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

Greetings to all friends of Lulwanda, I hope each of you is doing well. This month of February has been relatively good on our side. The environment of Lulwanda has completely changed with the construction of the new houses. Most of the time, children are kept busy in their respective houses doing different activities like in any regular family setting. All the children are happy — they feel loved because there are few children per house and their needs are addressed immediately by the house mothers.

HEALTH

All our children and staff are in good health. We have had a few cases of malaria due to the rainy season but this has been handled through our daily routine of testing and giving medicine to those found to be sick. We have cleared the nearby bushes and burnt areas where mosquitos can breed and be a danger to our children. We have medicine in stock to treat all sorts of illness. House moms have been given drugs to treat minor illness like flu, cough and wounds in case a child gets a minor injury. Medically all is well at Lulwanda and I thank the Almighty God for keeping our children safe.

EDUCATION

All of our children reported back to school apart from the candidates who are on their vacation. We bought all the school requirements and personal items to enable them to study well. We made payment of school fees for each child.

It was a great joy having our own children who sat for their Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education excel in the national exams. The UACE are the final exams that determine a child’s entry into a degree program at a quality University. The maximum that one can score is 20 points and below is how they performed.

S.N	NAME	POINTS SCORED
1	Malvin Nakayenze	19
2	Andrew Dezi	14
3	Peace Ayombe	13
4	Mary Nalumansi	13
5	Joseph Wabuyi	12
6	Ambrose Mutema	09

Malvin made us proud as she was the best student in Tororo District and of course the best student in the school. She appeared in the Uganda national newspapers as one the best and genius students in the country. The school offered a small envelope to her as an appreciation for the outstanding performance. Malvin will be joining the University on government bursary (scholarship) for the next 3 years. She now joins her LCH sister Maliza who went on government bursary last year. We give glory and honor to the Almighty God who granted knowledge and understanding to our children.

We have secured admission letters for our children who sat for S4 last year (2019) and passed to join A’ Level. Mary Namubi and Sarah Fatuma Namubya went back to Tororo Girls School. Mary is doing Literature, Entrepreneurship, Divinity and I.C.T while Sarah Fatuma Namubya is doing History, Entrepreneurship, Literature and I.C.T.  The two girls are aspiring to become lawyers.  Andrew Masiga joined Mbale Secondary School and he is taking Divinity, Art, Geography and ICT.

 Some who did not make it to A’ Level successfully are admitted to trade schools to study courses as listed below;

S/N	NAME	COURSE	INSTITUTION
1	Florence Naali	Certificate in Hotel and institutional catering	Christian Childcare project
2	Jimmy Wambi	Certificate in ICT	MTAC
3	Sarah Kainza	Certificate in ICT	MTAC
4	Faith Alinga	Certificate in ICT	MTAC
5	Wycliff Seddu	Certificate in ICT	MTAC
6	Grace Egulansi	Fashion and design	MTAC
7	Hellen Namulinda	Fashion and design	MTAC
8	Yusuf Mukasa	Certificate in commercial Art	Miken Vocational Institute

Sarah Gimono, who excelled at O’ level decided to join Nursing instead of A’ level and she is currently admitted at Salem Brotherhood — Kolonyi for a certificate in Nursing. She dreams of becoming a professional medical personnel and help in improving the health of the community people.

LPS

Lulwanda Primary School opened this year 2020 successfully under the headship of Irene Nasike, deputized by Sarah Ajalo together with Saul Wabomba as director of studies. The school is following the implementation of the new strategies as agreed by the LMC and GICF. The school has an enrolment of 245 children. The communities children are 193 while the home children are 52. The administration has identified gaps in the teaching and learning which they are trying to address through remedial classes. The expenditure for the school has drastically gone down due to the proper use of the available resources. We also hired new teachers to handle areas that were lacking and these new teachers include the following.

1. Simon Peter Wesonga – Math
2. Samuel Masolo             _ Science
3. Mike Opiris                   _ English
4. Joseph Emukada          _ Science
5. Dison Junior. O.           _ Math

Dison Junior Osangada was raised up at Lulwanda and we are glad that we have started employing our own children.  We hope to bring more on board so that they become role models for the other kids. We want them to see that if they work hard and remain disciplined, they can have a bright future.

PEER LEARNING

Lulwanda is now a model home care facility for other institutions to learn the good practices about caring for the children. These institutions are referred to us by the District government officials like the Senior Probation and Welfare Officer. We had a team of members from another child care institution around Mbale. They wanted to learn from Lulwanda Children’s Home how we do our work like organizing and review of records in the children’s files, documentation, and housekeeping of children among other things. At the end of the day, they were grateful to Lulwanda for the insights given and went back happily to clean up their house.

CONCLUSION

We extend our sincere gratitude to our beloved donors and sponsors for the moral and financial support given to Lulwanda to enable us to execute our duties. Great thanks go to the GICF and LMC for instituting policies and guidelines that enable our children to reach their full potential. May the merciful Lord reward you according to His will and God bless.

In Him

Paul Isabirye

Administrator

LCH