Merry Christmas to you all! I bring warm greetings from the little beloved Children and staff of Lulwanda as we conclude this remarkable year 2020. We are grateful to the Almighty God who enabled us to get through the year amidst a lot of challenges. Thank you for standing with us and supporting Lulwanda Children as part of your family. As we approach our 20^th anniversary of the initial plans for rescuing and supporting these orphans (who were once rejected and abandoned by society), you have been faithful to God, and we are now harvesting the fruits of your labor. I thank you for supporting this noble cause that has brought positive changes in the lives of our Children. Allow me to brief you on the highlights of the month of December.

MEDICAL

All our Children and staff members are doing great physically, emotionally and socially.  We had minor cases of flu, cough and malaria which were handled at the home. Also a few cases were taken to Joy hospice for further investigations to rule out any suspicion of Covid. We had a one day medical camp organized by Hope medical Centre within our area of operation and offered free medical services to both the Children and staff members. The activities involved HIV/AIDS screening, deworming, counseling and education about sexually transmitted diseases and hygiene.

FIRST GRADUATES

Allen Muhijja and Sylvia Logose graduated this month both with a degree in Social Work and Social Administration. They are a living testimony of the work that God is doing at Lulwanda.  They are now a source of inspiration to the rest of the Children. This was evidenced on the day of the Christmas Party as each gave a speech and all Children were very much touched and promised to work hard. We plan to have a graduation party next year 2021 to thank the Almighty God for this great achievement. Thank you very much for all that you have contributed to ensure Allen and Sylvia realized their dream in order to have a better future. We are expecting more University Children like Mercy, Ivan and Doreen to graduate next year March 2021 if they complete the examination papers and other requirements successfully.

Junior Dison Osangada qualified with a Grade III teaching certificate and currently he is employed at Lulwanda Primary School. He is doing a great job to teach his little brothers and sisters. He is a source of inspiration to the Children who have disciplinary issues and an example on how to turn your life around.

SECONDARY HOLIDAY (CANDIDATES)

Our secondary finalist Children (S4 & S6) are back from school after the government had allowed them to report back for learning in October 2020. We are glad that all are healthy and free from Covid-19 which was our biggest worry since they had interacted with so many people at school. They are enjoying the Christmas break but are also reviewing notes in preparation for the final exams due in March 2021. They are expected to report back to school on January 18^th/2021 along with semi-candidates after the presidential elections in January 14^th/2021. We are not certain when the rest of the students will be reporting back to school.

REINTEGRATION

We have reintegrated sixteen (16) youth because they have reached the age of 17 years and are no longer eligible to stay at Lulwanda. They will spend the next two years at our transitional facility-Lulwanda Tendo. This will help them to learn more life skills.

FOLLOW UP OF RESETTLED CHILDREN

A follow up of all resettled Children was conducted this month. A list was forwarded to the Local management committee for consideration of some Children who have reformed and need to be restored back. This list is still under scrutiny by the local management board. Once it’s done with recommendations, we shall forward it to the US Board for further scrutiny and advice.

FINANCIAL TRAINING

Our social workers Irene Mutuwa, Olive Kalenda plus Anthony Wanzala a Child of Lulwanda attended a financial training session facilitated by Virgil Hughes of New Vines International, inc. (NVI). The training was carried out via Zoom and was organized by Mama Aida Ogenga and Larry Hoelscher. The training was aimed at equipping the participants with skills of how to save money and protect the savings through financial discipline. It’s important to have saving goals in life and work hard at achieving such goals and this was backed up with scriptures. Upon completion of the training the trainees will come and train the rest of the staff members plus the reintegrated Lulwanda Children. This will help our reintegrated Children to start up business enterprise from the savings they have secured. Great thanks to Larry Hoelscher who financed the training which included other Church members from the Eastern Presbytery.

