Dear friends, family and supporters:
Warm greetings from African Hearts Community Organisation. I thank you very much for taking the time to read our news blog. I am happy to report on all that transpired in the month of July.
Slum Outreach
It is always a joy for the children living on the street to
come to the outreach programs because that is when they get a hot meal, get
their wounds treated, get someone to talk to and dream with and feel the
comfort. In fact, some street children come to our programs in the community
center to have some good sleep because that is the only time they feel safe.
This month we had several children rounded up by police; some were rescued but
others are still missing. We pray they are safe. Kisenyi, the biggest slum in
Kampala, is being taken over by some rich people, and many children come to us
worried about where they will go. This is a huge worry added to the
troubled life they are leading.Homes
The children in the home are doing great, though we had
several, especially the very young ones, fall sick. In fact, at some point all
the three of them were sick. But I am happy to report now that they are
fine. We have been trained on the new government rules for running homes, and
they stressed that we should not keep children above 17 years of age in a home.
This is a tough demand as the children we get have been robbed of their
childhood, and for some, it will take them a longer time to heal. According to
the government, if someone turns eighteen they are mature and don’t need to be
in a children’s home. All the Ssenge boys have been to a camp recently and have
great memories from the camp. We are grateful for the generous gift of
two cows from Peter and Helen. We bought one of the high milk- producing cows
which we hope is going to boost our Ssenge House income and provide enough milk
for the children to drink. This holiday we are also focusing on the children
learning life skills.School
School is going well and finishing strong. We officially
closed our second school term on August 3. Some children performed well,
but others are still struggling. We tried to investigate, and most of the
findings are related to too much work at home or a lack of electricity so
children cannot revise at home. Many of the children said that after the
meals they get at school, they don’t get anything else to eat when they go back
home, and therefore they are hungry and cannot revise. The head teacher advised
that we establish a dormitory to house some of these students so that we can
meet all these challenges. Please pray that we get the funds to do this. The
term also closed with the swearing in of a new prefectorial body which was
voted in by fellow pupils. It was a great joy for the new leaders.Youth Micro-Loan Program
We had the first training of the four young men selected under this program. They have classes on business and discipleship three days every week. They meet with their mentors to dream with them, and after that they will have exams in everything they have learned. Then they will present their business proposals, and successful candidates may receive loans from African Hearts depending on the funds we will have available.
Success story
Dibbya Samuel Joined African Hearts in 2003. He was
trained in the brass band and was able to regain his self-esteem. Sammy
became one of the best musicians in the band at African Hearts and later joined
a church group where he plays a bass guitar and keyboard. He recently
returned from a European tour performing with a band for four months.
Sammy now lives independently and earns from his music. With the money he
earns from his music, Sammy has supported his mother to have some brickmaking
business and also paid for some of his siblings’ school fees occasionally. He
is also working with African Hearts as the administrative assistant.Friends of African Hearts
Friends of African Hearts is a fundraising strategy mainly
targeting the local population. This idea was birthed after realizing the great
need for funds to run the growing ministry. Under this we approach people to
become friends of African Hearts through prayer and financial support. We are
amazed at the great response in the first month. Even some boys who were raised
by the ministry are financially giving back to African Hearts. Pray it
goes well. We hope to expand even to other countries.I am going to be traveling to the U.S. on August 25 to September 17. Please pray for my travel.
Prayer requests:
- Funds for the dormitory at the African Hearts Junior School
- Good health of all the children under our care
- Wisdom for the children going for their last term before national exams
- Youth Micro-loan program
