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N E W S L E T T E R , Welcome to the winter edition of the Xavier Project newsletter Support for people who have been forced to leave their country of origin is at the heart of Xavier Project’s Mission and many of the articles in this season’s newsletter implicitly or directly deal with origins and concepts of place Ed Page moved to East Africa over a year ago and he reflects on that time in his Note on page It was in Scotland in 2008 that Xavier Project was really born Having found Congolese refugees children in Uganda who couldn’t afford an education, Ed decided to come back to St Andrew’s University and set something up to raise a few hundred pounds to help That ‘something’ has gone on to become a registered charity in the U.K and Wales that operates in Kampala and Nairobi Xavier ProjI N T H I S I S S U E : A Note from Ed Social Media Course Education 2013 roadmap PAGE XP across the world English Fabrix Facts Football Crazy Taumka! Get Involved NEWS ROUNDUP ect is still remembered by its alma mater and Francesca Bifolco gives us an idea of what’s been happening with Xavier Project St Andrews on page - we are very grateful to her and all involved in St Andrews After spending time in East Africa, the Xavier Project’s new home, Josie Middleton and Rory Mellows took their experiences in the summer back to the U.K and ran a half marathon, the details of which are on page 4, to raise money for Xavier Project That money allows the project to educate children who have been displaced, but it also goes towards empowering dispossessed people to create their own place in the world using social media Find out about our October Social Media Course on page Xavier Project has been learning from its own social media lessons and has uploaded a new W I N T E R 2 YouTube video, please take a look at it You can find the link on page It is important for those who feel alienated and dislocated in a foreign country to be able to express needs, desires and themselves That’s why a course in English is being run for 50 students which you can read about on page With their newly acquired English skills the students can take advantage of the library that we are planning for our Kampala office, which will also be treated to a new kitchen in the refurbishment so students can nourish their bodies as well as their minds, read an update on page Whether or not you’re celebrating at home we wish you a very merry Christmas and all the best for 2013 VISION AND MISSION VISION: Xavier Project aims to provide opportunities to refugees living in urban areas in Kenya and Uganda who are otherwise excluded from the means to live a fulfilled and dignified existence so that they will be able to take back control of their lives and make a positive change whether to their new communities or to their country of origin MISSION: The Xavier Project works to achieve its vision through a holistic approach to development Xavier Project works in three areas: Education, Livelihood and Media Through the provision of financial sponsorship and extra-curricula support and mentoring it seeks to offer a sustained and individually tailored education programme As part of a commitment to sustainable development Xavier Project’s Livelihood initiative aims to improve access to employment for refugees and therefore increase the chances of refugee families being able to cover school fees The Media platform is designed to give refugees a voice so that they can speak out about the realities of their lives in order to effect positive improvements PAGE A NOTE FROM ED It’s now been a year since I moved to East Africa, and it has been a very hectic year – we now have eleven staff and counting and only one of them was with us 18 months ago It has been great to see our three programmes evolve naturally, propelled by energy from the refugees and the care of our dedicated team It is lucky that we have been well received by those who could have put a spanner in the works, most notably UNHCR and the governments in Uganda and Kenya who have been very supportive of our plans We are going into 2013 poised to implement the work we have been building up to throughout this year Having worked closely with UNHCR in both Kampala and Nairobi on baseline assessments for current refugee education, we are now in a position to implement a strategy that has been formed in partnership with all the other agencies working on education for refugees As part of that, Stephen has paved the way for at least six education programmes in Uganda, including the full or partial scholarships of 60 refugee children in formal schools In Nairobi we have been recruited by Nairobi city council and UNHCR to put in place similarly ambitious projects This includes a livelihood campaign which should improve access to employment for refugees and therefore increase the chances of refugee families being able to cover school fees This programme will replace the previously named ‘microfinance’ programme