03.08.2011, Kampala (Uganda)

Oly Otya!
As soon as one arrives, it’s time to leave again. The last 4-5 weeks atthe Oasis of Life orphanage have passed quickly – however the people there takeroot within one’s heart. On the first day, and each day after that, we werewarmly welcomed. There was no shortage of impressive dancing not yet singing.

What else happened:

Robert goes online!
A friend of us sponsored the project by contributing her old, butfully functional laptop to it.

For this, we would also like to sincerely thank her. After a few initialdifficulties, Robert, the principal advisor, got the hang of it, and nowhandles it as if he had grown up with it.

Thanks to his great interest and his curiosity, one would never haveguessed that he only started operating a laptop a few weeks ago. With the helpof the laptop, Robert can now communicate independently with the projectassociates in Austria,as well as ask about the wellbeing of the project initiators Jowa and Miriam.Thus,decisions are taken faster and more effectively, facilitating the necessarysteps.

 New customers help!
Excited and full of imagination, the children of the Oasis are puttogether a poster for the egg sale. The smaller ones showed their artisticskills by drawing the chicken farm, while the bigger ones represented itscontents.

In any case, it is worth mentioning that the chickens of the OasisChicken Farm have begun to lay large, tasty eggs. We were able to convince hotelWillis and her owner Smret of their quality. They are one of our most importantcustomers. In addition, a local supermarket has also agreed to support theproject, and receives our eggs since July. Recently, a businessman from Nateetealso joined our customer base and collects his eggs directly from the chicken farm.This should save the prospect transportation costs. The three oldest boys ofthe orphanage deliver the eggs to the buyers through a specially configuredbicycle. And thus, the Oasis can welcome its first business people to itsranks.

 Arts and Crafts
At the moment, rolled paper is made into beads, and beads are set in achain, earrings or bracelets. In turn, each single bead is rolled up and thenstrengthened with glue.  These chains arevery popular all over Ugandaright now.

Furthermore, a local is teachingthe project participants about the weaving of baskets and mats. This knowledgewill be shared with the children as soon as they get the hang of it.

For some female guests, the self-made purses are also a good fit.

Mmmh… fresh beans!
The long-awaited home-grown Beans were finaly ready for harvesting. And this despite having been sown out of season. No sooner were this taken to the orphanage, that the children felthappy, bursting with pride at it. The upcoming holiday season will be used to eagerlyprepare the ground for the next planting. Thanks to Barclays’ generous donation, there are enough seedsavailable.

Growing their own crops is not just a way to save money, but also a wayto introduce some variations into the diet of the children. This is aparticularly important success, not least because the cost of food hasincreased, leading their diet to consist mainly of posho.

It is hard to write down all these impressions in a few scant words. Thegoodness of the children cannot be described, and the courage of their caregivers more than noble.

Robert’s engagement is also quite unique. It has been a lot of fun toplay football with the children, to wander around Nateete with Robert, to chatwith the care-givers and to share a slice of their lives.

Thank you very much for an unforgetable time! We look forward to seeing you again!

Flo Reitbauer and Anna Lehofer

Impressions from Uganda