CHRISTMAS PARTY

It was all joy when we held the Christmas Party for all the staff members and the Children. The party started with different activities like dancing, sack racing, water bottle filling, and football between the staff and Children. As expected the Children who are skillful in football beat the staff members and took the trophy. The party turned up to be a reunion with our older kids who were reintegrated with clan members and had taken quite a long period of time without visiting Lulwanda. We felt the joy and love of God as we hugged and shared a meal with our Children. We used the same opportunity to counsel our Children to embrace Christ who will secure their bright future both on earth and after life.

Apart from the Christmas party, our Children have been involved in singing, learning to play instruments and playing football. We organized a football tournament with the community people and our team played so well even though it ended in a draw. Since we are in the campaign period, some politicians grabbed the opportunity to campaign and donated some little money to the two teams. All was well during this Christmas period.

CONCLUSION

All I can say is Ebenezer! It has been a year of challenges but God Has been faithful and His grace has been sufficient. The world has been greatly affected by Covid-19 and we shall live to tell the next generation, but let us continue to fix our eyes on the creator of Heaven and Earth for the ultimate solution. We are praying for the quick recovery of our friends who are sick of Covid-19. Thank you for the love and support given throughout the year. As we celebrate the 20^th anniversary of the initial idea of Lulwanda, just know that we appreciate all of you for the kind heart towards the orphans of Lulwanda for the Glory of His Name. HAPPY NEW YEAR 2021 FRIENDS!

IN HIM

PAUL ISABIRYE

LCH-ADMNISTRATOR

I bring joyous greetings from the Lulwanda family. The year is coming to an end and it’s hard for us to realize that you will not be able to visit us this year. I know all of you are longing to see our kiddos! Our prayer always is for God to protect you and grant you good health so that we meet again come next year 2021.  A lot of great things happened this month and we are grateful to the Almighty Lord for what He is doing in our midst. It’s now a full month since certain measures were lifted after the lockdown by the government.

Many people have lost their lives across the globe and life has changed for all families due to the effects of covid-19. The pain and fear shared by all the people across the globe is still fresh on our minds and our prayer for 2021 is total healing and recovery from the Coronavirus. As we re-opened the Home to allow staff members like teachers to return, and community candidate kids reported back to School as announced by the government, we had great fear that the virus could easily be spread to the Lulwanda Children.  Thankfully we have not registered any related covid-19 case and we are grateful to the Almighty God. Continue praying that nothing will ever happen to our Children and staff members.

HEALTH

All our Children and staff members are doing great. We have all the first aid medical supplies to take care of the minor illnesses like flu, cough and minor injuries as they play during the free time. All our Children including the house moms received a dose of Albendazole tablets for deworming this month. We are in touch with our health partners like Joy Hospice in case there is a need to carry out laboratory tests. We have given our Children supplements of daily vitamins to boost their immunity. Mary Namari still has the challenges with her sight which has affected her studies at school. She was taken back to St. Benedict Eye Centre-Tororo and placed an order for a special pair of glasses which will improve her sight.

SOCIAL BONDING

We shall NOT take our Children in the villages for social bonding with the clan members as has been the case previously. We can’t risk the lives of our Children where we are not sure that the Ministry of Health guidelines and procedures will be adhered to during the Christmas period. It’s again a blessing to celebrate Christmas with all our Children. We plan to have a number of activities to simply enjoy Christmas and also teach our Children the real meaning as to why Christ came into the world.

TENDO CHILDREN

A total of 12 Children have completed the two year stay at Tendo and will be exiting it by December 2020. At this point, we believe all of them have acquired the necessary life skills to survive outside Tendo. This will help us to create space to accommodate the new entrants who have been reintegrated after reaching the age of 18 years. I will be sending the updated list of Children entering and exiting Tendo next month.

