Giving Stories Blog

Have you ever been the recipient of someone else's generosity? How did you react to it? Joy? A desire to share that happiness? The Chevening Alumni Association of Uganda (a collective of recipients of the prestigious Chevening Scholarship) has decided to propel this chain of generosity.

Zirifa Nangobi appeared in the New Vision, a national newspaper seeking assistance for a medical condition that was out of control. Her breasts were growing at an abnormally rapid rate and were enormous, reaching all the way to her thighs. Zirifa was dealing not only with physical complications such as itching, heaviness, and rashes, but also with emotional issues such as stigma and shame.

“What is the role of philanthropy in national development?” you might ask. This may be a difficult question to answer if philanthropic initiatives and interventions are not tracked or documented. Stanbic Bank Uganda is leading the way in telling their journey of generosity. In a recently released annual report Stanbic Bank showcased the impact and reach of their corporate philanthropy.

Philanthropy is limitless! Its forms, its channels and motivation are as vast as the needs that surround individuals and communities. We’ve often defined philanthropy as giving of one’s time, talent and treasure. This time, we dwell on giving of treasure because that is what ATTA Breast Milk Community is all about.

ATTA Breast Milk Community is a milk-sharing network that encourages the donation of safe human milk to infants who are unable to access optimal nutrition from their mothers. ATTA stands for Alyssa Marie Taha and Tracy Ahumuza, the combined initials of a daughter and her mother respectively.

Lizza Marie Kawooya’s philanthropy journey started when she volunteered at Delta Education Collective as a community coach in Nwoya district. Here she interacted with young girls who consistently dropped out of school due to the lack of sanitary pads. The need was great, and the time had come to act.

Based on her experiences in Nyowa, Kawooya decided to take a leaf out of the book and do something to empower rural girls, child mothers, and children.

At the peak of the COVID19 pandemic, the health system tilted its bias and resources to fight the spread of the lethal corona virus. All other medical needs in the sector felt the pinch and among them was the maternal health arm of the medical system. The standard operating procedures that among other things limited movement made it difficult for expectant mothers to access antenatal care or medical attention when at the time of childbirth.

Donating blood is equivalent to giving someone a second chance at life. The Rotary Fraternity and Mengo Hospital worked together to establish a state-of-the-art blood bank in 2017. The aim of this noble cause was to bridge the gap of blood shortage in Uganda which has been a thin line between life and death for many people that have found themselves in need of a blood transfusion.

The Rotary Club of Kasangati, partnered with Hariss International, a private food and beverage manufacturing company to construct two classroom blocks for Shared Love Junior School in Makukuba. The project started in 2015 to give back to a school that had tremendously contributed to the Makukuba community. The school was not only serving the pupils in the primary school section, but also served students undergoing vocational training as well as hosting medical camps for the community.

For patients with cancer, the future is often unknown, and hope is what keeps them alive to endure treatments and social and personal adversities. Rotary Uganda is giving this much needed hope to cancer patients. For the past 10 years, Rotary Uganda has been unwaveringly committed to lighting a candle of hope for cancer patients in Uganda.

"Investment in education pays the finest interest,” as Benjamin Franklin once observed. Education is extremely important in everyone's life. It aids in the development of character, views, and intelligence. Regardless of how we were educated, each of us will have our own views and methods of doing things, but at the end of the day, our actual intellect rests inside the education we received and continue to get throughout our lives.

On the 21st of January 2022, the Kampala South Rotary Club commissioned a three-bed dialysis unit in Mengo Hospital on the Sir Albert Cook Building. The project has been in the works for about 5 years and was enabled by Global Grant GG211922.

Dr. Daniel Kyabayinze, the national vaccination coordinator who represented the health minister at the opening of the dialysis center, stated that the dialysis center will assist solve an issue that affects at least 9 million Ugandans.

Generosity provides you with fresh lenses and an additional set of feet, the former allowing you to notice the need around you and the latter propelling you into action. Wanyana Christine and her fourth-year students at Uganda Christian University's Medical School sprung into action when they realized the need of two of their friends, Mark and Andrew [not actual names].

There's a beautiful quote that says, "Real queens fix each other's crowns!" And it's something we should remind ourselves of daily. We live in a very competitive society, yet the simple reality is that women are more powerful when they work together.

Her Worship Carol Kabugo was surfing through WhatsApp when she was stopped in her tracks by a video. In the video Nansamba, a young lady that is both hard of hearing and cannot speak was asking for help.

People generally aren't used to kindness from strangers. Most of us are too wrapped up in our lives to pay much attention to anyone else. That's why it's so striking when strangers do something unexpected. Even the smallest actions can have an impact. With some people, though, the well of generosity runs deep. They do incredible things to improve other lives, going the extra mile in unexpected ways.

Stanbic Bank Uganda in partnership with other well-wishers donated medical mama kits worth Ugx. 35,500,000/= (Thirty-five million five hundred thousand Uganda Shillings) to Kawempe Referral Hospital. This generous gesture was done as part of Stanbic’s end-of-year Corporate Social Investment Programme and as a contribution to the ongoing “Every Mother Counts” campaign.

KANSAI Plascon donates paint to Sanyu Babies’ Home

Perhaps the greatest tragedy of all is that we know how to convert tragedy into triumph...we simply need more assistance achieving it! We know how to transform bad numbers into good ones. And while assisting children is a wonderful thing to do, the good you have done does not end there. It spreads!

Companies are exploring effective strategies to help the areas, sectors, or communities most impacted by their operations. Many firms have embraced the notion of corporate philanthropy, a giving model that may be applied in a variety of ways ranging from scholarship programs to volunteer assistance to community service.

Anyone can give! By anyone, we mean individuals, groups, children and even, companies. In the next few weeks, we explore stories of corporate generosity. The forms of giving vary from company to company reinforcing the fact that money is not the only means through which generosity is expressed. Generosity allows you to be creative; give your time, talent, treasure, your space, your expertise, you name it.

Giving to other givers encourages them to continue doing good in their communities. It solidifies their charitable actions and motivates generosity in ways we may not be able to measure. Have you considered giving to the local charity or community foundation? This was done for Kawempe Home Care by Relentless Group.

For young people, agriculture is one of the most important routes out of poverty and unemployment. Accelerating youth participation in agriculture and agribusiness will also aid in achieving development goals such as eradicating extreme poverty, achieving zero hunger, and achieving gender equality, as set forth by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, development in many regions is significantly slower than is required to involve youngsters in agriculture in the face of climate change.