Fountain of Peace New Zealand is all about making a difference, now and in the future, generating hope and transformation: especially in the lives of the most vulnerable; children who have been orphaned and abandoned.
We are also working to provide clean water, education, healthcare and sustainable projects for the whole community. Our work is based in the Kyenjojo District of Western Uganda. It is a beautiful region but marred by extreme poverty.
Unemployment, maternal mortality and malnutrition are all too common, causing thousands of children to be left orphaned or abandoned.
“No child should be left in the torture chambers of poverty if we can do something about it”
– Peace Ruharuza
Fountain of Peace Children’s Foundation IS doing something about it!
Your donation or regular support will go towards the running of our Babies Home for orphaned or abandoned babies.
Your donation or regular support will enable us to provide appropriate medical intervention for the babies in our care.
Your donation or regular support will go towards the building and furnishing of a family based home for a Mum and up to eight children.
Your donation or regular support will go towards the running of our Babies Home for orphaned or abandoned babies.
Your donation or regular support will go towards the running of our Babies Home for orphaned or abandoned babies.
Your donation or regular support will go towards the running of our Babies Home for orphaned or abandoned babies.
Your donation or regular support will go towards the running of our Babies Home for orphaned or abandoned babies.
Your donation or regular support will go towards the running of our Babies Home for orphaned or abandoned babies.
Your donation or regular support will enable us to provide appropriate medical intervention for the babies in our care.
Your donation or regular support will go towards the building and furnishing of a family based home for a Mum and up to eight children.
Your donation or regular support will enable children to live in a family based home AND receive an education.
Your donation or regular support will go towards costs associated with providing an education for children at our school e.g. new buildings, school furniture, books or a teacher’s salary.
Your donation or regular support will go towards costs associated with providing further education opportunities for students from our school e.g. university, vocational training or practical life skills and social
support.
Your donation or regular support will go towards our clean water projects.
Your donation or regular support will go towards our feeding programme, where each child at our school will receive a porridge meal, each school day.
Your donation or regular support will go towards development of the Fountain of Peace farm e.g.
seeds, plants, fruit trees, livestock and other costs associated with our dream to become self -reliant.
At Fountain of Peace we work with our local community to identify and support initiatives to improve social outcomes for all. Your donation or regular support will go towards working with the community to improve social,
healthcare and other needs, including support for highly vulnerable families.
Our Mothers Matter in Childbirth (MMC) mission is working to ensure that vulnerable expectant mothers, and their babies, have a chance of a healthy life by supporting access to essential life-saving maternal health services.
Your donation or regular support will go towards essential Mama Kits for the vulnerable mum-to-be and/or boda boda (motor bike taxi) transport to a health centre to give birth.
Our Bethel Babies Home is the only registered babies’ home in the Kyenjojo District – a district with a population of over 500,000. The home has the capacity to care for 40 babies. Orphaned and abandoned babies come to us via referrals by police, hospital and social workers.
We at Fountain of Peace are about rescuing the most vulnerable. All of our children have tragic backgrounds with no other family options, but once in our care their lives are celebrated. Our house mothers and nannies attend to the everyday needs of the children, with lots of love and cuddles, enabling them to thrive.
When a child is at the toddler stage they move from our Bethel Babies Home along with seven new brothers and sisters and their house mother, to a family home, a ‘forever home’.
The mother has help from a nanny with cooking, cleaning, washing, etc. (No clothes washing machines here.)
At present we have six completed homes, two of which have been generously fully funded by Kiwis: Kiwi House and Arohanui House. We are committed to caring for the children until they reach adulthood and are self-sufficient.
Water is life! In our Children’s Village (which includes our Bethel Babies Home, family homes and school) underwater storage tanks have been constructed to collect run off rain water from the buildings to enable ample water in the dryer seasons.
Within the surrounding village community itself, clean water is an issue for many. Therefore, as part of our community development engagement, and in partnership with the locals, we are working to provide safe and accessible drinking water.
Already, this has resulted in a decrease in the number of residents contracting water borne diseases.
There was no school in the village when Fountain of Peace New Zealand came on board in 2012, but it was something the local community desperately aspired to have.
So, with the community contributing timber and labour, and with a limited budget, the first three classrooms of Rwenjaza Hillside School were built.
During 2013 more classrooms were added, with help from visiting teams from New Zealand. We now have a new brick nursery school block and a primary school block, as well as over 200 children on the school roll.
We know children learn better with full tummies. Our feeding programme came about as a result of so many children attending our school without having had anything to eat before leaving their home – for many their only meal of the day would have been in the evening. Added to this, many of the children walk long distances to get to school, often up to 10km.
$36 will enable Fountain of Peace New Zealand to supply a hot porridge meal each school day, at school, for one child for one year.
Medical care is a given for all the children in our babies’ home and family homes; surgical care too if required. A nurse visits the children regularly to assess their health, wellbeing and growth, and to provide any care required. For our sick children who need to be in isolation, a purpose-built sick bay has been constructed next to our Bethel Babies Home.
