Sunday 28th May, 2023
Dear friends,
We’ve had a Management Meeting this week and also a staff meeting, where we planned for the threes months that I am in the U.K., to ensure that all the staff know who is responsible for different areas of our work e.g. the minibus running smoothly, the boys in independent living being checked on regularly, the boys in boarding being visited on their Visiting Days, bills being paid, policies being updated, Minutes being typed up plus starting on our reregistering as a Children’s Home which doesn’t run out until November 2024 but needs the paperwork to be started on now to ensure we don’t get fined; and many other things.
The Management Meeting went well. The Government Officials from Katabi, (Speaker of the Town Council, Child Development Officer and Probation Officer, are really interested in being involved in our work and of course Patience, the Kampala Probation Officer who has worked with us since we first opened George’s Place, has lots of advice and contacts who need to be followed up on.
“Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20b
All the boys who have been visiting family have arrived back at George’s Place, Ivan, Joseph, Robert, Brian and Musa. Dennis went back to Bethany High School on Tuesday and Derek went back to Marjorine to continue his car mechanics course on Thursday. Kasita is leaving for school on Sunday and the boys going back to Vocational training will leave on Monday. I shall be arriving at GP early on Monday morning to drop Johnson (Musumba) back to Trinity High School and Kodet.
It’s been a busy time getting their school supplies, which I transported up to Garuga on Friday afternoon but unfortunately, a package of 6 reams of paper dropped on my bag and broke my iPad – Causing me problems as I transfer the organisation’s money through my iPad! Thankfully I’m returning to the U.K. on Wednesday, so one of the first things I will do will be to find an Apple shop!
Peace, Petra and I visited Asaph at work on Tuesday following the meeting, he has been made a member at the Government Scheme where he has been training, which brings carpenters and furniture makers together. They have industrial machines for working on the wood – it’s on a really large scale and the men running the scheme say Asaph is a committed and well-disciplined worker and were happy to have him join them. He is, at last, earning some money!
I visited George’s Place on Friday afternoon and all is well there, some of the boys were playing cards, basketball, watching TV, and listening to music. Ivan was trying to put extra material into my dress around the waist but thinks he needs to make me another one, or I need to lose weight. Benard has gone for his long weekend off and Tresor was getting the minibus serviced, also buying a sewing machine that Christine and I are donating to a young girl at church, she is looking after her mother, who is unwell and has been struggling selling homemade honey from the village. Sam was there helping some of the boys who are finishing up school assignments. There is always such a peaceful atmosphere at GP – you cannot imagine that there are so many boys around!
Before Benard left for the weekend, three doctors/nurses from the local clinic called to speak with the boys about keeping healthy through personal hygiene, food hygiene, and keeping the environment clean. They talked really well, and the boys asked lots of questions. When I arrived, Sula greeted me, saying we need a ‘general clean’ and when could it be done – he also said the windows definitely all needed to be washed – so obviously he was listening! They are at football this morning and usually arrive back exhausted, back at school on Monday so after church tomorrow, they want to start the general clean – I didn’t like to put them off. The football went well and Joseph (Yusuf) was player of the day – older boys team and Saidi best goal keeper, younger boys team.
There seems so much to be doing in the next few days. I’m off to a birthday party this afternoon for Margreet (Dutch) from church and have been invited out to lunch with Jun from Japan, Lafaelle from Hong Kong, Christine, Sheldon from India and his wife Elizabeth from Uganda after church tomorrow – we really are an International Church of all ages, with so much to learn from each other.
Thank you for all your love and support, the boys are growing and maturing, and we thank God for the way their lives are changing. He is a Great and Amazing God, and we give Him the Glory. I am looking forward to seeing many of you in the next few months.
God bless.
Love Jane x
