Mr. Lumonya Stephen

Foreword Our passion and love for the elderly drives us daily to provide and support our beloved. As the years go by many that were able to provide and care for themselves find themselves not able to because of old age and the people who would otherwise be there for them many a time are out there pursuing careers and means of providing for their own families. When we come to learn and are informed about these situations we move in to provide basic support with the support of some family members. As SJEFATE we need resources both in kind and financial to support our team of dedicated volunteers as they provide support and care for the elderly, who in many cases are not able to move without support. We are indeed very thankful to all those that have supported us in the past and continue to. We are a non-profit organization that needs all your support to continue this work that we do.

Good people, when we set out to establish this foundation we were driven by what we observed and witnessed the elderly persons experience when they are either ill or physically incapacitated. Their children that would provide support and care are off to urban centers struggling to make ends meet or toiling with their careers and taking care of their own families and have little or no time.

In the West they have built Elderly peoples' Homes and because of their developed social welfare system these are well funded and well managed. In Africa and Uganda in particular, this may take long to happen, however, what we have are the family based community care systems that we can build and develop.

We have also noted that whenever the elderly persons are hospitalized the nursing care is not up to it. In many of our medical facilities nurses work on a shift basis and this many times upsets the elderly people who must keep adjusting to the moods of each new nurse that comes in. Unfortunately many have very poor patient/customer care etiquette. Some are extremely rude and lack patience and do not understand patient psychology.

We therefore further observed elderly persons need someone they can connect with, someone to be there to talk to, someone to turn them in bed and help them sit up, someone to feed them and help them reach for a drink, someone that will listen to them without being judgmental. It must be remember that these elderly people in their prime years were able to provide and take care of themselves and the inability to manage on their own at the moment weighs them down.
However, they still want to be valued, listened to and consulted for their opinion. They want to know that their opinion still counts. Therefore , our desire is indeed to aid the elderly so that when their time is up and they pass on to glory they do so dignified.

To achieve and make this possible we need the support of well wishers and each one of you, both corporate establishments and individuals. We need adult diapers, we need liquid and powder detergents, we need high value nutrition foods, we need volunteers that have a heart for our elderly persons (these include grandparents, parents, uncles, aunties, brothers and sisters) and finances to facilitate the volunteers. Some of the elderly may not have immediate family that is available to provide basic care. Our desire is to offer our services across the country without discrimination. We are driven by love and dignity of our elderly persons.

We are a team of accountable people that serve in different capacities in this country both in NGOs, private, public, Corporate and international agencies . Our oofices and contact lines and point peeple are always open and we can be reached at any time for more information. Your advice and comments are and will be most appreciated.

May the Good Lord Bless You all