By Mathew Yawe, Executive Director
Spring 2019 Newsletter

BackGround

The Mityana Open Troop Foundation was started in 1997 by a group of Boy Scouts who had been affected by socio-economic issues leading to their dropping out of school. Others had been affected by HIV/AIDS due to loss of their relatives and guardians. The initiative started as a community program by raising awareness of the HIV/AIDS scourge. We held talk shows on health. We promoted environmental protection, child nutrition in risky communities, food security, support and education to vulnerable people, and functional adult learning among those who cannot read.

The high school drop-out rate caused by socio-economic factors and the nature of the Ugandan education system, which emphasizes theory, resulted in a high youth unemployment rate: 64%. Crime rates among youths in Uganda, specifically in the Mityana area, were high.

Because of these concerns, our organization started a Vocational Skill Training project in 2007 to recruit vulnerable youths. With support from partner organizations in the U.K., we started working with parents and other members of the community to mobilize unemployed youths in Mityana who had interests in acquiring vocational skills. We recruited school dropouts who didn’t complete their studies because they couldn’t afford school fees. We recruited girls who dropped out of school due to unwanted pregnancies. We also advocated for girls who were sex workers to abandon that activity and join our project. The project is currently recruiting single mothers and disadvantaged youths to be trained in:

• tailoring, designing, and fashion
• hair dressing, beauty, and weaving
• carpentry and joinery
• motor vehicle mechanics (parts 1, 2, and 3)
• crop and agriculture skills
• languages (English and Luganda), writing, speaking and
  algebra

Each course takes 2 years. At graduation, trainees are awarded certificates along with start-up tools or sewing machines to enable them to go into the market and start their own businesses.

Mission

Empower marginalized vulnerable youths, orphans, and women through vocational skills acquisition and promoting better standards of living.

Aim

To reduce unemployment and over dependency among the marginalized groups of people.

Objectives

Mityana Open Troop Foundation aims at achieving the following objectives:

• Create community awareness on sexually transmitted infections.
• Create a conducive educational atmosphere by fully equipping the vocational project with all the necessary training tools/machines along with working materials.
• Help vulnerable children attain education by sponsorship and scholastic material support.
• Develop, promote, and educate children about nutrition.
• Construct shelters for the poor, elderly, widows, and orphans.
• Provide start-up tools to all who graduate from our program, to enable them to start their own businesses.

Achievements

• During the training period of January – April 2019, we recruited 85 new trainees, for a current total of 112. In November 2018, 71 trainees graduated and left a big gap at the training centre!
• Sewing Peace, our sewing machine partner, managed to approach The Dewan Foundation and asked them to kindly sponsor the shipping of 2 pallets to our Vocational Project in Uganda.
• The project has conducted training in all the courses mentioned above.
• Project trainees participated in athletic competitions and did well.
• Project trainees participated in a debate on the topic, “How can one overcome AIDS?”
• Project trainees together with scouts volunteered in clearing brush
  around the well that is the village water source.
• The project with support of Mr. Nino Ardizzi and Ms. Madison Ardizzi of Canada began construction of a wooden poultry house, where trainees will learn poultry farming, though the house has not yet been roofed and completed.

Appreciations

• Many thanks go to Sewing Peace, for donating us nice sewing machines, which have really made a great change in our communities and made possible the sewing training workshop at our project. Initially the machine-to-student ratio was 1 to 5 trainees; now each trainee has a machine. We praise Mr. David Schwiedenback for always caring for our project. We also thank all volunteers involved in refurbishing the sewing machines and the sewing machine donors.
• We extend many thanks to The Dewan Foundation for having kindly funded the shipping of sewing machine pallets to our vocational project in Uganda. Please continue with your kind spirit; we appreciate your great care.
• The project extends many thanks to Mr. Nino Ardizzi and Ms. Madison of Canada for supporting us in constructing a poultry house, though it is not yet completed.
• We thank the Government of Uganda, through its Ministry of Education and Sports, for always sponsoring 50 disadvantaged youths at our vocational project.
• Thanks go to Kolping Mityana Womens project, which sponsors some 15 orphans at our vocational project. The funds from the Ugandan Government and from Kolping have supported paying the instructors and providing meals for our trainees.

