IT'S HAPPENED!
First Ufosa Library Opened! 

The Ufosa Foundation has been working hard collecting books for the first of its 30 1,000-Book Libraries that it aims to establish in South Africa.

British Pilot
Robert Vallier made the inaugural UNITY FLIGHT OF SOUTH AFRICA in Oct '07, linking with 15 of 30 communities all over the country that Ufosa aims to assist in Education, Family Wellbeing and Heatlh.

Over the last months as a result of Ufosa's
publicity drive and especially helped by BBC Southern Counties Radio, books have been donated to the Foundation by UK schools, school children, public libraries and members of the general public, as well as by distinguished publishers Usborne and Dorling Kindersley.

In November, Robert and the Ufosa team were able to wish Ufosa colleague Peter Skinner bon voyage to South Africa.  The 1,000 books for the first Library were flown out from the UK to South Africa as cargo, for free, by the world's favourite airline and Ufosa Sponsor BRITISH AIRWAYS.

And then a few days later Peter and his wife Jill were given a warm welcome by Staff and Pupils of the Shiyane Primary and High Schools at Rorke's Drift (Ladysmith) when they arrived with the books to set up the first Ufosa 1,000-book school Library.  The Library was officially opened by the youngest pupil of the school, who cut the ribbon in a formal grand ceremony!

The 600 children at the Shiyane Primary and High Schools will benefit from the books and will be able to use them regularly as part of their general education and studies.

Ufosa has been working hard to put into place its Education Programme of Books for South Africa.  Our aim is to establish a 1,000-book library in each of the Schools in our chosen 30 communities in South Africa, beginning with the first 15 Schools linked with the programme as a result of Unity Flight #1 from which we also obtained the details of the needs of those communities, and associated budgets.  Unity Flight #2 is set for 2009.  

Now established on 3 continents - the USA, the UK and South Africa - and with the backing of the Government through the Minister of Education (Western Cape) Cameron Dugmore and of UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Gavin Rajah, Robert's Ufosa Foundation is seeking to reach out and aid 30 communities throughout South Africa, uniting them in a far-reaching 5-year aid and development programme in Education, Family Wellbeing and Health.  The Ufosa Foundation wants to focus global attention on the plight of people all over South Africa, not just on isolated areas or causes, and seeks to raise funds from the international community along the way.

The work of the Ufosa Foundation is in:

• Education
  The 30 schools in the programme are to get a 1,000 book library made up of books donated from schools linked with them in the UK and in the USA as part of our Donate A Book campaign, joining schools, schoolchildren and teachers around the globe; computers and software. The first Ufosa Library was opened in November '08.

• Family Wellbeing
  Ufosa is watching... WATCHing out for Women And The CHildren.  The Ufosa Foundation is assisting by building 30 relief abuse HIV/Aids centres for Women And The CHildren at our 30 communities across the Nation over the next 5 years.  The Centres will offer accommodation, counselling, medical care, school overflow facilities, even legal advice. 

• Health
  Linking with 30 Hospitals and Hospices, Ufosa will assist in caring for the sick and the elderly by seeking to provide needed equipment or a new construction.  Even those who are reaching the end of their lives, be they young children or the elderly, desperately need help since the standard of care available as they pass on is often minimal.

The route of the UNITY FLIGHTS and the 30 communities of the Ufosa programme, are set out on the map below.  Those that have been visited in Unity Flight #1 are listed in BLUE in the scroll box (top right column); Unity Flight #2 is set for 2009, and the 15 communites are shown in RED in the scroll box.

click on image for large map

From Cape Town and Port Elizabeth in the south, Durban and Richards Bay in the east, Messina and Polokwane in the north and Springbok and Alexander Bay in the west, and including many smaller points inland such as Halfweg, Vryburg and Klerksdorp as well as the major cities, Robert is visiting key areas all over the Nation in his UNITY FLIGHTs and the Foundation is inviting individual and corporate backing for Ufosa, both within South Africa and internationally.

The first UNITY FLIGHT was followed by 2 national Radio Stations in South Africa.  TV footage was also provided by way of the on-board camera crew and Robert’s regular News Reports, and Robert also made available reports and articles for the Press from each of the 30 communities.  The Ufosa pop song Fly Today, was recorded by school children from Cape Town and written by UK media team Lester and David Barnes.  The CD album also contains other South African themes and famous inspirational songs.

Donations can be made online outright. 

Background to the Project - Why 30?
The Soweto Riots of June 1976 marked the beginning of the end of Apartheid...

UK Charity to bring funding from UK and Europe; Links with Schools
Ufosa(UK) has been set up to bring in international funds from the UK and Europe in support of the project...

Ufosa Charity now established in the USA to bring funds and School ties
Ufosa(USA) has now been formed in the USA...