Ugandan Sponsorship Program

Our Sponsorship Progam has officially launched.  If you click on the "Sponsor A Child" link at the top of the page you will be directed to a few of our available children in need of sponsors.  I am amazed at what $20 a month can do for the future of a child.  One of the incredible things that we are able to do is send the entire donation amount directly to the support of your child.  Come find out how you can help!

Be sure to click on the "2009 Sponsorship Guide" to help better understand what a sponsorship includes with GGI and how to best develop a relationship with your sponsored child.

The children of Bukeeka thank you for prayerfully considering investing in their future!

Treasured Moments With Fairview Team

One of the great pleasures that we have at GGI is to hear back from teams that travel to minister at our projects.  The following is an article about a recent team to Uganda and the challenges and joys of international missions.

February 25, 2009

There are many privileges that Pam and I enjoy as we experience God’s placement of us in Uganda.  One of the most enjoyed and productive is hosting and leading short term mission teams.  Monday evening we returned 12 wonderful people from Fairview, Oklahoma, to KLM at Entebbe Airport so they could go home.  We lived life with them, here in The Pearl of Africa, for 12 exhilarating days.

The team from Fairview had three primary projects while they were here.  First, the men had brought a well drilling bit, from an outfit in Oklahoma City, that has been used successfully in various places on this continent.  After researching three locations it was determined that a water well would be dug on Widow Sarah’s farm to help care for the dairy cows there and provide good water to those living around her.  The prospect for water was very good.  James, a Ugandan, was chosen for training so that he could take the resources and start a business with them, employing several other Africans as well.  Such adventures are always filled with challenges and this one was no exception.  We discovered that the pipe we purchased, first locally in Jinja and then from Kampala, was so inferior that the treads would break off easily in the couplers.  This problem must be remedied before this project can continue to move toward success.  While disappointment was high because we never enjoyed water flowing from the well, no one is ready to abandon this valuable empowerment of some nationals.

Secondly, power hand tools were brought from the States (and others purchased here) to assist in the construction of school desks for 500 students at Fountain of Hope School in Bukeeka.  Fifty desks were delivered to the school on February 20 amid the shrieks, cheers, and clapping of excited students who have had only benches on which to sit for their long hours of education.  A team of trained Ugandans have been working together to complete 52 more desk in the absence of the Oklahoma team.  They now have viable, marketable skills and are being paid a good wage for the work they are doing to complete this project.  The baton was successfully handed off by the Americans to the Africans and this project can be labeled as extremely successful.  35 more desks will be constructed for younger students because of the generous contribution of the Becky Bryan Memorial Fund.

Lastly, the women on this team were able to bring hope and encouragement to the students of Rock of Ages Nursery School, Fountain of Hope School, the residents of Amani Baby Cottage, the patients of Jinja General Hospital, and the friends, associates, and team members of Next Generation Ministries.

Above the accomplishments of these efforts was the personal transformation the team experienced under the custom made work of the God’s Holy Spirit.  They will never be the same.  Some of them are already planning on their second mission to Uganda and they will bring others with them so that lives and life will be affected here.

Pam and I were sorry to see them go, but we treasure the many moments we shared as we experienced God together.  Thanks for all the great work you did here, Fairview, and God willing we hope to see you sometime in August or September.

 

Attempting to drill the well

  

Excited Ugandan children

 Soda and pizza after a hard days work

Easily Forgotten

The Guardian wrote a great article today addressing what most of us in the international orphan care arena see first hand everyday, that is the slowdown of financial aid to developing nations like Ethiopia.  While we are absorbing an incredibly bad economic forecast we often forget about how the rest of the world is reacting to our financial meltdown.  The article produced some incredibly devastating numbers and there is no surprise in the fact that children will be the hardest hit.

The study also highlights wider human development impacts, including the prospect of an increase of between 200,000 and 400,000 in infant mortality. Child malnutrition, already a rising trend, will be one of the main drivers of higher child death rates. "Millions of children face the prospect of long-term irreversible cognitive damage as a result of the financial crisis," says Montjourides.

 Psalm 10

17 O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

Lord's Resistance Army

I'm not sure why, but I am always amazed at the depravity of man.  There are moments within humanity that we rise above all circumstances for the betterment of man, and there are moments where we dive deep into the darkness of our own hearts and carry out acts that are unspeakable in the daylight.  "The Lord's Resistance Army" continues to be a threat in northern Uganda and surrounding countries murdering civilians and stealing children for their own exploitation.  While our school is not located in the northern region of Uganda, we keep a close eye on this group that is decimating the child population in northern Uganda.  

Please continue to pray for our school and students as they work hard to receive an education.  If you would like to find out more about our students please visit our Sponsorship page for more information on how you could change a life today and for tomorrow.

Lord's Resistance Army Kidnaps at Least 20 Children

Ugandan and Congolese Presidents Discuss Regional Security