I bring greetings from the staff and the little ones of Lulwanda. We continue to thank God for His protection and providence during this difficult time. Once again the home is under lockdown as we are experiencing the second wave of covid-19 pandemic. This seems to be beyond our human wisdom and understanding as the only solution lies in the hands of God. However, we are grateful to the Almighty God who is taking care of these little ones. Allow me to take you through the activities of the month of June.

MEDICAL

Medically this month has been quite an adventure.  We have had an uptick in COVID cases in the country and have strictly observed SOPs despite having few occurrences of staff coming down with the illness.  In collaboration with the District Health Officer (DHO), we fumigated the compound with an antiviral medicine like they use at the airport and has been proven safe and effective.  This medicine helps kill the virus specifically on the surfaces of countertops, and places that are commonly touched by children.  To date we have yet to have any COVID-19 case amongst our children.  Typical illnesses such as wounds and malaria have been non-critical and handled appropriately.  Please continue to pray that God places a hedge of protection over Lulwanda and all associated with its ministry.

HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES

 All our kids are at home during this lockdown. We have bought a number of balls where we keep them entertained and feel okay after garden work and house chores. We have subscribed to most educational television channels where our Children are entertained. Most of our kids feel they should be at school but we have kept on counseling them why it’s not wise for the government to open up schools when the covid-19 cases are on the increase and many people are dying. It’s unfortunate that this time round during the lock down the government has not yet implemented the program of home learning. It’s a total lockdown and even our teachers could not travel and teach our home Children because of the transport restrictions. When the lockdown has been lifted, we hope to bring in the school teachers to help and teach our own kids in their respective houses.

DISCIPLESHIP REPORT

Discipleship continues, despite the partial lockdown.  It has been scaled back to home based worship and teaching.  Materials are provided, and each home can be heard at different times of the day worshiping and praising God Almighty.  We are seeing spiritual growth, which is evidenced in the fruit of their behavior and desire to serve not from fear of punishment, but out of worship to God.  Our children are truly becoming more grateful for what God provides and it is evidenced in the works of their hands (James 2).  Please continue to pray for spiritual growth, and that leaders will emerge among the children with a desire to take the Gospel to all who will hear. 

HARVEST

Our house mothers are doing a great job of teaching our Children garden work. This month we harvested beans equivalent to 1000 kgs. Children have enjoyed eating fresh maize corn and cassava which is supplemented on our daily menu. All our Children have enjoyed garden work and we no longer spend money on planting and weeding. Our Children have indeed seen and realized the fruits and benefits of hard work. Hopefully in another season, we shall be able to harvest more than this season.

MAMA JOY RETIREMENT

This month we celebrated Mama Joy and her retirement from Lulwanda Children’s Home after working for 10 yrs. It was not an easy moment to say bye-bye to someone you have a strong bond for all those years. She retired after having complications with her back due to her advanced age. We tried as much as possible to give medical assistance but Doctors recommended that it’s wise for her to retire from active work. We paid all her retirement benefits and she was very grateful for all the assistance that Lulwanda provided. She promised to always come back and check on the Children and Staff because she feels Lulwanda is her home. While with us she was caring, loving and taught our kids many skills like cooking, making baskets among others. She also taught our Children the word of God during the evening fellowship. We are thankful for her years of service and we shall miss her motherly love greatly. We pray that the good Lord bless her life for what she did for the orphans.

PROGRAM COORDINATOR’S OFFICE

The program coordinator had organized a number of activities but due to covid-19 lockdown, some activities were defered. Kids had baking classes where they learnt to bake different cakes which could be a source of income when they are reintegrated in the community. They were also taught how to make door mats, especially the older kids in upper primary and secondary. They learnt how to use tapestry and threads to make amazing door mats of which I allocated one to every house, so every house got to design theirs accordingly.  All the kids enjoyed the class sessions conducted and they were excited to learn such skills.

We had a birthday party for Children and home staff and it was all fun. We purchased small gifts for the birthday babies and this was exciting since we had taken time without having a birthday party celebration.  

