YOUR SUPPORT CAN PREVENT WOMEN WITH HIV FROM DYING AND LEAVING THEIR CHILDREN ORPHANS.

Watch a video

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ixTGbzjWPP6N250ob13AvgP8H5YC3AOj/view?usp=sharing

In the East of Rwanda in a rural area of Gatsibo is a Church supporting many poor villagers of different faiths including 70 women, Ros - our Chairman, met on her research visit in March 2020. The women all had HIV due to the legacy of the Genocide that ended in 1994.

A Pastor at the Church formed an HIV support group, the woman told Ros that there were many more women who could not attend nor could their children go to the school as they were too ill to travel and had no decent clothes & were ashamed.

The women who work on the land tried to help the others & said that some of them saved a tiny amount each week for coffins so that they could be decently buried. This is their immediate future without food or work as they are unable to take their medication without eating, so they know that if they go hungry, they will die very soon.

The Church borrowed two sewing machines so that some could learn a trade & work from the back of the building, but the women needed space, more machines & a building to work from to form a cooperative. CDUK were committed to provide a sewing workshop for these women so that they are able to make and sell clothes at the market, provide food for themselves and their families and survive.
In March 2023 the building was completed but we could only afford 4 machines and need 6 more

We wanted to help the women to make a secure building where they could meet, with room for at least 10 sewing machines, tables & storage so that they can learn a trade, support themselves, each other & their families. We run the workshop using solar power to reduce the impact on their environment and the overhead costs to maintaining the project.

We hope maybe they will not need the coffins so soon as they will be able to eat, take their medication, earn a living & look after their children safely. Please help us to achieve this goal.

In 2020 the Church also hosted a school with a food programme where more than 150 children received a daily meal & often, that was all the children had to eat in a week. At least 60 of the children attended school free because they were orphans or had mothers with HIV, who were unable to get work as no one would work with them & so they & their children go hungry due to lack of income and the mothers soon die leaving orphans.

There are no orphanages in this area and orphans have to depend upon the food programme at the Church or the good will of a poor rural community.

DURING COVID THE FOOD PROGRAMME CLOSED AND MANY CHILDREN DIED OF HUNGER WE NEED TO FIND A WAY TO RAISE THE MONEY FOR A CONTINOUS GIFT TO THIS SCHOOL AS NOW CHILDREN DO NOT ATTEND, - FOOD WAS THE INCENTIVE TO GO AND LEARN.  CAN YOU HELP, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS?

In the summer of 2020 CDUK provided the Church with two water harvesting tanks to support the Church Food Programme and supply clean water for food preparation and better hygiene. Many thousands of young children a year die as a result of polluted water. Previously the Church collected fresh water in tanks by bike from many miles away for cooking & used rain water from muddy puddles for washing.

CDUK also wants to sink a well near the Church for village use by people of all faiths. Currently the only clean water has to be collected & paid for at a government water source several miles away at approximately the equivalent of one penny per litre

Volunteers have been making dresses for the girls from unwanted pillow cases and Bermuda shorts for the boys from recycled materials, they have held fundraising events to raise the money for postage to the project.  For more information and dress and shorts patterns and how you can get involved go to our page on Pillowcase Dresses. People are also being asked to donate good quality unwanted duvets and sheets to send out to the sewing workshop so that the women who are learning to sew can practice on less expensive materials.  Send them in maximum 2 kilo packs, if you are able to help contact Ros at compassiondirectuk@gmail.com Thank you.

Amazing donation of jumpers all from one special lady in Stratford upon Avon

EARTH IS THE HOME WE SHARE - KNITTING GROUPS

Knitting groups enable you to meet new people & have fun sharing a favorite craft. A CDUK knitting group makes your experience even more worthwhile as you get that good feeling that comes with helping other people, knowing that you are doing something useful. Even if you don’t know the person who is receiving your home made garment, knowing that it is out there in the world is a great feeling. Joining a knitting group is sociable activity & if you are new to knitting it is a great way to pick up new ideas, share patterns & have someone to help you through any difficult projects or explain a new technique. For knitters of all skill levels, joining a group is a wonderful way to make time for your hobby.
All your knitting will be sent by container to a refugee camp in Syria. In the past we have sent to Ukraine, Palestine, France & Greece. Go to our projects page for information about how to send your knitting. Thankyou.

Below are a few tips on getting a knitting group started in your area:-

FINDING MEMBERS

• Send an email or phone friends telling them you want to start a new group & suggesting a time and place to meet up.  Tell them a bit about the work of CDUK and where some of their knitting can be sent if they wish.
• Not all your knitting has to go to CDUK projects, family and friends are important too.
• Ask them to ask their friends
• Post a notice at your local knitting store, the library, church, or community notice board.
• Write to the community page of your local newspaper
• Post on your social network site – Face book, My Space or Tweet about it on Twitter

ORGANIZING YOUR GROUP

Kitted out for winter in Ukraine wearing hats & scarf from Warwickshire

• Pick a date, time and location for a getting to know you meeting
• Get everyone to introduce themselves & talk a bit about their knitting experience & maybe explain what they would like to get out of the group
• Maybe have an informal discussion about how you would all like the group to develop
• How often do you want to meet
• Where do you want to meet
• Do you want to rotate at different persons homes
• Do you want to develop a more formal meeting with talks and demonstrations
• Have a look on line for free knitting patterns, tips & ideas there is lots out there
• Ask friends for spare wool, many of us have the odd ball tucked away that we might never need.

