Our last Annual General Meeting was on January 31, 2023. In 2023, the board met via Zoom on 5 occasions including the AGM. 

Board of Directors

In 2023, the 9-person Board has been very active. I want to thank all board members for their tireless efforts as volunteers in support of CanUgan.

Amanda Cox
Caroline Marshall
Rick Morello
Shauna Devlin
Tess Fremont Cote
Tim McCarthy
Erina Buliibwa
Sarah Muhwezi
Jack McCarthy

Board member Sarah Muhwezi joined the board in March 2023.

Erina Buliibwa has resigned from the board in March 2024.

KADUPEDI

Our partnership with the Kasese District Union of Persons with Disabilities (KADUPEDI) remains strong thanks in large measure to our close working relationship with Baluku Peter. Peter is also the Deputy Mayor in Kasese. All documentation to support the transfer of funds on a quarterly basis for assistive devices remains thorough and comprehensive. Our next site visit to Kasese will occur in June 2024 and will be undertaken by board member Rick Morello. 

Great Canadian Giving Challenge, June 2023

Thanks to 59 generous donors, we raised $10,041 in our online fundraising campaign, in support of purchasing assistive devices (wheelchairs, crutches, calipers, white canes, etc.) for persons with disabilities in Kasese District. This is a small decrease from last year’s campaign when 66 generous donors in 2022 donated $12,960. Special thanks are in order to CanUgan board members who reached out to their networks to support the campaign and the many donors who are now making regular annual contributions to CanUgan.

Holiday Giving Campaign, November and December 2023

2023 ended on a high note for CanUgan. We concluded our online Holiday Giving Campaign, and thanks to 38 donors, we raised $8,140. This is an increase on last year’s campaign in 2022 when 44 donors donated $7,045 for our Holiday Giving Campaign. Our social media campaign and our outreach to past donors via our newsletters have helped with fundraising, thanks to the lead of board members Shauna Devlin and Caroline Marshall.

Overall annual fundraising totals from our two online campaigns: 

In 2023, $18,181 was raised. In 2022, $20,005 was raised. In 2021, $18,977 was raised.

Tele-Rehabilitation; Project Echo

Collaboration on Project Echo continues with our key partners Jennifer O’Neil from the University of Ottawa School of Rehabilitation and the Kasese and District Union of Persons with Disabilities (KADUPEDI).  With assistance from a grant from the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) secured by the University of Ottawa, the objectives of the research project are to:

• Conduct an environmental scan of relevant rehabilitation literature and policies as well as active tele-rehabilitation programs within Uganda.
• Engage the rehabilitation community from Canada and Uganda in discussions around rehabilitation research and the use of digital health to improve access to rehabilitation services and provision of rehabilitation care for people living with disabilities in Uganda.
• Establish action-based research priorities and research questions tailored to rehabilitation providers and people living with disabilities in Kasese Uganda.

CanUgan Treasurer Rick Morello will be travelling to Kasese in June 2024 with Jennifer O’Neil to meet with representatives of KADUPEDI to start the community engagement process, which is a key part of the environmental scan.

SUMMARY OF ASSISTIVE DEVICES DISTRIBUTED

2022-2023

Strategic Plan

In the fall of 2022, the Board reviewed the strategic plan put in place in 2021. Future Directions include:

• Advance tele-rehabilitation project
• Consider increasing quarterly funds transfer should fundraising targets be reached 
• Minimize administration costs associated with quarterly bank transfers
• Raise fundraising goals by 10%
• Recruit new board members to access new donor networks
• Update CanUgan members list
• Host one in person donor appreciation event
• Continue with producing two newsletters per year

Highlighted bullets indicate action taken.