Gideon Pozniak – Year 6 Hertzlia

Abayudaya fundraiser saved lives in Uganda

Last year my aunt, Zara Sarzin, started a fundraiser to help the Namutumba community in Uganda who were literally starving to death due to a massive drought that caused crop failure and famine. My aunt knew the community well because for many years she worked for the World Bank, specialising in Africa, and she has grown to love this rural community.  The community comprises Jews, Christians and Muslims. When the community faced this terrible ordeal, they turned to my aunt for help.

When I heard about the plight of the community I told my class and my teacher Ms Poisel. Our Year 5 class raised $36 in a few days, everyone bringing in their own money to help. The money was enough to feed a whole family for almost 2 weeks. My auntie’s appeal attracted donations large and small, and in total raised the significant amount of $17,519. The community told my aunt how grateful they were, and that they were particularly touched by the efforts of students at Emanuel School.

The essential funds enabled the community to:

• Purchase 8,000 kilograms of posho, which fed 469 people (77 families) in the Namutumba Community for 28 days
• Purchase an additional 600 kilograms of posho, which assisted a further 211 people (23 families) in Aparc for 5 days.

A community member visited the people who were affected and documented some of the stories. One lady had this to say: “Thank you for coming to visit me, and see where I live. Famine was killing us and the food came at the time we were about to disappear. Oh God is great. I used to have sleepless nights. My grandchildren used to ask me if we will eat that day and instead of answering, I could just move to the back of my house and shed some tears. The food you gave us answered many questions that I could not answer. Tell whoever gave this food that one old woman has thanked you very much! They should live longer. Send our blessing to them, let them continue with that spirit. Many thanks many thanks.”

You can see more stories and photos at this link:
www.dropbox.com/sh/jdz3hgmvdu1twzm/AACbjumSeQMK5GSk8rGvVU3ua?dl=0

While the appeal provided life-saving support to get these families through the famine, they continue to battle extreme poverty. Therefore, my aunt is keen to continue to support them in sustainable ways. If you are interested in helping, please feel free to get in touch with me.