The last evening of camp was great - we just had to dance! Tim stepped up as our team's candidate in the Aunties 'n' Uncles vs the children dance fight....And the winner was?
The children.
By a long way and not after a fair few hoots from the children at Tim's "rhythmical" shape throwing...
But the day had a more serious side.
The morning comprised a visit to Mercy Ministries where Moses, the assistant manager introduced us to the project where they look after 120 children in what is comparably a nice compound. Many of the children of secondary school age board during school terms and travel to their relatives (if they have them) during school breaks.
There were fewer children here today - approx. 25 who don't have sany relatives alive. The morning was really quite relaxed and the whole team went, children and all, with no problems.
Nicole and Tim spent some time with Mama Margaret the house mother who sleeps in quite a large room with the younger children. She was very grateful we came and listened. It has really struck all of us that everyone we meet, young and old just want to talk and spend time with us - to be listened to and understood and to ask questions of us. Margaret soaked up a lingering embrace from Nicole as Tim held her hand - she really needed someone to share her struggles with - who else is there for her to do this with?
Ellie highlighted at least one child who was low on the height to weight ratio and Moses was intrigued and is going to keep an eye on this child - but I learned that teenagers often have growth spurts without gaining the weight to balance this.
Each of the projects we've been to have been left with the height record of the children - like the ones we have on our door frames as children growing up - but this was a roll of paper together with a measuring tape attached to the wall that they can store and use 6 months later.
Their weight and temperature were measured and marked on their individual record sheet that Viva provided.
Norbert from Viva is one amazing gentleman. I hope to have a post about him but we'll see if we have time...He has been our VIVA host - he has a wonderful heart for the children and has some incredibly innovative ideas that would be a great benefit to Africa (sorry - if I told you about them here I'd have to kill you).
We had 4 medical stations:
1. Norbert manned the registration as he was the best placed to obtain names spelt correctly and to ask the children if they knew their DOB or if not what their ages were.
2. A weighing station
3. A height station and
4. A temperature station.
5. Sticker and lollipop station.
After all the children were tested we stickered them so we knew we'd seen them (good in principle and worked but for a few instances in the MYDEL project where dominant males chose to "collect" stickers from others and stick them on the inside of their shirts - children are the same everywhere!)
On Wednesday when we first went to the Viva offices in Namirembe, right opposite the Cathedral, we were met by Mim Friday. She came to Uganda for a 6 month stay and is still here 4 years later. This is Viva Africa's office from where they co-ordinate 6 networks for Harare (Zimbabwe), Cape Town (SA), Kisumu (Kenya) and another I missed during the meeting!
First the team were introduced to the power of the network. Viva forms 2 networks in Uganda - the CARNAC network which pulls together the large international NGOs like World Vision, Compassion, UNICEF etc and CRaNe which is a more local network for smaller NGOs and Community-Based Organisations. There are 190 projects in the CRaNe network - of which 70 however are committed and engage with Viva on a monthly basis.
Our team have discovered first hand that amongst the poverty and desperate need there are passionate, dedicated men and women (with a strength of character I can't begin to describe) rescuing, housing and tending to children at risk - there is such beauty amongst the ashes. Viva works to map where these projects are, create a network and then disseminate support, training, quality improvement and more to equip these projects with the knowledge, planning, strategies they need to reach their dreams. Emotive language I know - but that's exactly what I've discovered on each visited to these projects, speaking to those who started and continue to run them.
More can be said of the first 2 projects we visited...tomorrow or Sunday but...
There was another incident Friday that's worth mentioning. The 2 American's we're travelling with sponsor a child in Watoto and today there were many tears as the girl discovered this week, after being ill, that she is HIV+. As a group we embraced and prayed for her with many tears. I don't know what her future is going to be like as there is still such stigma connected with it - I hope she can continue to be cared for within Watoto.
It came a s a bit of a shock to us all, especially as it came directly after Mama Myriam had presented us with gifts.
We have spent a great deal of time with here again this year. As I said in a previous post we wanted to invest in the relationships we started last year. She has welcomed us daily as have spent the days at Suubi - we've really cherished lunch and supper times with our children playing freely outside.
She had thought of everyone.