CONCLUSION

I wish to pay tribute to the sacrifice of all our friends for your tireless effort in supporting the Children and ensuring that they have all the essential needs. I am aware that this pandemic has affected the entire world and your sacrifice in heeding to the voice of God is much appreciated. May the Almighty God continue to protect you and bless the work of your hands.

Best regards,

Paul Isabirye

Administrator – LCH

I bring warm greetings from the little ones and staff of Lulwanda. We value the true friendship that you have shown us and we can’t just take it for granted. We are grateful to all of you and to the Almighty God for this gracious opportunity. The Lord Has used you Mightily to give the Lulwanda Children a second chance to live and also to have a bright future. Once without a home but now they belong to the big family of Lulwanda where they have a strong bond with the Uncles, Aunties and all loving friends across the Globe. Once without food, clothing, shelter, medical care, education and above all spiritual nourishment and counselling, but now they have it by the Grace of God. Praise the Lord! Thank you for accepting to be the Lord’s vessel to bring such good news and hope upon the Lulwanda Children.

Currently we are experiencing the second wave of the covid-19 virus in Uganda. The Medical personnel in hospitals are overwhelmed with the big numbers of patients and the death toll is rising quite high. Some people with mild symptoms have resorted to home care treatment. What we need now is God’s intervention because He’s transcendent and can bring healing upon the entire world.

MEDICAL REPORT

The month of May was a blessing in that it saw the end of our temporary lockdown at LCH, after 5 staff members tested positive, but praise be to God fully recovered. We also brought onto LCH staff an on-site nurse named Gloria Faith who is attending to the majority of on-site medical cases under the supervision of the Medical Coordinator. This month we saw 85 patients from LCH home, primary school, and staff & family. The majority of complaints were mild flu and cough, and we had a total of eleven malaria cases. All cases were treated on site and have fully recovered. As the month of May came to an end, we saw a massive uptick in the emergence of the 2nd wave of COVID-19 in Uganda. We are temporarily on a partial lockdown per government and all schools have been closed for a period of 42 days. Please pray that we are able to preserve life, both through protective measures and that God will enable Uganda to endure this second wave, and that God may be glorified despite obstacles in our way.

DISCIPLESHIP REPORT

Discipleship has continued to be conducted both at Lulwanda, Tendo, and Alumni up until the most recent lockdown which closed churches, prayer gatherings, etc. Prior to the lockdown, we have continued to see our children grow in both their knowledge of God, but His purpose for them in His creation. There have been a variety of taboo topics discussed and studied from a Biblical world-view, ultimately leading to biblical leadership within the family for those who are at Tendo/Alumni and inevitably will soon find themselves as husbands, wives, fathers, and mothers. Typical attendance at Lulwanda is compulsory so all attend. Tendo Bible study hosts around 20, and Alumni have attendance of anywhere from 10-20 depending on the week. Bible Study will continue to be delivered electronically to those who are not at LCH, as will personal counselling for those who are in need. On-site devotions and prayers will not be affected. Please continue to pray with us that God prepares the hearts of His Children through the power of the Holy Spirit, and that our leadership reflects His nature and points all to the Cross.

HOLIDAY PROGRAM

As all our Children are back from School after the government announced the lockdown, we have embarked on a number of activities to help them become active and busy. This includes playing football, netball, volleyball and above all having time for Bible study and fellowship. We are waiting for the Government to resume the study programs on Television and Radio like it was in the first Lockdown. However, all our Children at Lulwanda Children’s Home have been given special holiday packages by the teachers to help them review what they had learnt in class before the Lockdown and also help them to research on their own by reading intensively during their free time. 

CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSE 7 & 8

The presidential directives on the lockdown did not affect the construction sites and hence the construction of the two new houses is going on well. The Roofing of the two houses is now complete and hopefully in a couple of weeks the fixing of the windows, doors, wiring and plumbing works will start very soon. Once the construction has been completed, we shall shift the older girls and boys who are in secondary school in these new houses. We hope the construction will be completed within the agreed period as signed in the contract agreement. We are grateful to all of you for the generous contribution towards this noble cause. Our next need shall be the renovation and modification of the boys’ hostel into offices.

