GOAL appeals to Offaly clubs to help orphans in Uganda

GOAL has appealed to club members and clubs across Offaly to participate in this year"s Lá na gClub on May 10, which will raise funds for those affected by the loss of an entire generation in Uganda, due to the ravages of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. There are an estimated 1.7 million orphans in Uganda, representing approximately 12% of all children under 15 years of age and of these, 790,000 have lost one or more parents as a result of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Chronic poverty, alongside extremely poor living conditions, have been identified as key problems in these communities as not only do families lose one or both parents, but they may in turn lose the means to provide a secure, safe home for surviving family members. GOAL"s housing support programme aims to build new houses and rehabilitate existing homes to improve the conditions of vulnerable households. GOAL is also implementing a parallel construction skills training programme to increase the number and quality of skilled tradespersons in the local community. From GOAL"s inception, the GAA has been hugely supportive - with the annual GOAL Challenge, football and hurling games, immediately following the All-Ireland finals, a feature of the GAA calendar. GOAL has many GAA patrons, including DJ Carey, Joe Connolly and Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh who have visited GOAL projects in the past. To mark the 125th anniversary of the Association, GOAL, the sports enthusiast Third World humanitarian agency, is asking GAA members to help them provide 125 homes for some of the most vulnerable children on the planet. In a statement this week GOAL said: 'GOAL has provided close to 900 homes to date and is anxious to reach the thousand mark this year. We are confident that this latest initiative will help us achieve this target. Houses can be built for €3,000 per unit, but donations of any value will be put to good use. AIDS is a prolific killer in Uganda and the country is home to hundreds of thousands of orphans.'GOAL wants to let at least some of these children know that they are not forgotten. For more information and some fundraising ideas see www.goal.ie