February Visit- A very tough visit

It is hard to believe we have already been to Uganda and back.

I interviewed 88 of the sponsored children.
Hard Facts
All 88 children I interviewed had someone close to them that has died. Mom, Dad, Brother or Sister.
This includes children that are 4 and 5 years old.  HIV, Malaria, Typhoid, TB are all realities to these children. 
One child had her baby brother sold, she did not talk about him, the pain is too much.

80% of the children I interviewed want to be a doctor, nurse or pharmacist. They want to build hospitals and pharmacies.   Many are praying their mom lives long enough for them to care for them.
 
It is the dry season, everyone in the village was dehydrated.  Sever dehydration is tough to witness, dry swollen lips,there hands were cold to the touch.    A couple children dreamed of having a bike to make it easier to fetch water.  Many walk for hours to get a couple gallons of water  from a bore hole filling a jerri can,  they carry on their head and walk another couple hours home.  How they still functioning is beyond my comprehension.

Not one child had a selfish dream,  not one child's dream was just for themself.

Home Visits
Interviewing the children ripped my heart out, how could so many innocent children have to deal with so much is incomprehensible to me.     Interviewing the parents made me feel hopeless. The parents are hard working and determined facing odds that would break most people.

Viste, 4 years old in the baby class.  His Grand parents care for him.  Their son died  and his mothered left to marry another man.Vinancia, Visite's  Grandmother  is blind.  Her husband brought her to Uganda from the Congo when she started going blind in 2011.  He was hoping to find a traditional doctor to care for her.    She has never seen a doctor and is totally blind now.  They left everything they own in the Congo, they live in a tiny storage room.  Allonysia (her husband) works on other peoples farms and is paid by crops.  They pay
$2.00 a month to live in the storage room.  He does not earn that much in a month so it is difficult for them to pay their rent.  He works from sun up to sun down.  
My commitment to them.

• Viste would not need to walk 2.5 hours to school any more we will provide transportation.
• We would provide their monthly rent
• Vinancia would be brought to a doctor to have her blindness evaluated.

Angel-her  guardian is Thomas.   Thomas he was reading the Bible when we arrived.
He was born in the village and has 9 children.  Most of his children are adults but all of his brothers and sisters have died.  He is caring for all of their children.  Angel is one of his sisters children.  Angel is deaf, at the age of 3 she spilled boiling porridge on her neck, it became infected (scare tissue very visible) Thomas said around the same time Angel started loosing her hearing.  He thinks it is connected but could never afford to take her to the doctor.
Thomas dream is that all the children he cares for receive a full education and know God.
He grows coffee, cassava ,sweet potatoes for food and sale.   But it is the dry season so the gardens were barren they had no food.
My commitment to Thomas

• We would take Angel to a doctor for evaluation.

My heart is breaking as I write, I need to stop I will continue tomorrow.  

January 2014 update

Christian Mission Academy

January   2014

At the School

The month of January is a vacation month for the Children. During the month we hire 2 new teachers.  A new third grade teacher to replace Esther she will transition into a new role overseeing all the children’s health and attendance at school. 

The 7^th grade class received their results.  15 out of 22 passed and will now be attending secondary school!  30 students in Middle school.

We are going to follow up with the children that did not pass to find out if they are going to try again or if they want to do a trade

In 2008 no child at the school had completed 7^th grade.  In 2010 we had our first graduating class of 3 students.  Next year they will be ready for senior 2!   

402  children in pre-k  through 6^th grade.  62% of the children passed.

Health Care

Farouq had his follow up appointment.  Praise God no surgery needed.  Prayers that is bones will begin to grow to accommodate his organs.  The day he had his final appointment he asked to call me.  Calls from Uganda are not cheap.   “Thank you Mom Sandy for loving me”    “I love you”  Made my day!

                       

                                                                                      

John  a young second grader  was brought to the hospital for an infection in his chest.

Both thought they had hernias because of the pain.

Immaculate top class had a severe case of Malaria over the vacation.  She had one of the worst cases treated at Show Mercy.  Immaculate would not be alive without  having access to free treatment

  

Viste –pre kindergarten  his guardian was treated at Show Mercy.  It was through Show Mercy that we learned Vistes guardian is blind.  I will visit their home to find out how we can help.

Praise God for our partnership with Show Mercy Immaculate my have died without their care.