PROGRAM COORDINATOR

God has been gracious to us by employing Auntie Mercy Chekwemboi as the program coordinator. Once again, the office of the program coordinator is very active after Auntie Natalie left for the USA. What Mercy does now is proof and testimony of the legacy that Auntie Natalie left behind. Indeed, Children learn by imitating the Adults. Thank you Natalie for the good mentorship. A number of activities were carried out among which was swimming for all P.7, S.4 and S.6 holiday makers. Some of the grown Children were engaged in crafts using papers while the young ones were involved in colouring which is their favourite. Others were involved in taking care of the environment by keeping the compound clean. A number of stories have been captured concerning our kids and very soon such stories shall be published on our website – GICF. This will help you to know more about the Children and how they are progressing before and after Lulwanda.

SOCIAL WORK

The social work office which was operational in the clinic has been shifted to the vacant room in the boys’ hostel. The clinic is now being occupied by the full time Nurse we hired this month. When the renovation and modification of the boys’ hostel has been completed, all offices shall be shifted on the same block. We are praying that God will open doors for the availability of  funds  to carry out the construction.

We have some kids whose care orders are soon expiring and the social workers are busy preparing the paperwork for the renewal. Our biggest concern and worry is whether we shall be able to access the Chief Magistrate since the courts are not fully operational due to the covid-19 restrictions. However everyone understands the situation in which we are operating right now.

This very month, we had planned as the Lulwanda team together with the office of the senior probation and welfare officer to visit the identified vulnerable orphans for rescue. However, this was not possible due to the Lockdown and government restrictions. Once the lockdown is lifted, we shall plan again to rescue the identified kids and we shall inform you accordingly.

COUNSELING AND PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT

Our children need continuous love, care and support during their stay at LCH with us, based on the life they have been exposed to. They feel loved and through this time of interaction, they are able to share their life experiences and find a shoulder to lean on. We get time to share the word of God and encourage them to grow up trusting God as the father and friend at all times. Together we come up with action points to help them deal with the past and focus onto the future

FARM WORK

I’m glad to report that our Children have embraced garden work and right now all houses have started harvesting beans. The idea of farm activities is to help our Children have different skills in farming so as to be able to fit in the community very well and also be able to survive after Lulwanda. So far house one was able to buy a fridge in their house after selling the excess maize they had cultivated.  House four is planning to buy the Television in their house within a couple of weeks.  Other houses are also planning to buy different items. This has motivated the Children to enjoy working because the fruits of their labour have been realised.

CONCLUSION

Once again we are grateful for your support. All the support given to us has greatly impacted the lives of our Children and we appreciate it so much. There is a positive big bunch of change in all ways at Lulwanda. I kindly request you to continue supporting us in accomplishing this great task that the Lord Has put before us. Praying for God’s protection upon each of you and staying safe. Thank you and God bless!

Best regards,

Paul Isabirye

LCH Administrator

Greetings to you all our dear donors and sponsors. What a blessing to have you in the lives of our Children, giving them hope for a better life. Your support makes a big difference compared to any ordinary Child in Uganda. What a great smile you have put on all Children of Lulwanda as they wake up in the morning knowing they have everything they need in life, and are part of a big family where they are loved and cared for. Thank you for showing these kids great love and treating them as part of your families. On that note, allow me to update on some of the activities and highlights of April at Lulwanda.

MEDICAL REPORT

This month largely started off on a good note. Minor dental procedures were taken care of, and there were no serious cases of malaria or any other illness outside of one major case of gastritis, but God has kept His Children well. We do have a current challenge in that COVID-19 has finally found its way into Lulwanda. After much testing we have found five staff members who are positive and have closed the school and quarantined the home to non-essential staff for a period of fourteen days per Ugandan government standard operating procedures. Each person who tested positive has had mild to moderate symptoms but all are recovering. We have had no case of any symptomatic spread within the children and have placed everyone on prophylaxis to boost immunity during this period. Please continue to pray with us that God uses this for His Glory and that no further infection will take place.