Challenges

• Insufficient classroom space has Very Very much affected our programs, as we must sometimes train outside, where it is not safe when it rains and where it can be extremely hot. Lack of classroom space also forces us to limit the number of trainees who can enroll in our programs.
• We charge little tuition for our training, but unfortunately some still cannot afford it! As a result, the project sometimes cannot pay instructors on time or provide meals for trainees.
• It is a challenge for us to pay shipping costs and Ugandan import fees for the sewing machines donated to us by Sewing Peace.

Future Plan / Way Forward

• Construct a 2-classroom block to accommodate all potential trainees.
• Continue to get sewing machines shipments from Sewing Peace.
• Partner with and visit other U.S., Canadian, U.K., and other organizations and other vocational training programs to learn how they operate and how they sustain their institutions.

Conclusion

On behalf of the Mityana Open Troop Foundation, I conclude by thanking once again whoever has supported us financially and in-kind, and those who have worked tirelessly towards the development of our project. Thank you very much.

Carolyn Colella of GlobeWater & Solar (GWS) of Princeton, New Jersey, just contacted us regarding a water project in Soroti, Uganda. GWS developed a solar-powered water pump that they plan to ship to Soroti.

During the planning of the water project, Andrew Auruku, the GWS contact in Uganda, mentioned that he needed a couple of sewing machines. There is a pressing need in the community for someone to be able to produce sanitary pads for women.

Carolyn had heard of Pedals for Progress and Sewing Peace. She called us and asked if we could help get a couple of sewing machines for Andrew.

Uganda is a landlocked country. Shipping anything there is not only super expensive; it’s also extremely difficult. It’s expensive because of ocean shipping, overland shipping that costs even more, and import taxes and fees. It’s difficult because of logistical and bureaucratic overhead.

By incredible good fortune, Sewing Peace has a partner in Uganda, the Open Troop Foundation in Mityana, which is about 300 miles from Soroti — not terribly close in terms of Ugandan travel but a lot closer than New Jersey! We contacted Mathew Yawe, our contact in Mityana, and asked him if he still had some sewing machines available from the last shipment. He did!

We put Mathew in touch with Carolyn from GWS. She arranged for the transportation costs and then put Matthew in contact with Andrew in Soroti. Mathew arranged to have two sewing machines and a step-down converter delivered to Soroti by bus the next day. Another win-win!

[Our latest news from Mathew in Uganda is this report on the graduation ceremony of 18 November 2018.]

By Patricia Hamill
Spring 2018

In July of 2017, Sewing Peace sent 73 refurbished sewing machines to the Mityana Open Troop Foundation (MOTF) & Vocational Project for their tailoring and designing workshops. The relationship with MOTF is a promising one and steadily growing. After the delivery, we were soon notified that these machines were put right to use and helped a number of participants earn their certificates of completion in the two-year program. Start-up machines were presented to graduates so they could move on to business ownership or employment in tailoring and sewing.

Participants, predominantly young men and women between 13 and 25 years old, are often those who have been orphaned young and have no family to depend on or those whose families cannot afford their education. Some teenagers are already parents themselves. Lack of job skills is inevitably a consequence of these factors as they have faced severe financial and social boundaries that prevent them from becoming independent earners. But with the continued availability of the vocational workshops and machines, the success rate grows and more of these people can reverse or mend their monetary dilemmas.

The vocational program does offer other courses such as hairdressing and hair weaves, carpentry and joinery, auto mechanics, agriculture, and animal husbandry, but the sewing courses are especially in demand. In July, the ratio of machines to people was 1:4, sometimes 1:5. With the additional machines, the current ratio of machine to participant in the workshops is now 1:3. According to Mathew Yawe, the Executive Director of Mityana Open Troop Foundation & Vocation Project and the country representative for Pedals For Progress/Sewing Peace in Uganda, a recent graduation ceremony that included the presentation of the sewing machines to the trainees who had completed their program “enticed and attracted more trainees from all the surrounding areas and they also brought in their children to study.” Many hope to join and to graduate with “nice sewing machines from [the] project.” The sewing department, last year, had a population of 30 trainees; this year, there was an increase to 45.

The sewing program has set up a shop in their town from which they sell some of the machines. The income enables them to pay the instructors and meet the shipping and customs costs.

