Heartfelt thanks to Poppy, Kathryn, Betty and Henna for donating so generously towards this very worthwhile project. As a result of your kindness we now have just over one third of the money needed to turn this wonderful dream into a reality. If anyone else would like to make a donation, here are the details:
For PayPal or Card Donations, please visit https://pay.rrym.uk Or please use NatWest Bank Account: 71053743, Sort code: 51-61-14. Account name Refugee Relief Ynys Mon. If this project is to succeed we will all need to pull together even more than usual. Thanks so much for any support you feel able to offer.
Here is another brief description from our team in Lebanon which explains exactly what this project will achieve:
The Well of Life Project
In the war-affected areas, hundreds of families depend on the land to survive… but the land is thirsty.
💔
Farmers now stand helpless before their dry fields — the old wells have run dry.
Every season without water means lost crops and families losing their only source of income.
That’s why we started The Well of Life project — to create a new well that will bring water, hope, and new life.
🌱
With the water from this well, farmers will be able to irrigate their land, grow vegetables, and provide food for their families.
Every drop of water will be a blessing… and every contribution, no matter how small, can change a family’s life.
🚰
Please join us in planting hope and watering the earth.
❤️
Together we can dig a well — and with it, grow a future.
We at RRYM recently received the following proposal from our team in Lebanon. Although the size of the project may at first glance appear rather daunting, it’s success would serve to help a great many people who have lived through unimaginable hardship. Will you stand with us and provide them with an opportunity to put the past behind them and rebuild their lives? Here’s what they have to say:
Life Giving Well for Irrigation and Drinking Water for a Farming Community in Desperate Need of Support.
Project: 120-Meter Well to Revive Agricultural Lands and Provide Free Drinking Water.
Overview: As part of the ongoing reconstruction of a rural area that has been ravaged by years of sustained and indiscriminate bombing, we aim to drill a 120-meter well to bring life back to the surrounding farmlands. This will enable farmers to irrigate their crops, restore agricultural activity, and support the revival of rural communities devastated by years of hardship. The project will directly benefit dozens of families whose livelihoods depend on farming.
Details: Depth: 120 meters Impact: Revives farmland, boosts the local economy, provides a sustainable irrigation source for a resilient community facing great challenges.
Added Value: A public cold-water dispenser will be installed on the main road, in the name of “Refugee Relief Ynys Mon”, as an ongoing charity (Sadaqah Jariyah) for all passers-by to drink from freely.
Long-Term Benefit:
Sustainable water source for agriculture.
Strengthens food security for multiple families striving for a better future.
Acts as a permanent charitable source of drinking water for the community.
Supports the Reconstruction of the local area by reviving agricultural productivity.
Or please use NatWest Bank Account: 71053743, Sort code: 51-61-14. Account name Refugee Relief Ynys mon.If this project is to succeed we will all need to pull together even more than usual. Thanks so much for any support you feel able to offer.
Several weeks ago I posted about the rapidly deteriorating conditions in Kyangwali resettlement camp in Uganda. Thanks to Gideon, our man on the ground, we were able to include pictures of a food distribution that RRYM succeeded in financing as a result of the generosity of our supporters. I also took the liberty of contacting several larger local charities in the hope that they might also consider making a financial contribution to ease the risk of famine in the camp. Sadly there has been no response from any of them as yet.
The essential items that were distributed amongst thirty of the most vulnerable families and individuals are now history. So I ask again, is there anybody out there who would please consider donating towards the next food distribution? With the larger organisations such as USAID and the World Food Program having been forced to suspend their operations, it has fallen to tiny charities such as ours to do what we can to provide as many people as we can with basic food items, but we cannot possibly do this alone!
Heartfelt thanks to Catherine and Betty meanwhile who have already very kindly donated towards this appeal.
For anyone else wishing to donate to this project, please visit pay.rrym where you will find several payment options, including PayPal or card payment services, and BACS bank transfer to our Charity Account.
Two weeks ago we received an urgent request for help from a dear friend in Uganda. Please check out my last post for full details. Here is the latest update explaining how we were able to support those affected by the imminent threat of famine. If you or your organisation could possibly consider raising funds or making a donation to further help those who are suffering following the drastic reduction in foreign aid, you will find details of how to do so at the end of this post. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this plea for help.
