GOAL in Uganda gives people a real home

Reading the stark facts about Uganda is depressing - life expectancy of 48 years, infant mortality rate of about 25% , unemployment is over 70%, over three quarters of the population live on less than a euro a day, a crushing poverty of such depth that we in Ireland could not even imagine. But to witness it as I just did recently is enough to make you weep. The majority of Uganda"s population live below the poverty line and therefore small slums, shantytowns and rural villages are prevalent everywhere. The people living in the various slums and shantytowns in Uganda are part of 187 million people living in slums in Africa and part of the 990 million people worldwide. Living in total poverty means no running water, no sanitation, no electricity and little hope. Uganda is a landlocked country in South East Africa and is one of the poorest countries in the world. Alongside the problems caused by poverty, there has also been a devastating AIDS epidemic in Uganda that has caused over a million deaths over the past few years. AIDS continues to be responsible for the deaths of around 10 people every few hours in Uganda and other parts of east Africa and each day on our planet over 8,000 people die from HIV/AIDS related illnesses. Out of a population of just over 30 million people, almost 2 million people in Uganda are living with HIV/AIDS related illnesses. AIDS is the leading cause of death amongst adults in Uganda, and is a major factor in the country"s low life expectancy of just 48 years. Also over 8 million people in Uganda are living in chronic poverty, a crushing cycle where people are born in poverty, live in poverty and frequently pass that poverty on to their children. The AIDS crisis is one of a multitude of problems currently faced by Uganda, alongside poverty, food insecurity and other diseases such as malaria. These problems are interlinked in various ways and the Government has acknowledged that a multifaceted approach is needed to tackle them. GOAL is implementing just such an approach in Uganda, particularly in Masaka where GOAL is running housing support and HIV/AIDS programmes along with running programmes that address malnutrition, poverty, food insecurities, education and life expectancy. GOAL also runs emergency response programmes and child protection programmes in other parts of Uganda. Arriving in Masaka after a 24-hour trip was a surreal moment. I had viewed photographs and read reports before I arrived there. This was not a photograph or a dream. I was really in Masaka in Uganda in Africa. In the span of two days travel I had left behind my family and friends and comforts of the Emerald Isle and travelled what felt like was half way around the world. Uganda"s people reside in extreme poverty, living on less than a Euro a day. On average the life expectancy is 48 years. It is only through the randomness of birth I am Irish, I could easily have been Ugandan. My heritage was not my choice. But rather than focussing on our differences, meeting these people and children in Uganda has made me realise how alike we are. We breath the same air. We walk the same way. Our spirits need love and acceptance. Our bodies need food, water and sleep. We share the same humanity. We are really not so different. Ugandan"s people have impressed me much more than its poverty. War, hunger and physical suffering has not stolen their hope. They remain joyful when they have every reason to be depressed. They have something to teach us, as I said before in past articles sometimes it is us that have been helped. Though I saw much tragedy, sadness and suffering on my trip to Uganda, I also met some truly beautiful people - all of them friendly and welcoming. I came away feeling richly blessed to have met them and as though it was me who had been helped, not them. GOAL"s overall mission is to work towards ensuring that people and children have access to the fundamental rights of life such as shelter, food, water and sanitation, healthcare and education. GOAL constructs a mix of standard four rooms, three rooms, two rooms and single room housing units depending on the specific requirements of each beneficiary household. It costs €3,500 to build a four room house and €700 to build a single room house. I am glad to say that there is no housing slowdown for GOAL in Uganda thanks to the many Irish donors willing to sponsor the building of these houses. Also, to date GOAL has distributed over 10,000 tree seedlings in the area, as well as providing training to young people in construction and agro forestry so they can get full time employment in the future. For many in our world it already is too late - already one billion people in our world live in extreme poverty. More than one billion people lack access to safe drinking water. About 2 billion people have no regular access to reliable energy services. 8,000 people die of AIDS each day. 850 million adults cannot read and over 60% of them are women and more than 400 million children are out of school. And one of the most striking statistics is that the odds that a woman will die from complications in pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa are 1 in 6 over the course of her lifetime, compared to 1 in 3,800 in the developed world. And those who carry almost zero responsibility for climate change are bearing the brunt of its effects, while the gap between the haves and the have-nots is widening. Every 20 seconds, a child dies as a result of the abysmal sanitation conditions endured by some 2.6 billion people globally. That adds up to an unconscionable 1.5 million young lives cut short by a cause we know well how to prevent. Poor sanitation combines with a lack of safe drinking water and inadequate hygiene to contribute to the terrible global death toll. While there have been advances, progress is hampered by population growth, widespread poverty, corruption, insufficient investments to address the problem and the biggest culprit: a lack of political will. The work that GOAL does in Uganda, especially in vast areas of Masaka may seem like a drop in the ocean, but many drops make an ocean and GOAL will continue to do what we can to help the poor. This work, and that of GOAL in 11 different countries across the Developing World including famine-prone Ethiopia and war torn Darfur in Sudan and the Congo, could not continue with out the ongoing support of the Irish Public. On behalf of my colleagues in GOAL and the people and children that we help I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for your generosity and support, not just over the past year but throughout GOAL"s many years of existence. If you would like to help GOAL with its work you can make a credit or laser card donation by phoning (091) 587901 or (01) 2809779 or simply send whatever you can afford to GOAL, Unit 13, Enterprise Centre, Westside, Galway. Because the needs of the poor are ongoing, the ideal way of supporting GOAL is via a monthly standing order from your bank.