child of hope uganda

“Accepting children just as they are, loving each one equally and having time for fun as well as learning…”

2012-02-07T13:36:00.004Z

Worldwide Christian Schools (www.wwcs.org) is an organisation which helps Christian schools incorporate biblical teaching and principles into the curriculum and methods of teaching.

Two of its trainers – Prossy and Liz – have been working with our teaching staff for the nursery and primary sections and welfare team. Through teaching, discussion and teamwork our staff have learned how to show the heart of God to the children and community we serve.

Prossy and Liz said: “The training has gone very well and the staff have been very open and receptive. The idea of the training is to change the staff’s perspective of why they teach – from being merely a job or a duty, to that of an opportunity to change the next generation – to help the children become the future leaders of the community, reducing corruption and improving productivity and efficiency in their future roles as adults.

“During the training we looked at practical ways of showing God’s love to those around us (eg celebrating birthdays, encouraging each other). We encouraged staff to move away from just using verbal examples or theoretical learning and try to find practical examples they can show the children.”

This was the first module of six and we love the way teachers and social workers are encouraged to accept children just as they are, loving each one equally and having time for fun as well as learning.

Each module (four full days of training for 20 staff) costs Child of Hope around £135. Would you like to sponsor the next module?

2011 Christmas party!

2011-12-28T18:50:00.001Z

Bex reports the Christmas party was AWESOME! She said... "We had three tents (marquees) by the school – 2 for parents (over 200) and 1 for the children, plus some VIP guests..

We started with presentations from various groups: a couple of Christmas songs from the nursery choir (sweet!) – the little guys wearing the tinsel round their necks. I’m still not quite sure why ‘Joseph’ was brandishing a baseball bat – but I guess Mary’s security was assured!

We also had a drama of the nativity story by the primary school team, complete with Mary, an Angel (wearing the obligatory bed sheet – flapping around), Joseph, a donkey (I’m still not sure which child got the short straw for the donkey character!), shepherds, King Herod and his security team, some wise men (all our children are wise, of course!) and a bunch of miscellaneous creatures around the manger. No children or animals were harmed in the making of this production I’m pleased to say! We had a couple of songs from the primary choir and also a choreographed dance to the song ‘Light of the World’.

The parents then had their turn – the mothers from the literacy and health groups formed a choir (the mothers in the long stripey skirts) and also gave a short drama about the importance of family planning (I suppose family planning fits into the Christmas theme in a ‘divine’ sort of way!). Not to be outdone, the Karamajong parents also formed a choir (these are the very colourful ladies with a couple of guys with feathers in their hair) who had us all jumping up and down like lunatics (some of us nearly had heart attacks in the heat!). There was a very amusing moment when Pastor Philip went ‘head to head’ with one of the other K’jong dads to see who could jump the highest!

After all that frivolity we had lunch (beef stew, rice, vegetables plus a bottle of soda each) and there was more than enough to go round – making it possible to feed all those community members who were stood outside the fencing looking in! After lunch we had speeches and then moved on to presentation of certificates and gifts for the parents who had ‘graduated’ from their classes (health, literacy, IGA). The IGA woman of the year was Maria and you can see her receiving her gift of a mattress from the RDC.

After the parents, the children received their awards (best in class, etc) and then Father Christmas arrived! All the COH children received gifts (clothes and sweets) from Santa. Some of the donated clothes were too small to fit our nursery children so Santa was able to bless some of the little kids from the surrounding community.

After all that, everyone went home (the children happy, the staff exhausted!) and the COH team prepared themselves for their own, well deserved staff Christmas party the following day. We all trooped off for a slap up buffet lunch and some silly games prepared by Martin.

And now we are on official holidays!"

You can see some pictures by clicking here.

Les on Namatala

2011-11-04T12:35:00.002Z

Les Sherlock – our sponsorship co-ordinator (and Bex's dad) is currently in Mbale visiting Bex and Moses with Gill, his wife. He posted this on facebook...

"Here in Mbale, Uganda, it's a real mixture of emotions. On one hand we are really excited by the huge support now being given by Emerging World and Ernst and Young for Child of Hope. If we can put into place some of their suggestions, it will significantly help the growth of what Bex and Moses are doing here.

"On the other hand, seeing the desperate conditions in which many people live is heart-breaking. And travelling around with Bex and seeing the daily frustration of inefficient services, etc, and watching her having to make difficult decisions about who receives the finite financial help they can give and who doesn't: I don't know how she does it!

"But on the whole it is a wonderful privilege to be able to see the daily miracles God is working to bring relief to at least some people in this large and very needing community. For those who do, please continue to pray for Bex and Moses and the team out here: for wisdom, for resources and for their own protection. Many thanks."

Two new videos... visit Namatala slum for yourself

2011-10-28T23:19:00.001+01:00

We've just added two great new videos to our YouTube channel. You'll see scenes of the Namatala slum – described as one of the poorest places on the earth – and how Child of Hope is setting up long-term programmes to fight poverty for children and their families. Click on the titles below...

• Visit Namatala slum

• Child of Hope's work in the Namatala slum

New home for vulnerable girls

2011-10-14T12:29:00.003+01:00

Serious news with a happy ending... staff at the Child of Hope school identified three young girls who urgently needed a home ... one is in danger of being sexually abused, one is in danger of being beaten to death and one was left on her own when her mother ran away. This was a big problem for us ... setting up a home is no small thing - it's long term and there's no social services here to step in and help! However, a wonderful friend of ours heard about the problem and has stepped in to fund the home.
This is almost a repeat of how our boys' home started a little while ago - and that is continuing to provide security and love for a handful of lads who would have been out on the street.
More information and pictures soon.

Burns victims: an update

2011-10-05T12:52:00.001+01:00

Bex and Moses have sent us a report on Alice and Maria, the children many of you helped with medical bills, after they received terrible burns injuries a little while ago.

Both had third degree burns and went through a long and slow process to recovery, but they are both now back at school. Your timely donations were awesome and without them, the girls would have struggled with terrible pain and infections. Thank you so much!

Anyway, you can read the full update by downloading the one-page PDF report here.

Big success from the IGA project

2011-10-03T10:19:00.002+01:00

At a time when many families in the Namatala slum are slipping deeper and deeper into poverty, this lady has demonstrated dedication, hard work and enterprise – and has started building her own home outside the slum. All made possible by a grant to help her start a business.

Maria is a widow who has lived for many years in the Namatala slum. Despite poor health, she has cares for her elderly mother and her sister’s four children, as well as her own two children.

Two years ago, we gave Maria a grant of £20, which she used to register to work at a rice-sorting factory. It’s back-breaking work and she receives a small quantity of poor quality rice as payment. But here’s the good bit. Enterprisingly, Maria makes this rice into small cakes, which she bakes and then carries to sell to children at local schools.

Every week she deposits part of her hard-earned income into the Child of Hope savings scheme. Finally, she had saved enough to start to realise her dream for a better life for her and the children – and she was able to start building her own house on her own tiny piece of land across the river, outside the slum.

She still has a long way to go, as the house still needs plastering (£150), a proper floor (£50) and a decent toilet (£50), but she has now used up almost all of her savings. It will probably take her at least another two years to save the money that she requires.

