Greetings to our dear sponsors and donors. I thank you on behalf of the Lulwanda Children and staff for the good will of supporting us even when we are all experiencing economic hardships worldwide. Our Children are being raised in the fear and knowledge of God. Allow me to take you through the activities of the month of May.
MEDICAL
Medically our Children are doing great and we thank the Almighty God for His protection. A total of 83 patients were registered comprising the Children and the staff members. Malaria cases were registered with a big number as it’s now a country wide spread disease among the Children. We have fumigated the home and purchased new mosquito nets to reduce malaria cases. We intend to continue fumigating after every three months. Flu and cough which is another challenge among the kids was handled and managed well by the Nurse. We have encouraged our Children to take plenty of water, eat fruits in addition to vitamin C tablets to help boost their immunity. Deworming was done for all the home Children and staff and the pregnancy test for the bigger girls was also done. As usual the test results for all girls were negative and we continue to bless the Lord that our girls are living a pure life that glorifies the name of God.
BACK TO SCHOOL SHOPPING AND FEES CLEARANCE
This month we had our children report back to school for all levels. It’s always a busy period as we plan for shopping and buying scholastic materials. We are grateful that secondary, Trade school and University Children reported back to school successfully with full payment of the school fees. This has been possible because of your financial support which is remitted to Grace International Children Foundation. As the children continue to pursue their educational careers, keep praying that they remain focused and also utilize the blessing that God has provided to be able reach their full potential.
JOHN MUTOSHI
We are grateful to this young man who is focused and is a good example to the rest of the Children. John is a first year student pursuing a degree in Law at the Uganda Christian University Mukono and his desire is to become an advocate for the voiceless and vulnerable people. He decided to spend his holiday volunteering at the farm by cleaning the pigsty and feeding the pigs. He was very resourceful in landscaping for houses 7 & 8 and also digging around the main hall plus trimming the flowers. Later in the day, he runs errands in the social worker’s office and the primary school carrying out a few activities. We are grateful for what God is doing in his life for other Children to learn.
AMBROSE MUTEMA
Ambrose is currently pursuing a 4-year bachelor’s degree of Science in Media Technology at Livingstone International University Mbale. He is right now on an internship at Advent Junior School where he is imparting computer knowledge and skills to the students. We are grateful that our Children are advancing in different fields and are learning the value of serving humanity.
FINANCIAL TRAINING
We have on–going financial training in which staff and children are learning about savings and proper management of money. This month we had two classes running concurrently; the staff training facilitated by Irene the social worker and the Children training facilitated by Olive the social worker and Anthony Wanzala. The staff members studied managing business money and the Home Children studied household money. This was successfully done and now the instructors are in preparation for the next class in June 2022. The turn out was good and the sessions are participatory to ensure that all understand the financial concepts.
STAFF COMMUNICATION
We held a staff meeting to address and enlighten the staff members about the grievance policy. We realized that some staff members forget the organizational policies even when they have signed those policies before being employed. Some of the earlier policies discussed with the staff members and even signed by the members as a requirement for working include the Child Protection Policy and Christian Ethics. The purpose of this discussion was to help staff members to express any grievances without compromising the performance at work. This was a good eye-opener to the staff members who did not know about the right procedures for handling grievances at the workplace.
HARVESTING
The house mothers have started harvesting beans planted in March 2022. The harvest is not as good as was expected due to unreliable weather conditions. The small harvest from the gardens will help us to reduce the money spent on the purchase of food items from the market every week. We are also expecting to harvest maize corn in the month of August and plan to purchase extra maize and beans in the month of August when prices are low and put it in the store to be on the safe side.
WOMEN CONFERENCE
Some of the house mothers attended the women’s conference organized by the Eastern Presbytery Church under the leadership of Mama Aida Ogenga. It was a 3day conference with the theme “Lies women believe”. The conference was a blessing to the mothers as they discovered the truth in light of the Biblical teachings. They also held small groups where women and the team leader shared on how to manage a family and the Children as a responsible mother. We are grateful to Mama Aida for inviting the house mothers to be part of the conference.
CONCLUSION
We continue to thank you for being God’s vessel to bring hope to the Lulwanda Children. What lies ahead of them is bright and this is attributed to your continued support which brings a big difference in the lives of these kids. The tangible results are clear and even the blind can see the improvements. All our kids are very appreciative of your support. You are the reason for the big smiles as they continue to stay at Lulwanda Children’s Home. Thank you so much and may the Grace of God be with you all.
In His Grace
Paul Isabirye
Administrator-LCH
