Gospel Cross by Gill

Today we went with Gospel Cross International to Buyengo - a rural village about 1 hour from Jinja. This was a follow up visit from when Gill visited last year to talk to the women about cervical screening.

After a warm traditional welcome from the pastor of the village baptist church and his wife the children went outside with a group from the team and the women were free to learn with us. About 30 women attended and were eager to listen and learn.

Using Psalm 139 and Proverbs 31 (about the wife of noble character) as a basis for the morning Gill encouraged the women - that they are known intimately and loved by God and that He has a purpose for each one of them.

Gill shared a personal story from her own marriage to illustrate loving and respecting our husbands as women of God. Jayne talked about healthy eating and eating food from different food groups. Amerrah (a UK nurse visiting Uganda whom we have met since being out here) talked to them about reducing their sugar intake to reduce the risk of hypertension, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The women asked a number of questions as this was news to them.

Hazel and Linda then helped the women think about how they could manage the ‘affairs of their household’ by budgeting. They introduced the concept of saving from the first part of their income - this fascinated the women. They shared with us what they needed to spend their money on. One women who ran her own small business said she was now going to save!

Harriet from Gospel Cross translated each section of the talks so that the women could understand in Ugandan. Some of the women were making notes as they learned.

After worrying that we didn’t have enough content for 1.5 hours we ended up cutting some of the programme!

We then handed out donated gifts to the new mums and their babies before saying goodbye and giving lots of hugs.

Milby Primary School gift

On Saturday Jayne popped over to see the Street Children Project to donate some cardigans that were gifted from Milby Primary School in Nuneaton where she works. As it was the weekend, one of the ladies who runs the project came to meet Jayne to take collection of the uniform. These will be given out to some of the children on the project.

Isaac's House

It was our privilege to be invited to go and visit Isaac’s house today (see previous blog for more information about Isaac!)

The welcome we received from his family was truly incredible. There were hugs, kisses and lots of noise as we made our way to his family home, located in Masasi. Somehow, all 12 of us managed to fit inside his living room! They made sure we all had seats and were comfortable.

Isaac spoke for a little bit, telling us about his family. He mentioned that he lives with his mum, dad and five children. He introduced us to some of these children he has adopted due to abusive homes and being orphaned. Everything he earns, he uses to provide for his family and give hope to children who would otherwise be abandoned.

His mum provided each one of us with a soda drink and offered round a tray of bananas. She was so pleased to be able to present us with food and drink - it was incredibly humbling.

Isaac and his story have made a lasting impact on all of us through his utter selflessness, generosity and devotion to his family and to God

Official opening of the Rain Water Harvesting

The official opening of Isabelle’s Rain Water Harvesting took place on Friday. She raised end

The director of NVI, Eddison, made a short speech. We were also joined by some members of the Japanese team who work with NVI doing similar things to Ugandaid. It was a great pleasure to reveal the plaque. Thank you to all who helped fundraise towards it.

Fields of Life visit by Alvin

On Friday 24th Alvin went Tom & Margaret Carrol School near Jinja run by Fields of Life to see their sponsor child Zam that he and his wife Anne have supported for the last three years. She was taken on by them after their sponsor previous child had finished her education, so they had not met her. Alvin thought this would be a good opportunity to meet and encourage her.

Alvin was picked up at the Hotel by the FoL representative and driven to the school which was about an hour away. The track up to it definitely required some off road driving and as you reached the top of the hill with a sharp turn and School opens out before you. Little had changed since Alvin last visited in 2018 and he was treated to a Royal welcome with the children lining the road and singing.

After meeting the head master and the school committee and Zam's mother Alvin was taken on a tour of the school and met the pupils and teachers. Most of the children apart from p6 & p7 would not have been at the school when Alvin last visited with a Fields of life team in August 2018. In P4 Alvin was introduced to his sponsor child and they talked briefly before continuing the tour.

Later we gather outside underneath a tree where there is a seating area, where previously we used to chat with many of the children and told Bible stories. This time the school committe and the older pupils had gathered to put on a display of dancing and music. While they were getting ready Alvin gave a gift to Zam of a dress and some stationary and Zam & her mother gave Alvin a gift of a flower arrangement. It was so good to meet Zam and her mum and they truly appreciated the support as well as the school and what FoL do to maintain the school. It was very emotional and Alvin left with very fond memories not leased missing the previous governor of the school Jimmy who is seriously ill.

