It’s exciting to bring warm greetings again from the big family of Lulwanda. We are grateful to the Almighty God for the breath of life despite the challenges faced and even losing our dear ones due to the pandemic which has affected us globally. We are also grateful to God that hope is being restored as we have the vaccination available to prevent the spread of this dangerous disease. Several activities happened this month and allow me to share with you.
MEDICAL REPORT
Medical care at Lulwanda and Tendo has gone well this past month. We have had no major cases of illness this month and God has continued to show His providence in this area. Our staff and Children are trained to adequately see signs and symptoms of illness before they become serious which has increased our ability to ensure prompt medical attention when needed. We will soon be hiring a full-time on site nurse who will attend to all cases at Lulwanda Children’s Home and Lulwanda Primary School as their main role. This nurse will also take part in education and counselling both at the home and school on subjects such as proper hygiene, wound care, etc. We also desire this on-site nurse to be involved in the mentoring of our children in preparing them for basic medical care for their own children once they inevitably depart from Lulwanda’s program. This nurse will work with and under supervision of the Medical Coordinator-Ryan. Please continue to pray that God provides both the nutritional, emotional, and physiological support for the continued good health of all our children for His glory alone.
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL
Due to COVID 19, the school calendar changed from the normal one. The new academic year will now start in August 2021 and that’s when all Children will be promoted to next classes. Currently schools are studying in shifts until August when all classes will resume. Below is the calendar for opening and closing for each class (all are in this year, 2021).
| CLASS | OPENING DATE | CLOSING DATE |
| P.7 | January 11 | March 31 |
| P.6 | March 1 | May 21 |
| P.5 & P.4 | March 6 | May 4 |
| P.3, P.2 & P.1 | June 7 | July 24 |
The reporting date for Pre-primary (Nursery) is not indicated because public schools don’t have pre-primary. We just assume that they will begin with P.1, P.2 and P.3. However, the Ministry of Education will soon introduce Pre-primary section in Public schools because research indicates that kids who go through Pre-primary perform better than kids who skip it.
Most Secondary schools in Uganda have defied the government guidelines and all Secondary School Children have reported back to school. This means all our secondary kids have reported back to school. However, they will have to follow the new academic year which starts in August.
I am glad to report that all our P.7 and S.4 candidate kids completed their final National exams successfully. The P.7 kids included Marion Neboshe, Madina Akello, Betty Kisakye and Joyce Kibone while the S.4 kids include Gift Naluboka, Norah Masai, Timothy Wandiba, Alafat Gizamabali, Jackie Ngwabe, Donna Nadunga, Brian Webisa, Pheobe Nambozo and Willy Joel Wamono.
The S.6 kids who include John Mutoshi and Abel Musobal will begin next month (April). Be praying that God gives them courage and wisdom during the examination period. All the University and Trade School Kids have also reported back to Campus while others are having lectures on line.
SARAH GIMONO AND IVAN MUSAMBAKI
God has blessed us with two of our children who showed interest in studying Nursing and Midwifery at certificate level. Sarah Gimono has just enrolled for year one at Salem School of Nursing while Ivan Musambaki is a second year student. After a full year of sitting home because of Covid-19, the two reported back to school. We shall ask God for the provision of all the school requirements, tuition and personal shopping to enable them to have a smooth learning. We hope to support them at diploma level if they maintain a high grade at certificate level.
BUYINZA MOSES AND ISAAC WATERO
It is with much gladness that we would like to report that two of our young adults, Buyinza Moses and Isaac Watero were restored into our program on reduced benefits. They are now enrolled for driving training at Mount Elgon Driving Institute. Buyinza Moses had failed to complete S4 and had rebelled in his lifestyle. Moses has now come back and been given some restoration in that despite his rebellion he is now being given an opportunity to earn a living now that he has humbled himself. Isaac completed a certificate in IT successfully, but found it hard to find work and had also desired to go for driving as there are many jobs in that sector. Thank you to God’s provision through the GICF USA board in helping these two obtain a means of earning a living.
DISCIPLESHIP REPORT
The ongoing evangelistic and discipleship efforts are producing fruit both in LCH and also amongst Tendo and Alumni. This month I am pleased to announce fifteen children confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and made the personal decision to follow Him. Praise the Lord!! This is without a doubt the fruits of a Christ-first centered Lulwanda and testimony of the hard work undertaken by all staff to ensure that their spiritual lives will remain the most vital aspect of their lives. This profession of faith was during one of the recent group devotionals conducted by Pastor Martin. Tendo Bible study has also resumed and issues of sexual purity and a Biblical world-view on this subject is being covered. We have 16 Children who have pledged to remain sexually pure until marriage. Please join us in prayer that the Spirit of God will continue to go before us and prepare the hearts of all those we disciple and evangelize. Our sincere desire is that God be seated upon the throne of all of our children’s lives. Please also be praying for further professions of faith, along with a 1 Corinthians 6:18 approach to the lives of our older children.
MINISTRY SAFE REPORT
Late last year the board of GICF USA tasked us with taking our staff through sexual abuse awareness training. This training has been extremely beneficial and we are grateful for it being provided. Currently all staff (excluding those on leave) have completed the training successfully. We are in a better position organizationally to root out sexual sin both by predators that may seek employment within, and within our peer groups of children. Please pray for God’s protection over the purity of our children at Lulwanda and that this training not be a certificate we all hang on the wall, but one we live out as watchful shepherds over our flock.
ASSESSMENT OF NEW CHILDREN
We have embarked on the assessment of new orphaned kids who need rescue. We have reports of such kids who are total orphans and vulnerable, and the social workers are currently assessing such families. The number of Children who are orphans and vulnerable is overwhelming but we shall only bring in 11 this year 2021 due to budget constraints. Very soon a joint team involving the government officials and Lulwanda team will visit those families before sending the final list to the US board for approval. Keep on praying that God guides us to the rightful families that are in critical condition and qualify to the expectations in our LCH policy.
HOME INSPECTION
After the National assessment by the Minister for Youth and Children’s affairs in line with the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development in February 2021, this month we had another inspection with a technical team from Mbale District. This is mandatory under the District Probation and Social Welfare department to periodically inspect and assess all Home care institutions. The exercise went on successfully as we scored 3.7 total Marks out of 4.0. So far we are the top in the district as far as providing care and services to the Orphans.
CONCLUSION
We are grateful to everyone who ensures for the wellbeing of our Children and above all, for guiding us in successfully accomplishing these activities. We appreciate you greatly and may God bless you abundantly.
Yours in Christ,
Paul Isabirye
LCH Administrator
