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Friends of Uganda

In the December 2005 letter you will have noticed that Steve and Jane Williams commented that the new centre had been finished to a high standard throughout and was functioning very well. We should all be very encouraged by this independent assessment.

Steve and Jane have accepted an opportunity from the Baptist Missionary Society to go to Cyprus as support workers for a Christian Radio Service to countries in that area, particularly Turkey. Their church near Aberdeen was keen that they should be under the auspices of the BMS and that was the main factor in accepting this opportunity in Cyprus.

During the past year the Trustees and myself have tried to plan a viable way forward to manage this new building in conjunction with Global Care, a larger charity who have been active in Uganda for over 20 years. Unfortunately Pastor Sam Mugote and his Trustees have been unable to respond positively to such a partnership and it is with much regret that my fellow Trustees and myself have no-alternative but to close Friends of Uganda -UK from 31st March 2006

In practical terms this means the following:

1. Our final year-end accounts will be on 31.03.06.
2. You should cancel your monthly standing order to F Of U during this month (if applicable)
3. The remaining balance in our year-end accounts will be sent as a final gift to Friends of Uganda.
4. The necessary steps to close the charity will be under the supervision of the Charity Commissioners.

If you wish to continue your interest in children and project partnership there is good news in this letter about the ongoing work of Global Care who have four well established projects in Uganda. Information about the projects is enclosed and Gillian Law, Child Care Manager, based in Coventry, particularly mentions a pilot scheme in Soroti (North of Jinja) aimed at­

• 2 primary schools where they have sponsored children for a number of years and found teachers keen to help orphans
• The quality of Uganda Primary Education in primary schools and their desire to see better quality for children, particularly in rural schools
• The support will be aimed at improving classroom facilities and running after school homework sessions
• Hopefully the programme will be extended to about 10 - 12 primary schools in Soroti.

Having met Ron Newby the founder, John White the Operations Director, and Gillan in their offices at Coventry I can wholeheartedly recommend their leadership and commitment to child care work in Uganda. Locals manage all their projects in Uganda on the ground with quarterly visits from UK management staff. If you wish to support their work there is a response page, which includes both a Gift Aid Declaration and a Bank Standing Order Instruction. If you wish to give Gillian Law a call her telephone number is 024 76601800 (office hours).

Fiona Castle has been a patron of F of U for many years and she is also a patron of Global Care. She has travelled world wide visiting their projects and speaking on behalf of the charity at Seminars and Sponsorship meetings. My experience of Global Care came from her introduction and I have been impressed with the quality of the people and the Christian service offered by them.

Finally, on behalf of Friends of Uganda I want to express my deep appreciation of your support and interest in this Christian Charity over so many years,

Yours sincerely,

Ken Matthews.