Meanwhile we hope to expand the Tamuka SMS platform to receive 1000 messages per month and expand the exposure to 1000 people on twitter before six months is up The social media courses in Tamuka Hub Kampala are increasing in popularity and with Alex Kubana at the helm we can only expect this to continue The Tamuka media programme is now being directed in both countries by Edmund Rous Eyre who joined us full time in November, and in the space of a short month Tamuka already feeling the presence of his energy and creative ideas The current crisis in Congo means that our work Plans for the HUB will increasingly become part of an emergency response This means three things: firstly we must be prepared to be flexible and keep adapting to the ever changing environment, and for this to happen we must stay closely in touch with the needs and challenges of the refugees So the second commitment is to renew a focus on our work being refugee run and inspired Thirdly, we need to boost the links that Tamuka seeks to promote between East Africa and the outside world, so that everyone can make their own mind up on what they think about the wars in Congo, Somalia and elsewhere In UK, for instance, we are grateful to have such a strong team in St Andrews who have set up a recognised University society and continue to advocate, and raise funds for the work we are doing They are keeping the link going strong between the two parts of the world, and as part of this we are inviting George Omondi Oduor from UNHCR Nairobi to visit St Andrews on March 14th to talk about the issues faced by refugees in Nairobi, and I would encourage any of you who can to come I should also mention and thank the Nottingham, London and Dundee support teams, who are making a huge difference with their efforts for Xavier Project The future for refugees in East Africa is uncertain The signs of an impending election in Kenya are starting to surface, as violence pops up all over the country As in Uganda in 2011 the refugees are often caught in the middle of this such as the Somalis in Eastleigh who are being unfairly linked to Al Shabaab and chased out of their homes There are certainly improvements in some sectors, but what can be sure is that for many refugees 2013 will be no better than 2012 These are the ones who not yet have control of their lives and are not living in dignity, and for that to change they need help So thanks to everyone who has made the decision so far to put your trust in the work we are doing to give them the boost they need – the feeling over here is that it is worth it To live up to its name Tamuka Hub in Kampala needs to be a bee-hive of activity To attract the bees, we need the honey We have plans to open a Tamuka library and a Tamuka kitchen, offering cheap drinks and snacks, so that the hub can be a central place where refugees can meet each other, get support, learn about social media and use the SMS-platform Week 1: PAGE Week 3: Monday: Introduction Monday: Facebook - What is a computer? - Sending messages - Parts of a computer - Settings - Memories of a computer Tuesday: Blogging Tuesday: Introduction - What is blogging? - Types of computers - How to create your own blog - Storage - How to make and post a blog Wednesday: Introduction Wednesday: Blogging - Mouse, keyboard, screen - How to post and share a blog - Interacting with other blogs Thursday: Email - Introduction to emailing Thursday: Blogging - Sending & receiving emails - Interacting with other blogs Week 2: Education, 2013 Stephen Windsor on Week 4: Monday: SMS platform Monday: Twitter - Why and how to use SMS - What is Twitter? - How to make your own account Tuesday: Google - Why and how to use Google Tuesday: Twitter - How to follow, tweet & connect Wednesday: Google - Practicing with Topics Wednesday: Skype - What is Skype? Thursday: Facebook - How to use Skype - What is Facebook? - How to use Facebook Thursday: Skype - Private and Public uses - Video and other possibilities The Xavier Project Education programme aims to improve refugee children’s access to quality education We are frequently reminded of how important this objective is Earlier this year we found that 74% of school-age Congolese refugee children are not going to school As we continue to interact with families and schools we observe significant deficiencies in the quality of education available In response to the multitude of challenges that refugees face, Xavier Project will be diversifying its education programme in 2013 The sponsorship programme will continue and expand In 2013 the number of children sponsored to attend primary school will grow from 16 to 50 We will also sponsor secondary school students In December 2012 and January 2013, Xavier Project will be running an English course for refugee children The course aims to help children to adjust to the Ugandan school system Refugee children may be taught in a different language in their country of origin (in DR Congo, it might be French or Swahili), which means