And as last year it was very difficult to say good bye to Myriam and her family - we got on the bus after some fun at the dance night. One of the younger girls called Fortunate found it very hard and I just held her. We count ourselves VERY blessed to know this family and each individual. Each member has such a past and yet are so loving and generous. Mercy and Shamim helped me to learn the Ugandan songs for the worship on Thursday evening - I hope we'll see them on Sunday for the Festival of Hope at Watoto West - after which we'll be on our way home on Monday. James, as he did last year, knelt before me as I was sitting in a lounge chair as is customary when children enter the room, honouring their parents. the whole team have fallen in love with them.
Showing posts with label short term mission st aldates watoto kampala viva CRANE 2011. Show all posts
Showing posts with label short term mission st aldates watoto kampala viva CRANE 2011. Show all posts
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Update - at last!
Apologies for the silence..but it has been really hectic here.
Camp has started.
As weren't going to be a part of it owing to the time and our children we have had to balance expectations and interests of a few parties. We have now managed to find a good place as a team.
Thankfully we've met a (wonderful) Canadian team who are helping us out with the Bbira location and are also experienced at Summer Camps - they're from Relate Church Surrey, Vancouver and Ashley, their team leader is a full-time children's pastor and together with her we've shared ideas for the layout.
We start with praise and worship, followed by Uncle Brian (Ugandan fiancé of Manuella, the artistic director of the camp) doing some warm-up ;-). This includes asking a child from the group of 600 to come to the front and sing the Theme song. This camp is themed "godliness with contentment" (1 Tim 6.6) and the chorus of the song is:
Hey ev'rybody take a look at me,
I'm like a bird in the sky I'm so happy and free
No worries what today or tomorrow will bring
Cos I know my father in heaven
Watches over me
He is enough,
He is enough,
He is enough,
God is enough for me.
One thing that the children have really absorbed from us is the memory verse that we have been presenting to them in actions - they learn it by rote during the day and we make it really fun for the evening.
We follow this with various items: a testimony about how God has been there for us in times of trouble, skits and object sermons (though things don't always go to plan - I suggest you ask team members when you next see them!)
We've ended the session with a summary of the key points, ending in prayer and asking for a decision which has been wonderful - they respond very well.
All this takes (usually) about 1 hour and then the children (who've had a siesta during the day) enjoy a film.
Monday's evening was tough - there was little time discipline throughout the day's activities which meant that the evening session started 2 hours late :-( so the children were unhappy and clingy when we were trying to lead our services.
On the plus side, everything since then has worked better and better - in how we lead the session - and with times getting earlier and earlier - that first evening we arrived back at our guesthouse at 10.40pm - not good.
During the days some of our team have been playing sports and hanging out with the children on their way back for lunch and siesta - many, especially those from Gulu who are staying in dorms rather than with their house mothers, don't seem to be on time for very much (!) though the facilitators, who take small groups of children through lessons during the day are wonderful and dedicated.
Late afternoon I've been rehearsing with the band of high school children who play brilliantly - with drum fills and lead guitar parts from Hillsongs down to a tee! So far I've worshipped in 4 languages - English, Lugandan, Assotot (from NE Uganda) and Swahili (and actually got the words and timings right in some places too!)
And these children can WORSHIP! If you don't want to dance - don't come!
In the midst of this week we've had a traditional meal with families in Suubi village - the team split into 3 homes (4 if you include the Americans who've joined our team) and each had a wonderful time.
I've noticed that I've been speaking to a number of older children about to leave Watoto. They're well educated and yet they're anxious about the next step of their life where they're on their own. With few opportunities still for those with degrees we've found a well educated class unable to work out their academic training in practical situations.
We've also bumped into Jane Penry, who's here full time working for Watoto - we ate with her husband Alan last year - he's the CEO of Watoto Childcare Ministries. We really enjoyed our chat with her and hope to catch up with Alan at the Festival of Hope at Watoto West campus - the culmination of the Summer Camp - imagine 900+ children, worship, church, activities. A great way to end our time here (has it come this close now?!)
More info will come - specifically the 2 Viva projects we've visited so far - where we've carried out basic health checks for 148 children. These have been very moving experiences and I'm going to ask others for contributions.
Camp has started.
As weren't going to be a part of it owing to the time and our children we have had to balance expectations and interests of a few parties. We have now managed to find a good place as a team.
Thankfully we've met a (wonderful) Canadian team who are helping us out with the Bbira location and are also experienced at Summer Camps - they're from Relate Church Surrey, Vancouver and Ashley, their team leader is a full-time children's pastor and together with her we've shared ideas for the layout.
