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72km North

72km north of a town called Lira lies a clinic - The Kristina Health Clinic. What should be an hour drive is drawn out to 2 as you navigate the potholes and rocks along the bumpy red dirt road. Rows of sunflowers and mudhuts here and there catch your eye, the window provides an insight into a world unknown. The clinic comes into sight; three stand alone buildings offering hope through basic medical services. The mango tree provides shelter from the blazing Ugandan sun as mothers to be wander the grounds, anticipating the arrival of another family member. The ambulance parked onsite is on call for emergencies, ready to travel along that red road which you came. It is peaceful. We are incredibly proud of the Kristina Health Centre. Opened in 2012, the centre was a dream of co-founder Julius Achon. His mother died from a gunshot wound in 2004. The clinic now stands in the village where this happened. Had she access to basic medical care, Kristina would have survived.
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International Rural Women's Day

"The empowerment of rural women and girls is essential to building a prosperous, equitable and peaceful future for all on a healthy planet"  - Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General  The1 billion of the world's population that continue to live in poverty are heavily concentrated in rural areas. Of this, over 2/3 are women.   Women in rural areas are responsible for 43% of agricultural labour force, for rural development, improving food security and reducing & eradicating rural poverty. Their lives depend on natural resources, the environment and the climate in which they live.  In the same breath, rural women are far worse off than rural men. In developing nations women in rural areas lack access to education. They lack access to resources. They lack access to health care clean water. Women in rural areas most often do not have their basic needs met, because of both their remote location and their gender.  The empowerment of rural wo

August in Australia

Bump, Birth and Baby, Wollongong | August 4th  This event is all about empowering mums and women.  Bring your gal pals along and share brunch, while learning about the Get your tickets here Run Nation Film Festival, Sydney |  9 - 11th  We are so excited to announce that we are the Charity Partner for The RunNation Film Festival presented by Traveling Fit. A portion of ticket sales will go toward Love Mercy, so be sure to invite your friends along! Expo Level 4 of the International Convention Centre will hold the exhibition. Here you will get to meet with 100+ local and international brands & gain fitness and nutritional advice. Speakers - Real Stories |  Eloise Wellings  10am - 12pm | Buy your ticket  here . Our very own co-founder and Dual Olympian Eloise Wellings will join two others in sharing their inspiring stories of challenge and accomplishment. Don't forget to come say hi to Elzy on the day. Film Premiere - Tracktown 12.30pm - 2pm |    Get your

Love Mercy X Water for Africa

Love Mercy Foundation has been operating Cents for Seeds for the last 7 years in remote villages in Northern Uganda. On each of our trips, we could see the progression and improvement of our villages in a tangible way - the women and families had more food, they seemed happier, but we couldn't say for sure.  We did some pretty significant research in February to try to confirm what we had hoped- that Cents for Seeds was working. You can read the full report here BUT one of the key findings was that access to water has the highest correlation with levels of wellbeing in the communities studied in Northern Uganda. People who have to walk 10km or more (up to 3 times per day) have lower levels of Wellbeing. Which seems sort of obvious, but this means that, no matter how well the Cents for Seeds program is going, unless the community has access to clean, safe drinking water, the levels of wellbeing will not reach the highest point they could.  Enter.... Water for Africa.   W

Love Another Mother

LOVE ANOTHER MOTHER  Double your impact this mother's day! When loving a mother here, love one in Uganda too through the gifts below. 1.   Cents for Seeds Gift Card  Change another Mother's life in Uganda with just $30. She is given a seed loan, tools and access to educational workshops to ensure success for her crop.  The result?  Food on the table, children in school and improved wellbeing. Your gift is changing lives.   Gift Card - Cents for Seeds    2. Midwife Wages Midwives help create mums! Provide the Kristina Health Clinic with a midwife's wages for 1 month. In this month, a midwife might deliver up to 30 babies safely to expectant Mumma's in Northern Uganda. Gift Card - Midwifes Wages 3. Our Partners   T he Wanderers Travel Co  The Wanderer's Travel Co make the finest leather travel goods! We are OBSESSED with the Venetian Passport Travel Clutch, and we think your Mum will be too! The best part? $10 from the sale of eve
NOVEMBER, 2017  At the beginning of the 2017, I expressed my interest in joining the trip in November.  I had seen friends go before, and I must admit I was slightly jealous. When I learnt that the fundraising amount was $5,000, I totally balked. I couldn't do that! I was a nobody! Not to mention that many people in my circle already supported Love Mercy, and I couldn't possibly expect them to give more. I didn't reply to Cait for a while, trying to process and work out if I could actually make this happen.  One night, thinking and praying, I felt I just had to go. I could not miss this opportunity. Specifically in regard to raising money, I remembered that this was not about me, and that I should never put a limit on people and their generosity. Not. About. Me. This is about women, men and children on the other side of the world that needed me to give them a way to survive. No, not live, but survive. In a nation ravished by war and poverty that seeps into people

TONNES of Seeds

Every $30 invested in to Cents for Seeds is spent like this... Training, equipping, and empowering women with seeds to then go on to feed their families for an entire year. Here is a glimpse into exactly how...  1. Registration   Women who are the most in need in their village register with their local leaders 2. Workshops   Educational workshops teach the necessary skills for planting successful crops  3. Distribution   When the rain arrives, our team starts weighing and handing out each loan in a central location This year we are capturing more data than ever with each loan. Every woman is being issued with a photo ID $30 includes the provision of a hand held gardening tool To ensure that only one loan per person is taken, fingers are marked with ink  Once the seeds are all distributed, women then have monthly meetings with their coordinators and our agronomists conduct field visits to support their pro