DISCIPLESHIP

Discipleship and teaching the Gospel is at the heart of all that we do at Lulwanda. We continue to see lives and hearts changed in response to the love of Christ and fellowship and Bible studies conducted. Currently we are covering typically taboo topics of abstinence and a biblical worldview of sexuality and marriage along with empowering the children to speak up if ever pressured or forced into any sin. Please be praying for wisdom and guidance from the Lord as to which topics we need to cover and that the Holy Spirit will be working in the hearts of both our staff and Children.

SECONDARY SCHOOL CHILDREN

All our candidate Children at O level and A level completed their national exams and now are waiting for results in July and August. We bless the Lord for helping our Children to complete the exams successfully and also keeping them safe while at school, especially through this pandemic of COVID-19. These candidates include Abel, John, Carol, Gift, Norah, Timothy, Arafat, Donna, Jackie, Phoebe, Joel and Brian. Abel, John and Carol will be Joining the University or Trade School while the rest of the kids will be Joining A’ level or Branch to a trade school. Let’s continue to pray for better grades for the Glory of His Name. Meanwhile the Ministry of Education gave guidelines for children reporting back to school in a phased manner. At the beginning of this month, S.1 & S.2 students reported back to school and are now joined by their friends the S.3s who had reported in early March. The children were so excited to get back to school and begin learning. All the scholastic materials have been provided and we have also paid their tuition. We are grateful for the financial support to enable our Children to be in school without any disturbances.

LULWANDA PRIMARY SCHOOL

All the kids have reported back to school including the community Children. Teachers are doing what it takes to help the community children catch up with the syllabus since they did not study during the lockdown. Our Lulwanda kids are at an advantage because they were able to homeschool during the lockdown. All is well at LPS as the teachers found with covid-19 are now testing negative. We are grateful to the Almighty God that we never lost any life.

HOUSE CONSTRUCTION

Construction of houses 7 & 8 kicked off this month and groundbreaking was witnessed by Chairman Larry Hoelscher on his short visit to Lulwanda. Right now the two houses have reached the roofing level and hopefully within the coming two months, they will be ready for use. Houses 7 & 8 will accommodate the secondary boys and girls between the age of 13-17 yrs. What a great joy to have all our Children living in a home like environment where they can receive enough attention, care and love. We are grateful to all of you for the generous donations towards the construction of these new houses.

FINANCIAL TRAINING

Two of our social workers (Irene and Olive) and one alumni Anthony Wanzala had financial training at Mbale Presbyterian Church.  The two days training was facilitated by Virgil Hughes from the US and coordinated by Chairman Larry and Mama Aida Ogenga. The focus was about savings and this was a follow up of the first financial training in December 2020. The knowledge and skills acquired from the trainers will be passed on to the staff members and all the Lulwanda Alumni. We are grateful for this opportunity as it will impact our staff members and Children to have financial discipline and understand the value of savings.

HOME INSPECTION

The Ministry officials again visited the Home this month as mandated in the inspection guidelines to all approved homes. The purpose of the inspection is always to obtain statistical data on key areas and ensure the safety of the Children. As usual, the ministry officials were impressed with the work on ground and encouraged us to strengthen the SOPs during this period when the world is experiencing the second wave of the epidemic.

FARM WORK

We are grateful to our kids that have remained committed to the garden work. It has now become a normal activity for every child because they have enjoyed the fruits of their labor. This month all Children in different houses are busy weeding beans and maize which they planted last month. This is always done during weekends when they are free from school. House moms have been very instrumental in teaching our Children how to dig (cultivate and grow) plus other life skills.

CONCLUSION

Thank you for sparing time to read this report and above all your desire to know more about the Lulwanda family. We are doing well because of your support and every financial help has a great impact in changing the lives of Lulwanda Children. We are grateful to the LMC and US Board of directors for guidance, wisdom and ensuring that all is well at Lulwanda. God bless you all.

In Him,

Paul Isabirye

Administrator

Lulwanda Children’s Home

It’s exciting to bring warm greetings again from the big family of Lulwanda. We are grateful to the Almighty God for the breath of life despite the challenges faced and even losing our dear ones due to the pandemic which has affected us globally.  We are also grateful to God that hope is being restored as we have the vaccination available to prevent the spread of this dangerous disease. Several activities happened this month and allow me to share with you.

