Susan Thomas donation in Uganda

I’m a 25 year old female and apparently that means I am now of an age where my friends are producing babies! So whilst out shopping I came across these gorgeous little stripey onesies and started reading all about Baby Teresa and the concept of buy one, give one to a baby in need. I thought that sounds fabulous and my friend Em would love it, so I got one. Later, as I was preparing to go on an epic trip with my sister to spend a month in Africa before visiting Europe and America, it occurred to me that perhaps the babies I’d be seeing during my time in Uganda would classify as “in need”.





I sent an e-mail off to Baby Teresa and very soon I had a reply saying that they would love to send some onesies away with me! This was how I came to be touching down on an African runway with a bag packed full of baby clothes (okay, so there were a few items of clothing for me too!!!)





My sister Mary and I were volunteering with The Real Uganda, an organization that links volunteers with projects that are being run by Ugandans for Ugandans. Mary is a nurse so she was placed with VOLSET, a community based health project in Ntenjeru. As a psychologist, I was placed at St Isaac’s Training Centre, a sustainable agricultural placement. Yes, I was going to do some digging!!! Located in Kainogoga (about 30 minutes boda boda ride from the nearest town, and mzungu or white people!!!), St Isaac’s is a fantastic project that aims to eliminate poverty and hunger by teaching modern farming techniques that result in over four times the crop yields produced using more traditional techniques. They also teach the importance of crop rotation, crop diversity and water conservation.





The director Chris Kulabako has established a pre-school for the children of the area, over 50% of whom attend free of charge. The children are provided with uniforms, a basic lunch, and an education. The children are also taught the farming techniques and good nutrition. Being able to provide free education is critical in a small village like Kainogoga, where over 20% of the children are orphans due to HIV/AIDS. So needless to say Chris and his team of volunteers are doing some amazing work, and together they have so far established more than 80 demonstration gardens! Providing income, and a source of sustenance to communities across Uganda.

During my stay in Uganda I must admit I didn’t end up doing much digging (it did provide the family with some comic relief for a day or so...) but instead I produced a book documenting Chris’ life story and the amazing work that St Isaac’s are doing now and hope to do in the future. This document has been useful in linking St Isaac’s with a group in America that can enable donations to be made via the internet. 6,000 words put to good use. What else will be put to good use? Those Baby Teresa onesies that I was still carrying...





One weekend Mary and I went to Kampala (ie. Town) and visited Baby Watoto. Watoto is a massive American organization that rescues little babies that have been dumped at the tip, or bus shelters, abandoned at the police station or on people’s doorsteps, and takes them in. The babies are looked after very well (even by Australian standards!!!) with beautiful toys, loving carers, appropriate sustenance, and health care provided. When the children are older they grow up in sort of group homes where they become a family. The children are encouraged to become anything they can dream of. They are given great educational opportunities and basically given a fantastic chance at life, that was so close to being taken away from them. Because of the care and lifetime of opportunity these abandoned babies are provided with I chose Baby Watoto to donate half the onesies to. Gloria, a friend of a friend of ours, is an Australian working at Baby Watoto in Uganda. She showed us around their amazing facility. We got to see little Meg who was barely as big as a fist when she was first found (she is still in the humidicrib, but is doing well). Unfortunately we had come to visit during naptime, so almost all the babies were asleep (SO cute!!!). But Ruby and Sahara were still up, so they became our gorgeous models. At Baby Watoto we know those gorgeous onesies are going to be put to very good use, over and over again!!!













The other half of the onesies I gave to Mary to deliver. Mary was given the opportunity to do HIV/AIDS testing on a remote island in Lake Victoria. She was part of a team that provided HIV testing and counseling to 80 people on the island. Being white, she was quite a spectacle on the island, with lots of the younger children terrified of her! Much to the amusement of the older children and adults!!! But she was very popular indeed with the mothers who attended her talk on how to keep same from or live as healthy as possibly with HIV/AIDS. Mary distributed the Baby Teresa onesies to these mothers, who were very appreciative. The people living on these remote islands are some of the poorest in Uganda, and they can have very limited access to services. So those onesies will be very well used, guaranteed.









What a thesis I’ve just written! Sorry about that!!! A big thank you to Baby Teresa for agreeing to donate twenty summer onesies to the gorgeous babies of Uganda. The smiles are well worth it!!!

Lots of love and blessings, Suse



PS. This is little Chloe, Chris’ daughter. I told you the smile’s are worth it! And yes, she did get a little onesie too!!!



Taking Baby Theresa to Damba Island, Uganda - from Mary Thomas (Susan's sister)

Uganda is a beautiful and crazy country, teaming with life and colour. Despite the intense poverty all around, the Ugandan people are so loving and have the most wonderful smiles I have ever seen. I spent a month volunteering in Uganda October- November 2010 as a nurse in the family area of a community health clinic. The mothers make sure their babies are very well dressed to go the centre. Yet all the babies I saw around the village were naked or had a top on but no pants. On my last weekend, my friend and I went with two trained HIV AIDS counsellors to the Island of Damba in Lake Victoria. I had 12 Baby Theresa “onsies” and a plan of distributing them to mothers on the island after presenting a session on infant nutrition. My first impression of the island was of the smell of fish and goats. Then I noticed the rows of makeshift sheds, all looking identical in make and size. Each room was either a shop of some sort or a family home, most were both. The babies were carried by older siblings and wore nothing but a string of beads around their waists. Giving out the onesies after the session was hectic as sizing babies is tricky to do quickly, but rewarding. The mothers were so grateful and the babies looked fresh, covered and very cute! The clothes donated will clothe the baby, and then continue to be passed around the family and community as more babies are born. I admire the Baby Theresa initiative and encourage people to support it.