UK FRIENDS OF HEALING FOCUS
MISSION
UK Friends of Healing Focus work in partnership with the Ugandan NGO Healing Focus School and Orphanage Center to improve the education, development and welfare of the orphans and reduce disease and poverty. The supervised orphans are aged between 3 and 15 years and live in the village of Busiiro in Luuka district (formerly Iganga district) in Uganda. UKHF is a hands-on charity managed by a small team of volunteers. Their patron is actress Dame Helen Mirren. In addition to the practical support and guidance provided by UKHF, fundraising events are also organized to facilitate important improvements to the school. The Healing Focus School provides basic school education to 250 orphans in Busiiro. Through the UKHF Scholarship Fund, 5 students are able to continue their secondary education at the Busiiro Secondary School. A Vocational Training Centre was inaugurated in 2017 where sewing and computer classes are provided to teach marketable skills to help young people who are unable to continue their secondary education to find work so they can provide for themselves and their families. UKHF also work in partnership with FEMLEAD, a Girls Initiative Program, which provides regular workshops empowering girls and young women to reach their full potential.
History
The Healing Focus Orphanage Center (HFOC) was founded in 2005 by Tom Bagoole and his wife Esther. Tom was a bank clerk in Kampala and his wife worked for the Foundation for Human Rights, a Ugandan non-governmental organization. Tom had worked as a construction worker to finance his own education and eventually to attend university.
Esther had been homeless at a young age, had worked as a maid, and despite hardships obtained a master’s degree from university. Because of their own harsh past, the couple decided to help the orphans and street children from Tom’s village. The Healing Focus Orphanage Center was founded with the help of friends and initially funded by Tom and Esther’s own salaries. When Paul Freeman and his wife Maggie Scott met Tom and Esther in 2008, they were delighted to be able to visit the center and make their own little contribution.
Paul and Maggie were so impressed with Tom and Esther’s dedication that they decided to help the best way they could. During their next visit in 2009, they helped find a suitable school building for 250 orphans. Upon their return, they convinced a number of friends in England to support the project as well. Since 2010, the UK Friends of Healing Focus has been a registered charity in the UK.
The Ugandan Ministry of Education requires that all school buildings be built in brick. If not, the school’s license will be revoked. UKHF and HFOC have worked together to raise the money needed to build two classroom buildings. The guardians in the community rallied together and donated bricks. Thanks to generous donors, HFOC is able to hire qualified teaching staff who work tirelessly earning HFOC the title of Best School in the District for three years running, with a 100% pass rate. HFOC has been able to purchase farmland to grow maize and cassava to feed the children and invest in water tanks supplying the children with clean drinking water. Solar panels were installed to light the school classrooms and last year, HFOC was supplied with electricity.
Photos on this page: Photo Copyright by UKHF
CONTACT & DONATION
A lot has been accomplished but there is still so much more to do. Any donation will make a great difference to the lives of the children. A little goes a long way in Uganda.
Du you want to know more about UK Healing Focus?
Your welcome to visit the charity website:
or write an E-Mail
admin@ukhealingfocus.org
