We are launching a Christmas Appeal this year for two emergency situations. These are 1) the continuing hunger across Africa caused by the ongoing effects of the pandemic and 2) both the hunger and the damage caused by recent environmental disasters in both Rwanda and DRC (Congo).
Food Donations
Communities across Africa are still suffering hugely from the effects of the pandemic. Loss of work and thus of income have left many families without the means to buy food. In Congo this has been compounded by the volcanic eruption in Goma where many of our families have both lost work and had their fields covered in lava.
We are therefore seeking donations for all four of the countries in which we work - Burundi, Congo, Rwanda and Uganda. All unspecified donations will be split on the basis of two fifths to Congo and one fifth to the other three.
Building Repairs
Substantial damage was caused to the buildings at CENYESED’s deaf school site in Goma (Congo). We are not yet in a position to seek funds for them as we have not yet received an engineer's report on whether they can be repaired or if they should be demolished. Anyone wishing to support these works should please let us know so that we can get in touch when the information we need is to hand.
We are however in a position to seek your support for the storm damage at Umutara in Rwanda which destroyed many buildings in the village. Amongst these were the roof of the new dormitory we funded at Umutara Deaf School and the local Baptist Church, of which Dominique, the Chairman of FHR, the charity that owns the school, is Minister. We asked Dominique to get an engineer's report and budget for both on the basis of enhanced protection to try to prevent future events of this nature.
The costs are £1400 for the school and £4000 for the church. Already we are delighted to report that £1000 was donated by a kind supporter as soon as the news was received. The school repairs are within DeafReach's work, but those to the church are not, as our formal purposes do not allow us to support "the advancement of religion". However, as both are the largest institutions in the village and are linked in many ways, we are happy to pass on any specific donations for the Church repairs to Dominique.
If you would like to make a donation online, our bank details are as follows:
The Co-operative Bank
Account Name: Deaf Reach
Sort Code Number: 08 92 99
Account Number: 65889415
Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and a New Year that will hopefully see an end to the pandemic.
Rod Clark
Chairman, DeafReach