As she stands outside her new house, Maria turns to us and tells us, “One day, all of us will move into this house and we will be able to grow our own food and to have a goat and some chickens…” If you’d like to make a donation to help her family, please visit our donation shop and complete the ‘Support Child of Hope’ section, then, during the PayPal process, click ‘add special instruction to merchant’ to tell us the money is for Maria.

Rising stars

2011-09-26T14:05:00.003+01:00

Last term, nursery headteacher Scovia decided to give the Primary 1 end of term exams to four of her best pupils in the top nursery class... and they did brilliantly! So this term they are being trialled in P1 to see how they do. If they keep up with the others, then they’ll be promoted to P2 next year with the other P1 children.

So big congratulations to Agnes Ikiyai, Joseph Lokuma, Margret Watera, Paul Achia – we hope you get on really well!

New video shows progress on the next stage of school building

2011-08-06T11:57:00.001+01:00

There is a new Child of Hope video on our YouTube page. It's Bex and Moses' first video and they’ve done a great job. OK… the volume’s bit quiet, but it shows great views of the new first floor being built on top of the existing ground floor!

It's well worth a look… click here to watch it.

Latest newsletter from Bex & Moses... and a building boost

2011-08-06T11:52:00.000+01:00

We’ve received the latest newsletter from Bex and Moses - full of the latest news and information direct from the team in Mbale. To download a PDF… please click here.
   The building work on the school’s first floor is now well under way and will be completed in 3 mini-stages:
   1. We’ve almost completed the first one – brickwork up to ring beam with columns.
   2. Putting the ceiling (slab) on – lots of bars and cement. This will hopefully take place during the Christmas holidays.
   3. Finishing – which includes doors, windows and plastering. This can probably be done throughout next year or whenever the money is available as the ground floor can be in use while this work is carried out.
   The ground floor is complete, except for flooring and electrics, and we’re happy to wait until the building is finished for that.
   The current work on the first floor will cost a total of £38,000 – and with all the wonderful donations received over the last few months (thank you!) – we just need a further £17,000 to complete it.

Mayoral visit

2011-08-06T11:37:00.001+01:00

Councillor John Muggleton, Mayor of Ferndown, Dorset, visited our friends Alan and Diane Aylett when they took a stand at the town car boot sale... raising funds for Child of Hope. Thanks Alan and Diane for all you are doing!

If you'd like to help with any fundraising, click here to see the free resources that are available to you... or contact the Child of Hope office and we'll be very happy to talk through your ideas.

Hellen's story - an update

2011-07-22T21:45:00.000+01:00

Remember Hellen? She's the girl suffering with extremely limited eyesight and had to go off to a specialist school. Here's the latest...

Hellen is due to come back to Namatala in just a few weeks for the school holidays – and no doubt she’s going to have lots of stories for all her friends here.

Hellen came to us when she was just six years old and already suffering with eyesight problems. She’d had an eye infection in one eye – something which could have easily been solved with some eye ointment. Instead she was taken to the local witch doctor who rubbed herbs directly onto both eyeballs. She immediately went blind in one eye and had reduced sight in the other. Hellen’s a pretty determined kid and was still desperate to go to school so we decided to bring her onto the Child of Hope programme.

To start with she was managing quite well, but as she grew the scarring on her one seeing eye increased and her performance started to deteriorate. After many appointments with local eye surgeons around eastern Uganda, it became clear that there was nothing that could be done to save her sight and it became apparent that at Child of Hope we didn’t have the facilities or expertise to be able to give Hellen the help she really needed.
So in March this year we sent Philip (who heads up our welfare team) to the nearest school for visually impaired children (in Soroti – 2 hours drive from Mbale) where he was impressed with the facilities and the kindness that was on offer there. One problem – it’s expensive! At Child of Hope we can educate and look after a child for around £10 to £12 per month. The school in Soroti with all of the extra transport, etc, was going to need around £25 per month. At that time Hellen didn’t have a sponsor so Bex decided to send an email out to friends to see if anyone wanted to help out. Within 24 hours a reply came back – a wonderful group in Lytchett Matravers, Dorset, had just been thinking about sponsoring a child and this was the perfect opportunity! Thank you for your huge support and kindness to Hellen.

Despite missing the first term of the year, the Soroti school was very happy for Hellen to start in the 2nd term and so all the various items were purchased and packed (uniform, toiletries, books, bedding, etc) including an enormous teddy bear her sponsors had sent over for her! Hellen was a little nervous at first, leaving behind the only place she had ever known – Namatala. But with lots of encouragement she got on the bus with one of our staff and went on her way. Our welfare staff have been to visit Hellen twice since then and every time they’ve been amazed at how happy and outgoing she is. She’s made lots of new friends and is really enjoying every moment in her new school. The matron who looks after the children in the boarding home is sweet and gentle – a great mother for her while she’s away from home.

Back in Mbale

2011-06-29T21:13:00.000+01:00

Everyone got a brand new school jumper!

Bex and Moses have just got back to Uganda after an eventful flight... here's what they said: “We’ve had a brilliant welcome back from all our staff and kids following our trip to the UK. They were all pleased to see us and especially pleased to see all the donations from our UK friends!

Footballs and rugby shirts for the guys... they love them!

   "We had a wonderful donation of brand new school jumpers which arrived just in time. It’s now the rainy season here (very cold compared to the rest of the year) so the children were very quick to get their jumpers on and enjoy the warmth!
   The boys were especially pleased with the donated footballs and the rugby shirts as you can see in the photo and all the children were given new toothbrushes too. The staff then spent the afternoon sorting through all the toys, books and scholastic materials ready to put in their respective classrooms. A good day was had by all!
   So once again – a great big THANK YOU to all our wonderful donors, sponsors and friends." Moses & Bex.

You can help… one step at a time!

2011-06-01T11:51:00.002+01:00

Bike ride for charity; just one way to raise funds!

It’s the season when people think about doing something physical... and raising money for a charity at the same time. Fundraising through running, walking or biking is such a great idea. It might only take a few hours, you will raise money for a great cause, and you can get healthier!

While fundraising to help Child of Hope, people have climbed mountains, cycled over Welsh hills, run marathons, run a cake sale (that sounds easier!), held a coffee morning, had a birthday party, or just set up a JustGiving.com page and invited their friends and family to donate… all kinds of things.

If you’ve got an idea, let us know and we can help you with some free resources... for more information, click here

Bex and Moses in the UK during June

2011-05-16T16:35:00.005+01:00

Bex and Moses Okotel from Mbale

Bex and Moses arrive back in the UK soon for their annual break, plus a tour of supporting churches and organisations, and a chance to meet supporters. If you’d like to meet them, and you live anywhere near Dorset, here are the dates and venues in the county where they can be found. At the two carnivals, just look for the Child of Hope stand.

June 5: Poole Christian Fellowship, 10.30am
June 5: Lighthouse Family Church, Holton Heath, Poole, 7pm
June 8: Wimborne Elim Church, 1.45pm
June 11: Corfe Mullen carnival, 1pm
June 18: Lytchett Matravers carnival, 1pm
June 19: Canford Magna Parish Church, nr Wimborne, 10.30am

If any of those dates suit you, come along and say hello! They would love to see you.