We start with praise and worship, followed by Uncle Brian (Ugandan fiancé of Manuella, the artistic director of the camp) doing some warm-up ;-). This includes asking a child from the group of 600 to come to the front and sing the Theme song. This camp is themed "godliness with contentment" (1 Tim 6.6) and the chorus of the song is:
Hey ev'rybody take a look at me,
I'm like a bird in the sky I'm so happy and free
No worries what today or tomorrow will bring
Cos I know my father in heaven
Watches over me
He is enough,
He is enough,
He is enough,
God is enough for me.
One thing that the children have really absorbed from us is the memory verse that we have been presenting to them in actions - they learn it by rote during the day and we make it really fun for the evening.
We follow this with various items: a testimony about how God has been there for us in times of trouble, skits and object sermons (though things don't always go to plan - I suggest you ask team members when you next see them!)
We've ended the session with a summary of the key points, ending in prayer and asking for a decision which has been wonderful - they respond very well.
All this takes (usually) about 1 hour and then the children (who've had a siesta during the day) enjoy a film.
Monday's evening was tough - there was little time discipline throughout the day's activities which meant that the evening session started 2 hours late :-( so the children were unhappy and clingy when we were trying to lead our services.
On the plus side, everything since then has worked better and better - in how we lead the session - and with times getting earlier and earlier - that first evening we arrived back at our guesthouse at 10.40pm - not good.
During the days some of our team have been playing sports and hanging out with the children on their way back for lunch and siesta - many, especially those from Gulu who are staying in dorms rather than with their house mothers, don't seem to be on time for very much (!) though the facilitators, who take small groups of children through lessons during the day are wonderful and dedicated.
Late afternoon I've been rehearsing with the band of high school children who play brilliantly - with drum fills and lead guitar parts from Hillsongs down to a tee! So far I've worshipped in 4 languages - English, Lugandan, Assotot (from NE Uganda) and Swahili (and actually got the words and timings right in some places too!)
And these children can WORSHIP! If you don't want to dance - don't come!
In the midst of this week we've had a traditional meal with families in Suubi village - the team split into 3 homes (4 if you include the Americans who've joined our team) and each had a wonderful time.
I've noticed that I've been speaking to a number of older children about to leave Watoto. They're well educated and yet they're anxious about the next step of their life where they're on their own. With few opportunities still for those with degrees we've found a well educated class unable to work out their academic training in practical situations.
We've also bumped into Jane Penry, who's here full time working for Watoto - we ate with her husband Alan last year - he's the CEO of Watoto Childcare Ministries. We really enjoyed our chat with her and hope to catch up with Alan at the Festival of Hope at Watoto West campus - the culmination of the Summer Camp - imagine 900+ children, worship, church, activities. A great way to end our time here (has it come this close now?!)
More info will come - specifically the 2 Viva projects we've visited so far - where we've carried out basic health checks for 148 children. These have been very moving experiences and I'm going to ask others for contributions.
Ode to Team Uganda
Ode to Team Uganda
The Clarkie Clan led us to Uganda,
On this awesome Christian Mission,
Because we are the team God chose,
We all share in the same vision.
Jules started off the mission,
By trapping his head in the car door,
It didn't really bode well,
For what we had in store.
We were met at Entebbe Airport,
By Moses, our crazy host,
We figured it best to stick with him,
As he knew Uganda the most.
Nikki led us forward, bold, brave
And rather silly,
Although she was rather traumatised,
When she saw Tim's w****. (see note below!)
Sonia 'Powerhouse' Pottage,
Really stepped up the the plate,
It seems her ability to lead,
Has always been innate.
Tim, a football crazy man,
Always a camera in his hand,
He really was taking photos
As soon as we stepped on land.
Grace got excited at everything,
She is a mustard seed,
But water and soil weren't her growing tool,
Chocolate is all she'd need.
Danielle turned as red as a tomato,
When we just said the word 'sun,'
Despite struggling with the heat,
She really had lots of fun.
Ellie is the last student nurse
Of the three,
She made lots of jokes,
And was tricky to take seriously.
Samuel and Sienna were two little love birds,
And Josh and Ruby were getting near,
A joint wedding in the future,
Of this we are quite clear
Livvy asked loads of questions,
And showed such compassion for the poor,
Hope loved everyone she met,
And still wanted to love them more.
We were joined by two Americans,
We'll call them Linda and Teresa,
They have their weird American ways,
They put their water in the freezer.
So this is our Ugandan Team,
Doing the mission God has put on our hearts,
And our love will stay for this country,
Long after we depart.
