2013 has been a year of incredible joy and deep sorrow.
We met and exceeded most of our goals for this year.
Medical Care
The year started with
great sadness Pastor Deo's 11 year old son
died of malaria. It infected his brain before they could afford to have him
treated. In Uganda you must pay for treatment
or they will not treat you.
With this heavy on my heart and filling my daily prayers; God
answered providing another blessing and
connection. Show Mercy opened a medical
center not too far from the school. All of our children and their families can
go to Show Mercy and be treated at no cost to them, they send the bill to
me.
All children are de wormed every semester. We provided treatment for jiggers (insects
living in their feet) To help prevent
jiggers, we provided every child with a pair of shoes.
The result is the children are healthier. In 2008 these children did not own a ball,
this year they won the district tournament. I could visibly see the difference
during my visit their stomachs were not as swollen and their skin had a
healthier glow.
This connection was scary for me, how was I going to pay the
bill when it comes in. Since we started
there was only one month that I had not raise enough funds when the bill came
in. So I prayed for 3 days, on the third
day I sent one email. In the email I
asked for assistance paying the bill. The immediate response, they were going
to pay the entire bill.
Another situation that brought me deep sadness a young child
in the 1st grade was
consistently sick. The nurse at Show
Mercy suggested that the child be tested for HIV. The mom did not want to have her tested, she
did not want to know. We assured her
that we would provide for her and care for her. The entire family was
tested. The mom and the young daughter
are both HIV positive. We are providing
monthly food and transportation to the medical clinic where they receive their
treatment. Two other families have been identified as
being HIV positive . We are providing the same care.
To help prevent malaria we provided every child with a
mosquito net
We also provided every child with a pair of shoes to help prevent jiggers.
Piggery
We started the year purchasing
a going out of business piggery. This
included 48 pigs many were pregnant. We gave them to families that were
prepared to care for them. The condition
was that they must give 4 from the first litter to 4 other families. The gift
that keeps on giving. This gift has been
a blessing to so many families. During
our visit we saw and learned more about taking care of pigs than I ever
imagined. The 192 families have been blessed by the gift.
In the past we had purchased some families goats . When Cathy’s Grandfather heard we were in the
village and looked for us until he found
us. He wanted to let us know how
grateful he was and thank us for the gift of a goat. They now have 4 goats which are providing
milk and income for the family.
The Visit
When we visited every child received a gift, a back pack with pens, pencils, pencil sharpener eraser and other trinkets.
Another note area of sadness 2 young girls were sold into
prostitution. During our visit we were able to rescue one, but later learned
she is pregnant. We are praying over
how best to handle this situation. Winnie we are still trying to find. This is heartbreaking. We have rescued several girls over the years
and the pattern is they are sold between Christmas and February. I am planning on going in February this year
to try and prevent this from happening.
Donations would be greatly appreciated to help support my trip.
Cost $3,000.00 most of that is air fare.
School Changes
Working towards being a Government recognized school. Every classroom has benches / chairs and the
teachers all have desks with cabinets.
We hire a second cook and purchased very large pots. We also hire 3 new teachers that are
certified. 2014 we are hiring 3
more qualified teachers and creating a
new position for Esther. Her new role
will be overseeing all the children for health care and following up if they
are not attending school.
An end of year very generous donation was made to build a bore hole
at the school. This project should be
completed by the end of 2013 early 2014.
The school year is ending with many celebrations for the children
- Speech Day on December 6th, the children sing dance and perform for their parents and receive their report cards to find out if they are promoted.
- The school field trip on December 13th
- Christmas Eve Dinner on December 24th.
I will be posting 2014 goals after spending time in prayer!
Loving a Village One Child at a Time!
Love,
Mom Sandy Gwoyagala
(my Ugandan name)
