see article – Will current economic shocks really end soon?
Dr. Fred A. K. Muhumuza of the Makerere University’s School of Economics spoke at the 10th Economic Forum hosted by ICPA Uganda, on July 21. He said, “Possible remedies are blocked. No international cooperation to avoid a food crisis; export restrictions are in place in some places and are limiting efforts to transport commodities, while targeted aid is scanty.”
Listed below are some of the issues
impacting SACU expenses in 2022.
ALL EDUCATION FUND DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE
On average, we need an extra $25 per sponsored child
to meet our obligations this year.
1. Food Cost.
Four of the main food staples
have increased significantly
Comparing January food cost to July Food costs
|
Jan ’22 |
July ’22 |
Monthly Qty |
Increase/month (UGX) |
||
|
Beans (Kg) |
2800 |
4000 |
400 |
480,000 |
|
|
Maize Flour (Kg) |
2500 |
3400 |
950 |
855,000 |
|
|
Cooking Oil (L) |
7500 |
9000 |
60 |
90,000 |
|
|
Sugar (Kg) |
3700 |
5200 |
250 |
375,000 |
|
|
Monthly total |
1,220,000 |
||||
|
Monthly Total $CAD |
$ 642 |
||||
The annual year end celebration, or Concert Day, is a great feast for the students, their families and the community leaders.
It is anticipated the increases in food costs will add 37% to this expense, or $830 CAD.
see article – Rising living costs hit Ugandans hard
2. Fuel for transport.
Teachers transport and food
delivery costs have increased.
Diesel increase 65% year over year
Petrol increased 46% year over year
see article – Rising food, energy prices push inflation.
see article – [Saving with a] Shift to electric cars, Museveni tells Ugandans
3. Teacher replacement.
Some teachers have left SACU to
achieve jobs with much higher pay.
To retain teachers, we added UGX 830,000 to teacher’s salaries in total.
This amounts to an $296 increase each month.
4. High school costs.
They will increase by $18 per student
to an average of $732 for Term 3.
Many private schools in Uganda ended Term 2 several weeks early, because they did not have sufficient money from tuition to buy food for the last weeks of school.
see article – Schools to close early over high food prices
Other private schools in Uganda plan to increase tuition for Term 3 in September or reduce portion sizes served at school in order to cover added costs.
see article – No grain of hope as schools ponder hike
Quality High School will add UGX 50,000 to Term 3 tuition. With 32 students at Quality, this will add UGX 1,600,000, or $571, to tuition costs . We are still waiting to hear from St Julian High school if they will increase tuition for term 3 for our 9 students there. With one less attendee to the top ranked St Julian High School you see the high school projection as accurate to what was projected earlier in the year.
Adding it all up
To continue to feed the children
and offer them the education
they so desperately need
we need an extra
$ 5,312 this year.
Dec 2022 Budget Projection vs Sept 2022 re-Projected Budget
We see increases of about $750 CAD per month August through December for operations, plus $830 for year end celebrations, for our 162 Primary students.
This averages to $25 additional per sponsored child to help us complete the year.
Your SACU leadership team continues to work hard to raise funds to cover some of these increases.
There is a Yard sale in September, a Murder Mystery Dinner planned for Sept 9, and a golf tournament planned for October. We encourage you all to support these events as you can, and more information will be sent out soon on these.
We would especially encourage any of our sponsors and friends who have the ability, to make an additional contribution to the education fund to help us with these increases.
or send an etransfer to bwestfall@sacuganda.org
Remember, all Education Fund Donations are tax deductible.
Thank you for your generous support and your enduring love for all God’s children, especially those in Buwundo.
Best Regards,
Rick Vriesen. Director, SACU