Invigorating outreach health and welfare workers

2011-05-09T14:13:00.001+01:00

The Child of Hope Karamajong Women’s group

Social worker Cliona Davey is coming to the end of seven unforgettable weeks International Learning Opportunity with Child of Hope.
   She said: “I have been working mainly with Child of Hope’s outreach health and welfare workers in order to invigorate the operations of the health and welfare departments, to enhance staff capacity and professional accountability and to respond to performance management issues.
   While working with the outreach health and welfare workers, two educational women’s groups have been set up and a small demographic survey has been successfully completed.
   I have really enjoyed working with Child of Hope and I have learnt a great deal, particularly in relation to working creatively and with limited funding, my own personal resilience and my self-awareness.
   The working environment in Namatala is incredibly harsh... most people live in absolute poverty and are totally destitute. However the work which Child of Hope is doing is truly inspiring and pioneering, giving hope and support to many children and their primary caregivers.
   I would urge anyone with an interest in education, community development and sustainable health and welfare to consider either volunteering with Child of Hope or donating money on a regular basis.
   Thank you Child of Hope for this unforgettable opportunity and I wish the organisation and the workers all the best for the future.”

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Agnes boosted by business grant

2011-05-04T15:48:00.005+01:00

Agnes Achiro was struggling to make ends meet; her small business was failing because she just didn't have the knowledge she needed. But after training and a business grant, she's back on her feet!
   Agnes lives in a small mud hut with her husband and seven children in the slums of Namatala. Her business was selling chenga (half-rice) – that's the pieces of rice that are removed as inedible when rice is sorted at the factory. It is a staple part of the diet of many people living in the slum.
   Her husband was unable to support the family and she was feeling pressured as they were all looking at her to be the breadwinner.
   Eventually, the business collapsed due to a lack of business skills. But after attending our business training course, Agnes understood where she had gone wrong before and felt confident that she could make the business work this time. We therefore provided her with a business grant, which enabled her to buy around 50 kilos of chenga and restart her business.
   She started her new business on 11th February 2011. She takes her chenga to the nearby market and sells it in quantities of ‘cups’ to local residents. She has also regained her old regular customers. She sells around 30 to 40 cups every day – that’s around 100 kilos of chenga every week.
   Through her hard work and endurance, despite having to cope with extremely high food prices and other seasonal difficulties, the business is flourishing and enabling her to provide for and sustain the whole family. We continue to meet with her every week to mentor her and together overcome any problems that occur with her business.

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Riot fears

2011-05-03T12:14:00.002+01:00

We hear anti-riot police have been deployed in Mbale, home of Child of Hope, to quell potential violence spilling over from Kampala – triggered by opposition politicians who protested against the increasing brutality on opposition politicians, and against high commodity prices.
The members of opposition are still demanding the government reduces food and fuel prices. They also want the government to sack all the corrupt government officials and stop the discrimination of people in their tribes.
This means the Child of Hope team has to be pretty careful when going through the town or to the new school in Namatala.

Latest newsletter from Bex and Moses

2011-04-12T10:58:00.009+01:00

We’ve received the first newsletter of 2011 from Bex and Moses - full of the latest news and information direct from the team in Mbale.
It’s on our website, where you can read it on-screen or print it to pass around to friends! Click here to see it.

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New video... check it out!

2011-03-30T10:57:00.004+01:00

There's a new video about the new Child of Hope school on our YouTube page. Great filming and editing by our friend in Uganda, David Oluka. Click here to watch it...

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Marathon man

2011-03-04T18:13:00.009Z

Trev after his half marathon last year

Here’s another opportunity to support Child of Hope… you could sponsor Trev Bryan when he runs the Virgin London Marathon on April 17!
   Trev is a good friend and supporter of Child of Hope – he and his wife Gill are old friends of Bex and have visited them in Mbale. They also helped us set up our child education sponsorship system.
   It’s Trev’s first full marathon, at age 50. He started running early in 2010, lost two stone in weight and his fitness for surfing benefitted… so he thought he’d keep it up. At a half marathon last August (his first-ever running race) he posted a 1:51:48.
   He says training for a marathon is literally twice as hard and twice the distances as the race itself: “I am running about 40 miles a week at moment. I started on boxing day and I believe I can just squeeze in just under the magical four hour mark…. And I would benefit from some bonus sponsors to provide the incentive!"
   Trev is also running for male cancer charity Everyman - he really hates cancer and how it destroys lives.
   You can donate online to sponsor him from the donation shop page of our website, or post us a cheque if you prefer to: Child of Hope, 35 Roman Rd, Broadstone, BH18 9DG.
   More news soon... and you can follow Trev on his Facebook supporters group VLM2011: Trev’s Madness. It’s not an ‘open’ group, so you’ll need to request to join.

tghfg

School closed due to elections

2011-02-21T10:56:00.004Z

The Child of Hope school is currently closed due to election fever in Uganda. It shut last Wednesday in time for the Presidential election on February 18, and will stay closed until Feb 28 after Parliamentary and local elections.
   In Mbale the army seems to be keen to keep people off the streets and there have been reports of tear gas being fired to enforce it
   President Yoweri Museveni was declared winner of the Presidential elections after beating seven other candidates in the race for the top job.
   There has been electoral violence in Kampala and other areas other areas; a journalist was shot, soldiers beaten and voters wounded. Many westerners left the country because of feared unrest.
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Art... teaching the teachers

2011-02-21T10:23:00.004Z

Rhonda promoting art in the new Child of Hope school

This is Rhonda Grochowski, who recently visited Child of Hope as a volunteer and taught our teachers about art. She had a great time with the teachers who really enjoyed all her new ideas and are starting to use them in their classes. And better still... she wants to come back to carry on the good work later in the year!

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Burning paraffin attacks on children

2011-02-13T11:49:00.010Z

Alice in hospital, with Bex.
Smiling for the camera but hurting terribly

We normally like to bring you good news, but not today. Sadly two of the pupils at Child of Hope have been attacked in Namatala in separate incidents... and had burning paraffin thrown on then. The eldest, Alice, has suffered horrific burns from the neck down. The youngest, Maria, is just four years old.
Fortunately Maria is not as badly burnt as Alice but is having to stay at JOY Hospice for a few days. Her right arm, shoulder blade and back of her head have significant burns, but not as deep as Alice’s.
The woman who threw the deadly paraffin/petrol mix on Maria (and possibly Alice too) is now in police custody and the team is working with the police. It appears her husband works at a petrol depot and may have been stealing petrol to sell in the slum, to 'water down' paraffin that is commonly used to light homes at night.
As soon as Bex and Moses heard about the latest incident with Maria, Bex rushed to find Maria and get her to JOY Hospice, while Moses went straight to the police with the burnt clothes.

sdgbdh

Thanks, Canford Churches

2011-02-12T23:43:00.001Z

Great fun today at Canford Churches' Love Mission fair, where we had the chance to exhibit alongside the various charities supported by the three churches in the parish.
Our live skype video link with Bex at the new school worked... kind of! Audio couldn't quite keep up but everyone got to see inside the new school and some of the children doing a couple of special songs.
So, thanks again for inviting us!

