Once upon a time there was this nurse named Bronwyn whose children had all grown up
and she was feeling bored with her job and her life and dreamed of a change. Something
dropped in from The Universe, an opportunity she heard about volunteering for two weeks
in Uganda and she jumped at it. This all started in 2012 and she loved the singing
performances, working in disadvantaged communities, medical outreach services,
workshops in schools, visiting orphanages, she loved it so much that she did it again in 2014
and 2017.Meanwhile back in Australia she kept working as a nurse and sponsored some
children, whose parents couldn’t afford to afford to send them to school, let alone put food
on the table. There is no assistance for anything much in Uganda.

Over the years she cultivated many friendships as social media became the norm and she
and hubby were involved with Ugandan choirs touring Australia. In 2018 she joined a group
of Australian friends who had also done all the things above and they returned to Uganda to
get their Ugandan fix, as we had fallen in love with the country and its people. We did some
workshops, sang in church, toured a hospital, learnt about water filters and water tanks as
the water in Uganda is not safe to drink, we cooked with our Ugandan friends attended
graduations from University of those we had sponsored over the years.

During our long talks into the night and seeing first hand the poverty and disease, Bronwyn
wanted to do more to make a difference, so in collaboration with a Ugandan friend they
decided a charity needed to be birthed in Australia with a medical health and well-being
flavour. Bronwyn had no idea how to start a charity so it took her a while but her
accountant suggested a law firm who might do it Pro Bono. Bronwyn emailed the law firm
and they agreed to meet with her in the start of 2020 and to her surprise they said yes to
assisting. Bronwyn danced down Collins Street and thanked the Universe.

Bronwyn returned to Uganda in February 2020 to research what part of Uganda they could
build a medical clinic and maybe one day a small hospital. She found a remote area that
desperately needed her help and she observed their need first hand. She also did some
medical outreach volunteering with another NGO. Luckily she made it back to Australia just
in time before the International borders closed and Covid 19 hit the world.

No-one saw that coming, but Bronwyn and the Friends Under One Sun committee were not
giving up. Even when Bronwyn contracted Covid at work and wasn’t her good self for a
number of months. The law firm were the best and after a few submissions and all the other
stuff we were successfully registered by the Australian Charities and Not-for- Profits
Commission in August 2021. And that was just the start to the work. Meetings, policies and
procedures to write, Website and FB Page to create and Oh! does anyone know how to
fundraise!!!!
Luckily we have had some guidance there too.

And that was how Friends Under One Sun began and we are so looking forward to our vision
and dream becoming a reality. Have a look at our website to understand our purpose more
fully and we are there to chat if you have any questions. Stay tuned…………………………………..