Uganda Feb 2024 Blog 4

This morning began with blue skies, a cool breeze, and a delicious breakfast.  Stanley, a local nurse, takes care of teams when they are here.  He is so kind and caring, we are in great hands!  Peter has cooked for us every meal.  The food has been incredible!  Stews, potatoes, greens, rice, and the freshest of fresh fruit.

We arrived at the Bulike Church for another day of workshops.  The leaders set up the room so that we could have a workshop and then break into groups without needing to reset the room.  They also took charge of the flow of the morning.  As we entered the building, the music, singing, and dancing are such a fun way to start the day.  We joined into the fun, worshipping together.

Today’s workshops were Strategic Planning, Monitoring/Evaluating/Reporting, and Writing – all topics chosen by Dr Ronald.  The participants (70-80) were highly engaged, had great conversations and ideas in breakouts, and it’s been a joy to learn together.

The afternoon we visited more of the projects led by UCSS.  We began at some of the farms – all agriculture.  They have 14 different farms.  We visited the James farm – 40 acres of hardwood trees, mango trees, and some plots of land for families to farm.  The agriculture teams give small plots for the most vulnerable families to farm.  Those that are unable to (perhaps due to age or illness), the group gives them some food.  The agriculture teams also study the Bible and pray together before they begin working each day.  They have a small irrigation system (for 2 of the acres) that also gets water to a nearby muslim school.  These communities are caring for each other.

Next we visited a new borehole as well as saw the site where they used to get their water.  It’s a watering hole that they shared with the animals – cows, goats, and more.  There were many illnesses and skin diseases from the dirty water.  Now that they have clean water, children aren’t missing school as much since they are much healthier.  So far, UCSS has drilled 98 boreholes in the 3 communities they are doing community development.  They want to continue drilling into nearby communities.

We visited Liberty High School – the only high school in the area.  The students welcomed us with singing and dancing and they gave us a tour of the school and dorms.  The girls coming from far away stay at the school while it’s in session to keep them safe (prevent kidnapping and young pregnancies which can happen when they have to walk long distances – often over 3  miles).  They are working towards sustainability by having fruit trees, raising goats (from 3 to 13 in a few years), making soap, selling cakes, and making books.  These youth were so respectful & kind.  A sign in a tree as you approached the school said, “Pursue Wisdom”, and these youth were definitely doing that!