WHAT CAN CDUK DO TO HELP

• We can provide leaflets on our latest knitting campaign. Knit for Kids. Get updates on our Face book page at www.facebook.com/thisearthisourhome 
• We can provide leaflets on our work in Europe, South America & Africa.
• We may be able to come & talk to your group about our work or you can find out more from our website. www.compassiondirectuk.org
• CDUK can provide a charity tin so that you can collect small donations from your members at each meeting.  Although we are all volunteers at CDUK we still have to find money for printing, insurance, transportation etc.

To make Bermuda shorts for boys go to 10 Free Shorts Patterns for Kids (premeditatedleftovers.com)

Many thanks for caring enough to participate. Ros Grant – Chairman of Trustees. T: 07773470384

HOW CDUK BEGAN WORKING WITH CHILDREN  & COMMUNITIES

In 2002 Ros – our chairman, & founder, visited family in Quilmes, Buenos Aires in Argentina. She was horrified at the poverty & destitution she saw in parts of the city & its environs.

An educationalist – Daniel De Scala, visited Ros & asked for her help as he had heard that she had always worked for charities in the UK. He knew that people in the UK were very generous but that they did not know much about the poverty in South America & the awful economic crash that had occurred in Argentina in 200/2001 when the AR Peso was devalued by two thirds. Many thousands of people lost their jobs & their homes in the crash & became destitute consequently more shanty towns grew in many areas including Quilmes. They desperately needed help!

Daniel took Ros on a tour of the shanty towns – Villas, surrounding Quilmes. Ros agreed to try to help a Soup kitchen – Comador, that fed 130 destitute children twice a day – Luz Del Alma (Light of the Soul).

Ros wrote to friends, sending photos & asking for a donation of £5. When she returned to the UK some weeks later, she had to open a bank account for the generous donations that had arrived. One thing led to another, fundraising continued, Trustees were recruited & Compassion Direct UK, became registered in 2004 after a generous donation of £500 from Banbury Rotary Club.

Ros had semi-retired from being self-employed for some years after working for The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) for many years as a Regional Manager. Shortly before her visit to Argentina she had intended to continue a part time Training business that had been part of her previous PR business. Somehow the training never got started because CDUK took over Ros’s life.

During this time CDUK raised money to build a security wall and gates at the Comador, built a homework room & sewing workshop for children and parents, a store room for dried food & recruited a group of local volunteers to maintain continued assistance & support to this project. As CDUK grew other projects followed &new directions were pursued.

Photos, man going to a stream for water in a shanty town, Argentina, children of mothers with HIV  in Rwanda, who will soon be orphans, children living in a shanty town in winter, Argentina

Becoming a Trustee with CDUK will enable you to help some of the poorest & most disadvantaged people in the world.  The opportunity will enable you to participate in life changing work.

Because we are a small organisation, our trustees don't just make policy decisions round a table, we are a hands on organisation, we get down to grass roots & get involved in our local areas when we can.

Depending upon the time we have available & our personal skills, we do PR, admin, IT, applications for funds, plan strategy, or organise fundraising events, etc. working with other volunteers & local groups in the area. Working to our strengths & discussing what works with the chairman, other trustees & relevant volunteers.

HOW MUCH TIME DOES IT TAKE BEING A TRUSTEE?

Most importantly we agree what time we have available & plan our workload within the time we are able to give. You may only have 1 hour a week available but if you put your mind to it, it is amazing what can be achieved in an hour when working to a plan & within a team. 1 hour or 1 day a week we can find a way to make your time count. But we prefer it if you enjoy what you are doing with CDUK & that you have some fun along the way as well as job satisfaction.

CAN I WORK FROM HOME?

Our team work remotely & meet up on Zoom or Skype etc. & at the AGM once a year. We are too busy doing what needs to be done to call meetings all the time, but we do keep in touch regularly & chat online. Facebook & Twitter keeps us up to date as does the website. This is the new normal.

IS THERE A FINANCIAL LIABILITY IN BEING A TRUSTEE?

The Trustees have a policy of never promising what we can't afford to deliver. That means that if we don't have the cash in the bank we don't do the project. This way Trustees do not have to concern themselves that we might go overdrawn or get into debt for which they might be liable. We just don't do it! Then we can all relax!

We decide what we want to do, raise the money - if we don't already have it, & do the project. Neither do we promise to projects what we can't fulfil.

We prefer that you work with us for a short time as a volunteer before becoming a trustee. Then when you get the feel of the organisation we can talk over where you feel your strengths lie & how we can fit them to a role. All trustees work a minimum 6 months probationary period & while during that time their views will be taken into account they will not be allowed to vote until they have completed their probation. They can still be part of the debate and suggestions for change.

WHAT IS AVAILABLE TO PROMOTE CDUK?

We have leaflets & collecting tins available to be distributed throughout your local area & varous fundraising aids such as display boards & banners.

So, if you are interested, give our chairman a call on 01341 388649 or fill in the contact box on this site & we can take it from there. Don't forget we are all volunteers here at CDUK so you will be one of the team.