June 2024 newsletter

Smiles and sports in the sunshine

I have just returned from a fantastic trip to Uganda where I spent time with our team and saw the amazing work they are doing first-hand.

May is always a hectic time of year as the children return to school after a break, which means our team travels across the country to help pay their school fees and support their return.

Seeing children who, once on the street, are now able to attend school is what our team say is one of the most rewarding parts of their job. I certainly felt uplifted when I saw the huge smiles as children donned their school uniforms once again!

Whilst in Uganda, I was also lucky to be involved in one of the many sports activities that are regularly run by our team. Football is always a firm favourite but for my trip this time I made space to take a cricket set with me. Excuse the pun, but it was a hit!

Sport is one of the ways we engage street connected young people while we transition them away from life on the streets. Team games such as football and cricket give the children the chance to learn important life lessons such as team work, discipline, communication and confidence.

Last year, our Street Outreach team arranged 76 sports sessions for children they met as part of their street walks or who were attending one of our two Drop in Centres. That number doesn’t include all of the sports games, yoga and aerobic sessions organised at our residential site at our Halfway Homes and Drug Rehabilitation Centre.

So, coming back from Uganda, I am feeling inspired by our team and the tenacity and positivity of the young people we work with despite what they have faced on the streets. I will definitely be brushing up on my footwork and batting skills before my next trip to Uganda! ⚽🏏

Growing dreams

We currently have over 120 children in our Education programme offering a mix of vocational and academic learning. These are children who have been on the streets and are now safely resettled home but their families can’t afford to send them to school.

We work with these families to help them become self-sufficient through our Family Business Empowerment programme so that one day, they can be in a position to take over paying for their child’s education fully so that S.A.L.V.E. can then support another child in need.

However, this is a process that takes time. Until then, we need people to support our Education programme either by donating to our Education Fund or becoming a Child Sponsor. We currently have 38 children in our programme who are waiting to be supported, as well as a long list of children who we simply can’t afford to fund right now. 

Can you help? You can sponsor as an individual, a group or a workplace and sponsorship starts from as little as £20 per month. We believe that education is the key to giving young people a brighter future and breaking the cycle of poverty, but we can’t do it without your help.

If you want to know more about helping a child fulfil their dreams through education, we would love to hear from you.

Children that need your support

Over the last month, we have been sharing anonymised but real-life stories through social media of different children waiting to join our education programme.

Each of these young people was once on the streets and is now safely resettled home, but their families aren’t able to send them to school.

We have a long list of children who are desperate to return to school with their peers this term and we would love to hear from you if you think you could make a difference.

You can give through our Education Fund or sponsor a specific child. Either way, you will be helping young people to have the chance of a brighter future through education.

Please get in touch if you want to help make this life-changing difference.

Catch up with our podcast

Did you know that we have a podcast that features our team in Uganda sharing their insight into life as a social worker at S.A.L.V.E.? It’s well worth a listen!

You can hear from our Street Outreach Manager, our Ugandan Director, our Community Business Manager and also our new UK CEO, Lucas.

Listen and follow our channel here.

Latest S.A.L.V.E. news

🎁 We have been kindly gifted several physical donations this month, including arts and crafts materials, avocados and underpants! We are always grateful for the individuals and organisations who support us by sharing what they have with children on the streets. Thank you.

🏃 In May, one of our supporters, Stefan, ran the Leeds Marathon for S.A.L.V.E. He finished 75th out of 3,000 people and raised vital funds for us along the way. Huge congratulations and webale nyo, Stefan!

👞 Read our latest blog, ‘Finding her Feet’, all about one woman’s journey from being forced to leave education to now running a successful shoe business, which supports her family.

🎉 In May, we also celebrated the International Day of Families. At S.A.L.V.E. we are very proud that we have been able to resettle over 800 children back home, safely away from the dangers of the streets. The impact of this is huge on each individual young person but has also given hundreds of parents, grandparents and thousands of siblings their family members back.

Lottery for Change

Congratulations to Natalie – this month’s winner of £100 in our Lottery for Change.

Would you like to be next month’s winner? For just £3 a month, you could be in with a chance of winning £100 and provide a street connected child with lunch for a week! Find out more here.

Webale nyo

Thank you for taking the time to read this and catch-up with what we have achieved, thanks to your support.

If you have any questions or feedback, please do not hesitate to get in touch. We are always keen to hear from you.

With optimism and thanks,

Lucas and the whole S.A.L.V.E. team