How sponsors are changing lives…

TOP LEFT TO RIGHT: A student shows us her bedroom which she shares with three other siblings;

a family stands in front of their home; and another student’s bedroom which sleeps four.

BOTTOM: Typical Ugandan families (note: not all family members are in the photos)

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"The bread you do not use is the bread of the hungry.
The garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of the person who is naked.
The shoes you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot.
The money you keep locked away is the money of the poor.
The acts of charity you do not perform are the injustices you commit."
~ St. Basil the Great ~

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We recently had the opportunity of doing our annual student home visits in Kibengo and to visit the homes of Nativity High School students.  We were able to not only see where the students live, but to meet each of their families as well, and to hear first-hand the difference your gifts are making in the lives of these families.

Over half of these students are orphans and would not have the opportunity to attend school without the wonderful gift of sponsorship.  We are grateful for our donors who, through their Gospel witness, have so graciously given to help improve the life of another.

During our visits, we met with many families living in extreme poverty conditions - in simple mud-made homes with straw/grass roofs, such as the one you see pictured above, with their only light source being a small lantern using paraffin (try reading or trying to study with only this light!), and trying to make ends meet with no real income and support of the family only through subsistence farming efforts.

We met with several students who were orphans, living with grandparents, aunts and uncles, etc. and whose parents have died from HIV/AIDs.  One who particularly impressed us was one orphan whose widowed Godmother, with no income, had taken her in and was raising her as one of her own along with 8 other children all under one roof.  When we first arrived here in Uganda last July, her parents were both very ill, and since that time her father passed away which left many challenges for this family as the mother is too ill to take care of her alone.  Her Godmother stepped up to take the parental role in the traditional sense of what the Catholic Church calls Godparents to do - she took her into her home.  Now we failed to mention that when we first arrived for our visit, we found this family praying the Rosary together - what a great example!  Prior to our departure from this home, the Godmother conveyed her appreciation to the sponsor for “keeping the [Christian] Spirit” in helping them with school fees for “her daughter” and that without those school fees there would not be money for her to go to school.

Each home that we visited, we found similar situations…  Another student’s parents were divorced and he and his other siblings live with their father who is the sole caretaker of his four children.  There is no such thing as child support in Uganda, and they receive no assistance from the mother.  He does subsistence farming for a living and receives no income.  This family caught our attention as this situation is a total switch from what we are accustomed to seeing here in Uganda   usually the father leaves home and the mother is forced to raise the children alone without any support.  In this particular home we found a very proud father beaming with much love for his children, and who became teary-eyed when his son told us he had performed best in his class this past term.  This student’s message to his sponsor was: “Tell my sponsor, Happy New Year!  And, thank you for helping with my school fees – I promise I will study hard and perform well.”

A minute meditation: If you fell into a deep well with no apparent way out, how much would you appreciate the person who threw you the rope?  The deep hole of poverty holds these children down.  You are the one holding the rope.  Will you throw it to save one?

Kris & Dean

 

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Here are a few interesting statistics for you from the latest
2013 demographic profile we have seen here:
*  The population of Uganda is just below 35,000,000 (to put this
    into perspective, the country of Uganda is about the size of Iowa).
*  84.4 percent of the population lives in rural areas. (Villages)
*  There are 44.5 births/1,000 population.
*  It is estimated that 48.9% of the population are 0-14 years of age.
*  The Mother’s mean age at first birth is 18.9.
*  The average number of children per family is 6.06.
*  Roughly 85% of Ugandans are Christians, and about 50% of
    those Christians are Catholic.
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Merry Christmas from Uganda...

Brother Sun…Solar Light

“Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace…Where there is darkness, LIGHT…”

 St. James Secondary School students receive solar lights

If St. Francis of Assisi were alive today, in addition to fire, would he be using solar light at night as a form of fire -- charged by the natural resources of Brother Sun?