UNIVERSITY CHILDREN

 We have six Children who should have joined the University by August 2021 but due to covid-19 this has not gone to plan. Peace Ayombe, Brenda Namakoye, Mary Nalumansi, and Joseph Wabuyi have been admitted at Uganda Christian University Mbale. Ambrose Mutema was admitted at Livingstone University Mbale and Malvin Nakayenze at Makerere University- Kampala on a government sponsorship. This month, Peace Ayombe, Mary Nalumansi and Brenda Namakoye are conducting online studies right now while Joseph, Ambrose and Malvin will begin next year January 2021. The ones studying online are doing well and have shown interest in the studies. University and trade school is becoming very expensive due to the increasing number of Children joining every year.  We continue to pray for God’s providence in catering for the educational needs of our Children. The final year students were meant to graduate this year 2020 but due to the closure of all schools and Universities, they were unable to complete and graduate last July 2020. Right now they are winding up the assignments and hopefully, they will be able to graduate next year 2021. Continue praying for them that nothing hinders the way as they wind up with their studies and let the Almighty God protect them while at the University.

SECONDARY REPORTING

All our secondary kids who reported back to school are doing well. We did not have an opportunity to visit them due to covid-19 restrictions. We provided all the scholastic materials and requirements needed at school including the fees. However, we are in touch with the school administration in case there are additional needs.  They will be breaking off for holidays on 18^th/December and go back to school in early January 2021 as they prepare to do the final exams in March and April 2021. Let us continue praying for them to excel in the final exams.

LULWANDA PRIMARY SCHOOL

All is well for the primary school as teachers are busy helping our children to complete the syllabus before the closure of the second term. The candidate Children have been registered with the Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB) and they will be sitting for the final exams in March 2021. The Lower primary kids are equally busy learning from Home as schools are not yet open for lower classes. The candidate Children will break off on December 18^th and come back early January 2021.

FARM

Our Children have harvested maize and beans they planted in the first season and they are soon harvesting for the second season. Children together with the house mothers have participated greatly in the garden work and they do it out of love because it’s their responsibility and duty.  We have small vegetable gardens around the new houses and Children enjoy picking a few leaves to add to their diet. Our children enjoy taking milk from the farm cows on a daily basis.  This has helped to save money which we would be spending to buy milk to boost the immunity of our Children. Once in a while our Children eat pork slaughtered from our piggery farm and once we raise more chicken, then our Children will start enjoying Chicken meat.

CONCLUSION

Thank you for the support and we are so grateful for your kind hearts. As we get close to celebrating Christ’s birth, let us reflect on the hope, peace, love and joy brought by Christ. His arrival brought transformation in the world which can’t be disputed by all loving Children of God. We are planning to have a Christmas party for the staff members together with our Children on December 19^th 2020. Sending you all lots of love from Lulwanda and wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

IN HIM

Paul Isabirye

Administrator – Lulwanda Children’s Home

DEAR FRIENDS

I bring joyous greetings from Lulwanda Children’s home. Our hope is that you are all well during difficult times. A time of crisis is when one discovers who is a true friend and indeed you have proved beyond doubt that you are our sincere great friends that God has blessed us with. Thank you for showing the Christ-like love by standing with us during this pandemic of Covid-19. I am happy to report that none of our Children has suffered from this deadly disease and we continue to pray for God’s protection upon you our donors and sponsors.

MEDICAL

All is well and God has been merciful during this Coronavirus season. Children are healthy, and apart from occasional flu or malaria there have been no serious illness or injuries. Thank you all for your prayers and donations during this trying time. One Praise is that our sweet dear Lydia Mukite who had broken her leg and had surgery is now able to walk, run, and jump without any pain. The metal pins have also been removed and it’s hard to tell that she has ever had the surgery.

 PRIMARY SCHOOL, SECONDARY SCHOOL AND UNIVERSITY FINALIST

Our Children in candidate classes for both primary and secondary have reported back to school as per the presidential directives, and we are praying that all goes well. The Children who reported for secondary include; John Mutsoshi and Abel who are in S.6 at St. Mary’s Lugazi, Carol Naula S.6 Tororo girls, Norah Masai S.4 St. Mary’s Lugazi, Gift Naluboka S.4 Tororo Girls plus the seven Candidate Children of Mbale Secondary School.

University Children who were supposed to graduate in May 2020 have gone back to the University to finalize research work and exams. Hopefully by February or March 2021 they will be able to graduate. Please continue to keep them in your prayers.

