Last year, a group of dedicated volunteers in Mount Alexander Shire spent countless hours gathering and filling a 40-foot shipping container with essential items to send to Uganda through the charity organisation I Am Someone.
The shipping container, which has travelled across the world to Mombasa, Kenya, has unfortunately been detained by customs for more than a month.
The grassroots charity has been working to break cycles of poverty since 2005, and has previously sent four containers from Australia to Africa.
A significant increase in international freight, fuel, border processing and storage costs since the last container was sent meant the costs had more than doubled.
They now need to raise an additional $15,000 to have the container released and finish its journey to Kasese, where it can help vulnerable children and communities.
Items being held in the shipping container have been hand-picked to help provide Ugandan children and remote communities with life-changing opportunities. They will help set up cooking, music and sewing schools, a cafe, an educational learning hub, furnish and equip a clinic and the schools.
The container also has a range of critical medical supplies, such as wheelchairs and crutches, to support vulnerable communities with ongoing regional health concerns. It also contains essential protective supplies (sanitiser, gloves, face masks, and protective gowns), which will aid with the recent Ebola outbreak in the region.
Every dollar donated helps move this container closer to the children and families waiting for it.
If you can help, please donate at iamsomeone.org.au