Through Brother Fire and its illuminating flame, St. Francis spoke of “the mystery of love that transforms the human heart, raising it above all doubt and fear.”

In talking with students over the past several years, in which Dean and I have worked in Uganda, one of the biggest challenges students face in relation to their success in school and broadening their knowledge, are not having the resources to study and/or read at night (therefore, homework assignments and reading of books at night which would reinforce their class instructions, and broaden their knowledge, were not possible). 

When asked by our Into Your Hands-Africa (IYH) Executive Director, Brenna Vaughn, what our wish list was for their visit this past week; it was a no brainer -- we requested book lights for all of the students knowing that they could be purchased inexpensively.  But… our donors are absolutely AMAZING and that mystery of love was shown, by their example, to students at both St. James Secondary School and St. Denis Secondary School, through the wonderful surprise of solar lights hand carried over to them by a group of IYH donors that were here visiting from Colorado.  They are truly the paradigm of Matthew 5:16 (“…let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”).

Thank you, thank you, thank you our IYH donors!  You have just brought these students (and their families) to a new level of life not only school-wise, but in general, which is beyond imagination!  Thank you for your love and generosity!

Kris & Dean

 

Nativity High School Grand Opening Celebration & Blessing



View event photos by clicking here!

  
This past Friday, October 25, 2013 we traveled about 20 miles, from the Kasana-Luweero Diocese to the village of Kibengo, to celebrate with the Kibengo community the official Grand Opening of Nativity High School and the Blessing of the school.  Although not fully completed, students began having classes in the new building at the start of the 2013 school year this past February.  The students are currently in Term 3 and will complete their first school year in the new building on December 6.

The celebration began with Mass at the school for students, parents, and the community.  Mass was celebrated by Bishop Paul Ssemogerere along with several priests of the Diocese.  At the conclusion of Mass, Bishop Paul blessed the school starting with the people, then the building -- both inside and outside.  The school was presented with a framed Nativity picture to display at the school.

Following the Mass and Blessing, an auction was held to try and raise some funds for the school.  The community enthusiastically participated and managed to raise 650,000 UGX (roughly $257.00) for the school.  Auction items included: a framed photo of Pope Francis; a framed photo of Bishop Paul Ssemogerere; and food items such as cabbages, matooke, and papaya.  The event ended with speeches from select individuals (including the two of us); entertainment; and the planting of trees to help beautify the school grounds and to help protect the school from high winds.

This was truly a day of celebration for the Kibengo students and community as they thanked God for the support of Nativity Broomfield donors, Bishop Paul Ssemogerere, and others in Kibengo community who made this day possible. 

The next phase of construction will be a 4 classroom block.  The uncompleted building they are using now is called the multipurpose block.  It is two big rooms that can be used as a dining hall or place for group gatherings.  In the future, we will put in a moveable partitioned wall similar to the one in Wiebel 1 and 2, at Nativity Church, so that the rooms can be used to separate the classes.  Currently, it is difficult to have two classes going simultaneously in each open room -- you can imagine trying to have baptism class going in Wiebel 1 with RCIA in Wiebel 2 with no wall separating the two rooms!  When the new school year starts in February 2014, yet another class will be added, and the need even greater for building another classroom block!

Yes, the school is open, but is in need of many things…  Desks, text books, laboratory equipment, paper, caulk, and lunch, etc.!  It is not so difficult to understand how this school operates when you use the model of our own Nativity School.  What pays for everything?  Tuition!  These children do not have the option to go to public or private secondary school, Nativity High School is the only secondary school for over 10 miles.  Most of the families cannot afford to pay the full tuition and must do without what we consider very basic needs in order to make even a partial payment.  For many, they try and supplement school fees with bring in what food they may have -- sugar, toilet paper, etc.  It’s a great effort, but leaves the teachers without salaries, the school without supplies needed to operate the school, and the children without food in their bellies!  Imagine how our kids would complain if they had to go to school from 8:00 AM unit 5:00 PM with nothing to eat!