DISCIPLESHIP

Due to the continued closure of schools and closing / opening of churches from time to time, all discipleship at LCH has been handled by Pastor Martin and house moms within the facility. The Children meet twice a day to worship and study God’s Word. They also have family devotions conducted by the house mothers before bed. Tuesday Bible studies for Tendo have been transformed to digital Bible study. We have provided them with unlimited internet and the materials along with worship songs for them to use when meeting each evening as a family. This has fostered an environment where each Tendo Child takes turns leading the discussion and teaching with provided materials. All resettled LCH children or Tendo Children that did not have or had lost their Bibles have had replacements provided to them so they also can participate. This has caused us to grow closer as a family and draw near to God in a very powerful and unique way. All glory to God Almighty for His turning tragedy and chaos into beauty.

MINISTRY OF GENDER INSPECTION

We received officials from the Ministry of Gender and they were much impressed with our home, especially with the construction of the new houses and home like environment. The commissioner said this will enable proper monitoring of Children, and children will be raised well since they receive the love and care from the house mothers. During our quarterly meeting for wardens and Administrators country wide which was held on line, the Commissioner urged other homes to visit Lulwanda and borrow a leaf of what we are doing.

MAMA AIDA AND “I CHOOSE YOU” KIDS

We are grateful to Mama Aida for sparing time to come and share life experience with our kids and staff. The “I choose you” kids were able to share the word of God and urged Lulwanda Children to count themselves blessed by God since they have friends around the world who love, care and think about them all the time.

Mama Aida had a wonderful session with the house Moms and urged them to remain united in order to raise the Children who are useful in the society. She encouraged the house moms to love the Children even in difficult times. Even when the Covid-19 disease escalates, nobody should think of abandoning the Children but should remain and be committed to serving the Children that God entrusted in their care.

FARM HARVEST AND CHICKEN CONSTRUCTION

We started tasting the fruits of our labor by harvesting fresh beans and maize that were planted by our Children together with the house Moms. We planted maize and cassava for the second season and hope to harvest maize by December and cassava by July 2021. Our Children are enjoying farming and have seen the benefit of planting their own crops. This will help us to reduce the costs of purchasing food at home while demonstrating to the Children that families can be sustained very well by growing their own food. 

We have constructed two structures for a chicken rearing project and we hope our Children will be able to learn valuable skills about raising these birds but also bring in some small income for the home. We have started with the broilers (for meat) plus the local birds which are cheaper to keep.

LULWANDA PRIMARY SCHOOL

With the government relaxation of lockdown and allowing candidates back to school, we have used the opportunity to have our LCH home Children to be taught by the teachers at home. We hope by the end of the year our Children will have learned a lot and be ready for the next class. We have a special program for community Children where teachers give out assessment holiday packages after every three weeks and keep the community children busy while at home.

FOOD RELIEF FOR STAFF AND CHILDREN

We are so grateful for the money sent towards food relief for both staff members and our reintegrated Children. This brought a huge smile to every one since most people were not working and the food prices had gone up. With so many dependents at home, life was really very difficult. But with your assistance, all goes well. Thank you so much.

CONCLUSION

As life seems to be coming to normal with the relaxation of the lockdown, we thank you for your continued support during this hard period of time for the last seven months. Thank you for taking keen interest to read this report and praying for us. We appreciate everything you do for the Children of Lulwanda. May the Almighty God bless!

In Him

Paul Isabirye

Administrator

Lulwanda Children’s Home

Dear friends!

I greet all of you in the name of the Lord who has kept all of us safe. I know that all of us may be anxious and busy wondering about the coronavirus pandemic which has posed a great challenge to all humanity. No one knows how long it will last and if it will have any other long lasting effects. Whatever lies ahead of us, we trust in the intervention of God.

