I met Mafuta and Wickliffe in 2019, at the beginning of my activity at Help One Child Thrive. Those were boys that no one wanted to help. Usually, older kids barely receive any support.

Amazingly enough, those two boys got lucky quite fast and they managed to acquire the support and love of two lovely persons, Donna from England and Andreea from Romania. The support received was well deserved: the boys were polite, hardworking, they always came along to help us with the heavy lifting and unloading of food, they did everything to the best of their abilities.

They wanted to learn, so we helped them. Both boys were enlisted into Prime Vocational Institute, where they studied car mechanics and engineering for a year. To their misfortune – to the misfortune of all of us, Covid had spread into the region and a full lockdown has been declared, preventing them from finalising their studiea on time.

But finally they did. In June 2022, Mafuta and Wickliffe received their diplomas with high honours and they became skilled and respected members of the community.

It is such a great feeling, to see the growth and the progress of a child. They were part of HOCT, once; now, they are grown-up men, ready to start their own work, their own families, ready to give back to the society.

Moments like these make all of efforts well worth.

Congratulations!

Veronica Anghelescu

It is very hot outside. We are working to dispatch food, water, fruit and other basic products. We do our work with love. More and more children have learnt how to smile – your love is making miracles!

Munyira’s house had been destroyed a couple of weeks ago by a tornado. We have lovingly rebuilt it, and today – with the help of the lovely and wonderful long-distance mother of this dear boy, we installed solar panels on the roof of the house.

it is always an extraordinary moment in this community which is barely electrified, they finally have light in their house, electric outlets, and even a TV. Our warmest gratitude for all those who made this miracle possible!

Electricity – something we often take for granted…

It has been a great afternoon, we distributed hundreds of kilograms of food. We have also earned many new friends. Our children learn how to relax more in front of the camera and just be themselves.

After a technical glitch, we’re back showcasing our work.

Because we never stop working.

Just beauty, kindness, hope.

The past few weeks have been difficult for humanity, so much going on. Amidst all the chaos, heartache and confusion we all live when news are… breaking, we continue to work with love and with the hope for better days.

When times are hard, we must strive and remain strong. Despite all difficulties, we should do our very best in every circumstance. We may go through pain and heartache; but if we took a commitment towards a child, we should respect it.

This is to honour all the good people who always keep their word and always feed their children. Your loyalty, your unfading love – this is what we need in our world. Commitment.

You ask me to write to you in private: no, I will write my letter to you publicly. I have been struggling for such a long time, that I do not want to resume another endless and fruitless private discussion.

I am a NGO established in Bucharest, Romania (that country near Ukraine, yes!). My activity is in Uganda, East Africa, where I am assisting a number of 600 children from different villages such as Idudi, Bugembe, Kabembe, Mbale and others. The nearest bank (Equity) is 50 km far.

I need the MTN engine in order to transfer funds. Needless to say, I cannot transfer directly to MTN, I need to use a tool such as World Remit, Paysend or Xoom – the only ones available from my country.

Why do I need MTN? It is simple, accessible, I understand the fees. The bank, with all due respect towards Equity, does not make their exchange rate public, blaming a bug on their website, + it is too far.

And what is happening? World Remit and PaySend close my accounts, they do not even want to escalate my request of using their services to a decision-making person and will not even look at my documents which are 100% available, transparent, legal, translated into English and notarized. I am being treated as if I were a thief!

I have built a hospital, I have connected entire villages to electricity, I have built a library, I have sent 500 children to school and I have fed them each day. I have lost my mind trying to just do my job right, begging for the right to use your tools (not for free!) and all I get in return is Terms and conditions!

Regards,

Veronica Anghelescu

MUNYIRA’s HOUSE

As the world is crumbling around us, we are rebuilding. A small house was destroyed by a storm. We restore it. When we do our bit, the world heals.