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New pupils... new classrooms... new school

2011-02-10T16:22:00.002Z

Pictures are filtering through from Mbale of the new school in action - in the post below are some of the children in their brand-new classrooms. More pictures soon.

You can sponsor a child's education for just £10 per month!

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Photos are coming through...

2011-02-10T16:05:00.022Z

Add caption

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Great timing!

2011-02-08T17:46:00.005Z

One of our child education sponsors today dropped in a donation for the child's mum to have a business income generating grant. Well... we didn't know if she even wanted to run a business!
But after a bit of digging, it turns out the child's mum had been doing OK with a charcoal-selling business and had even managed to build up a little savings. However, she then got sick, went to the regional hospital and was told she should go back to her original village to see the witch doctor.
So she spent all her savings trekking back to the village, seeing a witch doctor... and then came back no better. She then visited our friends at JOY Hospice, was given a few pills and is now completely OK! So we're hopeful she’ll be able to get ‘back on her feet’ with her business using the grant that arrived today... just at the right time.
• Read about our business incentive grants
• Donate a £25 grant?

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Wow, it's really happened

2011-02-07T20:25:00.004Z

It's true. Child of Hope's brand new school - right in the heart of Namatala slum in Uganda - opened today! Nearly 200 nursery and primary pupils have occupied their new classrooms with the most enormous grins on their faces. Poverty would have prevented most of them from ever going to school, let alone an all-new one with teachers trained to respect them and encourage the best in them.

All you wonderful supporters who helped make it happen... thank you so much. We'll be back with pictures soon.

srtrbyt

New school building... nearly there!

2011-02-03T14:21:00.006Z

Bex has just taken these photos of the new Child of Hope school, which is due to open very soon!

Several of the pupils' mums volunteered to help clean the building ready for next week’s opening day. A lot of things have come together at the last minute (thanks Lord) and well done Martin and Philip for all your hard work.

The city engineer come to inspect the building and he has approved it fit for occupation. He was very pleased indeed with the good job the Child of Hope team had done with the construction and finishing. It was lovely to hear him congratulate us for the quality of the building we’ve put up.

So... that's the ground floor nearly complete... roll on the next two floors!

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Hope is kicking in

2011-01-29T11:29:00.008Z

Pictures are coming through from the Child of Hope registration process this week. These kids are really happy to get a place at the school’s nursery baby class that starts this year – and so are the mums! The aim is to register 60 children for that class, ready for the opening in February.

Apologies for the big white gaps, we're having page layout problems... but please scroll down and see the smiles on these faces!

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Income generating grants: Mary's story

2011-01-25T18:57:00.002Z

Shop owner Mary Mayeku (32) has been able to improve and expand her business after receiving an income-generating grant from Child of Hope.
   She had been looking for capital but had not been able to source any without high interest rates. Eventually she wants to move the business into a larger shop again and to do that will build up its turnover.
   Mary has five children (some educated by our school) and says the grant has been of great help and has kept her and her family busy and active.
   Child of Hope's IGA programme has been running for around two years. As these mothers come from the very poorest families, they are usually totally illiterate and innumerate – most have never gone even to primary school.

Our approach is as follows:
1. We visit the women at home and create a personal relationship with them.
2. We bring them together in a small group and provide them with appropriate business training.
3   We get them to carry out an exercise to identify their skills and abilities, to help them decide what business they want to start.
4. We provide them with a grant (not a loan) to get them started.
5. We meet with them every week in their small group so that we can share challenges and continue to provide them with business mentoring.
6. We also continue to visit them at their place of work to encourage them to persevere.
7. We provide them with literacy and numeracy training.
8. We encourage them to make regular savings so that they can meet challenges as they occur.

Not every business start-up is a success (just like in the UK), but the change to the families - as Mary said - is enormous and provides them with independence, security, a regular income... and hope.

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The first official Child of Hope video - see it here!

2011-01-04T13:58:00.023Z

During a visit in 2010, our friend and film-maker Bryony Read (www.integreality.com) filmed - and later edited and produced - an excellent short video for Child of Hope - and it's now online at YouTube. It includes lots of views of the existing and new schools, the children and interviews with staff.

In fact, we aim to add several videos this year to help all you lovely supporters get a better feel of the Namatala slum, the work we do there, and of course, the people. So... click here to watch it... and enjoy seven minutes of the life-changing experience that is Child of Hope in Uganda!

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Tweet away, Child of Hope is on Twitter

2011-01-01T19:47:00.004Z

Click the logo to go to the COH page on Twitter

We are now also on Twitter! Follow us @ lovechildofhope. We would love your tweets, re-tweets and what ever else Twitter can possibly bring!

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Teaching mums to read and write

2010-12-28T16:25:00.004Z

Another 14 mothers have just graduated from the Child of Hope literacy course and have been presented with their certificates!

This is all part of helping our children’s families lift themselves out of poverty by economic empowerment of the parents, so we promote life skills and adult literacy and numeracy, especially for mums. If parents learn to read, far more employment opportunities open up to them, and they are better able to run their own small businesses.

That’s not all, of course - basic understanding of many issues is pretty poor so we also give seminars on family planning for mothers and practical teaching on issues such as domestic child abuse, road safety and domestic unintentional poisonings.

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A big Christmas ‘thank you’!

2010-12-23T17:00:00.008Z

We just want to say a huge Christmas THANK YOU to all our supporters in the UK and around the world. Without you we would never have been able to build a school on a slum and affect hundreds of people for the better - your prayers and donations are changing things!

And another thank you is due to the band of UK volunteers, for all the time and effort they put in to help Child of Hope run smoothly, both in Uganda and in the UK. We have generous volunteers maintaining the website, doing graphic design, running the office and internal systems, co-ordinating our education sponsors and donors, acting as trustees, researching charitable and corporate grants, supporting fundraisers… the list goes on! There are still more voluntary jobs to fill (none of us are paid in the UK), if you’re interested, just drop us an e-mail or call us on (01202) 605082. We’d love to hear from you, and you’ll love making such a difference.

rtyjntjy

JJ's visit to COH and Namatala slum

2010-12-23T16:54:00.004Z

Child of Hope was visited by JJ who had a tour around Namatala, our new school building and the work of Child of Hope. He said this...

"What a privilege to see the work of Child of Hope! Reaching out to real need in the slums, these guys have such a refreshingly hopeful and authentic approach to doing God's work.

"I had such fun chatting about their vision, and leave inspired by its impact here, and the fun and reward of seeking Jesus in these places. I will be back!"

svgwerg

You joined the party… BIG TIME!

2010-12-23T16:43:00.007Z

Wow... An especially HUGE ‘thankyou’ to all you lovely supporters who joined our Christmas party by making a donation online.

You paid for the entire event and made it the best one ever for the children - it nearly made their eyes pop out! Even Father Christmas showed up to hand out presents to every child and tummies were filled from huge plates of Christmas food (including parents and an army of hungry children outside the compound). There was singing, dancing and, of course, a nativity play too! A very merry Christmas to you all!

dftbhert

Join the Namatala kids' Christmas party!

