[p]Hi, my name is Lily and I’m the founder of the #CakesofKindess Campaign which is encouraging 100s of people to bake cakes for vulnerable neighbours and key workers. This weekend I will have personally baked and distributed over 1000 cakes of kindness in my own community, helping to bring a little bit of light and love to those who are struggling during these difficult times.[/p][p]Today though, [b]my heart is breaking, and I wonder if you would help to bring a little bit of light and love to some of the most vulnerable girls in the world [/b]whose lives have been devastated three-fold? I am a founder member of Act4Africa – a charity that provides holistic and long-lasting support to women and girls in East Africa through education, healthcare provision and vocational training. We have put thousands of young people through health education programmes and are particularly [b]proud to have been able to keep destitute girls in school and to help them to develop their leadership skills through our Grow a Girl Programme. [/b]Through Grow-a-Girl, we are able to provide them with a better future, the chance to gain respect in their communities, get qualifications and a good job, ensuring that they marry when they are ready rather than being sold into marriage at an early age. Today we have learnt from [b]Patrick Kigongo, our trusted Head of Operations in Uganda[/b], that [b]some[/b] [b]of our girls in Uganda, who are already losing their education because of the Covid-19 lockdown have now lost their homes due to the worst floods that Uganda has experienced in a lifetime.[/b][/p][p]They are surviving in displacement camps which makes them particularly vulnerable. Our Act4Africa team are doing everything they can to help. Due to the Covid-19 lock down, the team had already been [b]distributing food parcels, sanitary products and PPE[/b] in Kasese and Mayuge before the torrential rains. In Uganda, there is no DSS, no NHS, no furlough provisions and for many, if you can’t work, you can’t eat. These communities, home to the poorest of the poor, are where the floods have hit hardest. We hope that [b]you will be prepared to stand alongside our team and provide them with the support they need to survive and to keep our girls saf[/b]e.[/p][p]£15 will pay for a food parcel that will provide nutritionally balanced meals for a week[/p][p]£20 will provide educational materials and sanitary products to enable our girls to carry on with their education[/p][p]£100 will provide cooking utensils, a tent and bedding to give our girls a temporary home[/p][p]£200 will fund a member of our team for a month, ensuring that they are able to provide for their families and continue to do Act4Africa’s essential work, supporting those who have been left destitute by the combination of Covid-19 and the floods.[/p][p]Your donations will also be used to expand our work in helping communities to thrive, and girls and women to reach their potential. Our work has never been more critical: COVID-19 and flooding have removed girls from education, increased susceptibility to food scarcity, heightened the risk of water-borne disease, reduced access to reliable contraception and sexual-health education, and taken away people’s livelihoods and earning potential. As well as our emergency response to these crises, we will also use your contributions to carry out long-lasting and sustainable responses to these issues, offering hope and a future to people in desperate need. [/p][p]If you have benefited from #CakesofKindess or[b] if you want to do something immeasurably kind for some of the most desperate people on our beautiful but fragile planet today, please give what you can.[/b] Every single pound will help us to bring light and hope into the lives of those that are living through a nightmare that is so much bigger than the crisis that we have lived through in the UK this Spring. 85% of every pound raised is used to fund our work on the ground in Uganda, Tanazania and Malawi.[/p][p]Today, I have felt so helpless. I have two beautiful Ugandan children - both orphans - that I have provided for over the past 16 years and every part of me wants to get on a plane to Uganda, to hold them close and to help the Act4Africa effort. I know, first-hand the fragility of life in sub-Saharan Africa. Thank-you for taking the time to read through my appeal. [/p][p][i]“The best way not to feel hopeless is to get up and do something.”[/i][/p][p][i] [/i][b]Barak Obama[/b][/p]