MEDICAL REPORT

Medical care at Lulwanda and Tendo has gone well this past month.  We have had no major cases of illness this month and God has continued to show His providence in this area.  Our staff and Children are trained to adequately see signs and symptoms of illness before they become serious which has increased our ability to ensure prompt medical attention when needed.  We will soon be hiring a full-time on site nurse who will attend to all cases at Lulwanda Children’s Home and Lulwanda Primary School as their main role.  This nurse will also take part in education and counselling both at the home and school on subjects such as proper hygiene, wound care, etc.  We also desire this on-site nurse to be involved in the mentoring of our children in preparing them for basic medical care for their own children once they inevitably depart from Lulwanda’s program.  This nurse will work with and under supervision of the Medical Coordinator-Ryan.  Please continue to pray that God provides both the nutritional, emotional, and physiological support for the continued good health of all our children for His glory alone.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL

Due to COVID 19, the school calendar changed from the normal one.  The new academic year will now start in August 2021 and that’s when all Children will be promoted to next classes. Currently schools are studying in shifts until August when all classes will resume. Below is the calendar for opening and closing for each class (all are in this year, 2021). 

CLASS	OPENING DATE	CLOSING DATE
P.7	January 11	March 31
P.6	March 1	May 21
P.5 & P.4	March 6	May 4
P.3, P.2 & P.1	June 7	July 24

The reporting date for Pre-primary (Nursery) is not indicated because public schools don’t have pre-primary. We just assume that they will begin with P.1, P.2 and P.3. However, the Ministry of Education will soon introduce Pre-primary section in Public schools because research indicates that kids who go through Pre-primary perform better than kids who skip it.

Most Secondary schools in Uganda have defied the government guidelines and all Secondary School Children have reported back to school. This means all our secondary kids have reported back to school. However, they will have to follow the new academic year which starts in August.

I am glad to report that all our P.7 and S.4 candidate kids completed their final National exams successfully. The P.7 kids included Marion Neboshe, Madina Akello, Betty Kisakye and Joyce Kibone while the S.4 kids include Gift Naluboka, Norah Masai, Timothy Wandiba, Alafat Gizamabali, Jackie Ngwabe, Donna Nadunga, Brian Webisa, Pheobe Nambozo and Willy Joel Wamono. 

The S.6 kids who include John Mutoshi and Abel Musobal will begin next month (April). Be praying that God gives them courage and wisdom during the examination period.  All the University and Trade School Kids have also reported back to Campus while others are having lectures on line.

SARAH GIMONO AND IVAN MUSAMBAKI

God has blessed us with two of our children who showed interest in studying Nursing and Midwifery at certificate level. Sarah Gimono has just enrolled for year one at Salem School of Nursing while Ivan Musambaki is a second year student. After a full year of sitting home because of Covid-19, the two reported back to school. We shall ask God for the provision of all the school requirements, tuition and personal shopping to enable them to have a smooth learning. We hope to support them at diploma level if they maintain a high grade at certificate level.

 BUYINZA MOSES AND ISAAC WATERO

 It is with much gladness that we would like to report that two of our young adults, Buyinza Moses and Isaac Watero were restored into our program on reduced benefits. They are now enrolled for driving training at Mount Elgon Driving Institute.  Buyinza Moses had failed to complete S4 and had rebelled in his lifestyle.  Moses has now come back and been given some restoration in that despite his rebellion he is now being given an opportunity to earn a living now that he has humbled himself.  Isaac completed a certificate in IT successfully, but found it hard to find work and had also desired to go for driving as there are many jobs in that sector.  Thank you to God’s provision through the GICF USA board in helping these two obtain a means of earning a living.