I pray that the school will continue to develop and prosper although numbers are down from the visit in 2018. Whether this is due to the impact of Covid or other circumstancesI am not sure but it was a worthwhile visit just to encourage the school and to meet Zam for the first time.

Official opening of the Medical Centre at NVI

The Medical Centre is finally complete after 2 weeks of scrubbing, painting and refurbishing. Even the plaque has had a polish with toothpaste and toothbrush. A sparkly new trolley as well as a box of medical equipment has been purchased.

The official opening ceremony took place with Director Eddison handing over to nurse Edith who was delighted with her new refreshed facility and new equipment.

Meeting the new 2023 UgandAid students at NVI

Thursday was the official day to meet all the UgandAid students (approx 120) in the NVI hall. It was wonderful to be able to meet the 2nd and 3rd year students as well as the 45 new intake of UgandAid sponsored students. Steve spoke movingly about the joy UgandAid receive from being able to sponsor students and to offer them the opportunity to transform their life and to help others. He also stressed to them the importance of respecting and honouring Joseph Kaninga the wonderful UgandAid link on the NVI staff team. Some of the team met their new student for the first time today and had the opportunity to chat and find out more about them. Each new student received the gift bag which we had put together last week.

Lucy's 19th birthday

On Thursday we were all so happy to celebrate Lucy’s 19th birthday with her. Linda had brought a card for us all to sign and Gill arranged for Joshua (an ex NVI student who now runs a successful cake baking business) to bake a very special 3 tiered cake. Linda and Hazel bought a fab reversible bucket hat from Jinja for her and took her out for a lovely deli lunch. We were overwhelmed by the size of the cake which has now been shared with staff from the Paradise Hotel.

Street Children

A group of us had the privilege of visiting Ingrid Wilts at the Christian retreat she has been creating on the banks of the Nile. A stunning place but her story is even more incredible. She has dedicated her life to Uganda's street children, working here since a student and establishing the Child Restoration Outreach project which now works all over the country. She has faced many, many challenges over the years including being shot, having multiple treats on her life and being arrested and thrown out of the country. All for being seen as a threat to the establishment. But she has never given up and remained totally committed to the most vulnerable children in the country.

After time at the retreat, Ingrid took us to the CRO project in Jinja and introduced us to Noah and the team of staff who work with around 200 5 -17 year old Street Children at any one time; there are an estimated 20000 in total in Uganda. There were 70 children in the project today. It's a rather dilapidated building with a central courtyard and rooms off. We played games with the children and they sang songs to us. Before lunch they sang worship songs and prayed. Despite the desperate situation the children are in, there was so much joy in that place. They had smiles on their faces the whole time and were genuinely delighted to see us and each other and to spend time with us. CRO aim to get alongside these children to find out what they can about them and trace their family. With no national birth register this is incredibly hard. When they find the family they will assess whether it is appropriate for them to return or if placement with another family member or even a foster family is possible. Reintegration is fully supported and a school place found. The children are monitored until CRO can be sure the placement is successful. However, until all of this kicks in the children remain on the street. No organisations provide beds for children as they know many more poor families would abandon their children if there was someone else to look after them.

As we go to beds in our hotel each night we wonder where they are. Are they safe? Are they warm and dry? It was heart breaking to spend time which such joyful children who live in such abject poverty and face daily challenges and risks that the vast majority of westerners cannot even comprehend.

Walakuba East, Spire Road and St Moses schools

Friday was the chance to spend time in 3 different schools working with children in classrooms. After a delayed start due to the minibus breaking down (!), and a slightly circuitous route (!!), we arrived at Wulukuba East Primary School. We split into 2 groups and worked with P4 (UK Y6) - both classes of around 75 students. Letters from Bowdon Church School in Manchester were given out, read (only a few needed help) and then we modelled writing a reply. The children were eager to write and produced some lovely letters. We loved seeing the different things they wanted to tell their new friends - “I love football too” and “I live in a nuclear family”. It was great to see their enthusiasm for writing to their new Brititsh friends and the similarities in their interests. The quality of their writing as well as their handwriting was really impressive and they delighted in drawing pictures to add to their letters.

We then drove to Spire Road School to work with P4 and P5, again 75 children in each class. We'd been asked to do an activity to help the children understand the differences between the UK and Uganda. We started by getting the children to talk to each other about the kind of things they wanted to know and went from there. Both classrooms had a lively discussion which the children really engaged with. The biggest difference between the 2 countries was the weather as you can imagine! It was soon lunchtime so we left them with resources to do a compare and contrast poster, our plan if we'd had more time. We recognised some of the children from the street children project and it was great to see them again. Before we left we were presented with letters for Kingsteignton School in Devon which the children had written to.