One of the graduates of 2017, Resty Masane, put her new sewing machine to work on the veranda of her parents’ home in Nalyankanja, an area about 18km (11 miles) from Mityana. This 20 year old joined the vocational project in 2015. She had completed her “primary seven,” which is the last of seven years of academic study before students move on to six years of secondary schooling, but her parents did not have enough money to send her for this next stage of studies. Her parents are farmers who manage to grow enough for home consumption and have just a little left to sell or trade in order to buy other requirements. In fact, Resty’s parents paid her sewing program fees by bartering beans—a reliable crop in their climate—and maize for her vocational studies. Something of value exchanged for something of value: It’s a win-win arrangement.

Resty’s contracts include making uniforms for a village secondary school and two village primary schools. She earns between 10,000 and 15,000 Ugandan shillings (approximately U.S. $2.65 to $4.00) Since she can make 3–5 uniforms a week and also do repairs for a fee, she has an income that is reliable and a skill that will remain in demand. To add to her success, she now pays school fees for her five siblings. Resty also puts the barter system to good use by providing some uniforms to a sister’s school in lieu of paying fees. Her income also helps defray the cost of medication for her family and enables her to maintain a phone, which of course lets her stay in touch with clients and schools.

Also in 2017, Ereth Nampijja, a 21-year-old woman, graduated after taking a tailoring and fashion design course. She lives in Busunju-Mityana, located 30km (about 19 miles) from Mityana. She had been a good student, moving from primary school to completing her O levels—the exams taken after the first 4 years of secondary school—but her family could not afford to send her for the critical last two years. As a result, she could not sit for the A levels (final exams) or graduate. It was then that she approached MOTF to participate in the vocational program. Two years later, Ereth’s ambition and effort cumulated in a certificate of completion and, with what help her parents could offer, she now has a three-month lease of a space in the market where she can repair or repurpose second-hand clothes to sell from her shop or via mobile vendors who take the goods to the rural villages to sell.

Ereth averages about 7,000 Ugandan shillings (approximately $1.85) per day. This newfound financial independence allows her to rent a room near her shop and provides her with daily meals. Like Resty, she can provide funds for medication and cover school fees for her brothers and sisters. Her goals are to grow her business and to have more room to store her machine and finished products safely from the elements.

As this article was being finalized, we heard from Mathew that the recent shipment of 64 more machines reached MOTF and were being made ready for the next class session. The heavy-duty machines especially pleased him because the orders for school uniforms can also be completed with the institutions’ embroidered emblems and garments made from heavy fabrics can also be made and mended as part of the graduates’ added services offered.

As is to be expected, there are ongoing challenges for the program. These, however, are a result of the progress it has made. This growth in enrollment means that the existing workshop is at maximum capacity and the instructors often have to create shelters outside under the trees where they set up the sewing machines for classes. With the better part of six months of the year bringing substantial rainfall, this makeshift environment is not a viable long-term option. MOTF is, as always, looking to the future and plans to be able to reinvest in and improve their facilities as they continue to sell machines and bicycles from Pedals for Progress. The record of success stories can only continue to expand from here.

[We just got this report from our partner in Uganda, the Mityana Open Troop Foundation.]

Dear our friends,

How are you?

In January 2018, Mityana Open Troop Foundation managed to open a show room/shop where we sell our products and services: sewing machines and bicycles, sewing products and school uniforms, bicycle repair and spare parts, embroidery services, art and print services, sign posts, sweaters, . . .

We hope that the profits will suport paying vocational teachers and other project activities.

Yours always,
Mathew Yawe

[More photos]

Greetings

• Guest of Honor Owekitiibwa Abraham Luzzi
• Director Basic Education Ministry Of Education & sports, Mr. Nsumba Lyazzi Robinson
• Vocational Chancellor
• RDC
• Mayor
• Madison Ardizz & Mr. Nino Ardizzi
• All invited Guests, ladies & gentlemen

With great pleasure, I take this opportunity to welcome the guest of honor, distinguished guests, Madison and Dad Nino Ardison from Canada, at our Sixth Vocational graduation ceremony, today, the 18th of November 2017.

Background: Mityana Open Troop foundation  was registered as a Community based organization and was started by a group of scouts  who had been affected by socio-economic factors and the HIV/AIDS scourge.

Later in 2007, we found it important to start offering sustainable vocational training to vulnerable youth, school dropouts, and youths unemployed due to lack of job skills. The training included hair dressing and weaving, carpentry and joinery, motor vehicle mechanics, and tailoring & fashion.
The training lasts for two years. Graduates get certificates and start-up tools to enable them to start jobs and workshops right away in their own communities.