By Ellie Galliene
------------------------------------------------------------------
Footnote:
***Let the reader be reassured - this was by mistake, through a door into the Gents and via a reflection in a wall mirror - everything is very much above board!
The Clarkie Clan led us to Uganda,
On this awesome Christian Mission,
Because we are the team God chose,
We all share in the same vision.
Jules started off the mission,
By trapping his head in the car door,
It didn't really bode well,
For what we had in store.
We were met at Entebbe Airport,
By Moses, our crazy host,
We figured it best to stick with him,
As he knew Uganda the most.
Nikki led us forward, bold, brave
And rather silly,
Although she was rather traumatised,
When she saw Tim's w****. (see note below!)
Sonia 'Powerhouse' Pottage,
Really stepped up the the plate,
It seems her ability to lead,
Has always been innate.
Tim, a football crazy man,
Always a camera in his hand,
He really was taking photos
As soon as we stepped on land.
Grace got excited at everything,
She is a mustard seed,
But water and soil weren't her growing tool,
Chocolate is all she'd need.
Danielle turned as red as a tomato,
When we just said the word 'sun,'
Despite struggling with the heat,
She really had lots of fun.
Ellie is the last student nurse
Of the three,
She made lots of jokes,
And was tricky to take seriously.
Samuel and Sienna were two little love birds,
And Josh and Ruby were getting near,
A joint wedding in the future,
Of this we are quite clear
Livvy asked loads of questions,
And showed such compassion for the poor,
Hope loved everyone she met,
And still wanted to love them more.
We were joined by two Americans,
We'll call them Linda and Teresa,
They have their weird American ways,
They put their water in the freezer.
So this is our Ugandan Team,
Doing the mission God has put on our hearts,
And our love will stay for this country,
Long after we depart.
By Ellie Galliene
------------------------------------------------------------------
Footnote:
***Let the reader be reassured - this was by mistake, through a door into the Gents and via a reflection in a wall mirror - everything is very much above board!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
A reflection from Ellie.
My turn to talk!
I am falling in love with this country, it is beautiful, the people, the scenery, the love. Just the drive from the airport to the guest house blew me away, driving past enormous Lake Victoria gave me a new perspective of how incredible our God truly is, that he created this beautiful place.
As we travelled in to the heart of Kampala I was amazed by the shocking poverty coupled with a real sense of community, in this predominantly Christian country, despite years of man's corruption and sin, God's love is truly present. This I felt and saw equally in the villages, interacting with the kids and the mama's, this overwhelming sense of love was so obvious and looked past any poverty and past trauma, these children were truly loved by women who had taken them in from the sheer kindness of their hearts.
God has broken my heart for this country, for these people, and I know we are here for a reason, I look forward to every minute I get to spend with these children, being able to cuddle them, to show them that there are people outside of their villages who love them and who want to invest time in them, these children are awesome examples of doing life with God and I am learning so much more than I ever dreamed, here I feel a real sense of peace, I am so excited to see what God has in store for us for the rest of our time here and how He is going to use us!
I am falling in love with this country, it is beautiful, the people, the scenery, the love. Just the drive from the airport to the guest house blew me away, driving past enormous Lake Victoria gave me a new perspective of how incredible our God truly is, that he created this beautiful place.
As we travelled in to the heart of Kampala I was amazed by the shocking poverty coupled with a real sense of community, in this predominantly Christian country, despite years of man's corruption and sin, God's love is truly present. This I felt and saw equally in the villages, interacting with the kids and the mama's, this overwhelming sense of love was so obvious and looked past any poverty and past trauma, these children were truly loved by women who had taken them in from the sheer kindness of their hearts.
God has broken my heart for this country, for these people, and I know we are here for a reason, I look forward to every minute I get to spend with these children, being able to cuddle them, to show them that there are people outside of their villages who love them and who want to invest time in them, these children are awesome examples of doing life with God and I am learning so much more than I ever dreamed, here I feel a real sense of peace, I am so excited to see what God has in store for us for the rest of our time here and how He is going to use us!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
So much in such a short time...
Our orientation at Watoto Church took place on the morning of our second day. It gave Watoto an opportunity to explain their motivation and model and gave everyone in the team to visit the church and understand how grateful everyone is that we are there to spend our time with them.
We made a visit to Living Hope where our team met the women living with HIV who are trained in business and crafts so they can stay alive to support their children - by earning a living during training, being able to afford a good diet so their ARV drugs work. That way they can stay alive and not leave an orphan to be cared for.
