Making a difference in St Noa's

Every Christmas I try to make a donation to charity, over the last few years I have donated to charities in Ireland. However, this Christmas just gone, I decided to donate to St Noa's over in Uganda. When I was over during the summer I had raised a bit more than I was required to by the organisation I went with. I brought out this money with me and I gave it to the head teacher during my last few days in the school. The extra money I had raised was able to buy the remaining windows that they had started to install. There was also one room which did not have door, the money I brought over was also able to purchase a door for that room.

Inspired by how far a small amount of Irish money could go in Uganda I decided that my Christmas charity donation would be to St Noa's. I knew that there was one room where the walls and floor were not complete like the others. So I made contact with the head teacher and asked how much he needed in Ugandan Shillings to finish the room. A couple of weeks later I made my donation and the work was done the following day. Having a tidy room where dust is not rising from the floor because it is not covered properly with cement should help enrich the education of the children as the dust will not make them unwell.

In this day and age it is appalling that children have to attend classes in buildings that are not fully finished. Unfortunately, this is the reality in Uganda and other parts of Africa. Some children are not able to even attend school because there is no school in close proximity to their home and the family are not able to afford a car to get them to school. Is there something that we in Ireland can do for our brothers and sisters in 3rd World countries to help ensure that all children have the opportunity to attend school and receive a quality education? Seeing the state of our own health system and housing it is obvious that our Government cannot look after the people of their own country. So let's not ask them to pledge money to help the poorest of the poor. I realise that it can be hard to really know where the money we donate to some charities really go but let us look up charities that work in Africa and figure out which one where the money goes directly towards helping the communities and not towards paying a CEO's huge salary. If you don't feel comfortable donating why not take some time out and volunteer with an agency that works in Africa and help them with a building project or in another area that is helping to build a quality education system. We all have the right to a quality education regardless of where we live. The building in which children are taught in is part of the delivering a quality education. If the children have a proper classroom they are inclined to be more attentive in class. If the teacher has a proper room to teach in he/ she will care more about the content they are teaching. Teachers work better is they have resources that they can use in the classroom to aid their work. So let us help others to receive a quality education as they are entitled to.

A couple of pictures of the room before the work on it at Christmas

Pictures from the work and the completion of it