Dear friends!
I greet all of you in the name of the Lord who has kept all of us safe. I know that all of us may be anxious and busy wondering about the coronavirus pandemic which has posed a great challenge to all humanity. No one knows how long it will last and if it will have any other long lasting effects. Whatever lies ahead of us, we trust in the intervention of God.
OVERALL HEALTH
All our kids and the house moms are doing great. Thank you for promptly supporting us with the additional funds needed to cover the costs of stocking up on three (3) month’s supply of food, household supplies, and medical supplies. Your early intervention has made our lives easier and it has allowed us to continue to feed and nurture the Children for the past two months. We are still in lockdown as a country and we are uncertain when it will end after the official days are over. Continue praying for Uganda as most people are not working any more and don’t have an income source to provide for themselves and their families. We have already seen an increase in crimes like domestic violence in some families.
LOCKDOWN
Everyone has been locked down whether at LCH or Tendo. As usual, we have ensured that our Children have all their needs supplied. Ryan our medical coordinator has equipped us with all the medical supplies we need, and he only comes to check on the Children when absolutely necessary. I meet with him and Osama once a week in town to plan, update each other, and discuss any matters regarding Lulwanda Children’s Home. Malaria rates have remained steady and we have sprayed for mosquitoes. Lulwanda, due to the quick lockdown and protection of God Almighty, has not seen any cases of Covid-19 or any exposure. Overall life is good and everyone is fed well and healthy. We have been supplementing with multivitamins and vitamin C during this period to keep immune systems strong.
DISCIPLESHIP
Discipleship continues both at LCH and Tendo but has had to be altered to be in compliance with government regulations. Bible studies at LCH continue but with social distancing and is also becoming more and more home based. Basically there is a bright side as we have been able to concentrate on the spiritual nourishment of our Children. Every day, we have lunch hour prayers and evening bible studies conducted by the house moms in their respective houses with the supervision of Pastor Martin. On Sunday we have a normal service as a family and it’s always beautiful when our kids lead the program, praise and worship. On the same day, we have a fun evening where we have an open house and enjoy every Child or staff member’s performances whenever they have any presentations. This includes dancing, miming Christian songs, reciting scriptures and telling wise sayings including some of our youngest Children like Adrian, Job, Emma, Max, Otim and Praise. LCH Tendo and those who are graduates have been taking part in virtual Bible studies to supplement the weekly Bible study hosted at the Kelley compound each week, which is no longer allowed because of Covid-19 restrictions. The sharing of the word of God has had to shift to continue but we have adapted and are seeing fruit despite the change. Praise God, and continue to pray that God uses this as an opportunity for us as leaders to point the Children to the Almighty God and His purpose even in tough times.
Apart from that, our Children are remaining active in sports like football, volleyball and of course continue enjoying the playground equipment, a favorite for young ones. In the morning hours, some of our kids help in various household chores like the cleaning of the compound, while others help the house moms with the gardening. Others have used this time to learn playing instruments like piano and the guitar. During their free time some watch the TV (especially the girls) while the boys enjoy playing FUFA 2020 on their PlayStation 4. All our Children are kept busy throughout the day.
EDUCATION
As our Children involve themselves in the recreational activities, they also have time to do the holiday package (homework) given by their schools, and home package which was sent by the National Ministry of Education and Sports. As Lulwanda management, we have ensured that all our Children have the learning materials from different sources like the newspapers and via school links. All the government teaching programs on TV are being followed by our Children. We have called the school teachers to start marking the holiday package from their respective homes and bring back the papers for the house moms to revise and do corrections with the Children. The house moms supervise the kids to ensure that they read the story books distributed in their respective houses.
We had a wonderful Easter celebration with our Children. The only difference this year is that they never had any community Christians coming to fellowship with them because of the lockdown. After the service they were served a delicious meal and drinks. Evening time was used for games. I wish to thank you for the funds provided to make this day memorable for our Children.
Once again thank you for standing with us during this period of COVID -19. We are so grateful. Let us continue to pray for God’s blessings, mercy and protection upon everyone during this difficult time. God bless!
In Him,
Paul Isabirye
Administrator- LCH