There is hope!  You and your family can be the link between a student and the school by sponsoring a Nativity High School student.  For more information on NHS and/or how to sponsor a student simply download a brochure available on the Nativity High School tab of this Blog.

Kris & Dean

 

“To teach is to touch a life forever…”

Students take mid-term exams



Almost everyone has heard the saying: “To teach is to touch a life forever.”  Most likely, just about everyone can remember that one special teacher, who touched their life and made an impact in some special way, that to this day they recall that teacher with fond memories and gratefulness.

No matter what country one lives in, one can always find two types of teachers.  For the first, it is simply a job – a way to make money and pay the bills; they are not so much interested in the student or in going that extra mile unless there is additional pay involved.  The second type is there because they love kids and want to make a difference in not only the life of a child, but also long-term… both in society and for the greater good of the world; they are there because that is their vocation and what they are doing is their ministry – those are the teachers who make the difference!

Now imagine a teacher, especially in the U.S., oftentimes going several months on end without any pay because there are no funds available for salaries.  How many teachers would be devoted enough to the cause of teaching to keep working?  How many more would leave to find somewhere else to work where they would be paid?

This is the situation we are dealing with here…  Student sponsorships are few and provide very little assistance when it comes to making an impact in offsetting the actual cost of school operations.  In addition to the sponsorships, parents are required to make a contribution to the school as well; however, due to the poverty level which has been even more so impacted by the drought; very few families are able to meet their contribution requirements.  Currently, there are no other means for funds, so the school’s operations budget unrealistically becomes as close to the exact amount that is being received from sponsorships; although realistically much more is needed to run the school effectively/successfully.

The situation is beyond what one could ever imagine; all of the cutbacks schools in America have experienced (including salary cuts, elimination of positions and classes, etc.) do not come close in comparison to what these schools do without and yet cheerfully, and without complaint, move forward striving to achieve something better.

There is no money to purchase textbooks for the classroom, no power/electricity at the school, and the teachers do not have computers.  Moreover, even if the teachers had handouts to provide to the students, copying is expensive there are no funds available to do photocopying.  How, then, do the students learn?  Some of the teachers have old donated books from the 1960’s in which they use as a mere resource; they lecture and handwrite bits and pieces of information on the blackboard for the students to copy into their notebooks for studying.  This leaves out much needed information, and moreover, opens the door for great error when a student has only their own written notes to study (which often are copied incorrectly).  Even tougher is chemistry!  There are no test tubes, no slides, no burners, no chemicals… Experiments are written on the board.  The outcome of the experiment is purely “virtual”.  You have to trust the words of the teacher instead of seeing the results of chemical reaction with your own two eyes!

Education is truly key in Uganda and in life!  It is the path that will ultimately mold the upcoming generation and help lead them out of poverty by providing the knowledge and skills to transform an individual and their family with a ripple-effect that through their efforts will in turn change the society.

However, this process is slow… and at times can be overwhelming and discouraging.  Without funds for the school, recruiting good, full-time teachers is impossible – especially when the current teachers aren’t being paid!  However, when scholarship funds are received, each Term, the staff sits down together and discusses what is going on in each of their lives and agree on who needs pay more than another at that time.  They decide together how much is needed to accommodate teachers and then the remaining funds go towards school operations such as lunch for the students (lunch is oftentimes the only meal a student gets each day, so providing lunch at the school is extremely important). A teachers day begins at 7:30 am, and school is dismissed at 5:00 pm. Teachers are expected to come in on Saturday’s and supervise the students as they work the school garden and tend to the compound. No building engineers here, students care for all aspects of their school.  Many of the teachers go home each night having only a cup of tea and a piece of chapatti (like a tortilla) for their supper. 
In talking with one of the teachers and thanking him for his dedication to both the students and the school, and apologizing that they had not been paid, he simply replied, “this is what we are all called to do – to serve.”