For those in the wider community, our dream is to not only be of support to highly vulnerable pregnant mothers, but to also construct a medical centre where those with malaria and other conditions not requiring a hospital stay could be closely monitored, and where visiting doctors and other health care professionals could run clinics.
This aim of this combined District Health / Fountain of Peace Children's Foundation project is about 'educating, monitoring and assisting in the provision of ante and perinatal care in vulnerable expectant mothers during childbirth, seeking to eradicate avoidable deaths wherever possible.’
The focus is on the more 'far-flung' villages in in the Kyenjojo District of Western Uganda: the reason being that the furthest and most remote villages present the greatest difficulty in labouring mothers reaching a health centre or hospital. This is also an area where the majority of the babies that came into our care, because of the death of their mother in childbirth (or soon after), have come from.
One aspect of MMC is to provide Mama Kits, at a cost of NZ$20.00 each. These simple kits will make a huge difference towards a safe delivery, reducing the risk of infection, for those who give birth at home or at a health centre. Another aspect is to provide transport to a health centre, by pre-approved/registered boda boda (motorcycle taxi) drivers for the in-labour mother. Transport home after delivery will be covered too – all for a flat rate of NZ$18.00.
In the past few years we have embarked on a number of enterprises that will aid us in our dream to become self-sustainable. These are enterprises that are providing much needed employment for people in the village or neighbouring villages, as well helping us in the feeding of our children at our babies’ home and family homes.
In one of the projects maize, beans, potatoes and other crops are being grown on 60 acres of fertile farmland in a neighbouring village. Two silos have been provided for the storage of up to 10 tons of beans and corn each. We have planted fruit trees and each family home has its own veggie garden.
The idea of development is to bring about a positive, sustainable change: it is an ongoing process that may lead to improvements in physical, emotional and spiritual well-being and which gives people encouragement and confidence to realise their potential.
Fountain of Peace works closely with the local community with the aim of improving living standards. Where possible, and always in consultation with the village leadership, we meet the needs that are presented to us. Examples of our community efforts include clean water wells, the arranging and funding of life transforming surgery for a young boy, the provision of playground equipment at our school, the rebuilding or repair of several homes for highly vulnerable families, the upgrade of the community access road and the provision on numerous occasions of food aid to over 250 highly vulnerable families during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our school in its entirety is one big community project and our tractor has helped local farmers open up more of their land for crop farming. We are supporting over 100 local community members through employment in different projects, and above all there is hope, and spiritual revival, in the community.
If you don't see an answer to your question below, please visit our contact page.
Fountain of Peace New Zealand has a board of trustees with an elected chairman and an elected honorary secretary/treasurer. Within this structure there is a board approved honorary manager of Fountain of Peace New Zealand with the title of executive director.
Fountain of Peace New Zealand, United Kingdom and Uganda, whilst autonomous identities, share a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
Please click on the donate button situated on each page on this website or bank directly into our Fountain of Peace New Zealand bank account 02 0924 0107983-00, either online or in person at your bank.
Your regular support, which allows us to plan ahead, may be set up by on-line payments into our Fountain of Peace New Zealand bank account, or by contacting your bank and giving them our bank account details.
Be sure to let us know your contact details (including your email) so we can issue you a tax donation receipt at the end of our financial year.
There is a number of ways you can become involved with Fountain of Peace New Zealand. You can donate, become an advocate and speak out about what we do, fundraise, join an event, or volunteer with us.
Whilst we appreciate that people care to support in this way, the answer is no. This is because the cost of postage or freight from New Zealand to Uganda is so prohibitive. With most items of need able to be purchased in Uganda, we encourage donations of funds so Fountain of Peace is able to purchase the items in Uganda.
That said, on occasion, when Fountain of Peace New Zealand tour members travel to Uganda they are able to carry a limited number of items with them.
No, Fountain of Peace does not have an adoption programme.
Fountain of Peace New Zealand relies on the generosity of the people of New Zealand for its funding through donations, koha and grants, for which we are extremely grateful for.
We also rely on the giftings, expertise and time of our volunteers to complete work in many essential roles, such as national governance via our board of trustees and executive director, fundraising, promotion, administration and accounting – all whom do not receive a salary.
Yes, Fountain of Peace New Zealand is a registered charity (CC48465) with donee status; therefore, donations made to Fountain of Peace New Zealand of NZ$5 or more are eligible for a tax credit.
Fountain of Peace Uganda does not generally accept medium to long term volunteers. This is because, like most international development organisations, the projects we are involved in are able to be undertaken by the local people.
For short term periods (two-three weeks) there is the opportunity to join a Fountain of Peace New Zealand tour to Uganda, where you can use your skills to support the work being done.
Our tours are normally in May and October each year.
In short, the answer is no! Child sponsorship programmes have multiple factors that must be considered for them to be well run, including the additional costs.
However, when you make donations, you can instruct that the funds go directly to supporting our children, much as would happen in a sponsorship programme, but without a ‘relationship’ with a specific child.
Yes, as a Christian charity we are motivated by the life, teaching and values of Jesus Christ. We are committed to making tangible the love of God by seeking to make a difference, now and in the future, generating hope and transformation to all who would benefit regardless of race, religion, gender or age.