We managed a 15 minute pit stop for lunch before going on to St. Moses Primary School. Here we were welcomed by the Headteacher and taken to P2 who shared a wonderfully energetic welcome song and dance with us. Following that we met P4, 5 and 6 in the courtyard so that David could talk to them about Chudleigh Primary School in Devon that they have links with and had written letters to. They were very excited about getting letters back. Hazel had collected 20 recorders and music books from her friends before traveling to Uganda and St. Moses were keen to learn how to play so a group of P6 children went to hall with Hazel for a recorder lesson while others of the team explored the rest of the school. Hazel did an amazing job and by the end of the lesson had taught the students (as well as the teachers) the notes B, A and G. She also showed them how to take the recorder apart and clean it. Before we left they played a short tune to us all using these 3 notes. The instruments and books have been left with the school to continue learning, we'll have to see how they get on when we come back next year!

Reflecting on the day it is so evident that all the schools we have visited have so little compared to what we are used to. As you will notice from the pictures, the physical environment is very poor, the classrooms would be condemned at home and the children are crammed 4 to a 2 person desk. However, they are so eager to learn, they are respectful and diligent. The work we saw was, in the majority of cases, at or above what we would expect to see in the UK. Despite the challenges the teachers are doing a great job.

Education is highly valued by everyone in Uganda. With no welfare state, it is seen in society as the one way that young people can secure a more positive future for themselves and their families. We have certainly been left with much to think about as we return to the UK.

Isaac (by Geoff and Julie)

As happens on occasions during a team visit, we invite someone whom we know from our time in Uganda to share some thoughts about their life and work here or their connection to UgandAid. So it was that last night after dinner, a UgandAid graduate, Isaac Bogere, joined us in the Night Garden to share his journey as UGA sponsored student from the age of 15 with, as he said, "no hope" to a young man of nearly 24 years with qualifications and a bright and exciting future. 

He recalled how he was told that a group called UgandAid was to visit the local slum Saturday school run by Pastor Alfred at Macedonian Vision Africa (MVA) possibly to seek to sponsor those from the community like him. Although he had decided to give up on education, he went along. There he met Julie and Geoff who agreed to sponsor him through Senior 4 school. They also agreed to continue to sponsor him the following year if he was put forward for a place. In February 2016 Isaac started a 2 year course studying Building and Concrete Practice. So his journey began, and after completing his 2 year course as " best in the District" he asked if he could be sponsored at a different college for a Diploma in Civil Engineering because this was not available at NVI. After appropriate consultation with NVI, Julie and Geoff agreed to continue his sponsorship there. Before this could be completed, Covid 19 struck and his

course was suspended. However, recognising that he could help the poorest of the poor and disadvantaged people in his community he formed a registered charity which would allow him to avoid the restrictions of the curfew, he and 2 friends from his church founded Hope and Act Africa and started a food ministry for these people. In addition, he knew of a community in Mayuge, about 1 hour's drive away which was wholly for disabled, blind and other " helpless and hopeless people". This ministry continues now. 

Covid19 passed, colleges reopened and this year, Isaac will receive his Diploma in Civil Engineering also as the best in the District.

He is now planning to use his charity, Hope and Act Africa, to setup a pre-school for young poor children in his community so that they can begin to gain the basics of the education which has provided him with the opportunities he so nearly missed. 

Isaac is also a lay pastor in his church and intends to study at University to be become a fully accredited Pastor in due course.  

Nobody would dare think that he will not succeed. He is so full of praise for the opportunity which he has been given by UgandAid but at the end of the day, the credit is all due to his commitment and hard work. 

We are all so proud of him.

We have been invited by Isaac and his family as guests at his village and home on Saturday and we will post a further update about our time there asap!

Marvellous masterpieces

Having spent a week collecting various types of bottle tops, sticks, stones and leaves, Lauren and Ness were ready to deliver a teacher training session to the Early Childhood Development for Shivonn and her student teachers at NVI.

We decided to do a transient art session using these objects, with the aim that they can source them independently without having to purchase anything. We suggested that they create pictures with the materials and also gave them other ideas for how to use the objects - to help with letter/number formation, to consolidate sound knowledge in phonics, for symmetry or sequencing patterns in maths etc.

