PostBank has today donated UGX. 1.5M to Hope Ministries as support towards a project that seeks to establish a rainwater harvest facility in the Mukungu Batwa community.
The project is part of an initiative by Hope Ministries under the stewardship of Gerald Tugume and Barbara Tugume to improve access to clean water for close to 500 families, reduce water-related diseases, improve school access and academic performance as well as enhance the working and living conditions of women and children among the Batwa.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, which also included a run for water fundraiser, Christine Mpirirwe, the PostBank Kabale Branch Operations Manager, said the donation is part of PostBank’s core social responsibility to improve livelihoods and the communities in which it operates.
“We have the responsibility to not only improve the lives of our customers, but also positively impact the communities in which we operate. As a bank, our commitment is to utilize every opportunity that comes at us, to empower Ugandans,” she remarked.
The project, Mpirirwe added, touches the core of society that needs to be supported in whichever way possible.
PostBank, which has one of the largest branch networks across the country, has been involved in a number of community development initiatives that seek to improve livelihoods and Uganda as a whole. The bank recently held country wide agricultural forums to equip farmers with knowledge and skills for business growth.
The run for water fundraiser, in which participants including staff of PostBank Kabale Branch, ran between 2 and 10 kilometres, was officially sponsored by PostBank.
Gerald Tugume, the Hope Ministries Uganda founder and director, noted during the ceremony that “I and my wife, Barbra Tugume, have for over seven years worked around Batwa communities in the districts of Kisoro, Kabale and Kanungu, but have since noticed that they are exposed to a number of challenges and need assistance to improve their livelihoods.”
“As a friend of the Batwa community and enthusiast of healthy living, I decided to dedicate my [35] birthday towards fundraising and construction of a rainwater harvest facility that will guarantee access to safe water for the Batwa community for a long time. It gives us so much pride and joy, that with the much-needed support from PostBank, our dream will come to life,” Tugume concluded.
The run for water fundraiser that saw participants donate any amount of money, buy running kits, T-shirts and hats, climaxed with an engagement that involved fetching water with women and children so as to give participants a hands-on experience and further highlight the need for a rainwater harvest facility.
The Batwa, are an endangered group of people around Echuya Forest Reserve in Kisoro and Kabale Districts of South Western Uganda.
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