that when they come to Uganda they may be forced to drop down a few classes or drop out of school altogether Clearly English courses like this are important, yet this will be the first Alex Kubana, Social Media Trainer, gives us an overview of the first Social Media Course The first Social Media class at Tamuka Hub Started on 1ST October 2012 There was high demand for the course from refugees who came to the Hub but did not know Welcome and Registration how to use a computer We offered the course to a group of 20 refugees, female and 14 male The first group completed its course on 2nd November 2012 and they were followed by another group of 20 refugees who started on 5th November The Social Media classes took place over a period of 16 days, from Monday to Thursday The 20 attendees were divided into two groups, each running from 2:30pm – 3:30pm and 4:00pm500pm time that a course of this nature has been offered in Uganda The English course will be aimed at children who don’t know English and have had 3-6 years of primary education in their country of origin During 2013 we will be analysing our course, with the hope of running a similar course towards the end of the year We will also be considering how we can run a similar course for secondary school-aged students With regards to the quality of education available to refugee children, access to reading material is a big problem in the government-aided primary schools that refugees usually attend These schools have very few ‘readers’ (those little books you read when you are first learning to read); reading time at school typically involves a teacher trying to teach reading to a class of 100+ students, with an assortment of 2040 readers While talking to the head-teachers of nearby government-aided primary schools, Xavier Project has developed a plan for how to address this problem We will purchase sets of 60 books per title, train a team of reading assistants, and then our team (along with any volunteers who might be here) will go with our books to schools when they have their reading time, and assist the teacher in teaching the children to read We will also work with schools to establish reading clubs, where children will have further opportunities to read, and where we will help children to write their own books Initially we plan to partner with government-aided primary schools and refugee-run primary school, although this will depend on the availability of funding and the flexibility of school’s timetables In the upcoming year Xavier Project will participate in the soon to be formed ‘Refugee Education Working Group.’ Earlier this year the UN Refugee Agency unveiled an education strategy for 2012-2016, and declared that Uganda is of 13 priority countries As part of the ‘Refugee Education Working Group’, Xavier Project will meet regularly with other organisations to consider how we can coordinate our activities to ensure that the strategy translates from words into action Xavier Project is open to taking on more responsibility, so exactly what we will be up to next year is uncertain We have big hopes for 2013 There are plenty of opportunities for people to be involved, whether it be by donating or raising money, by letting others know about the challenges refugees face and what Xavier Project is doing, or by coming here to work with us Xavier Project Fundraising across the world Forget Fun Run, JOSIE MIDDLETON remembers her Ugandan Education Fund Run On Sunday 30th September, Rory Mellows and myself took to the roads of Nottingham and partook in our first ever half marathon, in aid of Xavier Project Rory spent the summer volunteering in Nairobi; his main focus was working on the XP extra-curricular camp during the holidays As the end of the summer approached, I was excited when Ed informed me that there was another student at the University of Nottingham keen to be involved in XP, who had set himself the challenge of running the Robinhood Half Marathon I had always wanted to run a long distance race and so welcomed the challenge The race itself was a personal highlight of 2012 The 13.1mile course took us in a loop around Nottingham We started in Victoria Embankment, had the privilege of running through the Boots main headquarters (not usually accessible to the public), round the lake on university campus, through Nottingham City centre and finally finished by the river Trent I was incredibly happy to cross that line During the race, the atmosphere was electric and the steel drum band at the half way point certainly helped to keep me motivated Rory and his long legs just beat me with hours and mins However, with weeks of training I was happy with my time of hours and 6mins Together we raised £2,000 for the Ugandan Education Fund Since being back, we have been working on setting up the XP Nottingham Society Fingers crossed we will soon be accredited by the Student Union and we will be able to get on with the many exciting ideas we have in the pipeline NEWS FROM ST ANDREWS Since its