Frequently Asked Questions
1. Where is Uganda?
Uganda is in eastern Africa on the northeast shoreline of Lake Victoria. Uganda is directly north of Tanzania, northeast of Rwanda, west of Kenya, south of the Sudan and east of Zaire. The Rakai District of Uganda is located in the southeast corner of the country.
2. Why help the people of Africa/Uganda? Why not help here at home in the USA?
Here in America, we are blessed to have many resources and agencies designed to help those who are less fortunate. If a child is left alone, the law protects that child and provides for a means of care and advancement. The public school system offers an education and meals for any child coming through the door. Here in America, if you want to succeed, if you want to advance, there are ways to do so.
In Uganda, there are no such laws to protect the children. Few agencies and resources are available to provide the necessary food, clothing and medical care of orphaned children, especially in the rural villages. Schools are flooded with children seeking an education. The legal system is painfully lacking in its protection of the children in all remote areas. Over 50 million children are left to raise themselves on the African continent. This disaster will have a profound effect on the world if we do not do something now. The problem seems overwhelming and it is...but through the efforts of organizations such as HUGS, we can address this crisis one child, one village at a time. There is a great need for more organizations and foundations to focus on the African AIDS crisis.
3. Why did you start this foundation and not become a part of another existing effort?
HUGS exists to help people in remote villages in Uganda. 90% of the citizens of Uganda live in rural villages, while 90% of the available assistance goes to help people in the larger cities such as Kampala. The need is so great that many organizations are required to assist the people on the African continent. If every village in Africa was given an opportunity to become self-sufficient, this crisis would come to an end, one child, one village at a time.
4. How are my donations used?
The highest priority for your donation is they be spent in the manner
you have designated. Whether you contribute to the building fund, sponsor
an employee (such as teacher, nurse, or groundskeeper), or sponsor a
child, your money will be used in the manner of your choosing. Most money
spent will be verifiable with pictures or a thank you note from the recipient.
Since it is the goal of HUGS to create self sufficient villages throughout
Uganda, which will help the local economy and citizen to thrive, your
donations play an integral part. We do not take your support lightly.
5. What is life like for the people in the Rakai District?
Life for the people in remote villages of Uganda is very demanding. Every day they must gather the items needed to sustain life. Children carry very heavy containers of water from the river every morning. Mothers (if there is a mother) cook and tend to the crops and the children. The men work very hard in the fields to provide even a modest amount of food. Whenever there is a sparse rainy season it leaved most of the fields nonproductive and many tables bare. Children may or may not have clothing. What clothing the children do have is often torn or worn very thin. Most children do not have any shoes. With no shoes, the children often have sores on their feet which can lead to infection. Many of the children go to bed hungry and wonder if there will be any food for them the next day. Resources are non-existent and families are often stretched to the breaking point. When a child’s parents die from disease, there is often no one to care for the child because all families are struggling. This is life in the remote villages - a daily struggle just to survive.