I’ve told many of you about our plans to open Uganda – home to 2 million orphans. Two of our staff members are over there right now getting things in order for sponsorship. If your church or business is interested in Uganda, please let me know ASAP. Here’s their report:

We went into villages where they have not seen white people so we were some what fascinating.  It’s like we were on display.  Kids would literally see the car coming, see that there were white people in it and start waving. 

In the five locations we have visited so far, 100 children have been profiled in each, but they represent 500-800 kids in each community. When we would drive to a location, the whole church waits to greet us. So many children….in a room where there are 150 people, 130 of them are children. Orphans are everywhere.

We did stay at the Nabukalu Home of Champions the first night.  We stayed in the same building with the kids, but not in the same room.  It was interesting to hear them go to sleep and wake up.  One child coughed all night.  They woke up at 5:30 am singing a praise song.  So beautiful.

We spent the morning talking with the head master of the school and talking with the teachers. They don’t have much, but they are doing as much as they can with what they have.  My first thoughts are we should help with the school — it’s reaching the community and the orphanage. They literally have no materials.  One set of text books for each grade level that is then used to teach the kids.  But the kids don’t have text books and no school supplies beyond a notebook and pen.  No construction paper, no markers, etc.

Even with the children from the orphanage being in clothes that need to be mended and living very rurally (is that a word?), you could see a difference between them and the kids from the neighborhood that came to check out the two white girls.  There were little kids from homesteads next to the orphanage that were carrying babies on their backs.  The kids couldn’t have been older than 3 or 4.  Extreme poverty.

I’m overwhelmed at where to even start, but thankful for the opportunity. (As I’m reading this to Eleanor, I can’t even say it w/out crying.)   This is very different from Swaziland, but as fascinating.

Thank you for your prayers.

Eleanor and Sam