Okay, this was supposed to have pictures with it, but my patience has ended after a few hours. I'll try to post pictures again another time. The blog below was written by Terra with the able and unparalleled assistance of a Miss Andria Young.
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Jambo mukwano! That means “hello friend” here in Iganga District of Uganda. Here at Grace of God Children’s Home and Primary School we have just started the first term of the school year after returning from holidays. We have the orphanage set up so that the children are with us full time at the site during the school year and then they go back with their guardians during the holidays. We are trying to create a community partnership rather than a place where the guardians can abandon children that have become a burden to them due to the level of poverty that they are living in. At the end of last term in December we had our first staff/guardian meeting. It went really well, as we were able to establish the mentality that these children are a blessing however abandoned and parentless they may be. With that, we also stressed to them that they can take pride in helping and getting involved in something that is positive for their community and for the children they have found in their care. Also, when they are a part of something that is working well and ensuring that their children achieve a higher level of education, they can take pride and ownership in the achievements too. It was a very encouraging meeting. We had guardians say that they would let us use their land so we could plant more food for the children or that they would bring food, while some said that they would help with sewing and cleaning. I think that sometimes people feel that there is no way they can help, but when they realize there are ways they can get involved it is like they have been given something themselves.
So, after ending last year with that meeting we started the year with another meeting with the guardians on February 2nd, which also involved the different levels of local government. Many of the guardians brought corn and beans for us and any funds they had to help us this coming term. We are going to be welcoming 8 more children from our surrounding area. They are going to be brought to us by the
Through your help and the help of other donors, we have been able to get beds built and purchase mattresses for all of the children. Last term we were continually dealing with Scabies, as the kids were sleeping on the ground and it was difficult to keep things clean. So it will be wonderful this term for the children to be sleeping under their treated mosquito nets on a mattress in a bed. The beds are scheduled to be completed this Friday the 6th, so it is going to be quite a celebration. Some of these children have never slept on a bed before! We are also getting more desks so that the children will all be able to sit in a desk. We are hoping to be able to raise the teachers’ salaries as they are currently earning 1/3 of the proper salary. The teachers are really amazing and they go above and beyond their regular teaching responsibilities. On Wednesdays and Sundays some teachers stay with the children to worship and praise. On other evenings you’ll find a teacher staying late to teach the children new songs, dances, and skits.
The need is so huge; we are in the Busoga region, where the HIV/AIDS rate is approximately double that of the rest of the country, although the rest of the country is on the rise again. There are so many children who are not getting the care and education they deserve. Many of our children’s guardians are grandparents who have been left with the responsibility of their children’s children. Also, we have many older siblings who have been left with the responsibility of their younger siblings. There are so few jobs that a degree holder will search for years for a job. So you can imagine how difficult it must be for an elderly grandparent and an uneducated sibling to provide for the children left in their care. Many of our children come from deep in the village; they live off the land, they eat what they grow, and earn little to no profit with seemingly no access to income-generating activities. As we are situated within a village community; we are planning to start projects that involve and employ local widows that will aid them and also aid the project. There is an African Proverb that says, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Through the village life style we can work for balance and love to the benefit of everyone.
We are all God’s children and we are all a part of His work. These children who have been left parentless still manage to shine with incredible joy and love. They are not hopeless, they are beautiful. Their situation and story may sound tragic and without love, but I think that God’s presence shines more clearly than ever when amongst the most abandoned and supposedly forgotten children you can hear laughter and joy. These children have taught me so much about true love and true joy. With their incredible personalities, charisma, and nature of perseverance you see how they deserve the future that God intends for them and that they are not of this situation.
Simon is twelve years old. His father died and his mother disappeared. He was being raised by his older brother, who was only five years older than him, in a mud hut with their three other brothers. Simon is one of the most confident people I have ever met. He has amazing charisma, he can sing beautifully, and he’s got some incredible dance moves. He says he wants to become the president of
Jaclyn is seven years old, and her mother and father both died of AIDS. She and her 3 brothers were left with her Grandfather. Her Grandfather was too elderly and poor to care for them, which made them like a burden in his home. Jaclyn has been at the orphanage for two years now; she came from the village where they just spoke their native language. She has already learnt English so well and she excels in school. Since being given a box of crayons she has drawn and colored beautiful pictures. She is so clever and gifted. She wants to be a nurse.
Isaac is four years old. His father died of AIDS, and his mother is currently living with AIDS. Isaac’s father had three wives, but two died of AIDS, while the other is still living with it. His father left behind many children; they split the children up amongst different relatives. At four Isaac is his own little man; he has his own way in which he goes about everything. When he hears music he can’t help but swing his little hips. He marches to his own tune, and it is always interesting to see his approach to things, because it is always very much his own. He wants to be a policeman.
The background information and standard of living may seem like a devastating story, but the beauty of the people I have met here paints a different picture. It’s a story of love that extends through difficult times, and is seen in the grandmother who welcomes in any visitor as a blessing and gives them all the food she has. It’s a story of hope, which is seen in the little girl who has lost her parents and was left without food but is now learning to read. It’s a story of faith and thankfulness in knowing that God is the one that has sustained you, which I’ve seen in the singing of the HIV positive women as she sings praises to God. All efforts are important and worthwhile in working in love with others to give back what is deserved to a fellow human. We are so thankful and encouraged to have friends in
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