Organization leadership:

• Chancellor: Mr. Joel Lugoloobi
• Patron:  Ssempala Julius
• Vice chairman Board of Directors: Conc. Robert Musisi
• Board Members: Rev. Balamu Mukwaya
• Mrs. Oliver Mukwaya
• Chief adviser Mr. Ssekandi Kakembo
• Chaplain:  Rev. Lukabwe
• Principal: Mr. Yawe Mathew

Instructors:

• M/s  Margaret Yiga (Hair dressing)
• M/s Nanteza Nuulu (Hair dressing)
• Edith Nakabaale (Tailoring)
• Mr. Kawuma Flobius (Tailoring)
• Ssalongo Ferdinand Nsubuga. (Maths, Luganda, & English)
• Engineer Ssetenda (Motor mechanics)
• Conc. Robert Musisi (Motor mechanics)
• Mr. Muyanja (Carpentry)
• Mr. Bukenya (Electrical)

Achievements

• This is our sixth graduation ceremony.
• The government of Uganda, through its Ministry of Education, supports our vocational project by giving funds for the instructors. The small fee we charge trainees caters for electricity, maintenance, and feeding, which is expensive.
• We registered the vocational project under the Uganda Ministry of Education.
• Kolping Mityana Womens project supports our project by sponsoring 10 orphans.
• Three Charity organizations — Fields of Life, Africa Renewal Ministries, and Unbound — sponsor some vulnerable children at our project.
• With support from profits got from the sold sewing machines from Pedals For  Progress / Sewing Peace Project USA, plus some funds donated from Dr. Knight Anthony of Tools With a  Mission UK, enable us  construct the Girls dormitory which is to accommodate 50 students.
• We have been provided with educational seminars by hair beauty companies such as Movit and Darling.
• Pedals for Progress donates sewing machines and bicycles to our project, which have up-lifted and supported many of our activities.
• Carried out voluntary community work by cleaning and sweeping Mityana Central market, Taxi park, and surrounding streets.
• Volunteered in making hair dressing & weaving , sewing clothes for police ladies and police men Of Mityana Police station, at free cost. However, we carry out good turn in communities, as scouts.

Appreciations

We thank very much the government of Uganda for supporting our vocational project by paying for the training of vulnerable unemployed youth.

Thanks go to the Principal Secretary BTVET, Mr. Patrick Byakatonda, for having considered and supported our project and benefits from the Government program.

We extend our sincere thanks to Pedals For Progress / Sewing Peace USA, which is headed by Mr. David Schewidenback, who provides us sewing machines, and even made ‘Me’ their Uganda Representatives / Coordinator.

We thank hair-dressing companies and charities sponsoring orphans at our project.

We extend many thanks to Mr. Chris Eldridge of the UK, who has done so much in financing sewing machine shipping and some of our project activities.

Finally thanks very much M/s Madison Ardizz and Dad Nino Ardizz, for visiting and being with us at our sixth graduation ceremony. Please thank you we love you so much.

Challenges

We have insufficient classrooms at the project; the majority of the trainees study under tree shelters and shades. It becomes worse if it rains because there is nowhere to go!

Trainees fail to pay the little we ask them to pay at the project, which affects project activities like feeding them!

We lack enough seats in our workshops.

It is still a challenge to pay for shipping sewing machines and bikes from the USA to Uganda.

The newly constructed hostel is not big enough to accommodate the number of trainees we have at the project.

We lack clean water and piped water at our project. Contaminated water has affected the cooking, washing, and even the lives of our trainees, as they get skin diseases and stomach diseases including typhoid every academic term!

God Bless You Always.

Mathew Yawe, Principal, Mityana Open Troop Foundation

By Mathew Yawe
Fall 2017 InStitch

[Our new partner in Uganda is the Mityana Open Troop Foundation, started as a Boy Scout group but now admitting girls. Their director Mathew Yawe has sent us several reports on their activites in 2017. For more perspective on Uganda in 2017, see the post in this newsletter by Patricia Hamill.]

Report of 29 July 2017

On 24 July 2017 Mityana Open Troop Foundation received 73 sewing machines from Sewing Peace USA. There were manual and electric machines all in good condition and looking so attractive.

Currently we have been lacking sewing machines to be given to our vocational project graduates as start-up tools to enable them to start their own workshops.

