Maria is a young girl living in desperate poverty in Uganda.  She is 6 years old and was born profoundly deaf.  When she was less than 2 years old, her parents deserted her, leaving her widowed grandmother to look after her.

Without specialist education, Maria will never learn to communicate, she will never make friends and she will have a very bleak, quite frightening, life to look forward to.

18 months ago, Deafway formed a partnership with a tiny, struggling school for deaf children in Maria’s area of Uganda (south of Kampala, near a place called Nkose). The school is called St. Anthony’s. This is potentially a wonderful school, but it has no money. Neither Maria’s grandmother nor the families of the other deaf children can afford school fees - there is no money available from the government.  At the moment the children go out begging after lessons so that the school can afford to feed them.  

Our aim is to be able to fund and support the school for an initial two year period - salaries and training for the teachers, food for the children (it’s a boarding school), support in how to set up and run a school properly.  During the two years we can prove the difference the school can make to Maria’s life and the life of many other deaf children.  That will make it easier for the school to get funding to continue afterwards.

We need to raise £60,000 - that will cover all of the costs for the school to educate 50 deaf children for two years. That’s just £12 per child per week to pay for all the teacher’s salaries, food, accommodation and educational materials.

So far we’ve raised/received pledges for around £40,000.  We desperately need to raise the final £20,000 - and we need to do so by 31st March 2012 or we will have to give back £24,000 of the money which has already been pledged.

Our ‘1000 friends for Maria’ appeal could make all of the difference.  If we could find 1,000 people in Lancashire who would each give £10, we would be half way to raising the remaining money - a few of the 1,000 giving more than £10, or a donation from a Lancashire company - and we’ll be there.

Please help.  £10 is really not very much.  Maria’s future is worth much more than that - and you really can change her life.

We will be having open days at Deafway on Sunday 19th February and Saturday 3rd March with short presentations about St Anthony’s at 11am, 1pm and 3pm. Free refreshments will be provided.

If you can’t make the open days but would like to help you can text 70070 with the message UGAN01 and £10 or donate online at www.deafway.org.uk

If you are interested in Deafway’s work, you can contact them on:-

01772796461(Deafway reception) or email nicola.bell@deafway.org.uk

· Deafway is a local charity. We have been based in Preston since 1896. We work with deaf people in the UK and in the developing world. Wherever we work, we are committed to identifying and removing the barriers that prevent deaf people from reaching their true potential and from participating fully in all aspects of life.

· We have been working with deaf people in Nepal since 2000 and have raised nearly £300,000.00 for educational projects including 2 schools and a project educating deaf children in more remote areas.

· Deafway, Brockholes Brow, Preston, Lancashire, PR2 5AL

· For further information please contact Nicola Bell, Development Manager (01772) 796461 or email nicola.bell@deafway.org.uk

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