But God had more for us...
Last year Nikki had a meeting of hearts with a lady called Rachel. Rachel has now graduated the program (July 15th just gone) and last week was finally asked to leave - there are so many ladies who need support - so places have to be made for them. Rachel is not the only one asked to leave we understand.
Rachel has gained the useful skills, has researched, booked and paid for a stall in a busy part of a market and has been given her sewing machine. She wasn't supposed to be at the project that day.
Except she had returned to pick up her sewing machine with which she would start her own business with a second-hand clothes stall as a front for people to discover that the stall is run by a seamstress - her USP - and it's over the next few months that parents search for new school uniform. But she is stuck.
When Nikki and Rachel recognised each other it was very emotional. They spent a great deal of time, just the two of them in the corner, whilst we all talked to the other ladies and saw their merchandise. There were many tears shared between the two until Nikki came over and explained Rachel's situation.
Rachel has the plot booked and paid for. She has the sewing machine ready to go...but she doesn't have the stock to get rolling. She is very worried about the next few months when school fees for her child are due (and Ugandan children are required to be in uniform - hence the urgency). Initially I was sceptical so I consulted the ladies overseeing the program and asked what they would suggest. They explained would be best if I asked her for a business plan, that we went through Living Hope so they could keep track on her and encourage her to stay the course - that they can be the bridge between a provider and Rachel - a link which is vital and so easily eroded through distance if left alone.
What will ensure her future is a secure as any of ours is £100 for second hand clothes to sell. I wonder if you're able to help? Perhaps to make a contribution so we can get her up and running? If so please email me HERE to make a pledge - I will deliver the money here and now and you can fulfil the pledge when we return. Does that sound OK?
At the same time we were trying to understand these issues, we were being pressed to decide how much we can commit to the Summer Camps next week. We managed to have a meeting crammed into Pastor Dora's office (who oversees the children's ministry in Watoto Church) and once we had email misunderstandings out the way and discussed how we can support them we had a clearer picture of our second week...
We're are now ministering in 2 sites fro the evening sessions - one of 600 children in Suubi where we built last year (the Gulu children will be joining them) and the other of 300 children in Bbira where we had a fun afternoon last year facepainting etc.
We'll be leading the worship and reinforcing the teaching in the morning with an object sermon (which I have learned is something that uses a prop and helps the children remember) - 15 mins worship and 15mins message.
We had withdrawn from it owing to the fact we have 6 children under 9 with us - but we're convinced that we should be doing it and are in a very good place about it - even though we're also delivering the medical checks for Viva during the day Weds-Fri next week.
Later that night we prepared for the first full mission day (which was today actually) but I'll have to bring you up to speed on that soon).
The head injury sub-plot: Dressing has been replaced and thankfully not as bad as I thought - our team are wonderful nurses and have treated me with kid gloves - even though they worked out I'm old enough to be their father...Ask them about "Dear Daddy God" and praying for dreams... ;-)
About Rachel...to help click HERE.
We made a visit to Living Hope where our team met the women living with HIV who are trained in business and crafts so they can stay alive to support their children - by earning a living during training, being able to afford a good diet so their ARV drugs work. That way they can stay alive and not leave an orphan to be cared for.
But God had more for us...
Last year Nikki had a meeting of hearts with a lady called Rachel. Rachel has now graduated the program (July 15th just gone) and last week was finally asked to leave - there are so many ladies who need support - so places have to be made for them. Rachel is not the only one asked to leave we understand.
Rachel has gained the useful skills, has researched, booked and paid for a stall in a busy part of a market and has been given her sewing machine. She wasn't supposed to be at the project that day.
Except she had returned to pick up her sewing machine with which she would start her own business with a second-hand clothes stall as a front for people to discover that the stall is run by a seamstress - her USP - and it's over the next few months that parents search for new school uniform. But she is stuck.
When Nikki and Rachel recognised each other it was very emotional. They spent a great deal of time, just the two of them in the corner, whilst we all talked to the other ladies and saw their merchandise. There were many tears shared between the two until Nikki came over and explained Rachel's situation.
Rachel has the plot booked and paid for. She has the sewing machine ready to go...but she doesn't have the stock to get rolling. She is very worried about the next few months when school fees for her child are due (and Ugandan children are required to be in uniform - hence the urgency). Initially I was sceptical so I consulted the ladies overseeing the program and asked what they would suggest. They explained would be best if I asked her for a business plan, that we went through Living Hope so they could keep track on her and encourage her to stay the course - that they can be the bridge between a provider and Rachel - a link which is vital and so easily eroded through distance if left alone.