Here are our plans for the machines:

• 23 Machines will be installed in our vocational workshop.
• 10 Machines will be sold to graduates of November 2017, each for 200,000 Uganda Shillings (UGX): US $55. This money will be used to cater for shipping costs, custom taxes, ECU charges, handling charges, and transport to Mityana. The profits will be used to pay for the next shipment, which we hope to request this year.
• 40 machines will be sold to the artisans who need them at UGX 250,000 (US $69). Currently a sewing machine in Uganda costs US $83 or more.

Proposed Sewing Machine Workshop In Our Town

We have planed to set up a sewing shop and workshop in our Town of Mityana, where we shall be selling the sewing machines at a cheaper price, carrying out machine maintenance, knitting, making school uniforms, school badges, and embroidery work, as there is no any Embroidery machine in Mityana.

However, at our workshop, we shall be selling and repairing mountain bikes. And our trainees will be trained in how to repair sewing machines and bikes at our town workshop.

The generated funds, will help paying our vocational instructors / teachers.

Expenditures on the Shipped Sewing Machines

• Shipping from Sri Lanka: UGX 2,880,000 ($800)
• Uganda customs charges: UGX 1,520,700 ($422)
• ECU charges: UGX 2,261,000 ($604)
• Handling fees by Bolore Co: UGX 470,000 ($130)
• Transport from Kampala to Mityana: UGX 140,000 ($39)
  

  ---

• Total expenditure: UGX 7,271,700 ($1995)

I once again extend sincere thanks to Mr. David Schweidenback of the Pedals for Progress / Sewing Peace project. All volunteers worked so tirelessly in collecting and refurbishing and packing our donated sewing machines. They look so good and attractive. Thank you so much.

I finally thank Mr. Chris Eldridge, our project partner in the UK, who paid all the shipping costs and gave us much support in getting the machines to Mityana, Uganda.

Report of 27 October 2017

Dear fellow scouters,

Today, 27 October 2017, I have conducted an Investiture Ceremony where 12 cubs, 15 junior scouts, and 8 rover scouts (totaling to 35 scouts) were investitured into the World Wide Scout Movement.

The function took place at the Trio Primary school. The scouts demonstrated marching, performed a flag ceremony, recited the scout promise and scout law, sang, etc.

Long live scouting.

Report of 4 November 2017

Hi fellow scouters & friends,

Today on Saturday, 4 November 2017, Mityana Open Troop foundation vocational trainees and scouts have volunteered at the Mityana District Police Station: hair dressing, weaving, hair washing, hair styling, hair braiding, and sewing. All the services were free of charge, done towards our vocational project trainee commissioning, due to take place on 18 November 2017.

For that event, we would like to cater for food for 600 guests and for the purchase of start-up tools for the graduating trainees, to enable them to start their own jobs right away.

Report of 18 November 2017 Graduation Ceremony

[We got another report from Uganda on the Mityana Open Troop graduation ceremony of November 18th. That report arrived too late for the original publication of the newsletter, but here are some excerpts. Click here for the complete report.]

Achievements

• This is our sixth graduation ceremony.

• The government of Uganda, through its Ministry of Education, supports our vocational project by giving funds for the instructors. The small fee we charge trainees caters for electricity, maintenance, and feeding, which is expensive.
• We registered the vocational project under the Uganda Ministry of Education.
• Kolping Mityana Womens project supports our project by sponsoring 10 orphans.
• Three Charity organizations — Fields of Life, Africa Renewal Ministries, and Unbound — sponsor some vulnerable children at our project.
• With support from profits got from the sold sewing machines from Pedals For  Progress / Sewing Peace Project USA, plus some funds donated from Dr. Knight Anthony of Tools With a  Mission UK, enable us  construct the Girls dormitory which is to accommodate 50 students.
• We have been provided with educational seminars by hair beauty companies such as Movit and Darling.

• Pedals for Progress donates sewing machines and bicycles to our project, which have up-lifted and supported many of our activities.
• Carried out voluntary community work by cleaning and sweeping Mityana Central market, Taxi park, and surrounding streets.
• Volunteered in making hair dressing & weaving , sewing clothes for police ladies and police men Of Mityana Police station, at free cost. However, we carry out good turn in communities, as scouts.