OVERALL HEALTH

All our kids and the house moms are doing great. Thank you for promptly supporting us with the additional funds needed to cover the costs of stocking up on three (3) month’s supply of food, household supplies, and medical supplies. Your early intervention has made our lives easier and it has allowed us to continue to feed and nurture the Children for the past two months. We are still in lockdown as a country and we are uncertain when it will end after the official days are over. Continue praying for Uganda as most people are not working any more and don’t have an income source to provide for themselves and their families.  We have already seen an increase in crimes like domestic violence in some families.

LOCKDOWN

Everyone has been locked down whether at LCH or Tendo. As usual, we have ensured that our Children have all their needs supplied. Ryan our medical coordinator has equipped us with all the medical supplies we need, and he only comes to check on the Children when absolutely necessary. I meet with him and Osama once a week in town to plan, update each other, and discuss any matters regarding Lulwanda Children’s Home. Malaria rates have remained steady and we have sprayed for mosquitoes. Lulwanda, due to the quick lockdown and protection of God Almighty, has not seen any cases of Covid-19 or any exposure. Overall life is good and everyone is fed well and healthy. We have been supplementing with multivitamins and vitamin C during this period to keep immune systems strong.

DISCIPLESHIP   

Discipleship continues both at LCH and Tendo but has had to be altered to be in compliance with government regulations. Bible studies at LCH continue but with social distancing and is also becoming more and more home based. Basically there is a bright side as we have been able to concentrate on the spiritual nourishment of our Children. Every day, we have lunch hour prayers and evening bible studies conducted by the house moms in their respective houses with the supervision of Pastor Martin. On Sunday we have a normal service as a family and it’s always beautiful when our kids lead the program, praise and worship. On the same day, we have a fun evening where we have an open house and enjoy every Child or staff member’s performances whenever they have any presentations. This includes dancing, miming Christian songs, reciting scriptures and telling wise sayings including some of our youngest Children like Adrian, Job, Emma, Max, Otim and Praise. LCH Tendo and those who are graduates have been taking part in virtual Bible studies to supplement the weekly Bible study hosted at the Kelley compound each week, which is no longer allowed because of Covid-19 restrictions. The sharing of the word of God has had to shift to continue but we have adapted and are seeing fruit despite the change. Praise God, and continue to pray that God uses this as an opportunity for us as leaders to point the Children to the Almighty God and His purpose even in tough times.

Apart from that, our Children are remaining active in sports like football, volleyball and of course continue enjoying the playground equipment, a favorite for young ones. In the morning hours, some of our kids help in various household chores like the cleaning of the compound, while others help the house moms with the gardening. Others have used this time to learn playing instruments like piano and the guitar. During their free time some watch the TV (especially the girls) while the boys enjoy playing FUFA 2020 on their PlayStation 4. All our Children are kept busy throughout the day.

EDUCATION

As our Children involve themselves in the recreational activities, they also have time to do the holiday package (homework) given by their schools, and home package which was sent by the National Ministry of Education and Sports. As Lulwanda management, we have ensured that all our Children have the learning materials from different sources like the newspapers and via school links. All the government teaching programs on TV are being followed by our Children. We have called the school teachers to start marking the holiday package from their respective homes and bring back the papers for the house moms to revise and do corrections with the Children. The house moms supervise the kids to ensure that they read the story books distributed in their respective houses.

We had a wonderful Easter celebration with our Children. The only difference this year is that they never had any community Christians coming to fellowship with them because of the lockdown. After the service they were served a delicious meal and drinks. Evening time was used for games. I wish to thank you for the funds provided to make this day memorable for our Children.

Once again thank you for standing with us during this period of COVID -19. We are so grateful. Let us continue to pray for God’s blessings, mercy and protection upon everyone during this difficult time. God bless!

In Him,

Paul Isabirye

Administrator- LCH

Dear beloved friends of Lulwanda, l greet you all in the precious name of our Heavenly Lord. Amidst this pandemic of the COVID-19 virus, God is worthy of all the Glory and praise throughout the earth. He can overcome every storm including the coronavirus. Thank you for praying for us even when you are facing the same problem. We are also praying for you that God may protect each of you. There is a reason why all this is happening but victory belongs to those who trust in God for deliverance. His love endures forever!  I am encouraged by 2 Chronicles 7:14 which says, “If my people who are called by my name shall humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Thank you for the inspiration, courage, joy and strength in meeting the needs of Lulwanda. Who can reward you apart from God who started a great work of the ministry in you?

