Madison Congregation Supports Local Charity Building Wells in Uganda
Shoreline Unitarian Universalist Society in Madison has donated $571.87, half its Sunday offering during September 2021, to Call to Care Uganda, a Madison non-profit organization that has built 67 borehole wells in the African nation. The wells bring fresh water to 55,000 residents of villages.
Previously, village women and girls had spent hours carrying water from rivers and now have the time to attend school. The $571.87 donation is part of the congregation’s 2021-’22 Share-the-Plate program of sharing half the weekly Offering.
The Call to Care Uganda charity is part of the ongoing social justice ministry for the shoreline congregation, aligning with its values and mission. In the 2020-’21 year of giving, the congregation donated nearly $8,0000 to nine other charities, including the Connecticut Bail Fund, Hawkwing, the Connecticut Food Bank, The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut, the Poor People’s Campaign, Operation Fuel, Meals for Asylum Seekers, The Sunrise Movement Connecticut, Save the Sound, the Open Communities Alliance, and Call to Care Uganda. Members of the congregation suggest charities to receive donations.
The list of organizations reflects the congregation’s commitment to the environment, women’s rights, anti-racism, food insecurity, income equality, among other caring groups.
When Call to Care Uganda founder Martha Hoffman first traveled to Uganda in 2006, she saw the devastating effects of a water crisis: people who have to walk miles through unsafe areas every day, sometimes multiple times, to fetch water for their families, water that is often dirty or unsafe to use. This simple act of drinking or using this contaminated water is the leading cause of death and disease across Uganda and is responsible for the death of thousands of children every year. Children playing near stagnant and dirty water are more likely to contract malaria. By providing clean wells, the organization is helping to reduce the number of cases of malaria for entire communities.
Armed with this knowledge and a determined heart, Hoffman started Call to Care Uganda and began bringing clean water to these communities in need.
For further information on Call to Care Uganda, visit www.calltocareuganda.org/ctcudevelopmentprojects.
Shoreline Unitarian Universalist Society (www.shorelineunitarian.org) is located at 297 Boston Post Road in Madison and can be reached at 203-245-8720.