DISCIPLESHIP REPORT

The ongoing evangelistic and discipleship efforts are producing fruit both in LCH and also amongst Tendo and Alumni.  This month I am pleased to announce fifteen children confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and made the personal decision to follow Him. Praise the Lord!! This is without a doubt the fruits of a Christ-first centered Lulwanda and testimony of the hard work undertaken by all staff to ensure that their spiritual lives will remain the most vital aspect of their lives.  This profession of faith was during one of the recent group devotionals conducted by Pastor Martin.  Tendo Bible study has also resumed and issues of sexual purity and a Biblical world-view on this subject is being covered.  We have 16 Children who have pledged to remain sexually pure until marriage.  Please join us in prayer that the Spirit of God will continue to go before us and prepare the hearts of all those we disciple and evangelize.  Our sincere desire is that God be seated upon the throne of all of our children’s lives.  Please also be praying for further professions of faith, along with a 1 Corinthians 6:18 approach to the lives of our older children. 

MINISTRY SAFE REPORT

Late last year the board of GICF USA tasked us with taking our staff through sexual abuse awareness training.  This training has been extremely beneficial and we are grateful for it being provided.  Currently all staff (excluding those on leave) have completed the training successfully.  We are in a better position organizationally to root out sexual sin both by predators that may seek employment within, and within our peer groups of children.  Please pray for God’s protection over the purity of our children at Lulwanda and that this training not be a certificate we all hang on the wall, but one we live out as watchful shepherds over our flock.

ASSESSMENT OF NEW CHILDREN

We have embarked on the assessment of new orphaned kids who need rescue.  We have reports of such kids who are total orphans and vulnerable, and the social workers are currently assessing such families. The number of Children who are orphans and vulnerable is overwhelming but we shall only bring in 11 this year 2021 due to budget constraints.  Very soon a joint team involving the government officials and Lulwanda team will visit those families before sending the final list to the US board for approval. Keep on praying that God guides us to the rightful families that are in critical condition and qualify to the expectations in our LCH policy.

HOME INSPECTION

After the National assessment by the Minister for Youth and Children’s affairs in line with the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development in February 2021, this month we had another inspection with a technical team from Mbale District. This is mandatory under the District Probation and Social Welfare department to periodically inspect and assess all Home care institutions. The exercise went on successfully as we scored 3.7 total Marks out of 4.0. So far we are the top in the district as far as providing care and services to the Orphans.   

CONCLUSION

We are grateful to everyone who ensures for the wellbeing of our Children and above all, for guiding us in successfully accomplishing these activities. We appreciate you greatly and may God bless you abundantly. 

Yours in Christ,

Paul Isabirye

LCH Administrator

Greetings from the Lulwanda family, I hope that all is well with you. A lot of activities have taken place at Lulwanda even through some challenges as a result of the pandemic which cuts across the globe. Overall, we are well by the Grace of God, and I am glad to report some of the things that happened in February.

MEDICAL REPORT

Medical wellbeing at Lulwanda is great. We have a well-trained team of mothers and now Children who recognize when illness is present and it is promptly addressed. We had no major case of any illness this month. Ongoing care continues for those with existing medical conditions along with a strict compliance with COVID-19 SOPs (standard operating procedures). All guests are required to have their temperatures checked, hands washed and face masks worn while on site. Thankfully God’s provision has seen us through some of the toughest months of this pandemic in Uganda. Please continue to pray that God gives all of us wisdom and good health in the coming months.

DISCIPLESHIP

Discipleship is ongoing, both in the individual home setting, and within small groups. Church is conducted on site by Pastor Martin due to the COVID restrictions that mean Children are unable to attend community Church. We are seeing a breakthrough in the lives of many of our Children as they become more disciplined in Christ. Bible studies for staff are also done weekly and the Word is being proclaimed throughout Lulwanda. Tendo and town/resettled Children Bible study are set to resume mid-March now that the Kelley family has returned, but has continued virtually and in the Tendo home. Please be praying for the Holy Spirit’s movement in awakening the hearts of our Children and staff to the truth of the gospel and the hope it presents in their lives: not just in the reception of God’s Grace, but the application of Jesus’ teaching in their daily lives.