We don’t have many activities this month since were indoors but allow me report on the following.

HEALTH

Medically we are doing well and all staff and children are healthy. Increased malaria rates for the season have been noted due to a rainy season but those rates are beginning to decrease and there have been no complications from any case. We are taking extreme measures to protect our children and staff from COVID-19 at Lulwanda. All non-essential staff have been dismissed for at least thirty days and we are allowing no one in or out of the LCH compound. Essential personnel have mandatory hand washing and disinfection protocols to follow when entering the home. All children have returned from school for quarantine as well. Tendo is also under quarantine and the only person permitted to move in or out is Mama Tendo. She also has strict protocols to follow upon re-entry after buying food stuffs from town. We are prayerful that these efforts will ensure all of the Lulwanda family remains safe and free of illness.

GOVERNMENT RESOLUTIONS ON COVID-19 VIRUS

I wish to thank and commend the government of Uganda for the wise decisions taken in curbing down the virus. A number of restrictions have been put in place like mandatory quarantine for travellers inside Uganda, suspension of public transport and flights, religious gatherings, political and cultural gatherings, closing borders with the neighboring countries, and the closure of all schools among other restrictions. Right now everyone is living in fear due to the increasing number of cases so far. All in all, we believe in God’s intervention. The Government has emphasized social distancing, hand washing and sanitization practices to stop the spread of the virus.

In return, we also educated our children about the coronavirus and put in different measures on how to prevent the spread of the virus at both campuses. Whenever the government adds more preventive measures, we also brief our children so that they stay safe.

STOCKING FOOD

Prices for different commodities and foodstuffs are shooting up as a result of covid-19 virus. We have taken precautionary measures by stocking up on food and household supplies that can carry us for 3 months. We have other essential commodities needed by our children and we hope these will take us a long way before we run short of the supplies. We are grateful for the GICF Board of directors for sending us the extra funds. At least our children have enough to eat for the next three months.

BIBLE STUDY

Discipleship continues to be at the core of what Lulwanda stands for. I wish to applaud Pastor Martin and Ryan for the fabulous job well done. Without a relationship with Jesus Christ and a proper Christian world view, many of our efforts would be pointless. I am encouraged to report that Bible study both at Lulwanda and Tendo has continued to produce fruits in the lives of our children. One example I can give is honesty. In the past our children were very quick to lie and stick to the lies. That is now changing, in part due to the diligent discipleship of staff and how to manage our children’s hearts.  We praise God for the blessing of seeing this change.

Tendo Bible study is more popular than ever. We have 20 children from Tendo who attend weekly, along with 10-15 additional children who have exited Lulwanda and are nearby. This is an amazing opportunity to continue to disciple these children as they are at a critical juncture in their life. Topics covered recently involved apologetics, a biblical view of how to handle disappointment, and fear in the face of coronavirus. With these topics we have been able to use real world examples and pair them with how the Bible directs us to face these challenges. Also emphasis on the hope we should be showing our Muslim brothers and sisters in the face of the fear and uncertainty that is all around us. Be praying that these sessions and studies create disciples not only for our children and their families but that they will be world changers in their testimonies of how great our God is.

CONCLUSION

Continue praying for the Lulwanda management team that God will give us the wisdom and courage to guide the children during this trying moment which is sweeping the globe. Even in hard situations that we shall not abandon the children that God has entrusted in our hands. Continue praying that none of our children will suffer from this virus or else it will be a disaster and none of us would wish such to happen. All in all our children are doing well as we have provided for them recreational activities to keep them busy and happy. I wish to leave you with one verse in Isaiah 26:20, which says “Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation is past”.  Let us stay at home.

Thank you very much and God bless.

Paul Isabirye

Administrator

LCH