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World Vision 8th Annual Charity Gala at Puente Romano
THIS YEAR WE HELPED RAISE FUNDS FOR THE PROJECT AIDING REFUGEES FLEEING SOUTHERN SUDAN IN NORTHERN UGANDA:
TEXT: @refinedbykenza | kenzaeyz@yahoo.com
This past August we celebrated our 8th Annual World Vision Gala a charity Mr. Shamoon and the Puente Romano Hotel has been collaborating with for many years.
Despite the current global pandemic we were overjoyed to be able to go ahead and celebrate the gala, returning to the original setting at the Beautiful Beach side restaurant Seagrill.
This year we had approx 250 guests join the gala dinner, with live performances by Cuban artist Yanela Brooks who´s starlike energy gets everyone on their toes dancing, English singer Peet Rothwell reviving all the classic ballads, and the ever so popular gypsy kings to end the evening on a high note! This year the highest was the spectacular fireworks show over the beach, one of the best if not the best firework displays I have ever seen! .
We raised 30,000k this year thanks to our sponsors, guests and the live auction donations by two exquisite jewellery designers; the Israili deisgner Gil Nehaus donated a spectacular sapphire and diamond necklace and the famed Indian designer Manish donated a beautiful pair of Sapphire earrings designed in Jaipur.
For over 70years World Vision has been working with families and communities in over 100 countries equipping and teaching them to overcome illness and poverty. Last year the money we raised help save thousands of babies and children in bangladesh, who now have improved access to healthcare, medicines, food and much more. This year we concentrated on supporting another amazing World Vision project in Northern Uganda. Uganda is home to almost 2milion refugees who have fled violence and conflict in neighbouring south sudan, DRC and Burundi.
This year the project we supported helped these families and children who have fled their homes to find safety and the opportunity to start a productive new healthy life.
With the funds world vision raises they are able to provide loans so men and women can start their own businesses, they are given seedlings so families can plant and harvest food to eat and they train young people so they can learn how to earn an income, helping them to become self sufficient and in turn support their future families.
A story one of our world vision members relayed to us was of the young 14 year old Victor and his 3 brothers were forced to flee their home country of south sudan, when fighting broke out in their village. The boys walked for a month to the border in search of safety and arrived at a refugee settlement in Uganda. Through the work of WV Victor and his brothers have now been fostered by another refugee family living in the same area.
World Vision is on the ground in north west Uganda providing food shelter and opportunities to these fleeing families so they can start small businesses and care for their children. ■
the Uganda Project projection
PROJECT DURATION: 4YEARS
working in 4 or Ugandan refugee hosting districts, Arua, Moyo, Obongi, Madi Okollo, direct beneficiaries 25,000 women men and young children,
PROBLEM:
Lack of access to economic opportunities for both refugees and host communities increased pressure on limited natural resources and lack of value addition to agricultural produce severe shortage of business support services for non agricultural livelihoods
60%of youth have no employment or vocational opportunities only 19%-26% of refugees have access to one or more sources of income and as littles ass 8-18% are engaged in savings groups across the project site.
SOLUTION:
• Savings and development groups • Enabling rural innovation • Economic stimulus • Private sector development • Climate smart agricultural and farmer managed natural • Regeneration FMNR • Opportunities for youth employment
SAVINGS AND DEVELOPMENT CLUSTERS:
Uganda hosts more than 1.4 million refugees most from South Sudan. Refugees are normally given plots of land in efforts to integrate them into host communities. But tensions are growing amid funding shortfalls that forced the WFP to cut food rations or cash transfers by 30% in April.
Covid pandemic has stretched its resources and warns it will be forced to cut deeper in the coming motions. Violence and tensions are raising within the refugee camps due to the increased hardships and decreased access to basic services, disrupting the delicate balance of peaceful coexistence .
WHY UGANDA HOSTS ONE OF THE BIGGEST REFUGEE SITES IN THE WORLD:
The refugee crisis in Uganda is due to its central location to several countries that have been in civil war in recent years.
South Sudan has been in civil war since late 2013 while Rwanda which experienced one of the worst genocides in history in 94 is still feeling the ripple effects. Meanwhile violence has plagued the DRC in easter areas near the Uganda border. Burundi and Somalia though not bordering countries are nearby and both have experienced civil wars and other conflicts
1.- Uganda has over 1.423 million refugees with the majority coming from south Sudan through its northern border. however others also enter through the DRC and Tanzania border known as the the Isingro border, consisting of mostly Congolese refugees.
2.- The refugees in U come from 8 prominent countries: South Sudan, DRC Burundi, Somalia, Rwanda, Eritrea, Sudan and Ethiopia. Each of these has experienced a civil war in the past 30 years and most have suffered one in the pst two decades.
3.-The largest refugee group are by origin from South Sudan, 62% of refugees and over 880px in Uganda, it is the closest country and its most recent civil war ended in 2019.
4.-One of the largest settlement is Bidi Bidi in northern Uganda, roughly the size of 234 square km.
5.-The UN refugee agency´s budget for 2020 is 333 million. 50million lower than the 2019 budget, and the total number of refugees per month is increasing by about 10,000 to 20,000 since October 2018.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to our friends, sponsors and guests who attended this year´s annual world vision gala who helped us raise 30,000 k a significant amount which will make a difference to many families in dire situations.
We hope to be able to visit the site projects in Spring with the on land team and we look forward to celebrating next years 9th charity gala and to raising more funds for noble causes world vision is apart of thanks to all of our local supporters and to Mr. Shamoon´s continued care and generosity
