Can you guess where $63,161 came from?

It was critical to us breaking ground, but you probably can’t guess where it came from…

Do you remember Tarsis? A year ago, we told you of his generous donation in Kota that changed the region forever.

Then there are the hundreds of volunteers who have spent thousands of hours digging, clearing brush, and hauling bricks (check out the pictures here) to break ground. Their gifts of labour, sweat and care will create change for surrounding communities too.

This is critical to count in villages where people earn less than $1 a day.

But today I want to tell you about a third type of donor: our Ugandan donors, primarily the District Government, but also others like schools and more.

These donors have contributed money and materials required to make this three year endeavor possible. To date, our Ugandan team has fundraised over $63,161 from them.

The largest gift came just weeks ago, $22,000 from the District.

We were blown away.

These gifts represent a level of ownership that increases the sustainability of the project. In fact, this communal buy-in is the result of the same type of fundraising I do in Canada by Richard in Uganda, just in a very different context.

From actively writing grant proposals, engaging in face-to-face fundraising and convincing land owners to give up valuable property for the common good – our Ugandan team is heavily involved in raising the support required to carry out our work.

Everybody has a role to play.

There’s still money to raise before the project can be completed. We believe that together, we can do it. I wanted to give you this behind the scenes now because giving to charity can so often feel one side.

In launching our Jerry Can Project, we are looking for 50 people to fundraise alongside our Ugandan & Canadian Team to bring water to 50 families in the region. Check out the details at acts.ca/connect.

Thank you for your continued generosity.