MINISTER’S VISIT

This month we hosted the Minister for Youth and Children’s affairs Hon. Florence Nakiwala Kiyingi and other government officials who accompanied her during the countryside visit to all Child care institutions. The purpose of her visit to Eastern Uganda was to check on the condition of all homes, quality of services offered to the children and give her recommendation. Some of the homes that were found not offering quality services to the children were closed immediately. The Minister was impressed with the good work at Lulwanda. She was very impressed with the construction of the new houses which gives Children an opportunity to live in a home- like environment. Care is very good due to the manageable number of Children under every house mother. She thanked the Lulwanda donors and sponsors for helping the Uganda government to raise up Children who will be the future leaders and better citizens. We requested the Minister to help us to renew our home approval Certificate which is expiring in May 2021.

JANE KATAIKE

Jane was successfully resettled with her family relatives in Pallisa District. She was placed under direct care of her paternal Uncle Richard Bumba and his wife Tino. She has been enrolled for a certificate in hairdressing and she loves what she is doing now. She was unable to complete the P.7 grade due to the low grades scored and most of the time she would repeat every class twice or thrice. She had also outlived the age for staying at Lulwanda and yet Tendo would not be the best option. The social workers took her through counselling and psychosocial support during this transition and she has adapted well to the environment.  We hope Jane will be able to make money after one year of study as she perfects her skills, rather than continuing with the formal education with little or no chance of succeeding.

ANNUAL SHOPPING FOR CHILDREN

We bless the Lord for the gift of provision for our children through this entire season. Annual shopping has been ongoing and the children have been provided a number of items and they are so excited. This is always the most expensive month where we spend a lot of money during the opening of the new year. Among the items purchased include bed sheets, blankets, mattresses, school stockings, bags, mosquito nets, underwear, shoes and sandals, scholastic materials etc. We only remained with secondary and primary personal shopping and still hope for God’s provision. Overall most items have been purchased and this was good back up for them to live a happy life.

RENEWAL OF CARE ORDERS

Through this month, we had another group of children whose care orders had expired and had to be renewed. The paper work of each Child was done with current photos attached and submitted to the probation officer for approval and in turn submitted to the Magistrate’s court for renewal. I am glad to report that all our Children have updated care orders which is the first requirement from the government.

ABANDONED CHILD

Timothy Wataka, a Child from St. Kizito Babies Home, was brought by the City Probation officer and placed under temporary care of Lulwanda Children’s Home. Timothy is a 4-year-old young boy who had outgrown the age for staying at St. Kizito Babies Home and there was need to secure his protection. He was abandoned in a pit latrine by the mother and the whereabouts of the father is unknown. The mother also disappeared after being released from prison, and her whereabouts are unknown. He was first taken for the Covid 19 test before admission. He was attached to house 4 under the care of Mama Beatrice and he was so happy, calm and positive upon joining the Lulwanda family. He plays well and interacts with his friends and caregivers freely. We are hoping that Timothy will be one of the 11 kids to be rescued this year 2021. Great thanks to the GICF board for reviewing reports about this boy and accepting him to join and be part of Lulwanda.

TEAM BUILDING EVENT

Mercy, who is a finalist at UCU (Uganda Christian University) Mukono, organized a two-day team building event at Lulwanda. She organized the inter-house competition with various activities like cooking competition, dancing and this involved the house mothers supervising the Children. Winners of each category were rewarded with gifts as a way of appreciation for the job well done. The event was crowned by a campfire at night where there was pork roasting and counselling of the young ones at Lulwanda. All of the Children were excited and happy.

CONCLUSION

We shall continue to extend our gratitude to all of you for the unceasing support through this great journey. Our prayer is for the Lord to bless you and continue to meet all your needs according to His will. We shall keep you updated on every event that takes place at Lulwanda. Thank you all.

Best regards,

Paul Isabirye

Administrator- LCH

 I bring New Year’s greetings from the Lulwanda family. It has been God who enabled us to get through the year amidst the unprecedented pandemic. We still believe He will remain faithful to all of us and get us through this New Year successfully. Thank you for supporting us even when you had more challenges back home. I know the love of God and great passion for kids drives you to live a sacrificial life to help them reach their full potential. Thank you so much. Allow me to brief you about the activities of the month of January.

