Looking Back, Looking Forward

Dear friends,

The work of Homes of Promise continued to grow and develop during 2025 although, as a community, we faced some tough challenges during the early part of the year.  One of our staff members had been caring for a young relative who needed a heart operation. He was just 12 years old and sadly passed away in March.  Only weeks earlier the mother of one of our young lads was murdered. Staff members attended the funeral with the grieving boy, who has seven younger siblings.  But from that darkness came light, as later in the year we were able to provide for a brick-built house to be erected on the family’s small plot of land. It was constructed by one of our older boys who has been trained in building.  Now the father is taking care of his children, the youngest of whom is only about two years old, in their new home.

In January our daily cook retired after working for us for nine years. Our weekend cook took on the position of daily cook and we have employed another for the weekends.

Annual Appraisals for staff were held during February.

We had our accounts audited and approved in March.

Throughout the year We had 10 boys in primary school. One of our younger lads passed his P7 exams at the end of 2024 and started in senior 1 at the beginning of 2025. One boy was in senior 2, two boys were in senior 3, with one in senior 4.  All these boys achieved good results and have been promoted to the next classes. We are awaiting the results of the boy in senior 4 and will be looking for a place at a technical college for him.  He also attended a three-month course in computer basics when he had finished his exams.

Five of our boys finished their two-year vocational training at the end of 2025, having taken their DIT  (Directorate of Industrial Training) exams and they are now on internships.  Two are in hairdressing, two in catering and one is in agricultural training.  We resettled two of our older boys with their families during the year and we supported one boy with his rent while he undertook an internship in Kampala.

In April a young woman started work with us for eight months while our Finance Manager took three months’ maternity leave.

At Easter the boys went on a trip to the Scout Camp at Kazzi near Lake Victoria, enjoying a guided hike, treasure hunt and picnic, plus a blindfolded and barefoot challenge walk through the forest, crawling through mud trenches, with buckets of water thrown over them by the scouts. Most of the boys really enjoyed this, which of course was followed by a dip in the lake!  We also had two other hikes during the year to different parts of Entebbe islands. The boys regularly attended the Football Academy throughout the year and went swimming twice. We received four secondhand bicycles from the UK and all the boys are now able to ride a bike.

In June two new boys were rescued from the streets and are now attending Little Angels Primary School near George’s Place.  They have settled well and we have found their relatives. One of the boys had a habit of running away from home and school, but this has not happened since he has been in our care, and we now have care orders in place.

Also in June we held a three-day residential camp for 11 of our boys who are in independent living, offering advice on life choices, health care and the challenges of saving money. The camp was led by a doctor, businesswoman and youth worker, to help the boys to transition into adulthood. We still have regular contact with many of our older boys who are living independently, especially those who have few or no relatives to advise and support them. One of our older boys is now working full-time at the four-star Speke Resort Hotel as a pastry chef.

In August we held our annual camp, sleeping in tents, for 19 of the boys at the sailing club.  None of the boys had been there before and they enjoyed the new environment by the lake, playing team games, hide-and-seek and football. There was an ‘Ask the Pastor’ question time around the evening campfire and, after a good night’s sleep, we held morning devotions with lots of good conversation. The older boys helped with food preparation with a rota for washing up, cleaning and sweeping.  We visited a nearby hotel for swimming and basketball one morning and held a painting/art competition. The highlight of the camp was a trip on a sailing boat that someone had kindly agreed to take us on.  A wonderful experience for the boys.

During the year we held two management meetings and were pleased to welcome the new Health Inspector from Katabi onto the board. He also conducted his annual inspection of the Home. Our offices continue to be in the John Paul II Justice and Peace Building in Nsambya.  And one other piece of news: our Purchasing Manager got married in August in Rwanda and on the couple’s return to Uganda we celebrated with a party at the boys’ home.

Looking forward

In 2026 we will be holding a special party to celebrate our 10th anniversary as an NGO in Uganda. We are planning a service at an Anglican Church followed by lunch, entertainment by the boys, testaments and speeches. We are hoping to take in four new boys in March.

God continues to bless our work and we are thankful for the way we have progressed over the last 10 Years, reuniting street boys with their families and communities and changing young lives for the better in Uganda.