What will ensure her future is a secure as any of ours is £100 for second hand clothes to sell. I wonder if you're able to help? Perhaps to make a contribution so we can get her up and running? If so please email me HERE to make a pledge - I will deliver the money here and now and you can fulfil the pledge when we return. Does that sound OK?
At the same time we were trying to understand these issues, we were being pressed to decide how much we can commit to the Summer Camps next week. We managed to have a meeting crammed into Pastor Dora's office (who oversees the children's ministry in Watoto Church) and once we had email misunderstandings out the way and discussed how we can support them we had a clearer picture of our second week...
We're are now ministering in 2 sites fro the evening sessions - one of 600 children in Suubi where we built last year (the Gulu children will be joining them) and the other of 300 children in Bbira where we had a fun afternoon last year facepainting etc.
We'll be leading the worship and reinforcing the teaching in the morning with an object sermon (which I have learned is something that uses a prop and helps the children remember) - 15 mins worship and 15mins message.
We had withdrawn from it owing to the fact we have 6 children under 9 with us - but we're convinced that we should be doing it and are in a very good place about it - even though we're also delivering the medical checks for Viva during the day Weds-Fri next week.
Later that night we prepared for the first full mission day (which was today actually) but I'll have to bring you up to speed on that soon).
The head injury sub-plot: Dressing has been replaced and thankfully not as bad as I thought - our team are wonderful nurses and have treated me with kid gloves - even though they worked out I'm old enough to be their father...Ask them about "Dear Daddy God" and praying for dreams... ;-)
About Rachel...to help click HERE.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Viva Projects - Health Check Mission
For three days this trip we're going to provide some basic health checks and give some teaching to the children about hygiene and teeth-cleaning. Basic height, weight and temperature checks will be recorded on percentile charts. Last time this was carried out Viva discovered a few children needing urgent attention were discovered - mainly for Malaria.
Many of these children won't ever have had these carried out and it'll be a great experience for our nurses who'll be able to interact with the children as they carry out the tests.
We're hoping to encourage the projects to continue this kind of check regularly. We'll take some paper to hang on the wall so they can check the growth of the children from time-to-time. Something ALL children like to do is see for themselves how much they're growing.
Mim has identified 3 projects which we'll talk about in the coming posts - these are very different in scale from Watoto and unfortunately don't as yet benefit from the same level of resources. We're very glad to be serving these wonderful projects who do so much with so little.
To give to this effort (or to provide for other children in the VIVA project networks) please consider this channel HERE.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Now there's only 7 days to go!
It has been HECTIC! But I can almost taste Ugandan pineapple! And it's a taste you'll remember. We have a most excellent team -
The Pottages - Tim, Sonia, Joshua (5) and Sienna (3)
Danielle Kundert
Grace Pickett and
Ellie Gallienne.
Oh - and the six of us in the Clarkie Clan.
These three ladies above are wonderful student nurses from Oxford Brookes University who'll be carrying out (a few hundred at least) medical checks with children in the Kampala slums. More of that later.
Amidst the packing boxes of our house move (!) we've cleared a corner for our Uganda packing.
There are more than 18 pamper packs prepared for Watoto Mamas. Nicole and Sonia have blagged and bought the following for each of these bags:
1. Bed sheets
2. Pants
3. Lush and Body Shop stuff
4. Nail polish, remover and nail file
5. Sanitary towels
6. Impulse body sprays
7. Devotionals
8. Vaseline (they use a lot of it for dry skin)
All packaged in a hand-painted bag with a particular scripture for each one. Nikki has been seeking God for each design and when the design has taken form a scripture has been brought to her mind.
We've also bought (with some of the record-breaking £500 cake sale at church) a parachute and facepaints so we can have some serious fun with the 72 children in a home-cluster whilst the mothers in our team (er...Nikki and Sonia) minister love and affection to the 9 Mamas.
The good news is that we have 5 adults to co-ordinate the parachute games and facepaint, play football etc etc. this year.
So we're set for the first stage of the mission (except perhaps to buy a few giveaway toys from ELC etc.).
More will unfold in the next few days about what we're going to do there - but if you'd like to give to Watoto please see the JustGiving part of our site to the right OR to the medical checks for 1000 children attending Viva projects in the slums then please go HERE.