inception in 2008, The Bongo Ball has been one of the highlights of the St Andrews social calendar for many, and this year was no exception As the ball has grown, in notoriety and in scale, so too has interest in Xavier Project This September, Xavier Project Society St Andrews was founded with the aim to increase awareness in the activities of the Xavier Project and to provide the charity with a steady stream of financial support from the University and town beyond Bongo Ball Thus far, the Xavier Project Society has concentrated on the sale of Rafiki Fabrix to students Concentrating on the Bongo Ball audience, many of our sales happened at the beginning of the semester We hope to have one final sale before Christmas Additionally, Xavier Project St Andrews has partnered with Fox and Bhut, a local clothing boutique that has agreed to stock Rafiki Fabrix, enabling sales year-round! Other fundraising activity (including bake sales, the sale of ‘Bongo Burgers’ outside the Student Union and the running of the Union cloakroom) has further contributed to XP fundraising and will continue throughout the next semester Meanwhile, XP St Andrews has increased its social media profile with the creation of Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr pages to keep followers up to date with Xavier Projects and to create a timeline of all that has been achieved so far (all social media can be found on our website http://flavors.me/xavierproject) Xavier Project Society is currently undergoing the affiliation process with University as a result this will allow increased exposure and funding opportunities for the society Xavier Project Society St Andrews is an active member in the ‘Coalition for a Conflict-Free St Andrews’, a partnership of 15 student societies aimed at raising awareness of the current conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo; a conflict which has been responsible for the displacement of many of those who receive the assistance of the Xavier Project PAGE As part of the Coalitions ‘International Day of Peace’ Symposium, Xavier Project St Andrews, along with other societies, was given its first platform on which to tell people about the work that it does and the people it helps Moreover, on October 17th, as part of Global Congo Week, students from all societies joined together to create a human star in a show of solidarity with the people of Congo (some even wearing Rafiki shorts) The star on the flag of the DRC symbolizes a radiant and prosperous future for the Congo Xavier Project Society will also be involved in helping the Coalition prepare for a symposium occurring in St Andrews scheduled for April 2013 In addition to this, in early November, Xavier Project submitted pictures to the University’s Social Justice Week’s exhibition These pictures highlighted the work that Xavier Project does The exhibition aimed to emphasise the social injustice around the world and the work of the organisations which are trying to improve the situation for those affected The coming semester promises to be even more successful than this one: in March, Xavier Project St Andrews will welcome George Omondi Oduor, the head of Community Services for Refugees in Nairobi, to speak about issues facing the urban refugee population The talk will be followed by a drinks reception Further highlights of the semester to come include a night for Xavier Project at a popular local bar, a pub quiz competition and plenty more events to get St Andrews students educated and enthusiastic about Xavier Project! With thanks to Francesca Bifolco & all at XP St Andrews P A G E Kawooya talks us through the English Camp Edigar Xavier Project, a community based intervention for the plight of refugees of all origin, surveys established educational barriers to refugees It has found that key among which is the language question Most refugees that seek our help tend to be Congolese and Rwandan These two countries being francophone, makes it hard for children from such a back ground to study in Ugandan schools where English is the official language used Sharon Otieno gives us the facts about Fabrix Therefore in a bid to remedy this barrier, Xavier project has organized a two month English Camp during the December school holidays for 50 refugee children to learn or improve on their English language skills By so doing we believe that the refugee children will be in a better position to express themselves and read and write comfortably in English, which will in turn aid their ability to learn and be integrated in the Ugandan schools A venue secured and a number of competent facilitators in place, the camp commenced on Monday 10th December 2012 and will run until January 25th 2013 We had a large number of applicants but were only able to accommodate 50 for purposes of class management and effective support to the learners We hope the class will be a success and a help to the students Since its establishment Rafiki Fabrix has been taking baby steps towards building