2010-12-19T11:34:00.007Z

Hi supporters, and festive greetings!
We are planning again this year to provide all Child of Hope pupils and sponsored children in Namatala with a special Christmas party, including a great meal (with pop), a toy, sweets and clothing. It's a terrific event that brings a lot of happiness to the children.
It all costs around £2.50 per child... and here's a thought... would you like to join the party by helping fund it?
You could buy it for yourself, or pay for a friend!
Any donations would be helpful, small or large, and we'll e-mail you a colourful thankyou card to print out and pop on your mantlepiece with all your other Christmas cards!
It's easy to do... simply:
1. Click the box below, which takes you to our online donations page.
2. Choose whether to pay by PayPal, CAF or Charity Choice, all of them can take credit card donations.
3. Then simply follow the safe procedure.
4. If there's a message box, state your donation is to join the Christmas party!
Alternatively, feel free to post us a cheque to the address below.

Many thanks, and have a great Christmas!

serg34w5y

The latest view of the new school building

2010-12-07T10:38:00.007Z

Here's how the school looks today... the rendering is complete on the external walls and now plastering has started on the inside. Windows and doors have been ordered and are currently being made.

So things are moving on fast... opening is due for February.

rethernty

Les and Gill Sherlock’s visit

2010-12-04T12:13:00.006Z

In November Bex and Moses had a visit from Bex's mum and Dad – Gill and Les Sherlock, who stayed with them for 24 days. Gill is a Child of Hope UK trustee and Les manages our Child Education Sponsorship scheme at the UK end.

Children writing Christmas cards to their sponsors in the UK

While there Les worked with Bex to update the children’s files and took photographs of all of them, so now all their sponsors can receive up-to-date photos. They also produced Christmas cards with the children, to be sent to their sponsors. Here’s what Les wrote...

“A highlight of the trip was a concert given to us by the Child of Hope Primary children: half-an-hour of singing and dancing from the enthusiastic group, their faces lit up with smiles in the delight of their performance. We hope to make a DVD available so those in the UK can share in the event.

There's Bex in front of the RH section!

“We also went to several churches, with Gill mostly being the visiting speaker. One we visited for the first time was most hospitable – as soon as the meeting was over they brought out hot food and the most delicious fruit drink for us. There was no electricity in the building and by the time we started eating it was almost dark.

“It was most exciting to see the development of the new school building. It is much larger than we expected and I got Bex to stand in front of it in the photo to try to give an idea of scale. When it is opened it will not only allow a larger number of children to be catered for, but enable a wider range of activities too. It is making a huge stir in the area, as for the first time ever the people of Namatala are seeing a construction in their area that, when completed, will be of real benefit to them, with no financial burden on them.

“One of the many difficulties we ran into was the breakdown of the car. So I had my first experience of riding on a Piki. The sight of Bex and I both sitting on the pillion of the same motorbike, being driven into town, without helmets of course, was only unusual in that it was Msungus (white people) doing it! It was also intriguing to buy milk and see it drawn from a milk churn and poured into a plastic bag for us to take home.

Les and Bex sharing a Piki into town

“When we stopped off at the large market, almost like magic two Ugandan lads appeared out of no-where. I called them ‘Bex’s minders’, because one stands by her car when she has it (it is not unknown for someone to return to their car and find it missing its wheels!) and the other escorts her around the market, carrying her purchases and making sure she is not being ripped off. They both receive 1,000 shillings (about 30p) for their efforts and are delighted to be able to earn a bit of pocket money!

“I think one of the biggest problems Uganda faces is corruption: it is everywhere, and every newspaper I saw had page after page on the subject. ‘Backhanders’ are the order of the day, and the infrastructure of the country is groaning from neglect, due to its finance ending up in someone’s pocket instead of going where it is most needed.

“But one bright spot I found was Child of Hope. The Bible says if a child is brought up in the correct way, it will not depart from it when it is old. In one of the neediest areas of Uganda, a group of children are being given the solid foundation of Christian morality along with free food, clothes, medical care and education, while some of their parents are being helped into small income-generating activities. It’s a small start, but when they become adults, these children will be well placed to begin to make a difference to their society. From small acorns, large oak trees grow!"

ofsrgh

David's week in Mbale

2010-11-16T13:39:00.001Z

David Hayter at Child of Hope's nursery school

David Hayter was in Mbale for a week recently, he's the brother of Martyn Hayter who runs our income generating schemes. David said: "It has been an amazing privilege to spend some time with Child of Hope and to see the wonderful work that is being done here in Namatala.

"After visiting the current temporary school, meeting the lovely children and teachers, and then seeing people and parts of Namatala, it brings home how important and significant the new school will be for the community and in particular the children of Namatala.

He added: "A special thanks to Moses, Bex and Martin for making this week so special."

piupgpisgdf

Ju was so moved... she wrote a song

2010-11-08T09:12:00.002Z

Singer/songwriter Ju Blencowe

UK singer/songwriter Ju Blencowe was moved to write a song by photos she saw of children at Child of Hope, taken by her friend Jayne Williams during a visit to Uganda in 2010. Jayne's pictures are seen in the video... hope you enjoy it!

PLAY VIDEO (this link will take you to You Tube).

Copyright Ju Blencowe 2010

jhyfojhf

No more begging for young mum Oliver

2010-11-05T12:36:00.001Z

Young mum Oliver Byakatonda no longer relies on begging

A delighted Oliver Byakatonda has been able to stop begging and start a small restaurant, thanks to an income-generating grant from Child of Hope.
Her restaurant may not look much by Western standards - the cooking is done outdoors, as is the dining - but the impact of the business has been enormous for 35 year-old Oliver and her family of three children.
She said: “It has helped me to acquire basic needs for my family – things such as food, clothes, shelter and medication. Before, my life was hopeless and miserable. I was begging for a living and depending on people’s help to survive.
“My life has changed so much. I no longer get stressed and worry about how to eat and sleep. May God bless Child of Hope.”

eyerth

Just another day in the rain

2010-10-29T18:54:00.000+01:00

Little toddler Hellen was all alone on Wednesday. She’d have been OK if her dad hadn’t abandoned her mum a while back... and if her mum wasn’t drunk every day on the local brew... and if she didn’t live in the Namatala slum...

So at just 18 months old, she struggled naked and alone through a kilometre of torrential rain to the only place she knew where she might get some love and feel safe. She knew the nursery school was the place other children went and maybe she instinctively felt she could get help there too. By the time she reached the edge of our compound she had fallen over many times in the mud and we were devastated to see her beaten down by the heavy rain, her little legs all tired and bruised.
This kind of thing just breaks our hearts.

Thankfully the staff saw her, quickly picked her up and brought her inside. They put a little dress on her, gave her a bottle of soda, then laid her down to rest for a while. Soon she was fast asleep, snoring for over an hour knowing she was somewhere safe, warm and dry.
Hellen is just one of hundreds of tiny kids who roam around the slum every day looking for a safe, dry environment, wanting people who can help and show her love and dignity. This time she was fortunate. We expect we’ll see her again.

wewerth

Thank you, this has changed my life

2010-10-26T10:52:00.001+01:00

An income generating grant from Child of Hope has worked wonders for 33 year-old Alice Longole and her seven children – by helping her start her own charcoal-selling business. Now Alice is able to cater for her family by paying rent and buying food and other basic needs.
She said: “Before this, life was so hard and my family was struggling to survive in the slum. I could buy things on credit and sometimes fail to pay them before. Often my children would sleep without eating that day.’’
Alice is very grateful to Child of Hope for the grant she received and says it has changed her life. On top of that, one of her children is being sponsored for primary education which is really helping.
Now she has plans of expanding her business and building her own house!

qerg

The roof is on!

