Partner Organisations

In order to allow the trips to run effectively and safely, Mission Mannya partners with local Ugandan and Australian organisations.

Chiefly, the Cotton On Foundation, in both Uganda and Australia, assists in procurement, safety, fundraising and ensuring correct allocation of funds in Uganda. They also assist us with risk management and consultation regarding geopolitics of Uganda to allow us to operate in a manner that aligns with our values.

St Bernard’s Mannya Health Centre located in the Rakai district of Uganda is the other principal organisation partnered with Mission Mannya. Opened in 2007 as part of the Cotton On Foundation’s first community project in Southern Uganda, St Bernard’s is a private not-for-profit health centre that is at the heart of Mannya and the surrounding communities. The organisation is viewed by its peers as a leader in the region. Despite its limited resources, St Bernard’s Mannya Health Centre manages to regularly arrange community outreach services for childhood vaccinations as well as other similar programs. The management team of St Bernard’s have been instrumental in designing and directing the efforts of the Mission Mannya program. They are well placed to identify areas of need in the region and will continue to be central to our work.

Allocation of Support

Resources gathered by the Mission Mannya Organisation are allocated in areas of need identified by local Ugandan healthcare staff. The Medical Officer In Charge at St Bernard’s, in conjunction with Cotton On Foundation Uganda, identify areas with minimal access to healthcare where endemic diseases are often found. These at-risk areas are then scouted for appropriate community spaces to run outreach programs.

Resources are also allocated to supplies and medicines pertinent to common presentations, employment of local healthcare staff and infrastructure costs to run the camps. There are also funds allocated to transportation and security of both local and visiting teams. Procurement of supplies and support is provided with the assistance of Cotton On Foundation Uganda and all receipts and billings are kept as a record by all parties involved.

Fundraising

In 2023, the Mission Mannya organisation obtained resources and funding through a number of methods. These included charitable events such as fun runs and trivia nights as well as acquiring donations from community members invested in the program. A large amount of funding was obtained through the running of the ‘Mission Music’ event which saw live musical acts volunteer to perform at a live music event with proceeds being donated to running the 2023 program. 

Additionally, extra funding was provided by the Cotton On Foundation who supported the project and some further contributions were made directly by participants. In the future, Mission Mannya is aiming to partner with local businesses and institutions such as Deakin University and small to medium businesses within Australia to gain consistent funding for the program ongoing. Presently, these donations are given to the Cotton On Foundation who support Mission Mannya in the transfer and correct use of funds in Uganda. 

Awareness for the program is raised through social and online media channels such as Instagram and Linked In as well as through public speaking events by board members at schools, universities and other interested parties. Mission Mannya is currently in the process of building a website to allow further and more convenient access to information around our programs. 

The impact and stories from our Mission Mannya projects is primarily shared through the online platforms listed above as well as provision of reports to respective donors which is generated by local healthcare staff.