up its portfolio Opening Rafiki Fabrix has furthered XP mission of helping a large network of urban refugees in Nairobi to improve their standards of living by providing employment opportunities and also by providing an alternative source of funding for the education program Currently Rafiki Fabrix has a wide selection of products that can make unique gifts fit for any occasion The items include pyjamas, kids clothing , adult clothing , laptop cases, duvet covers and table cloths with matching napkins just to name but a few The business has received a major boost from sales that are being made in the UK, especially in St Andrews where a team of students have been working tirelessly to market the different products among the student body Also several ex-volunteers have played major roles geared towards helping the business grow , with this we feel that though small businesses typically lack technology and market information necessary to compete effectively in the global market we have been very lucky to receive help from the above named and also pray for continued support from all of you EDGAR KAWOOYA GIVES US THE SCORE To give our hands a rest from laptops and office work, Xavier Project organised a football match XP staff joined forces with YARID and took on Soccer without Borders (S.w.B) Our joint team used the ‘God help us strategy’ since we had little time for proper preparations This memorable match took place at Nsambya Ggogonya playground 120 fans attended of which 75% were children and the rest fans came from the Refugee Grass Root Network (RGN) I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the organisers, both teams, and the fans for making this initiative a success In case you’re wondering — the combined forces of Xavier Project and YARID were not enough to take on the S.w.B team, we lost 3-1! Please support TAMUKA! and our attempts at facilitating refugees in speaking out Follow us on @TamukaHub to read the texts that have been sent in via our Tamuka numbers and on @XavierProj to get all the latest XP updates Things are developing well so far Refugees are enthusiastic about the platform and we have a few regular users We are now looking to build a system which will organize the incoming messages by putting them in different categories On the right are four of the texts that have been sent in since the middle of November Chananja Schoof SPONSOR A CHILD To send a refugee to secondary school in Kenya costs £40 per month If you decide to sponsor a child we can guarantee that ALL the money you send will be spent on the school fees Therefore you are enabling a child to access formal education who definitely would not be in school if it was not for your support To see a selection of profiles of children contact ed@xavierproject.co.uk Uganda closes border with DR Congo (Bunagana) I read it in today's Daily Monitor Will #M23 actually pull out from #Goma or will the goverment fail to meet their demands? Does UNHCR know the real needs of refugees? They need education, health care, resettlement, etc UN should prevent wars in the world by supporting African new leaders with new politic project in the objective to eradicate wars There are a number of ways that you can get involved with Xavier Project if you would like to so: CONTACT Post: Xavier Project Furzey Hill, Meysey Hampton Cirencester, Glos, GL7 5LD, UK Email: info@xavierproject.co.uk GIVE Just Giving:: www.justgiving.com/ xavierproject Direct Transfer: Bank: Xavier Project Account Number: 00021387 Sort Code: 40-52-40 FOLLOW Website: You can find us on our website www.xavierproject.co.uk Twitter: Follow us on twitter @Tamuka Hub or @XavierProj for updates Facebook: Like our Xavier Project page on Facebook DO Fundraise: Whether it’s a lunch, sponsored run Cake sale, or just spreading our word to family and friends, all are greatly appreciated Volunteer: Please see below for details on how to volunteer Cheques: Please send cheques to the above address made payable to ‘Xavier Project’ Since the inception of the Xavier Project we have been running with the help of volunteers We are extremely grateful for their help with the growth and development of the project’s programmes Their new ideas, excitement , enthusiasm, and the assortment of differWe are looking for individuals with the ent skills are invaluable to our initiative to present ideas and work on project them , those who can work within the project to inspire and guide it in new diWe need people from all walks of rections we also seek people with the life that are as passionate and courage to tackle intense experiences committed as we are to make a difference in the lives of others If you are interested in coming for any length of time please email : edmundpage@hotmail.com We are promoting a guest house in both Kampala and Nairobi for visitors £9 per night includes fullboard, clothes washing and hot running water For more information email: edmundpage@hotmail.com
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