On April 25th 2025, we were able to distribute the food and non-food items that were purchased for a group of Extremely Vulnerable Individuals (EVIs) mainly made up of elderly and physically handicapped refugee men and women in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement Camp. This food distribution was made possible by RRYM who raised the funds and transferred the money to our Community Based Organization bank account for the sole purpose of buying the items. Only 30 lucky people received the items even though over 80 more were present and kept hoping and praying they were on the list of beneficiaries. We were able to comfort them by telling them that if we get more support, we shall definitely be happy to include them among future beneficiaries as they are all extremely vulnerable individuals. We are eternally grateful to the four trustees of the charity, not to mention everyone who donated in order to feed the 30 men and women and their family dependants. Each EVI received 10 kgs of maize flour, 10 kgs of beans, 2kgs of sugar, 4 sachets of salt, 1 litre of vegetable cooking oil, 2 bars of soap and a packet of match boxes. These items may seem or sound small, but they are going to make a very big difference in the lives of the 30 people and their families. We also thank you for your selfless continued support to members of our community here in Kyangwali refugee settlement camp, and for always trusting our Community Based Organization, Awakening Initiative For Refugees, by funneling the support through us. May you all be blessed.
For anyone wishing to donate to this project, please visit https://pay.rrym.uk where you will find several payment options, including PayPal and BACS bank transfer to our Charity Account. Should you wish to transfer directly into the account of the Awakening Initiative Project, their bank details are as follows: * Account Name: Awakening Initiative For Refugees * Account Number: 05876750009 * Swift Code: AFRIUGKA * Address: Plot 45 Jinja Road, P.O. Box 2750, Kampala.
This is an urgent plea for help sent to RRYM by our good friend Gideon who himself is trying his best to survive as a refugee in this camp, so has first hand experience regarding the worsening conditions.
In a bid to alleviate what is fast becoming a desperate situation, RRYM sent £540 to the community project Awakening Initiative yesterday, enough money to purchase basic food and hygiene items to sustain thirty extremely vulnerable families for approximately two weeks. There will be pictures of the distribution in the next post.
Meanwhile if you, or better still your charity/organisation would be willing to make a donation towards the next food distribution, or maybe organise a fundraising event, it would mean the world to those who have already been through so much. Here is Gideon’s message.
From time immemorial to 2024, humanitarian assistance to refugees in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement Camp was more of a duty and an obligation of the international community fulfilled through the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees (UNHCR) and World Food Programme (WFP). Back then, food, shelter, health and education were provided to refugees free of charge. But with unending wars in the Congo and South Sudan, the camp’s population has continued to grow, and by the end of 2024, there was a huge influx of refugees. Before all this happened, a single refugee was assured of a monthly food ration, and later cash assistance. It was not enough, but, at least, it kept refugee families alive and out of danger of starvation and famine. The refugee influx became a strain on all social services rendered to all refugees living in the camp, to the extent that some refugees, especially those that had lived in the camp for more that 10 years, were either completely removed from the food and cash assistance, or had their monthly assistance cut to a very small percentage. This meant that all the affected individuals/families were expected to fend for themselves. Among these unfortunate people are members of the most vulnerable group called the Extremely Vulnerable Individuals (EVIs). These people include the elderly, persons with disabilities, widows/widowers, orphans, pregnant women and children. It somehow felt as if the world was closing in on them, so much so that they had to resort to begging and/or working on farms outside the camp in order to survive.
s if that wasn’t enough, the United States Of America elected a new president, Donald Trump, in November last year. As soon as he assumed office in January this year, he ordered that the life-saving USAID be closed. This was a severe blow to not only the refugees whose food/cash rations had been reduced or completely cut, but also to the newly arrived ones who had cause the refugee influx. Food/cash assistance has been taken away from nearly 80% of the refugees living in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement Camp. Among the new group of refugees, usually referred to as “new arrivals” are many extremely vulnerable individuals who depended on the USAID assistance for 100% of their survival. With the suspension or near closure of the USAID program, organizations that have been operating in the camp have closed shop; their are no more drugs in health centres and above all, food has become the hardest commodity to obtain. People are starving to death, and the camp is on the verge of a famine.
For anyone wishing to donate to this project, please visit DONATE where you will find several payment options, including PayPal and BACS bank transfer to our Charity Account. Thank you so much for your support. Please know that by making a financial donation you will be providing vital items to those in desperate need at a time when larger organisations are being forced to suspend their services.
