Jeffrey Hamelman’s Uganda Bakery gofundme

[Mike Nolan]

This message from the BBGA forums pretty much explains what Jeffrey Hamelman, teacher, author and former head baker at King Arthur, has been doing in Uganda.

So far he's raised over $15,000 of the $20,000 he's looking for.

For the past year and a half, I've been volunteering to train refugees in baking at Oruchinga, the oldest refugee settlement in Uganda. To date, I have made three trips, totaling two months. Working together shoulder to shoulder, eating together, laughing and baking together, playing with the children--it has been such a life-altering experience, for the refugees of course, but equally for me. The refugees come from Rwanda, Burundi, and Congo, countries rife with war and civil unrest; each of them carries deep trauma from the unimaginable horrors that forced them to leave their homelands. They all have compelling stories . . .

And now they have a foothold--the bakers, almost all of whom are women, have skills, a small salary, and bread for themselves and their families (these are profoundly beneficial, not least because they receive just $3.48 per month from the UN for subsistence). Most importantly, these beautiful people are empowered. A further rippling repercussion is that we have distributed many thousands of buns and loaves to the most vulnerable people in the settlement--the children. The elation on their faces when they receive bread is indescribable, as is the abject despair we see on the faces of those whose pounding bellies go without when the bread is

gone . . . A foundational commitment of the bakery is the Feeding Friday initiative, the bringing of breads to as many of the children as possible.

Speaking personally, I have been on six continents during my baking life, and I have never--never--been in a country more compelling than Uganda.

The original bakery space provided a good start, but it was not suitable for the long term. A village elder, who believes in the refugees and the mission of the bakery, offered a long-term lease on part of his banana farm, and a large space has been cleared. It is a great location, being in the main village of the refugee settlement. Now the women will not have to walk so far to and from work (many with a young child strapped to their back), and it will be much easier for local people to access the products. A building has been erected that will serve as a kitchen, making hot foods to sell, and now it is time to build the bakery space.

The projected cost for the construction of the bakery and purchasing of equipment is approximately $20,000. The contribution you make to this GoFundMe campaign will be used solely for those purposes. If more than enough is secured, the extra will go to ingredient procurement, salaries for the refugees (about $53 per month per person), and other bakery expenses. The link to my GoFundMe solicitation is here: https://gofund.me/3b4929dd

And please note: There is a 2.9% GoFundMe fee for each contribution and a very modest bank fee for the transfer of the collected funds to Uganda, but there are no hidden administrative costs that will be taken from your donation. Also, my personal trips are entirely self-funded, so your contribution goes directly to the people who need it most. (In order to avoid any potential personal tax liability, please understand that I am not able to offer any form of gift to you; as the IRS requires, contributors will not receive goods or services as a result of their gift). Please feel free to pass this email along to anyone you wish, as well as to your Facebook and Instagram accounts if you have them (I do not). Your generosity will have a life-altering impact on the lives of the refugee bakers and the children of the settlement.

Where there is Bread, there is Hope . . .

With deepest gratitude, thank you.

Jeffrey Hamelman

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