Happy New Year friends of Lulwanda! As Lulwanda family, we are extremely happy because you have owned Lulwanda as part of your family. We achieved a lot of things last year with your support, and we are still looking at the Almighty to continue blessing us in this New Year. One huge event we shall be witnessing this year is the first lot of graduation for our children at the University. Wow! I will communicate the time when they will graduate but continue praying for them that all goes well.
Allow me to highlight some activities of the month of January.
HEALTH
Medically all is well at Lulwanda and above all our children are healthy. Upon reporting back from their time with family / next of kin, the children have all been treated for worms and malaria. All of our girls have been tested for pregnancy and are all negative. Routine HIV testing also took place and there are no new cases to report. We had one case of a head injury that required two stitches for Ian Wekesa but he has recovered well and the wound is healed. Lydia Mukite returned from the village for social bonding with a broken leg that has required extensive medical treatment. She is now recovering well. We were able to carry out circumcision for our boys through a well-qualified health team from a government hospital. The exercise was successful and all have healed. These children included; Christopher Mukisa, Dee Emmanuel, Allan Mwayafu, Kevin Matsukuni, Milton Mubaje, Dan Makhonje, Mark Pande, Godfrey Okware, Emma Tuwma, Adrian Pedo, Max Mbulayiteye, Job Wanzoya and Boniface Washireko.
HOLIDAY PROGRAM
We had a great time during the long Christmas break from school. We started out the year with a New Year’s celebration and a welcome home party for all our children that had gone out to their villages over the Christmas holiday for social bonding. We had a fun event with lots of entertainment and it was capped off with cake cutting and a delicious meal. The boys had a football (soccer) tournament dubbed the Lulwanda New Year’s Cup. We were split into four teams that competed in a league bracket with the top 2 teams facing off in a grand finale. Football continues to be one of our children’s favorite pass times. We also had the usual holiday program that included activities like Bible Studies, Cooking, Swimming, Video Games and more. The children also had fun learning how to play new songs and instruments under Joseph and Pastor Martin’s training. We look forward to one day having a fully-fledged choir.
FIRE SAFETY TRAINING FOR THE STAFF AND THE CHILDREN:
As a safety measure for the wellbeing of our children, and as a requirement from the government, we have installed fire extinguishers in every house. We were blessed to have two police officers from the fire department take us through the training. A number of topics were covered which included precautions, causes of fire outbreak, and measures of minimizing fire outbreaks. The training ended with drills of how to put out a fire.
LULWANDA PRIMARY SCHOOL
We have mobilized for some community children to join the primary school. This is one of the strategies laid down two years ago for the community to benefit from the quality education offered at Lulwanda. We also thank the Almighty God that our 8 children who sat for primary leaving examinations (PLE) last year at Lulwanda primary school all passed and have joined Mbale Secondary School. Here are their scores:
| S/N | NAME | AGGREGATES | DIVISION |
| 1 | DEE EMMANUEL | 14 | 2 |
| 2 | HOPE MUTUWA | 14 | 2 |
| 3 | PATIENCE GAMISHA | 15 | 2 |
| 4 | GRACE MUTYEMBU | 15 | 2 |
| 5 | SARAH MUKHANA | 20 | 2 |
| 6 | PEACE KEZIA NAMONO | 21 | 2 |
| 7 | TRACY NABUDDO | 22 | 2 |
| 8 | IVAN BUTALI | 22 | 2 |
This year we are hoping more kids will perform better due to the changes we have made at the primary school among the teachers and administration. Teacher Irene Nasike is now the new HeadTeacher replacing William Wamoni
NEED TO RESCUE NEW CHILDREN
We received an urgent call from the government authorities to rescue a family of three children. Our team has already visited the family for assessment. We found out that family was polygamous and the mother of these children was the second wife and the husband had multiple relationships. It’s unfortunate that both parents passed on, leaving the children helpless and at the mercy of paternal relatives who cannot afford to provide the basic needs to the children. We have forwarded our findings to the GICF USA board for approval. We are praying that money will be available for these children to be rescued as soon as possible because they are in great need.
SALEM BAPTIST TEAM
We had a team from Salem Baptist Church in McDonough, Georgia join us over the New Year. The team helped by conducting vacation Bible school for all children. The team generously brought various supplies with them for the medical clinic and donated many Bibles for use in discipleship. Two afternoons were spent ministering in the local villages and providing much needed goods to needy families. The team has also sponsored approximately six children since returning to the US. Praise God for His provision.
CONCLUSION
Once again we are grateful to all of you for ensuring that these orphans have a bright future through your support (prayer support as well as financial). Sincerely without your donations, providing medical care, clothing, food and education would be impossible. All that you are doing has saved these kids from living on the streets and suffering. They are grateful for you because they now have the big family of Lulwanda where they receive love and care. Thank you for the support, prayers and love.
In Him,
Paul Isabirye
Administrator
LCH