2010-10-25T17:55:00.000+01:00

OK, it's a concrete slab that will eventually form the next floor of the building - but for now it's the roof and it means the Child of Hope nursery school can move into its own building early next year!

So, depending on the opening date, the school will admit between 30 and 60 new pupils; we'll feed them, clean them up, clothe them, help them physically and spiritually, and of course, provide them with free education. Thank you for helping us do it!

The next task is to do the plastering and getting the ground floor ready for next year. Lots to do... back soon with more pictures.

sdfh

erthdrtsh

New literature... if you'd like some!

2010-10-16T13:48:00.000+01:00

We have been asked by supporters for literature to help them spread the word about Child of Hope to their family, friends and churches. So we've had some printed.

Now, we're only a small charity (expanding fast!) and run entirely by volunteers in the UK. So we're keen to keep all costs down and are proud to tell supporters that 100% of their donation reaches the work at the Namatala slum in Uganda. But we've found helpful sources of some low-cost printing and can now offer you literature if you'd like some.

At this stage, the range is limited to a couple of postcards (one explaining the work in general terms, and the other specifically on child education sponsorship) and a business card-sized card, but they're in full colour and contain all the information you need.

If you would like some, please e-mail the Child of Hope UK office with quantities and we'll post them to you within a couple of days.

rtytyj

New school building: progress report

2010-09-27T12:13:00.000+01:00


The walls are up and slabbing is underway.

Things are moving on a pace on the ground floor of the school building that will soon house the nursery school!
The walls are up; now steelwork is being put in place that will support the concrete ceiling and floor of the next level. Carpenters are putting timber around the steelwork so they can be cast with concrete to become concrete beams. Work is also ongoing on the stairs from the ground to the first floor.
The next step will be to put a thick wire mesh across the whole slab area, then the concrete slab will be laid and time allowed for it to set properly. The slab will extend out beyond the walls a short distance to prevent rainwater running down the walls and shelter the windows.
Once the slab is complete, a small veranda will be added right around the building, walls will be plastered and doors and windows fitted. Plus some landscaping and a fence around the site.
We are not proceeding with the first floor until the compound and the ground floor are properly completed to allow us to occupy it in the new year. Watch this space!
The next phase will be the first floor and and an exploration of how Child of Hope School should expand to teach primary school children!

ertj

Yes... it's our 50th education sponsorship!

2010-09-21T12:24:00.000+01:00

Charlotte Sellers (left) with her friend Ruth in Namatala... oh,
and lots more kids waiting for sponsors - can you help?

Hey, here’s a milestone... Child of Hope just arranged education sponsorship for its 50th child!
OK... that may not sound many, but it's having a huge impact in the lives of those 50 children and their families. And in all, the charity now sponsors or educates for free over 120 children in the Namatala slum!
The new sponsor is Charlotte Sellers, who was in Mbale in February and March this year and had an amazing time. She went to work in the Joy Hospice as part of her medical elective after finishing her medical degree.
She and her friend Ruth spent a couple of days in Namatala and Charlotte says the experience she had will stay with her forever.
“We did a quick check-up for over 60 children and were also taken around the slum and the new building site by Bex and Moses. They also kindly invited us to their home for dinner.
“Namatala is now always in my prayers and often in my thoughts. I had such a sense while I was there of God's heart and how each and every one of these children who have so so little are so so special and individual to him. I am so excited to be able to sponsor one or two of these children that he loves so much! Bex and Moses are just the absolute most inspirational couple and what they are doing is fantastic. They are making a genuine, significant, authentic and long lasting difference in these children's lives and in the community - how amazing! I would so so love to spend more time there in the future and hope to support them as much as possible. We can't all live there but we can all contribute in whatever way we can!"

Cha

You'll have to put your feet up then, Moses

2010-09-16T16:50:00.000+01:00

No picture... it's just as well as Moses is getting frustrated over all the power cuts at both the Child of Hope office (where power has been off for around a week), and at home during the day, so he's not getting much admin done. Ah well...

qwf

Olwen's in Uganda... and loving it

2010-09-09T09:52:00.000+01:00

Olwen Green in Namatala

Olwen Green is currently in Uganda helping Bex and Moses and their team - and doing some excellent work training school staff and putting systems into place in time for when the school moves into its new building early next year.

She said: "In January 2010 I started on a winding path to the unknown. In August this path brought me to Namatala and Child of Hope. Am I glad? Well, let me tell you about it......

Olwen working with people on COH's income generating

"I am in Africa as part of a scheme run by the WAG and Adopt a Business, working on an International Learning Opportunity project. (The ILO is set up so that we can use our professional experiences in Africa.)

With team member Philip at the new school building project

"Namantala is a huge slum and Child of Hope is doing tremendous long term work there. I have been given so many opportunities; spending time with the children; writing policies with the staff; developing an assessment system; INSET; setting up a monitoring system and attending parents evening.

"But best of all I know that there is more to come.

"I am in awe at the impressive work COH and all associated with it has achieved since 2004.
I feel privileged to be a very small part of the whole process and hope that my contact with them carries on in the future."

lkhv

Haircut sir?

2010-09-05T20:25:00.000+01:00

A haircut... Child of Hope style

Keeping clean (and therefore keeping healthy) is a tough job in Namatala slum. If children aren't able to keep clean then parasites/bugs take residence in their bodies - which is what our pupils go through because their families usually can't afford the basics like water and soap.

One of the things the kids struggle with is keep their hair and scalp in check. Their hair is obviously very thick and curly, which means it's a haven for various nasty bugs (ringworm, scabies, lice, bacterial infections, etc). The easiest way to sort this out is to shave their hair very short - so, although they all end up looking like they're in the army (!), it does help with keeping the scalp healthy. Then at least the staff can see the infections and treat them.

You'll find the staff checking the heads each morning as the kids line up to come in to school. They'll use ointments and local preparations to kill off the parasites and infections. There are some mums who are able to cope with this problem themselves, and are good at keeping an eye on their kids health, which enables a few girls to grow their hair and have it plaited.

Fancy a drink from this?

2010-08-27T11:22:00.000+01:00

Stream where children collect water if their families cannot afford
to buy clean water

No, nor do we! And not for the children we support, either, so we provide clean drinking water every school day.
There are only a couple of taps nearby from the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (a bit like our water supply in the UK) but standpipes are owned by the landowners where they're positioned, and they charge the community 100 shillings (approximately 3p) for 20 litres.
However, if you've got no money at all - then even 3p is a lot - and many of the community use local streams like this one, or the river - which have rubbish, excrement and many varied bugs lurking in them. Pretty horrific really.

