Just a short note to keep you updated and to thank you all for your continued, generous, and highly appreciated support!
A few reflections on the past year
2022 Was again a very special year. Finally, after the longest COVID lock-down of schools globally, the boarding schools that we work with were opened again early 2022. At the same time, the economy worsened even more because of the geopolitical developments. It was fantastic to see that, despite the very tough circumstances in their local communities during COVID, all girls we support returned to school! We are very happy that all of them are healthy and doing well.
Early this year, we also opened our first Safe Center on Bussi Island. The Safe Center provides support to a group of 60-80 girls and boys every weekend and during the school vacations. The purpose of the Safe Center is to help them with their normal homework, but also (even more importantly) to teach them life skills, allowing them to become more self-confident, aware, and resilient, and to avoid child abuse and teenage pregnancies…still a major issue in the communities we support.
For us personally, the highlight of the year was our visit to Uganda in September (see visit note on the website). We visited both the boarding schools in Buyege where we met all the girls we support as well as their communities at Bussi Island where we visited our Safe Center and met all parents and a few community representatives. It was incredibly inspirational, heartwarming and deeply impressive to meet and connect with everybody in person and see what impact we can have with our MiekFoundation thanks to your support!
Our dream remains to help the wonderful girls of Bussi fulfill their dreams. With the support from the impressive team of teachers at the boarding schools and the Safe Center, our local team (Health Child and local community representatives) and YOU, we can and will continue doing that!
Looking ahead towards 2023
In 2023 we will continue scaling the impact of our MiekFoundation.
We are currently selecting an additional group of girls to start at Boarding school end of January when the new school year starts in Uganda. We are professionalizing both the selection process, as well as the way we support and mentor our girls. It was great to see that a few of the oldest girls in Secondary School are doing great and have exciting dreams for higher education (incl. Medical and Law School). Therefore, we have launched a small project to mentor them and jointly explore opportunities to get them to follow up education as of 2024.
We will also keep developing the Safe Center concept together with the local community representatives and the parents whose support and co-ownership is critical for the further development and growth of the Safe Centers. In 2023, we will further expand the opening hours of the Safe Center, create opportunities for a larger group of children to join and continue shaping the curriculum based on the impact we have. We are also planning to further improve the facility itself by adding a better kitchen and a sporting ground.
We came back from Uganda highly energized and motivated to continue and further scale the impact of our MiekFoundation in the years ahead! The children and their families need our support more than ever. With your continued and highly appreciated support we can continue making a very significant difference in their lives and help the children and their families fulfill their impressive dreams!
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND THE BEST WISHES FOR ALL OF YOU FROM ALL OF US AND ESPECIALLY FROM THE GIRLS OF BUSSI!