Never has so much fun been had using such a random selection of objects. We were so impressed with their works of art (see pics below). They were so engrossed that they barely noticed us leaving!

Visit with Gospel Cross International

Tuesday 21st Feb

Today we went with Gospel Cross International to Buyengo - a rural village about 1 hour from Jinja. This was a follow up visit from when Gill visited last year to talk to the women about cervical screening.

After a warm traditional welcome from the pastor of the village baptist church and his wife the children went outside with a group of us and the women were then free to learn with us. 

About 30 women attended and were eager to listen and learn. 

Using Psalm 139 and Proverbs 31 (wife of noble character) as a basis for the morning Gill encouraged the women - that they were made in his image, were known intimately by God and God had a purpose for each one of them. 

Gill shared a personal story from her own marriage to illustrate loving and respecting our husbands as women of God, then Jayne talked about healthy eating and eating food from different food groups. Amerrah (a U.K. nurse visiting Uganda whom we have met since being out here) talked to them about reducing their sugar intake to reduce the risk of hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. The women asked a number of questions as this was news to them. 

Hazel and Linda then helped the women think about how they could manage the ‘affairs of their household’ by budgeting. They introduced the concept of saving from the first part of their income - this fascinated the women. They shared with us what they needed to spend their money on. One woman who ran her own small business said she was now going to save! 

Harriet from Gospel Cross translated each section of the talks so they women could understand in Ugandan. Some of the women were making notes as they learned. 

After worrying we didn’t have enough content for 1.5hrs we ended up cutting some of the programme! 

While we were delivering the talks to the women the rest of the group entertained the children outside……all 56+ of them!! The children enjoyed story time, blowing bubbles, playing with balloons, singing songs and the fun of the parachute! They were a complete joy to be with and they especially liked the Hokey Cokey!

We then handed out donated gifts to the new mums and their babies before saying goodbye and giving lots of hugs. A big thank you to Harriet, Betty, Jimmy and the Pastor of the Baptist church for the warm welcome, transport, introductions and interpreting skills!

MVA gets kitted up!

Sunday 19th February

In the afternoon, Janice, Eddie and Jayne went over to MVI (Macedonian Vocational Institute) also known as MVA (Macedonian Vision Africa). Is it located in the centre of the largest slum in Uganda, Massesi.

MVA is a similar set up to NVI but on a much smaller scale. Currently they have 100-150 students enrolling. The facilities are much different to NVI and they are very very basic.

We were able to have a tour around and meet some of the students. There are 3 theory classrooms for Mechanics, Catering and Body Matters. These classrooms are just brick. No plaster on the walls and no electrical sockets.

They are currently in the middle of having a large girls dormitory built, which will enable a larger intake. There will be room for 270 girls in the dormitory, and will consist of 6 showers and 6 toilets.

All the students we met were very friendly and happy to see us. Eddie got out his box of goodies and provided the students with a full kit for the football team.

Dr William (by Val)

William is a longtime friend of Ugandaid. He is the most humble and gracious man. When we met him, in 2000, he was volunteering as a laboratory technician at Jinja hospital, having completed his training. He showed us around the hospital and built our relationship with the directors. William then decided he wished to train as a Doctor. This included a period of residency in Kampala during lockdown when he was unable to return to Jinja, and his family, for several months. William now works as a paediatrician at Jinja hospital, he teaches medical students and works with groups of foreign students as well as running groups of specialities.

Alongside work William has a daughter, Ruby. Ruby is 5yrs old and has lived with William since she was 6 weeks old. Ruby was abandoned at the hospital by her mother at 2 weeks old, she was preterm and weighed just 2kg. William has nurtured, loved and cared for Ruby since the day he met her in that hospital cot, she is a very lucky girl. It is a joy to spend time with William and Ruby, his smile and contentment are infectious.

Back to school!

Hazel, Jane, Lauren and David had a wonderful time visiting three schools in the Jinja area. We arrived unannounced but were fortunate enough to meet the headteacher at every school.

We started off at Walakuba East Primary School, which has a link to Lauren’s school, Bowdon Church School. The headteacher greeted us warmly and we have arranged to return on Friday to teach the children a lesson on how to respond to the letters they have received from BCS. Walakuba East has 1,200 students in its building - with classes averaging out at 80 students.

Next, we drove down some treacherous roads to get to Masese Primary School. We arrived slightly dishevelled from the journey, but as soon as we arrived we knew it was worth it! The children were delighted to see us and waved enthusiatically with big smiles on their faces. They followed us around wherever we went! Masese Primary School is linked to Broad Heath School in Altrincham. We were delighted to see a picture in the head’s office of Masese staff after receiving gifts from Broad Heath.

