014 ISSUE volunteer Lydia Birch with long-time ISSUE supporter, local Ugandan leader and social worker Julius Kiwanuka.

Support The Elderly Persons Uganda (STEP)

The ISSUE Foundation has formed a partnership with Beatrice Nabitiri, a local social worker and co-founder of STEP Programme (http://stepug.org). STEP is the only organisation in the Masaka District that focuses on the physical, social and psychological well-being of the elderly people. We are aiming to continue our support for this organisation through fundraising and visits by future volunteer groups.  Previous groups have contributed funds for items such as mattresses for elderly and infirm Masaka District residents unable to afford their own bedding.  We also fill prescriptions for medications which will have a curative impact on people.  Examples of this include antibiotics for skin infections or anti-parasitic drugs for those suffering from parasite causes illness. STEP has also had several training sessions on malaria prevention, nutrition and health monitoring. STEP secured 6 BP Machines from interns from Douglas College in Canada and Trained Group leaders  and they are now monitoring the health of the members. 

Through collaboration with Uganda Marathon, Issue have supported 2 groups of elderly persons with piggery projects, one group with a cross breed heifer and one group is running a handicrafts projects for income generation. From its family farm, STEP has supported several older persons with piglets and this is ongoing. 


For more information about the STEP project please refer to the project proposal below
step_project_proposal_edited_versio.doc
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2012-2013_issue_projects_report_final.docx
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Anaweza Talents and Skills project

Days for Girls

The Aim of this project is to empower young individuals with life and workplace skills that enable them to work and earn a stable income. Main branches of this project are sewing, agriculture, livestock, dancing and music. The sewing school and workshop is based in Nyendo where women are taught to make tailored clothing and accessories. The products are then sold which generates income. Everything else is based on land purchased by ISSUE close to Kitovu. 

There are at least 5 women working at the shop. They make good quality clothing, bags and other accessories made from locally sourced fabric. 

The land purchased by ISSUE close to Kitovu is covered by with fruit and vegetables plants such as crops of corn, potatoes, avocado, jackfruit, papaya, chilies and coffee beans. This land also houses a dozen chickens and ducks, 4 pigs and several piglets. There is also now a convenient water supply instead of a well. Many children were taught how to complete the tasks so they can help while gaining important skills and collecting or eating some of the produce.

There is also a building being constructed on this land to be used for teaching, cooking and storage. ISSUE's financial contribution will go mostly towards the ongoing construction of the building so that proper windows can be installed  , walls with insulation can be constructed instead of the current brick walls and the floor which is currently uncompressed dirt will be able to be improved. When this building becomes fully enclosed it will be able to be used for emergency accommodation in the future.
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Nazareth Children's Home 

This was ISSUE's first year distributing 'Days for Girls' 100 menstrual hygiene kits that were donated to ISSUE by the Launceston and Hobart 'Days for Girls' chapters. Each kit contained 2 waterproof shields, 8 absorbent liners, 2 pairs of panties, 1 washcloth, 1 bar of soap and 2 zip lock bags for washing, contained in a draw string bag made with very beautiful fabric. ISSUE distributed the kits in Ndagwe to 57 young girls and to many young girls in Nnyendo.  ISSUE also gave a talk about female menstruation and female hygiene.

ISSUE also visited the Nazareth Children's Home where 8 girls were given the kits and educated the young girls there about female menstrual hygiene. 

Malaria Prevention

ISSUE distributed 500 nets to 5 communities during our last visit. In each community, we gave a 10 minute talk on malaria including methods of prevention, symptoms, management and common myths and misconceptions. We also explained how to use the mosquito nets and stressed their importance. These sessions had a large turnout, good engagement and often there were more people that we could provide nets for resulting in a standard 1 net per family rule. 

The 2019 Malaria program was very well received and will hopefully help to decrease prevalence of malaria in the region. 
ISSUE has given monetary donations and a used laptop to fund the Nazareth Children's Home ongoing piggery and chicken projection. The donation funded 250 chickens and 3 pigs plus food and maintenance costs. This project is sustainable and provides income and nutritional food for the children. 

The children appeared well cared for, happy, educated and well nourished. 
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HIV Primary and Secondary Prevention

ISSUE collaborated  with HIV carers to provide HIV education, testing and counselling in the same 5 areas as our malaria project. ISSUE ran 4 HIV testing sessions across 5 different communities. The educational talk was very well received and engaged with. Most people were willing and eager to get tested and wait around for their results and counselling. In one of the communities, this HIV education session was run in small groups by the HIV carers leaders and ISSUE members handed out nets to those who had been tested to encourage engagement. There were quite a few people who were already HIV positive and some on treatment who came in for testing. These people were advised not to get tested and educated on the fact that this is a lifelong condition and their status will still be the same. Advice was tailored to individuals based on their baseline knowledge about HIV infection and treatment they were currently receiving. 
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