Dear charity members, friends and family, I hope this newsletter finds you well.
As of 30th June Uganda had 870 cases of corona virus with 808 recoveries and 0 deaths.
They are very quick to track and trace and quarantine each case. They’re largely from surrounding boarders e.g. truck drivers bringing produce etc.
No deaths which is to be celebrated.
They are in stage 3 of the pandemic with some infections in the community but trusting they will get through it.
The government is extremely cautious and slowly things are opening up. There is still a curfew in place from 7pm to 6.30am.
No return to School in 2020
At first it seemed like to schools would return at the end of April.
This was pushed out with the expectation that they would return in May with short holidays ending the school year late December rather than late November.
It came as quite a shock for everyone to hear that they won’t return at all in 2020. In light of this Pastor Geoffrey and I have had discussions about how they would manage through the remaining six months of the year, the priorities and what we could be doing.
There are 7 boys and 8 girls with no family under the care of the school. Some have been staying in the pastor’s house and some under the care of the remaining teachers.
As you could see in the profile about each child (March 2020), they are from very poor backgrounds.
The teachers who were able went back to their families in the villages.
Our security guard remains watching over the school night and day while his wife and child went back to the village. His wife is expecting their second baby so this has been a big sacrifice for them. He’s paid a little which he sends to his wife.
Last week he attended screams coming from the Nursery Section and killed a viper that was crawling over one of the children staying there! Remaining are one male teacher, five female teachers with their families, security guard, a cleaner and a cook.
You may remember that we began the process of obtaining a new school licence changing the name to Kirinya Children’s Centre because another school in the District had the same name. On 20th June the certificate was issued for the Nursery School.
It’s been backdated to the expiry date of the previous one. The certificate for the Primary School will be issued shortly.
Thank you for your support, your donations – monthly and otherwise. It is very much appreciated. It’s life changing.
Helen
In April I told you about a lady, seven months pregnant, who came to Pastor Geoffrey because she had no food.
This is when I realised the seriousness of the situation and that many were starving.
Unfortunately the baby was born prematurely and died. The government food aid never reached the village.
There are many elderly who come to Pastor Geoffrey and many helpless women.
The need is inexplicable.
Fundraising via Facebook
I have done three Facebook fundraising pages which has brought in donations and some have been made directly to the HSBC charity account.
I’m going to keep setting up a fundraising page at regular intervals and it been pleasing to see that the response has been growing.
I’ll go into finances in September when we come to the end of our first year of being a charity but want to thank everyone who has contributed.
To ease the situation I’ve been sending money which has been used for food and occasionally medical expenses.
The school farming land is producing some food which is distributed and Pastor Geoffrey pays the people working the land a little bit out of what we send.
Your donations have been lifesaving not only to those connected with the school but others in the community who were desperate.
While in Uganda in November we saw Shakira who was pregnant.
This 16yr old girl was raped by a close family friend while she was alone in the house. He disappeared and the family who live in the village rejected her so Pastor Geoffrey and his wife and children had the dilemma of whether she could stay with them or not.
They felt it was the right thing to accept her. She gave birth in February to a girl she called Shalom but unfortunately, the day she gave birth, her family upped and left the village.
The police were involved both times but to no avail.
I’m happy to say we have a recent photo of them looking very well. She is staying with Pastor Geoffrey’s Mum who is elderly and unwell and Shakira is looking after her.
What else has been happening during lockdown?
Pastor Geoffrey Kamya has been preaching from his church via Facebook every week (CIC Tower of Praise).
He’s also preaching regularly on Salt TV a Christian television channel station from Kampala.
Many people know where we are now as it’s not far from the Nelson Mandela (Nambole) National Stadium.
Kikonko Namataba, once known for being very poor area, is being transformed into a desirable place to live.
Pastor Geoffrey has written a book which I’ve edited and my husband and I have designed the front cover. He’s in the process of writing a follow up. I believe these will be a powerful testimony to God’s grace and a great encouragement to those who read it.
The aim is that they will be freely available by the end of the year for the Youth Conference in January 2021.
Books have to go through a Lawyer for approval!
He has a friend who is a lawyer who will help him.
He has many friends who have helped us with so many processes with the school since we began keeping down the costs/fees that some charge.
I don’t know how we’d have done somethings without their help.
Joy & Eugene
There should have been a wedding while we were there in May for the Catch Fire Conference which we sadly missed.
They rescheduled the wedding for June to have more guests than they would have in May.
Joy is one of the teachers and choir member. Her husband Eugene is a church member and has a good job.
I was sent videos and pictures as the wedding went on and the reception afterwards.
I bought land in 2018 in a prime position in the village and we planned to have a medical centre for the community because there is nothing nearby.
We especially need maternity services to help prevent the loss of babies in pregnancy and mothers and babies during birth.
We haven’t done anything yet because we need to have the school functioning well first.
We allowed bricks to be stored on this land which has help to us because we’ve been able to get them cheaper and no transport costs.
Unfortunately someone tried to claim this land so Pastor Geoffrey built a house there and occupies it with his family.
He was supporting many other children in his home so now the older girls staying with him live in his old house with a teacher.
We’ve always wanted somewhere for boarders so this has proved to be a good thing.
However we have a few older boys and received four boys who are orphans this year aged 8, 10, 13 and 15yrs.
In the bigger picture we hope to have a secondary school one day as most of the children who graduate from Primary are not able to afford to go to Secondary School.
These children would not have had an education at all if it were not for this school so we really need your support to make it sustainable.
We have a long way to go and a tough year to get through but all these things will happen.
Any ideas for fundraising please let me know
It’s unlikely that Uganda will allow flights from the UK to enter in 2020 so our visit planned for November will not go ahead.
Some of you were looking forward to coming with me. I’m hoping we can fly out January 2021 to take part in the annual Youth Conference.
Youth from around Uganda attend this in their school holiday.
It is aimed at empowering them to be the leaders of tomorrow in every sector of society.
Thank you for your support, for your monthly donations and response to our appeals for help to feed the children at this very challenging time and for your kindness towards them.
Bless you. Keep well, keep safe, keep in touch, keep praying for the UK and for Uganda.
Every Child Deserves a Better Future!
The Helen Margaret Owen Foundation Sort code 40-08-22 Account 91827731
Cheques payable to The Helen Margaret Owen Foundation
30 Huntsfield Close, Lymm, Cheshire, WA13 0SS.