To combat that, each day we take water from the tap situated in Mustard Seed Church compound - where the nursery is currently located and where the nursery and primary kids have breakfast and lunch. We pay the monthly bill for Mustard Seed as we're usually the main users.
But the water even from the standpipe isn't safe to drink - you can still get typhoid, etc from it. So we treat it with a chemical called 'Waterguard' which kills all harmful bugs in a matter of minutes. Then we add some squash to give it a flavour and, hey presto, safe and tasty water!

We also use that standpipe to give the children a bath if they arrive very dirty or haven't been able to find any water at home. They just strip down, use some of our soap and get on with it with a little help from Grace (one of our teaching assistants).
Often you can turn the tap on and not get any water - it just runs dry. So we have built a storage tank which continually fills up when water is available. If National Water turns off the supply (as it often does), at least we have a tankful left to use.

Income generation: Olivia's story

2010-08-17T11:23:00.000+01:00

Since receiving a Child of Hope income-generating grant, Olivia is now able to provide for herself and her son and has regained some of her dignity... and hope for the future. After just three months, Olivia had managed to put aside about £40 as savings for the future. Each time that we meet with her, she cannot stop praising God and thanking Him for all that He has done for her and her son.

Olivia lives with her eight year old son in the Namatala slum. Her husband ran away and abandoned them some years ago. She had a small market stall selling vegetables but the business collapsed when she was taken very ill.

For the last five years, she and her son have been living in a tiny room in a house that is due for demolition. This meant that, although there was no rent to pay, they could be thrown out onto the streets at any time. They were barely surviving and were relying upon small irregular hand-outs of money and food from the local church. Olivia was very depressed and had lost all hope.

After attending our business training course, Olivia decided that she could start up a small roadside restaurant. We helped her realise her new dream and provided her with a grant of around £21, which enabled her to purchase a good quantity of food stuffs and ingredients, various cooking utensils, some plates and cups and also put up a small structure for her customers to shelter in whilst they are eating.

The new restaurant opened on 13th April 2010, serving breakfasts of cassava chips and tea to children on their way to school, and lunches of beans and posho (maize flour) to men working locally. We have continued to mentor her and the business each week. There have been some difficult challenges but the business is going really well.

agrsfth

Sports day!

2010-08-13T10:58:00.000+01:00

Flying the plane

Three-legged race

Twister - kids love it everywhere. here are the rules...

Skipping is anothyer global past-time!

Twister... not so easy as it looks, huh?

Great pals, these guys

The girls love netball... so do the boys

OK, so here's how you do the hopping race

What's the time, Mr Wolf? Dinner time!

A bit of footie fun for the guys

lkglkjg fthtfh

Isaac is a very happy boy!

2010-08-10T11:11:00.000+01:00

While Moses and Bex were in the UK they met up with Isaac's sponsors - Gary and Tina Wood and their two children, Jake and Jordan. They wanted to get Isaac something special but realised luggage space would be limited - so they gave some money and told Moses and Bex to buy Isaac what he needed - £20 which can go an awful long way in Uganda!
It bought a new mattress, a new blanket, school bag and some new clothes - Isaac's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw it all! His family were amazed too.
Isaac lives with his mum and six siblings (including a new baby sister) in a tiny thatched mud hut and they were all very excited to see a new mattress - this would be the first time any of them had ever slept on anything other than just a mat on the hard mud floor. You can fit quite a few children on one mattress, you know!
Isaac is very proud of his gifts and you can see him in the photos showing them off to his neighbouring friends. Isn't it amazing how just £20 can really change the standard of living, not just for one little boy, but for his family too! Big thanks to the Wood gang and all our sponsors.

sdrtg

Ceri and the kids

2010-08-06T15:49:00.000+01:00

Dr Andy Douglass and his wife Ceri have helped out here in Uganda several times. Dr Andy helps cover for Dr Jan at JOY Hospice and did an outreach clinic to our kids a while back. Meanwhile Ceri asbsolutely adores children and pops in to see our kids when she gets a chance to read them a story and sing a song about Jesus.

;lk

The pits... but in a good way!

2010-08-04T15:44:00.000+01:00

Child of Hope was pleased to work in conjunction with the Student Association for Medical Aids (SAMA) of Mcgil University (Canada) led by Alex Jinwoo. They carried out a mobile medical outreach in Namatala for four days... and then... they helped build five more pit latrines!

These latrines are in the most densely populated areas where previously there were no sanitation facilities. One of the latrines caters for 150 people. Everyday there are about 1000 people using these latrines.

If you'd like to see more of this, you CAN help! A donation of £75 will build a latrine and improve sanitation.

ghghgh

Doctors in action

2010-08-02T21:52:00.000+01:00

These are pics from a recent clinic when Moses' brother (Dr Olupot) conducted research into scanning kids' hearts with an American doctor- while at it, they did some basic health checks on them too.

sfgh

What Rowan says...

2010-07-31T18:33:00.000+01:00

Medical student Rowan McCarthy is currently visiting Child of Hope in Uganda and here's an excerpt of an e-mail we received today...

"...Even though I knew it would be a shock to visit Namatala (Mbale's slum) I was still shocked when I was shown around. Living conditions are desperate, with tiny, virtually empty, mud huts 'housing' around 8 people each, with a lack of food and extremely dirty water. Having spoken to the people who work there, and seen a little of how life works there myself, it seems that the only way out of the cycle of poverty is by educating the children from a young age. This will enable children to acquire skills as they grow up, enabling them to earn money, and provide for their families, as well as giving them the confidence and hope to make a difference to the community themselves. So Child of Hope's ethos is brilliant, and making a real difference in the lives of families who live there.

"I have been down to the nursery/school and played with the kids that have been taken on by the Child of Hope team, and they are just amazing - full of joy, enthusiasm and are well behaved. Also Jesus is on the Child of Hope curriculum, and many children (all who understand in fact) have made a personal choice to follow Him!! They have been going back and praying for their families and seeing miracle healings! I'm looking forward to spending more time with them over the next couple of weeks, playing, teaching, and whatever else God wants :-)

"I was also shown the school building project, which is hoping to have floor 1/3 completed in time for the new Ugandan school year, it is amazing to see the faith of Bex and Moses in everything they take on, including this building which will enable many more children to be educated."
..

Business Incentive Grant (BIG)

2010-07-30T11:51:00.000+01:00

Project BIG is one of Child of Hope’s projects run by Martin Hayter – and it is making a significant impact to the families of the children we are helping!

By providing mums with a business incentive grant, they are then able to pay their rent, buy food and educate other children in their family who are not being helped by Child of Hope. Currently there are 30 women involved in these income generating activities. In this quarter alone, ten more women were added into the scheme and the project is now running 10 different types of business.

If you'd like to help pay for more families to benefit, a gift of just £23 will provide another grant to a family. Simply e-mail our office and we'll send you a form.
;;

Latest Newsletter

2010-07-12T00:45:00.000+01:00

Dear supporters - the latest newsletter direct from Moses and Bex in Uganda is ready to download

Meanwhile in the UK...

2010-07-09T09:49:00.000+01:00

Bex and Moses are back in Uganda and pressing in with the new building. In the UK, our new charity status has introduced new opportunities - one of which will be our ability to reclaim Gift Aid on donations from UK taxpayers. Nearly there, just a bit more form-filling!

