I have a longtime former Kentucky beekeeping friend, Toni Downs, who is traveling to Uganda later this year to assist beekeepers there. Many of you may know Toni, perhaps through HAS, or EAS, she has been active with both for many years. I know the help that beekeepers can give to other beekeepers, and I applaud Toni in giving her time, resources, and effort to make this trip. As many of you may know, in 2012 I made a similar trip to Bangladesh. However, my trip was funded by the U.S. government, I was a U.S. Aid volunteer. Toni is making this trip without government aid, or help from a large foundation. Please take the time to read the below note about Toni’s upcoming trip, and if you can, give her some assistance. Donations can be made through gofundme, or by contacting Toni directly. As they always say, any donation helps. If you go to the gofundme website, you will see that I am supporting her beyond passing on this message to you.
Toni Downs, a former Kentucky beekeeper living in the Virgin Islands, is planning a beekeeping trip to Uganda this year. She has been corresponding with a member of a group there and has planned to make a 5-week trip to visit them this August/September. This is a personally-funded trip and she has been fund raising for a few months, including co-hosting a Honey Tasting on April 30 in St. Croix. Funds raised are at 40% of goal, but there are only weeks left before the trip!
The Uganda Beekeeping trip is explained in more detail at the fund raising site: www.gofundme.com/gouganda but in short Toni is going there to help a beekeeping group become more profitable. She is asking for donations of bee educational materials on DVD and some silicone molds (Mann Lake #PM-201, 743, 778 and 400 to be specific). Of course cash is always welcome as well as airline miles or hotel vouchers! If you have any suggestions of things that you think they could use, please contact Toni (tonivdowns@hotmail.com).