The Pottages - Tim, Sonia, Joshua (5) and Sienna (3)
Danielle Kundert
Grace Pickett and
Ellie Gallienne.
Oh - and the six of us in the Clarkie Clan.
These three ladies above are wonderful student nurses from Oxford Brookes University who'll be carrying out (a few hundred at least) medical checks with children in the Kampala slums. More of that later.
Amidst the packing boxes of our house move (!) we've cleared a corner for our Uganda packing.
1. Bed sheets
2. Pants
3. Lush and Body Shop stuff
4. Nail polish, remover and nail file
5. Sanitary towels
6. Impulse body sprays
7. Devotionals
8. Vaseline (they use a lot of it for dry skin)
All packaged in a hand-painted bag with a particular scripture for each one. Nikki has been seeking God for each design and when the design has taken form a scripture has been brought to her mind.
We've also bought (with some of the record-breaking £500 cake sale at church) a parachute and facepaints so we can have some serious fun with the 72 children in a home-cluster whilst the mothers in our team (er...Nikki and Sonia) minister love and affection to the 9 Mamas.
 |
| This is us last year - many of the children were new to the village. |
The good news is that we have 5 adults to co-ordinate the parachute games and facepaint, play football etc etc. this year.
 |
| One of the many tigers! |
So we're set for the first stage of the mission (except perhaps to buy a few giveaway toys from ELC etc.).
More will unfold in the next few days about what we're going to do there - but if you'd like to give to Watoto please see the JustGiving part of our site to the right OR to the medical checks for 1000 children attending Viva projects in the slums then please go HERE.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Launching soon....!
The excitement in the Clarke house is now palpable!
Mission's Sunday at St Aldates Church, Oxford is next Sunday 7th November and we'll be welcoming Bishop Zac Niringiye of Kampala speaking at our 10.30am and 8.15pm services and our own Simon Ponsonby at the 6pm.
As the evenings draw longer we are now dreaming of warm Kampala Summer days.
Summer 2010 was our first trip where we blessed Watoto with infrastructure in one of their world-class orphan villages and grew relationships with the orphaned children and those who care for them - whether adoptive parents, teachers, hosts and those in Watoto church who make serious commitments to the families in the villages.
And it was such a privilege to know them and be so welcomed by them.
Ever since we returned our children have been nagging us to go back - they would leap at the chance to live in Kampala - noisy, smoky, busy...and beautiful.
This next trip we intend to lead 2 streams of mission over the fortnight at the end of August:
1. To serve the mothers and children of Watoto; and
2. To serve projects in the CRANE network - one of Viva's network of projects based in Kampala.
Watoto care for over 2000 orphans and widows who look after 8 orphans each in a family setting. There are opportunities to bless these "Mamas" with a sabbath rest from their chores: learning from the Mamas, caring and loving their children, cooking, cleaning for them whilst we pamper, listen, minister and love them. Other opportunities include serving the children through the Watoto Summer camps for children aged 8-12 and 18+, assisting on an infrastructure build or ministering to their teens. This mission option is particularly suited to those with children.
The Viva projects missional objectives are still forming and will be determined by local projects, yet we know we go prepared to do whatever the God requires of us in building "child friendly communities" - whether a slum clean-up, building infrastructure to keep children safe or serving Summer camps.
I hope you'll either feel led to:
- pray - for the formation of the right team with the right motivations for the right outcomes
- pay - perhaps you'd want to partner us, be right there with us by donating to the cause or our costs. You can support either stream of our mission trip by selecting the specific JustGiving page top right (Or click on the names here to give to VIVA or WATOTO)
- participate - if you're a member of St Aldates, Oxford, believe God has been placing mission on your heart and feel this is the right thing for you we'd be overjoyed if you'd consider coming with us to bless the children of Kampala.
Here are some statistics from information I received from Viva:
60.8% of Uganda’s population is under the age of 18 with 2.3% of the population being total orphans. 78.4% of the country’s population is under the age of 30.
13.7% of children are under the care of someone over the age of 60.
7% of the population live with disabilities.
Whilst Universal Primary Education has seen enrolment increase to 90.4% for girls and 93% for boys, retention remains low at 42% for girls and 53% for boys. This means that a huge proportion of the population is exposed to the risks that come with inadequate adult care, with deprivation of education, and with the negative consequences of a young population (1).
