Love Mercy

In 2011 Eloise and I came to Uganda on a trip to help plan the vision for Cents for Seeds. Eloise went on a training run (as she does, while I sleep…) and met a woman called Margaret from a village called Abako. They chatted for 10km or so as she rode her bike faster than usual to keep up with Eloise. Eloise told her all about Cents for Seeds, our micro loan agriculture program for women in northern Uganda. Margaret said that she thought Abako would love a program like that and today, 7 years later, we visited Abako to begin Cents for Seeds there with 250 women. It is one of two new areas that we are moving in to in 2018, bringing the total number of women in the program for 2018 to 13,800. That's 13,800 women who are now earning an income and providing for their families.  Despite never having been to Abako before we were given a warm greeting like we were long lost friends returning home. Their village was beautiful. It seemed greener than other areas given it is th...

Anyess Aceng (prounced An-yes A-cheng) is a 26-year-old midwife who has recently returned to work at the Kristina Health Centre after giving birth to her first baby three months ago. She is from a town called Dokolo, but lives on site in the staff accommodation with her baby Shalon and her babysitter. Anyess’ husband comes from Alebtong and is a high school teacher. Anyess began working at the center in July 2016, when the maternity service commenced. 8:00am: Anyess begins work at the Kristina Health Centre Anyess’ day begins with the completing paperwork required for the USAID Voucher Program that all the maternity patients are on. Anyess tallies up the costs associated with the care for each patient. 9:30 - 10am: Patients start arriving at the clinic. As the pregnant women begin to arrive at the health center, Anyess puts the paperwork aside and commences the antenatal clinic. On average it takes about 40 minutes to see each patient. A lot of women have...

And just like that, Christmas is just around the corner! Every year we are humbled by the support of some of the digital world’s most desirable brands who recognise the value of giving back in the season of high sales; directing profits to support our Love Mercy projects.  Through these collaborations, we have a range of beautiful Christmas gift options that will extend the love far beyond your friends and family. These profits will have real and tangible effects on the lives of families who need our support to overcome the challenges that come after years of civil war; providing midwifery care to pregnant mothers, lifesaving vaccines through our Kristina Health Centre, or empowering women to access schooling for their children through the income they gain through our Cents for Seeds program. Gorgeous gifts that change the world? We think that’s the ideal win-win! Here’s the lowdown on our exciting collaborations, and other ways you can spread the love this Chrissy… ...

Our Sydney runners and walkers are coming together in 2017 to transform a tiny village in northern Uganda. Aminocira is located 30km south-east of Lira town, the main town where our offices are based.  There are 136 families in Aminocira. With an average birth rate of 7, that's approx. 1200 people. The Village The entrance to Aminocira is nestled amongst trees and bushes which opens up to a clearing filled with thatched roof huts and more modern brick buildings. The surrounding landscape is vast and filled of undulating land, dotted with palm trees, mango trees, acacia, bushes etc. There is no school in the village, so the children walk between 30-60 minutes there and back per day to the closest school. Transport is generally on foot, unless someone is well off enough to afford a bike. These are the traditional mud brick homes common throughout Africa. Whole families share a compound like this one. The multiple buildings are like different rooms - on...

Christmas is a time of year for spreading joy, which can sometimes make gift giving difficult for people who seem to have it all. Our online store has lots of options for people who might be difficult to buy for, or who might prefer that you give a gift to someone else on their behalf instead. Check out our top 5 picks for Christmas this year: 1. Gift tags - Pack of 5 for $6.50 posted Finish off your gift wrapping perfectly with these tags. $5 treats a child with malaria at the Kristina Clinic, so your gift will be changing a life in Uganda.   2. Love Mercy Print -$15 postage included These beautiful Australian designed and printed art print comes mounted on matt board and ready to be framed.  These prints fund our life changing projects in Uganda, so every purchase makes a difference. 3. The Spark Book -  $25 posted The perfect inspirational coffee table book. Eloise Wellings featured alongside many other inspirational Australian's strivin...

Sunflowers... photo captured by River Bennett from theWolfpackmrs Today we were welcomed with singing and dancing by 200 of our Cents for Seeds women from the village of Barr. Barr women are the pioneers of the Cents for Seeds program, they were the first village that we ran the program in, back in 2010. They have been the most innovative and entrepreneurial group of women that we've worked with, coming up with many of the ideas which have improved the program. They've really taken the program to the next level in terms of sustainability for which we are so grateful and proud.    We listened as they shared their farming challenges and triumphs this year.They had yielded a good harvest from the first planting season but devastating drought caused them to lose most of their crops in the second planting season. For the first time in five years they were unable to return their loan of seeds. We had the opportunity to encourage them and reassure them that we are not going a...

I recently had the pleasure of catching up with the creative soul Bianca Cash, a gorgeous woman who is running her own business with passion and joy. She has created this beautiful print (below) which encapsulates so much of what we value as an organisation. Each print helps to fund a Cents for Seeds loan for a rural woman in Uganda. I wanted to find out what makes this chick tick! 1. Can you tell us a little about who you are and what you do? I'm a full-time freelancer graphic designer and photographer, but a lot of my work is typography based. 2. Can you share with us about your experiences in Africa? I've been really lucky to travel to East Africa three times. The first time was with my family. We visited our sponsored children in Uganda and Tanzania. It was my first time overseas and it changed everything. It sounds really dramatic but I never had the desire to travel anywhere, especially not a developing country. In 2007 I started sponsoring two girls in Tanzani...