MEDICAL

I am grateful to the Almighty God for His protection of everyone at Lulwanda. We can’t just take it for granted as all the Children have been in good health. Coupled with our daily routine medical checkups and close monitoring, this made our Children stay healthy and strong. We keep in touch with our sister medical agencies to ensure that all our Children and staff are safe. 

DISCIPLESHIP

We continue to guide our Children to grow in the fear of the Lord though weekly Bible study and evening fellowship. Our Children have gone ahead to have memory verses and make skits out of the lessons learnt and present them every Sunday.

NEW YEAR THEME

Our theme for this year is ‘’training ourselves in acts of Godliness’’ (I Tim 4:7-9) as we serve the Children that the Lord has entrusted in our hands. All the staff members seem to understand the theme well and have started implementing it practically.  Recently some female staff members donated a batch of both new and old clothes to the big girls who recently joined Tendo. I have observed a spirit of team work among the staff members and we pray that this will continue for the good of the home. Teacher Harriet of Nursery section bought 100 kgs of rice and donated to our Children. Again when there was need to raise money for the Children who did not have shelter, the staff members pledged significant funding. This was done out of Love and also appreciating GICF for the support given especially during the coronavirus period. The very strong bond and attachment between the staff and Children is really admirable.  We agreed that training ourselves in Godliness involves being accountable to the Children and the organization.

CANDIDATE CLASSES

Our candidate students have reported back to school; please we need to be praying for them as they will soon begin the final exams. The P.7 Candidates will begin on March 30^th/2021, S.4 will start on February 26th/2021 while S6. Start in April /2021. Currently we are coming up with the budget for the blessing of the P.7 candidates as they prepare to sit for UNEB exams. We have fully paid up the fees for all our kids and provided all the scholastic materials. The University Children have continued to study on line as Universities are still closed. Meanwhile the LCH Children of lower classes have continued to study at home using the new houses as classrooms and teachers are busy helping our Children to complete the syllabus.  Due to coronavirus disturbance, the academic year will certainly change. The academic year is most likely to start from August and end in July.

HIRE OF SYLVIA AS A SOCIAL WORKER

After graduating from Uganda Christian University with a bachelor’s degree in social work and social administration, we decided to employ Sylvia Logose, an LCH child, as a social worker. She becomes the second Lulwanda Child to be employed (after Dison Junior who is currently teaching at Lulwanda Primary School). Sylvia is doing very well in the social work department and we are proud of her work.

ASSESSMENT OF FAMILIES

We carried out assessments among three families of children who were reintegrated with their families. These children include; Grace Egulasi, Mariam Bahati and Joyce Neboshe. The assessments were done to identify the current family situation and how best we can help them fit in with their respective families. These children’s home situations are tough and challenging due to unavoidable circumstances. For instance Bahati Mariam has no home and family, she was just picked up near the swamp by a Good Samaritan. Tracing has been done for all these years that she has been under our care, but no family member has been identified except the caregiver who picked her up.

Grace Egulasi and her siblings (Dee Emmanuel and Clement Kuddo) happen to be born of one mother but different fathers. The mother died without telling the clan members the identities of the biological fathers. Nobody has ever come up to claim any of the Children in both cases and the families are struggling and unable to provide for the children.

Joyce’s issue is different in that she has been attached to her maternal relatives and her mother is still living on the streets of Mbale as she is mentally challenged. The father has never shown up but the maternal Aunt accepted to receive her after resettlement. Our goal here is to ensure she is in good health and to enable her to complete her studies.

MINISTRY REPORT

We submitted a six month report to the Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development. It’s a legal mandate to furnish the Ministry with a report twice a year. We are in the process of renewing our license for the next five years and the file is almost ready for submission.  We have all that it takes for our license to be renewed. Keep praying for us that all will be well when we face the Ministry officials.

CONCLUSION

We continue to provide counseling and career guidance. Our goal is to enable our kids to reach their full potential in Christ.  Once again, I thank you very much for supporting the Children and providing the funds needed to buy food, medical supplies and tuition among the many activities that need funding. Be blessed.

In Him

Paul Isabirye

LCH- Administrator.