In preparation for that, we have been contacting our donors to make a note of our swishy new bank account that's much easier to use and provides us with a lot more information - and asking people to complete a Gift Aid declaration in readiness. If we have missed you... big apologies and please get in touch by e-mail.

Phil Dowding

Meet Bex and Moses while they're in the UK

2010-05-27T16:26:00.000+01:00

Bex and Moses from Child of Hope are currently in the UK and will be visiting several local churches, so hopefully you can get a chance to meet them... if you're near Poole in Dorset.

We have also arranged a couple of special opportunities for you to see them again, if you'd like to. They would love to meet you.

Here are the dates:
1. Sat June 19, 2-4pm at Lytchett Matravers Carnival
They plan to have a stall at the carnival, selling some goods from Uganda. Click here for a map

2. Sat June 26, 10am-12 noon at Lighthouse Church, Holton Heath.
Directions to the church can be found on the church website.
Come and have a chat over coffee and cake.

Phil Dowding

Now a UK registered charity!

2010-05-27T16:22:00.000+01:00

It took a while, but Child of Hope is now a registered charity in the UK.

One of the benefits will be our ability to reclaim Gift Aid from your kind donations, and we'll be writing to all regular donors shortly asking if you'd kindly complete a new form that will enable us to achieve that. Our registed charity number is 1136068 (England and Wales).

Phil Dowding

Lighthouse team visit April 2010

2010-05-04T13:02:00.000+01:00

A team from Bex's home church (Heather, Bryony, Julie & Sheila) had a great visit in April to Child of Hope. They received a very warm welcome from the children and teachers alike, sharing Bible stories, songs and different ideas to help the children's learning.
The children were very proud of the bracelets they made, each bead representing part of the Gospel message.

They were very excited by all the clothes and shoes donated by people in the Lighthouse Church and by Victoria School, where Julie works. Every child was able to receive a gift, which they wore with pride.

And they loved learning how to play with the parachute the team took out for them.

The people of Lighthouse Family Church had donated many pens, pencils and other stationery items that will keep the school well stocked for several months.

The teachers do a brilliant job in cramped conditions, so the new school building will enable many more children to benefit from the education and nutrition programme.

The team took out a number of small blackboards and chalks. Former teacher Heather demonstrated how these could be used to check on children's individual learning when working in a small group. On our last day they took in paints so the teachers could try different ways they might use them with the children.

The Lighthouse-rs were able to visit some of the children's homes and really saw the difference that Child of Hope is making to the poorest families of Namatala. The credibility of the charity was evident to the Lighthouse team when several mothers asked to give their lives to the Lord as the team went on a prayer walk through the area.

There was great excitement on seeing how the new school building is developing... here’s Bex and Moses at the site.

Building Update

2010-04-27T00:23:00.000+01:00

Our building project for the Child of Hope Nursery is progressing well... if not a little slowly! It took many months to obtain permission from local authorities in Mbale, but that all came through and the building started. Now we have made a start on the brickwork and the classes are starting to take shape.

All the builders (and the qualified engineer) are locals living in the Namatala slum and are highly motivated to see this project to completion. We have also hired an independent engineering consultancy firm which checks that all the building phases conform to the national standards.

As always, the lack of money in the building fund holds things back... so if you know anyone with lots of spare cash, ask them to send it to us!

BUILDING PROJECT - MARCH UPDATE

2010-03-17T22:42:00.000Z

Have you ever wondered how Noah felt when God asked him to build a giant boat in which to save a remnant of humankind? Well, perhaps we are discovering here as the building work on the ‘Child of Hope’ school has well and truly begun. Unlike Noah, we can definitely see the desperate need for our construction all around us but, perhaps like him, we are a bit daunted by the size of the task that God has given us!

Anyway, having finally received official approval of our plans from the Local Council, work commenced on the foundations of the building. Well, it seemed the right place to start! In fact, for those of you who know us (and particularly those of you who have seen the state of the goat house that Moses built!), you will be extremely relieved to hear that we are not personally involved in any of the actual construction work.

Instead, we have engaged the expert services of a local construction engineer, who is responsible for ensuring that we build something that is going to last considerably longer than forty days and forty nights! In fact, each stage of the building work also needs official approval and initial reports confirm that our structure will be standing long after we have gone.

First sight of the trenches being dug for the foundations suggested that we had given up on the school and started open-cast mining instead. However, we were assured that, yes, we really did need to go that deep and, no, ladders would not be needed to get the workers out at the end of the day. The speed of the work was amazing and it wasn’t long before actual building work began. There was some small delay when it was discovered that a cobra had decided to take up residence amongst the hardcore. However, he was soon dealt with appropriately, and despite suggestions that the animals were coming in two by two, extensive searching suggested that he was very much alone, much to everyone’s relief.

Very encouragingly, the foundations continued to rise on a daily basis and, then, it started to rain. And, boy, did it rain! Those of you who have experienced a tropical downpour can probably just about imagine how much water comes out of the sky when it rains incessantly for eighteen hours. We were therefore shocked and heartbroken, but not too surprised, when we heard the terrible news from just down the road in Bududa.

There was just so much rain and, as it continued, the great flood began. First, the river in Namatala burst its banks and then the flood plain started to take on the look of giant lake. Even our site, outside of the flood plain, started to look a little bit precarious. However, all stood firm and the decision to put down such deep foundations and to build on raised ground was proved to be inspired.

After some few days’ delay, work re-commenced and the foundations soon reached ground level. Whilst the engineer is providing us with the details of his requirements, we have retained responsibility for purchasing all of the materials. We are determined to make good use of every single shilling that we have been given. No one is keener than Pastor Philip as he haggles incessantly with each of the suppliers, then goes to the yard to ensure that every last brick that has been purchased is loaded onto the truck, before returning to the site to see that every last grain of sand is utilised. However, we can confirm that the rumours that he sleeps on top of the bags of cement and that his wife has not seen him at home for the last month are completely untrue.

As the building starts to emerge from the ground and the sheer scale of the project becomes clear (we regularly have over 20 men working on the site), we have had more and more visitors come to see what we are doing. In a community that has become used to major disappointments and broken promises, the start of the building of a school has created a very large stir as people finally begin to believe that we are serious about partnering with them as they seek to better their families and their community. Expectations have grown dramatically and will become a big burden if we don’t hand them straight over to God.

The building work is fostering a real community spirit and we were so touched when, after giving Peter, our engineer, his fee for the last month’s work, he straightaway handed back ten per cent of the money as a donation for the building of the school.

However, as we see the hope rising in this desperate community, we are somewhat chastened to remember that we have started this project in faith or, as Bex prefers to call it, total denial of reality! We know that we don’t currently have the funds necessary to complete the building. In fact, we are far from it. Will these downtrodden people be let down again? It must not be and yet it is completely out of our hands. Still, we know and trust in the fact that this is God’s school and his building project. Maybe Noah also wondered where the gopher wood was going to come from and yet God provided. The God of Noah is our very same God and He does not change. We know what His heart is for the poor, desperate and downcast. Despite outward circumstances, we know that He will not let down the people of Namatala.

May God bless you.

Martin Hayter