It can be estimated that there are at least 250,000 children at risk in Kampala. The urban environment of Kampala is not a safe place for children. Over the past few years Uganda has seen an increase in reported cases of child abuse, which is particularly reflected by increased media coverage. Information from police records, health units, NGO files and media reports indicate that over 50% of the reported sexual abuse cases are of children between the ages 0-10 years. Both child domestic violence and child sexual abuse are rampant.
A study by Raising Voices and Save the Children (2) states that in one area 60% of girls and 13% of
boys aged 10-17 described sexual abuse.
71% of children interviewed in another area had suffered psychological harm and 67% had suffered physical harm. Only 5% of the children had never been sexually abused.
Findings show that most of the sexually abused children (57%) do not report to anybody.
Out of those who report cases of sexual abuse, only 2% said they report to the Police or the Local Counsellors (LCs) (the first level of political structure).
While 33% of the respondents did not report because of fearing threats from the offenders, 11% said they do not report to police or LCs because they do not get adequate help from those authorities.
Sources:
(1) SOWC 2009
(2) 2005 Raising Voices and Save the Children in Uganda “Violence Against Children’
Mission's Sunday at St Aldates Church, Oxford is next Sunday 7th November and we'll be welcoming Bishop Zac Niringiye of Kampala speaking at our 10.30am and 8.15pm services and our own Simon Ponsonby at the 6pm.
As the evenings draw longer we are now dreaming of warm Kampala Summer days.
Summer 2010 was our first trip where we blessed Watoto with infrastructure in one of their world-class orphan villages and grew relationships with the orphaned children and those who care for them - whether adoptive parents, teachers, hosts and those in Watoto church who make serious commitments to the families in the villages.
And it was such a privilege to know them and be so welcomed by them.
Ever since we returned our children have been nagging us to go back - they would leap at the chance to live in Kampala - noisy, smoky, busy...and beautiful.
This next trip we intend to lead 2 streams of mission over the fortnight at the end of August:
1. To serve the mothers and children of Watoto; and
2. To serve projects in the CRANE network - one of Viva's network of projects based in Kampala.
The Viva projects missional objectives are still forming and will be determined by local projects, yet we know we go prepared to do whatever the God requires of us in building "child friendly communities" - whether a slum clean-up, building infrastructure to keep children safe or serving Summer camps.
I hope you'll either feel led to:
- pray - for the formation of the right team with the right motivations for the right outcomes
- pay - perhaps you'd want to partner us, be right there with us by donating to the cause or our costs. You can support either stream of our mission trip by selecting the specific JustGiving page top right (Or click on the names here to give to VIVA or WATOTO)
- participate - if you're a member of St Aldates, Oxford, believe God has been placing mission on your heart and feel this is the right thing for you we'd be overjoyed if you'd consider coming with us to bless the children of Kampala.
Here are some statistics from information I received from Viva:
60.8% of Uganda’s population is under the age of 18 with 2.3% of the population being total orphans. 78.4% of the country’s population is under the age of 30.
13.7% of children are under the care of someone over the age of 60.
7% of the population live with disabilities.
Whilst Universal Primary Education has seen enrolment increase to 90.4% for girls and 93% for boys, retention remains low at 42% for girls and 53% for boys. This means that a huge proportion of the population is exposed to the risks that come with inadequate adult care, with deprivation of education, and with the negative consequences of a young population (1).
It can be estimated that there are at least 250,000 children at risk in Kampala. The urban environment of Kampala is not a safe place for children. Over the past few years Uganda has seen an increase in reported cases of child abuse, which is particularly reflected by increased media coverage. Information from police records, health units, NGO files and media reports indicate that over 50% of the reported sexual abuse cases are of children between the ages 0-10 years. Both child domestic violence and child sexual abuse are rampant.
A study by Raising Voices and Save the Children (2) states that in one area 60% of girls and 13% of
boys aged 10-17 described sexual abuse.
71% of children interviewed in another area had suffered psychological harm and 67% had suffered physical harm. Only 5% of the children had never been sexually abused.
Findings show that most of the sexually abused children (57%) do not report to anybody.
Out of those who report cases of sexual abuse, only 2% said they report to the Police or the Local Counsellors (LCs) (the first level of political structure).
While 33% of the respondents did not report because of fearing threats from the offenders, 11% said they do not report to police or LCs because they do not get adequate help from those authorities.
Sources:
(1) SOWC 2009
(2) 2005 Raising Voices and Save the Children in Uganda “Violence Against Children’
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