The tenth annual Northern Uganda Development Foundation fundraiser, the African Dinner and Auction, will be held Saturday at the Columbus Centre to raise funds for the organization's continued efforts to provide clean drinking water to those in need.
UNBC professor Chris Opio is the founder of the non-profit organization that has provided 92 wells that serve more than 100,000 people in Uganda, as well as offering sustainability programs including those who own, manage and maintain goats as a way to provide a better quality of life and even raise funds to provide education to those in remote villages.
Opio ,who visited Uganda last year, remembers one senior who said he didn't think he'd ever see the day he'd drink clean water and was proud to regain his health and be able to achieve a level of cleaniness that saw him healthy enough to work enough to lead a successful life.
Andrea Byrne, a City of Prince George employee in the environmental department that oversees water conservation, met Opio a couple of years ago and heard about the foundation and the valuable work it does.
Byrne said she was always interested in how other nations approach water use and maintenance and she and her husband Clayton Smith decided to independently go to Uganda for three months to oversee some projects. While Smith oversaw a project to replace a school's roof that was damaged during a wind storm, Byrne was in charge of some wells and ongoing maintenance that is crucial to the continued success of the projects.
"When I was over there I cried a lot," Byrne said. It was overwhelming to see the villagers so happy and friendly, offering gifts to her and Smith who have so much from people who had so very little.
"We got bags of beans and peanuts - we even got a goat," Byrne recalls.
"They were all so happy living their lives. We saw a child who had found a pop can on the side of the road and he had made a toy car of it. Other children found an old tire and played with it for days. Their lives are simple but they still find joy."
Byrne said there was a bit of culture shock going from Canada to Uganda but it was more pronounced when returning to Canada from Uganda.
"I mean people are over there are sick and dying because they don't have clean water and in Prince George people are watering their lawns to get rid of the snow," Byrne said.
Because some of the villages are so physically far from civilization it makes it difficult to make water accessible.
A new drill worth $100,000 is the target for the organization's fundraising efforts and will be able to dig wells as deep as 400 feet to provide clean water to those in remote areas.
Opio said there's already been a corporate donation of $10,000 towards the new drill and the goal for the 10th annual fundraiser is between $10,000 and $16,000.
During this year's African Dinner and Auction, organizers will offer a delicious, authentic Ugandan meal consisting of a choice of gweno, a Ugandan style spiced chicken, ringo, a Ugandan style beef in peanut sauce or vegetarian bojo, spinach in peanut sauce with icok, which is sweet potatoes and ngor, black-eyed peas. There will also be a traditional dessert called cassava pone.
To offer information about the foundation Byrne and Smith will present a slideshow and video of their experiences while in Uganda and items for the silent auction include traditional clothing, like shirts and items like aprons and purses as well as items donated by local businesses who wish to support the development programs.
Tickets are $40 and can be purchased at Books & Company, the UNBC Bookstore
or through Opio at 250-961-9221 or chris@nudf.org or Andrea at andrea.nudf@gmail.com.