These type teachers are making a difference, and in spite of the many challenges, a small percentage of students have scored very well on the government required exams which will allow them the opportunity to move on to higher secondary school education.  This type of victory reflects that lives are being touched and changed by the ranks of “Teachers” here in Uganda.

Kris & Dean

 

In Loving Memory…

 Prossy Kisiiki, June 2012

It is with sadness that we write about the death of one of our former St. James Secondary School students -- Prossy Kisiiki.

We first met Prossy in 2010 during our first trip to Uganda, and she was one of the four students we personally began sponsoring that same year.  Following our initial introduction, we had the privilege of getting to know Prossy, through our communications with her, over the next three years and watching her grow up into a delightful young lady.

After completion of S4 in 2012, unfortunately, like so many other young girls today, Prossy’s life became prey to unwed motherhood.  Sickle Cell Anemia complicated her pregnancy which led to her death, at 8.5 months along.  The baby also did not survive.  Her funeral was held Monday afternoon, in Jjaga.

Please keep Prossy, her family, and the whole Jjaga community in your prayers.

Kris & Dean

 

Being Content With What We Have

"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.
I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation,
whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."
(Philippians 4:12)

On the left, a scholarship student and her family we recently visited; they are standing in front of their home.  A typical Uganda family can have up to 10-12 children.  On the right, is a typical Ugandan child from another home we visited – kids at this age are required to do chores.  The small yellow gerry can of water she is carrying weighs about 24 lbs filled with water (children must fetch water from a local water hole and carry it back to their home, a large gerry can weighs roughly 40 lbs).

As we travel from one village to the next going to our destination, a group of children are playing football (i.e., soccer) by the dirt road with a homemade ball made from old plastic grocery bags and banana leaves/fibers.  One little boy, playing happily, is wearing a pink and light blue pair of Cinderella pajama bottoms as a pair of pants.  Society has not trained him to know that “pink is for girls and blue is for boys.”  He only knows that he has a pair of pants to wear in which he is thankful.

It is quite common here to see men adorning a flowery woman’s blouse which only an American would notice, or for men to carry old donated tote bags which most in the U.S. would classify as girly – especially since it is pink.  But all they know is that they are thankful to have something to wear and carry their papers in.

It is also very ordinary to see very young children running around without any clothes on, or for school children to wear old worn out clothes with missing buttons and large rips in them.  Mismatched shoes are also normal… or shoes that are way too big or perhaps too small, or for girls to wear ‘boys shoes’.  For these, who are less fortunate, it is not a matter of fashion, or having the most stylish trendy clothes or shoes – they are simply happy to HAVE, as many walk around with nothing at all.

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26).

It is amazing for us to experience and to live with such incredible people who are so loving and giving.  We go on student home visits where the families clearly have nothing and are only making it from day to day; but without worrying they go and cheerfully pick the best fruits or vegetables they have and give them to us as a gift of appreciation for caring enough to come visit their home.  The culture of joyful servant hood reminds me of Biblical days – when guests arrive, even unexpectedly, you always serve them regardless of time of day.  If it is during meal time, you set an extra plate, or two, or three… or four… and feed them.  If it any other time of day, you serve them something to drink and a snack.  To not demonstrate hospitality is considered impolite. 

This is a good time to say that when we left Colorado this past July, we wanted for nothing – literally.  We came with suitcases full of things we ‘thought’ we had to have, only to have never unpacked many of the items.  Although God prepared us well in advance for this move as we packed up our house and began to get rid of things, we never imagined the lessons that would be forever engraved in our hearts.

We are truly a work in progress and God is not finished with us yet.  The people here, along with the Holy Spirit of God, is molding and forming us to better serve.  We are slowly being released from the chains of material things we used to believe we had to have, and are learning to be content with the simple things we have – one does not need a lot to be happy.  “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  It is an attitude also expressed in a French proverb, "When you die, you carry in your clutched hand only that which you have given away."

Kris & Dean