The headteacher spent a long time with us, telling us about the school and the struggles they have encountered since funding from The World Health Organisation has been cut. To receive a lunch of posho and beans, parents must pay a termly fee of 70,000 Ugandan Shillings, which equates to roughly £15. We were informed that only 40 children can afford to have a school meal, meaning that the rest of the children do not receive a lunch and therefore go hungry. Having said this, the children could not have been more lovely. We entered a junior classroom, where 60 students were sat cramped around desks. The ages ranged from 12-16 years old. They greeted us with a little chant and listened attentively as we told them about the letters from a school in England. They read the letters with intrigue and delight. We will be receiving their replies very soon.

The final school we went to was called Spire Road Primary School. We have delivered some letters to them and they will soon be writing a reply. We have arranged to return on Friday to teach a geography lesson about the UK. We look forward to returning.

Monday Funday

We returned to admire our handiwork at the Medical Centre and the Ugandan sun had worked its magic. All paintwork was dry and we were ready to start all over again on the second half of the building. It felt like deja vue as we donned our gloves to clean, undercoat and paint the day away. Once again the wonderful NVI catering team prepared a delicious roast chicken and cabbage salad for us to enjoy as we broke for lunch.

There was a great atmosphere with many more students arriving on the campus, most of whom came to say hello and watch us at work.

Linda worked tirelessly glossing the shelves - she really did display the patience of a saint! Val and Gill also worked hard to clean the Medical Centre plaque using toothpaste - they did a fantastic job. The only thing we have left to do are the floors and then we will have completed our work!

New UriNile Block (see what we did there?)

The new toilet system has caused much excitement for both the students and the staff at NVI. A while ago Steve received a desperate call from Eddison (the Director) explaining that the student latrine was full and there was no money to build a new one. Steve and the UgandAid team agreed that this was a much needed facility and work started to fund the project. The new pit latrine block (male and female) is now emptiable and will have a lifespan of more than 50 years. This will make a huge difference to the upkeep, hygiene and sanitation of the institute facilities for the students. On our tour of NVI we were proudly shown the new facility that is nearing completion Director Eddison thanked Steve and Ugandaid at the NVI Sunday service and declared this to be an important moment in the life of NVI and Ugandaid showing that anything is possible.

Our Super Sunday Services

On Sunday a group of us went to the morning service held in a packed school hall at NVI. It was a lively celebration with worship led by the students. Different choirs took part sharing songs and dances they had prepared with the rest of the students joining in. It was very different to the experience of most of us in the UK!

The main teaching session was led by Ruth, the institute’s Executive Assistant, who shared her testimony of how her faith had led her way from the life choices her 10 older siblings had made and given her hope for the future. She talked to the students about how their place at NVI was their chance for a better future and that they should embrace it and not succumb to temptations that could jeopardise their time at the institute. It was very powerful and earned rapturous applause from all present.

After another song the UgandAid team were invited on to the platform to introduce ourselves. Director Eddison talked to the students about the love that the UK team show by supporting the school and individuals. He challenged the students to show that same love to one another to make NVI a better place. Steve spoke on our behalf and reflected that NVI is a great institute, with a great leader and how fortunate they were to be there. The celebratory atmosphere continued at the end of the service with students and staff all smiles as they greeted each other and us. It really did feel like one big family together.

The majority of the team went to the morning service at Victoria Baptist Church which is well known to the UgandAid team. Those who went to NVI joined later and we were all made to feel very welcome. The service was a more familiar format although we were interrupted when a passing herd of cows decided to try and join us. Those who had been before were able to reconnect with familiar faces and we all enjoyed the cake shared after the service!

UgandAid Gift Bag Preparation Station

In preparation to our visit to NVI to welcome our 45 new UgandAid students Julie put a lot of work in behind to ensure that each student receives a welcome gift bag. Each bag contains a notepad, some pens, toothbrush and toothpaste, flannel, soap and sewing kit. We would like to thank everyone for their kind donations and to Val’s Girl Guiding group for making and providing the bags. When the new students first arrive many will bring nothing with them, the likelihood being that they will not have any of their own possessions. All students have to provide everything they need for themselves and this will help them at the start of their NVI journey.

It was a real team effort putting the bags together and ensuring that each had a name tag and no-one was missed. We can’t wait to meet all the new students this week and to give out the bags.