By Patricia Hamill
Fall 2017 InStitch

Unemployment is not an unfamiliar topic these days. Reports on the economy and job growth are broadcast daily with the intention to give us a sense of momentum and hope. What many realize of course is that there is still a dearth of jobs with adequate compensation. Are the openings that are listed truly available or are they only posted because of policy or legalities and already filled internally? As frustrating as this is, people in developing countries don’t often have the opportunity to even question if a job is open, or to whom. There may not be any, filled or otherwise. This is the ongoing struggle we’ve been trying to have an impact on with our bikes and sewing machines, and our partners remind us how much our efforts change lives and futures.

We recently received a letter from Mathew Yawe, Director of the Mityana Open Troop Foundation (MOTF) in Mityana, Uganda, highlighting the success our program Sewing Peace has had in enabling young people and families to combat the devastation that the HIV/AIDS crisis has wreaked in the region. The loss of life to this epidemic has been reduced over the years, but the long-term effects on families and the economy are still quite apparent. That is why this Non-Government Organization (NGO) Mityana Open Troop Foundation has focused on aiding people in creating financial opportunities for themselves. The resulting income allows children to go to school and graduate, and thus be more likely to qualify for steady employment or business ownership.

The direct correlation between education and employment and a lowered rate of disease and unplanned pregnancy is evident in much current research. So, of course, access to and use of doctors’ services and preventative healthcare is more likely only when one is able to afford the services. As a partner in the cause to fight poverty and its consequences, Sewing Peace shipped 73 refurbished sewing machines to MOTF in July for their vocational workshop in tailoring and design. The project recruits and trains the most vulnerable of the local population in many skills, including tailoring and garment production. The ratio was 1 machine to 4 people. Some of the machines were also made available for program graduates as start-up machines so they could create their own businesses.

In August, MOTF met with 51 residents in the village of Semukombe Mpigi to donate 2 of the sewing machines. The need here is palpable. So often, parents cannot afford the fees involved in sending their children to school. The cost of uniforms, books, and even transportation is prohibitive. The lack of access to proper health education adds to young women being expelled from school because of unplanned pregnancies. There is also the issue of families that lack an adult because one or both parents have succumbed to HIV/AIDS and the children cannot begin to consider any option other than survival.

Here, the death of one particular man had greatly affected his two wives. One widow had 6 children. One had 5. The children had all dropped out of school because there was absolutely no income for fees. Access to medication, clothing, and food was all but eliminated. The donated machines would be the only tools these women have to reverse their circumstances and provide a stable future for the 11 youngsters. With care and maintenance, the sewing machines can also become the tools that some of the children can make use of to start their own businesses in the village or in areas like the capital city Kampala, about 22 miles away, where the population is much larger and the demand for school uniforms and other clothing promises a steady income. Ultimately, this kind of program can assist women in avoiding total dependence on their spouses or sons. Husbands and sons can rely on their whole family to participate in maintaining their wellbeing.

As our readers well know, project sustainability is always at the root of the success of an endeavor and MOTF must also consider the longevity of their vocational programs. Thus, some of the machines were sold to local tailors, offered at a fair and more affordable price than one could find in Kampala. These donations from P4P and the reasonable selling prices offered by MOTF are not easy to provide because the cost of shipping to inland locations like Uganda is substantial. Transporting the containers from the port in the coastal city of Mombasa, Kenya, over the approximately 700 miles of road to Kampala, Uganda, is not a simple task. The logistics of viable routes and reliable trucking becomes quite complicated causing the endeavor to cost half again as much money as it would to ship from New York City, through the Panama Canal, past Singapore, to Sri Lanka, and then to Kampala. This extra expense cannot be transferred to those in need, so it is our supporters and volunteers who ensure that no obstacle prevents the machines from getting to their destination.

As always, the effort continues. The private vocational institution MOTF is now looking to expand its program to include embroidery once a reliable machine can be located so they can also provide logos and names of the local schools whose uniforms they sew. With a continued flow of funding and sewing machines for training and sale, the reality of healthy, long lives and income stability in this region of Africa is attainable.

On 12 April 2017 we made our sixth shipment to Uganda, our first since 2011. Our new partner there is the Mityana Open Troop Foundation. The 73 sewing machines that Dave and Robert packed are scheduled to arrive in Uganda on June 13th.

Here is the Mityana grant proposal for a program to provide sewing machines for new businesses and training.