Mothers’ Union

Visit by MU Secretary, Masindi, Uganda

At the end of April, Joyce Kasangaki, the Secretary of the Masindi branch of the Mothers' Union in Uganda, came to visit her husband, Canon George William Kasangaki, who is studying at Redcliffe College, Gloucester for a year. All Mothers' Union members were invited to come and meet Joyce over coffee and cake.

MU Welcomes Ugandan Visitors

Joyce explained that not only does the MU have a big membership it is very active. She mentioned that the majority of people in Uganda have large families and do not have many opportunities for employment. There is no cinema in Masindi nor many other leisure opportunities. The ladies in the area find the MU meetings a source of mutual support and stimulation. They study the Bible, take part in AIDS educational projects and engage in a variety of crafts.

One thing that remained in all our minds was that in one initiative - a sewing and tailoring class - they were forced to practise on pieces of heavy duty brown paper! Many ladies are keen to learn sewing skills because if they can obtain a sewing machine, then they can earn some desperately needed pin money, money that can pay for school fees and school uniforms.

Most local people grow their own food so big supermarket bills are not an issue; likewise heating and cooking bills because electricity is too expensive and not widely available. Most cooking is done over wood fires and houses do not required heating because the average temperature is in the eighties fahrenheit.

Joyce was interested to hear of our focuses (the Kings Cross Project) and our problems (so many ladies juggling a career while looking after the family). She especially enjoyed meeting our longest serving member - Margaret..

Joyce with Margaret

The next day, Joyce made a trip to Mary Sumner House, which she thoroughly enjoyed and took several photographs including one of a banner stitched by ladies from the Masindi area.

Linda, one of our leaders, promised that she would find some old sheets for me to take to Masindi in August so that the ladies can practise their sewing on fabric.

Penelope