Clear Title Law Goes To Uganda
Clear Title law begins school & housing Project in Uganda
New beginnings for CLEAR TITLE LAW are also leading to new beginnings for orphaned and underprivileged children in Uganda. Construction has commenced on a new school and housing facility which will provide safe and comfortable housing for the 45 children currently living in the orphanage. The new home will provide beds rather than the dirt floors on which most are accustomed to sleeping.
The new facility will also serve others in the community providing a safe place to live additional children in need, and a school for children. The children have been educated at their current facility, but it is small, lacks supplies and amenities and this opportunity will not only help the orphanage children, but many of the community children who have not been able to attend school for various reasons.
The Raymond Rotary Club has partnered with Clear Title Law and Mark and Sara Baril on this project. While in Uganda, we also created additional partnerships with the Elgin Maita Rotary Club in Mbale, Uganda, community leaders from the local village where the new facility is being built, and many individuals in Uganda whom we have created relationships with, to oversee the construction and to work with the foundation on committees and boards.
WE ARE SEEKING YOUR ASSISTANCE WITH THIS PROJECT, GIVING A CHILD A PLACE TO LIVE AND A PLACE TO LEARN
Donations can be made through our project partner, the Raymond Rotary Club at: rotaryraymond5360@gmail.com. Put “Uganda” in the memo.
Learn more about the project and how you can make a difference for these children below. You can also visit www.saralynbaril.com. Details on the estimated costs and the use of donations can be found below.
YOUR SUPPORT WILL CHANGE THEIR WORLD!
AN ONGOING friendship with an Ugandan orphanage has turned into something much greater for Sara Baril and her husband, Mark, along with Pat and Steve Leavitt who visited the orphanage last year.
In November, 2023, an unexpected and urgent need arose to find a new home for the forty-five children who currently reside at the orphanage. Sara quickly decided to take on the challenge, engaging others, including Pat and Steve who have had regular contact with the orphanage since their initial meeting last march, giving advice on crop production, education and other matters.
Faith, service, generous donations, and miracles have allowed for the purchase of 2.55 acres of land for the orphanage foundation. Additional funds have been used to obtain the necessary engineering and permit approvals for construction, along with the purchase of needed hand tools and a block making machine which is used to make tens of thousands of stabilized soil and concrete blocks, which are used to construct the building walls and fences. Potable water has been installed to the property.
Volunteers and workers have cleared and broken the land, which has been prepared for the construction and farming activities that will be taking place on the land. A crew of workers has begun making the 20,000 blocks needed for the first phase of the project. Block making will continue as an estimated 150,000 blocks will be required for the project.
The first phase of construction on the property includes the building of a latrine, a dormitory to house the 45 children, and a kitchen and dining area. Once construction of the Dormitory and Latrine are completed, the children can be relocated from the humble facilities where they presently live.
The second phase of construction includes a school building, along with an administration office and residence. Until the school is constructed, the dormitory will double as the education space during the daytime. The addition of the school building will provide for better circumstances to educate the orphanage children, along with children from the local village and the surrounding area. The addition of community children will provide some additional funds with which the orphanage and school can operate and sustain itself. Thereafter, construction of another school building and will take place as needs require.
Relocating the orphanage will provide more opportunities for self-sufficient operations in the future, such as: increasing the current 2-acre farming operation where they grow rice, corn, beans, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and other vegetables, to 3.5 acres, and adding livestock such as goats, chickens and rabbits for milk, eggs and meat. The orphanage also has a small sewing operation, whereby adult volunteers and older students sew and sell school uniforms and other textiles in the region.
Mark, Sara and their son Brigham Baril, Steve and Pat Leavitt, and 3 additional young men, returned from Uganda where they worked directly on the project and spent time with the children at the orphanage. The ladies taught the children daily. On the project itself, there was much organization completed, and much physical labour also. Digging trenches for the national water, building a cover for a deep well to protect the people in the community, preparing land and planting many rows of crops, digging the foundation for the latrine, helping with preparation, making and stacking of blocks for construction, and moving a great deal of rock and cement.
A community assessment was done to learn additional information about community needs, and potential educational and vocational programs that the school may consider offering in the future to benefit the students and the community. It is also hoped that this assessment can assist in obtaining grant funds from Rotary International to assist with some costs for additional infrastructure and training related to those activities.
Construction has commenced on the land, utilizing donations previously received, along with a Grant obtained by the Raymond Rotary Club which they donated towards this project. Clear Title Law, Mark’s start up law firm, has also committed financial support for the project, however, additional funds are still needed.
Construction materials for this portion of the project are estimated at $70,000, with concrete being nearly half of the cost. The land and block making machine are paid for, and many materials have now been delivered to the land, including over 35,000 pounds of dry cement powder, and truckloads of sand, aggregate, and hardcore stone used in the foundation and construction of the buildings. However, an additional $50,000 is still needed to purchase the remaining construction materials and pay for labour for this first phase. The generosity of many has been overwhelming. We hope that will continue so that we can provide a home and school for these beautiful children.
