A charitable group of like-minded individuals from Watford have been helping aid workers in Uganda supporting refugees from war-torn Southern Sudan.

The Watford Area Humanists meet every month at the Reason Coffee Shop and Bookstore on The Parade to discuss how they can aid various causes, and this is the second time they have helped people in Uganda.

“We’ve given them some money. It may not be much but it is amazing to see how far it can go,” said John Dowdle, who helped set up the Watford Area Humanists several years ago.  

“We’re trying to give these kids a decent start in life. It’s the time of the year where everyone wants to help someone. It’s just astonishing to see how far these schools have come.”

HALEA – the Humanist Association for Leadership, Equality and Accountability – has been delivering food and other vital supplies to South Sudanese refugees living in camps in northern Uganda.

The team led by Jose Lukyamuzi and Violin Namyalo has recently moved into Uganda’s busiest market – Owino Market – to solicit support from traders, receiving an “amazing response” from companies and shopkeepers

Their store is now almost full of new and second hand clothes, shoes, and household utensils, plus scholastic materials and food, which will then be taken on to the refugee camps.