Bore hole construction

The hardest part of managing this project was getting the  money to the team in Uganda.

February Visit.

My niece Katie and I will be leaving on the 13^th of February.  Katie will be observing and teaching the Pre-k and kindergarten classes.  I am going to be interviewing all of the sponsored children.

I am so excited about this trip!  It is a real blessing not to wait an entire year to see the children again  This trip would not have been possible without the many generous donations!  

Loving a Village One Child at Time!

SandysUgandaAdventure.blogspot.com

Sandra Gannon on Face book

@Gannon_sandra  twitter

February

I can't believe it is already February!  

• The teachers returned to school this past  Monday, 2 new teachers  were hired
• The bore hole construction started this past Friday
• The kids return on Monday!
• Katie and I leave on the 13th 

We will be providing a bowl for every child.  Donations still needed (no child should have to eat out of dirty plastic bag)

Teachers Pay

I am sending the monthly salaries for the teachers at the Christian Mission Academy. I usually just look a the bottom line and it is intimidating to me.
( to raise their salaries every month) ~$900 per month just for the teachers salary. Today I looked at each line item.
Madam Nakifuro cooks for 400 children every day over a camp fire. She is paid the equivalent of $29.00 per month. A little more than $1.00 per day.
The Pre-School and Kindergarten teachers makes $59.00 per month. No assistant and more than 50 children per class.
The top paid teacher at the school is $112 per month.
2 years ago we double their salaries and they were so grateful.
My 2014 goal is to double their salaries again. SPONSORSHIP!!!! Sponsor a child - It pays their school fees which pays the teachers salaries and feed 400 children porridge every day.
Loving a Village One Child at a Time!

Second Week in January

The funds for the well were finally transferred!  Many thanks to Steve Cushing for making it happen, it  was not an easy task!
The well construction will start on Monday!

The teachers will be returning to school on January 27th,  to begin preparing for the students return.   We were planning on hiring 3 more teachers.  A 3rd grade teacher to replace Esther, Esther will move into a new role an English teacher and Science teacher. English and Science as have been identified as a weakness in our students when they get to middle school.
3rd Grade teacher hired!
Farouq's surgery was cancelled, due to bone deformation which is crushing his organs and causing swelling. The good news is all his organs tested normal.   He is  first being treated for a cough and  then will start another prescription regiment, to help bone growth to alleviate the pain caused by the crushing.

Farouq is 16 years old 4' 10 inches tall and weighs 30 pounds.  He is in the 5th grade.  This young boy has battled health issues his entire life.  In 2010 when I first met him he could barely breath, he was very close to death from spinal tb. Yet he attempted to go to school every day.  Other students at the school would take turns carrying him. Many days he would be so weak they would have to carry him home in the middle of the day.
In every picture I have received  and every  time I visit this young boy is smiling.  His suffering never shows in his face or in his action,  he is always grateful and praising God for the goodness in his life.

Week one

The first full week of the year has started with gusto
1. Katie and I have our tickets. Ready for our visit! A month away!
2. A new teacher was hired for the 3rd grade!
3. Esther  can be move into her new position. Monitoring the children's attendance and health.
4. The bore hole will be started this week, it should be completed before the children return to school.
5. Prayers needed for Farouq. He is having surgery on Monday for a hernia plus bone deformation which is crushing his stomach and other organs. 

In the next couple of weeks we should find out how our 7th grade did.  They will need uniforms and school supplies. A class of 20 children X 100 dollars each, cost $2,000.00. Let the fund raising being.  :)  I am hoping to raise enough to bring it with us when we go.

2013 Extra's above and beyond the budget

Health Care Cost for 2013

8 months of medical care 271 patients treated cost $1,647.00. 

99 of these patients were treated for malaria.

Deworming the entire school 3 times during the year $390.00

Caring for Families that are HIV positive (3 families) $60.00 per month per family.

Mosquito Net  for every child $4,000

Shoes for every child.  $1,200

Hog Project

Providing 192 families with a Hog - $5,000.00

Extra Activities at the school

Field trip for students- $2,500

Christmas dinner -$1,200

Meal when we visited $1,200

A gift for every child when we visited $4,000 

Keeping the education going into Middle School

Secondary Education for 16 children  $3,840.00

School uniforms for secondary Students-  $1,300

Total $24,240  raised above the monthly budget.