Help Douglas buy a van
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Holiday Update: I had lost contact with Douglas around Thanksgiving and was worried about him. Good News! On Christmas morning he got back in contact and despite going through a couple difficult months he is safe. More good news: With the money raised on this Go Fund Me campaign and some other local contributions we were able to send Douglas a total of $5,800! Thanks again for your generosity and kindness. I'll send a final update once he has bought a vehicle and is driving again.
Thanksgiving Update: Please consider contributing to Douglas's van as part of Giving Tuesday or your observance of Thanksgiving. We have now raised over $3,000 but still have a long way to go. Please pray for Douglas while he struggles to make a living in the meantime.
3rd Update: This fundraiser feels like it has lost some momentum but just today a friend at church handed me $100 so I've added it along with our match. Please donate if you have been thinking about it. Thanks to all of you that have already!
2nd Update: I've told Douglas about this fundraiser and here's his response: "Thank you to you, mama (Anne) Grandpa & Grandmum, my brothers, the Church and your friends and families for loving me by praying for me and supporting me through giving funds to create a livelihood that will support me and the work of ministry. This is a powerful encouragement to me and my family."
We've almost reached $2,000 but still need your help to reach our goal. Please consider contributing or sharing. Thank you!
Update: We have decided to match all contributions until we raise at least $8,000. So any contribution you already made or will make is being doubled. Thanks for helping us support Douglas! (shown here with a giraffe but no van)
We’re asking you to join us in raising funds for one of our friends in Uganda, Douglas. We came to know Douglas first through Engineering Ministries International (EMI - another very fund-worthy organization) when he sometimes drove for us. Douglas had his own van and made a living for himself and his family as a driver. Throughout our 10 months in Uganda we hired him to drive us and a group of EMI colleagues to a wedding in another town, to take us on a safari to Murchison Falls National Park and to travel with another Ugandan friend and his family for an Easter weekend in their village in the Rwenzori area of Uganda.
Douglas spending time with special needs kids while our EMI team worked on a design for their school
We appreciated his friendliness, big smile, concern for others, and readiness to share the Gospel with everyone he met. We came to consider Douglas a friend, not just someone we hired to drive for us.
With Douglas at Murchison Falls National Park
At some point Douglas allowed a friend to borrow his van but they damaged it beyond repair. In Uganda, there isn’t the kind of insurance we are used to and the friend had no means to pay Douglas back. For about 2 years now he has only been able to work sporadically as a driver, but barely makes enough to cover the cost of renting someone else’s vehicle.
Douglas has been on our hearts and we would like to help him buy another van similar to the one he had (a used Toyota Super Custom), large enough to take groups to the airport or on safaris. We had been praying about sending him money thinking that about $4,000-$7,000 would be enough. But we recently learned through Douglas, and confirmed by an American friend at EMI, that those kinds of vans cost more like $10,000-$11,000. Uganda recently changed rules on importing vehicles and limited the number of older vehicles that can be imported, which has cut the supply and driven up the cost of used cars. Import taxes are also high.
With another van (like the one pictured below) Douglas could support himself again and build his small business, rising above the poverty that is so prevalent in Uganda. We had thought about trying to pay for this by ourselves but remembered a lesson from our time in Uganda. We asked other people to partner with us then; to be part of our team and pray for us. We were so grateful for everyone who supported us. Would you join us now in supporting and restoring Douglas by raising $11,000 to get him back on the road again?
We (and Douglas) would be so grateful for anything you can contribute, but even if you aren’t able to contribute, please share this request with others and pray for Douglas Aliro and for Uganda.
A selfie while sweeping out his church building
Thanks for considering this request,
Jim & Anne Pocock
Thanksgiving Update: Please consider contributing to Douglas's van as part of Giving Tuesday or your observance of Thanksgiving. We have now raised over $3,000 but still have a long way to go. Please pray for Douglas while he struggles to make a living in the meantime.
3rd Update: This fundraiser feels like it has lost some momentum but just today a friend at church handed me $100 so I've added it along with our match. Please donate if you have been thinking about it. Thanks to all of you that have already!
2nd Update: I've told Douglas about this fundraiser and here's his response: "Thank you to you, mama (Anne) Grandpa & Grandmum, my brothers, the Church and your friends and families for loving me by praying for me and supporting me through giving funds to create a livelihood that will support me and the work of ministry. This is a powerful encouragement to me and my family."
We've almost reached $2,000 but still need your help to reach our goal. Please consider contributing or sharing. Thank you!
Update: We have decided to match all contributions until we raise at least $8,000. So any contribution you already made or will make is being doubled. Thanks for helping us support Douglas! (shown here with a giraffe but no van)
We’re asking you to join us in raising funds for one of our friends in Uganda, Douglas. We came to know Douglas first through Engineering Ministries International (EMI - another very fund-worthy organization) when he sometimes drove for us. Douglas had his own van and made a living for himself and his family as a driver. Throughout our 10 months in Uganda we hired him to drive us and a group of EMI colleagues to a wedding in another town, to take us on a safari to Murchison Falls National Park and to travel with another Ugandan friend and his family for an Easter weekend in their village in the Rwenzori area of Uganda.
Douglas spending time with special needs kids while our EMI team worked on a design for their schoolWe appreciated his friendliness, big smile, concern for others, and readiness to share the Gospel with everyone he met. We came to consider Douglas a friend, not just someone we hired to drive for us.
With Douglas at Murchison Falls National ParkAt some point Douglas allowed a friend to borrow his van but they damaged it beyond repair. In Uganda, there isn’t the kind of insurance we are used to and the friend had no means to pay Douglas back. For about 2 years now he has only been able to work sporadically as a driver, but barely makes enough to cover the cost of renting someone else’s vehicle.
Douglas has been on our hearts and we would like to help him buy another van similar to the one he had (a used Toyota Super Custom), large enough to take groups to the airport or on safaris. We had been praying about sending him money thinking that about $4,000-$7,000 would be enough. But we recently learned through Douglas, and confirmed by an American friend at EMI, that those kinds of vans cost more like $10,000-$11,000. Uganda recently changed rules on importing vehicles and limited the number of older vehicles that can be imported, which has cut the supply and driven up the cost of used cars. Import taxes are also high.
With another van (like the one pictured below) Douglas could support himself again and build his small business, rising above the poverty that is so prevalent in Uganda. We had thought about trying to pay for this by ourselves but remembered a lesson from our time in Uganda. We asked other people to partner with us then; to be part of our team and pray for us. We were so grateful for everyone who supported us. Would you join us now in supporting and restoring Douglas by raising $11,000 to get him back on the road again?
We (and Douglas) would be so grateful for anything you can contribute, but even if you aren’t able to contribute, please share this request with others and pray for Douglas Aliro and for Uganda.
A selfie while sweeping out his church buildingThanks for considering this request,
Jim & Anne Pocock
Organizer
James Pocock
Organizer
Colorado Springs, CO
