Hello our beloved friends! I bring warm greetings from the little ones and the staff members of the Lulwanda family. We are grateful to each of you for your kind heart which brings a great smile to our Children. We are grateful to the Almighty God Who Has continued being faithful to all of us. We appreciate His Blessings, Provision, Care and Mercy which enabled us to push through. Below are the activities of November.
MEDICAL REPORT
This month we saw minor illnesses and had no significant medical issues at Lulwanda. The total number of patients seen (comprising LCH home children, staff & their immediate families) was sixty in number. We saw an uptick in malaria rates as our on-site nurse performed thirty-six MRDT’s, twenty of those were positive. The patients were treated and have fully recovered without complications. In addition, we had eighteen cases of flu and cough treated on site. Our on-site nurse treated seven cases of ringworm. We had one minor injury and various other minor aches and pains that were treated on-site. We did stitch one patient who has fully recovered from an injury sustained from the metal swings. This patient (a home child) received a tetanus shot. Overall, we give glory to our great God and Savior for all His provision. He faithfully continues holding us all together (Col. 1:17) in His hands. Please continue to pray for health and safety at Lulwanda and that a COVID resurgence will not occur in Uganda.
DISCIPLESHIP REPORT
Discipleship continues to be the cornerstone of all that Lulwanda focuses on first and foremost. Pastor Martin has been very active in ensuring that group Bible studies occur communally in large and small group settings. Tendo Bible study has continued to be fruitful as we had to move to an earlier time to accommodate curfew. The sessions generally last around 1 ½ hours or 30 minutes of praise and worship, then the lesson and discussions. We finished the book of James this past month. Daddy Tendo will continue to be provided with discipleship materials to continue this from home.
UPDATE ON KELLEY MISSIONARY FAMILY
As many of you know, the Kelley family is in a time of transition back to the United States. They will continue to serve as missionaries from the US and travel to and from Uganda at least twice a year. Ryan will continue to be involved in sponsor letter coordination with Sylvia and provide daily devotions and weekly discipleship material for Tendo and staff. Ryan left for the United States on November 27th, and the rest of the Kelley family is present in Uganda. Megan is still involved in counseling and working with Tendo, furnishing the homes with curtains, Facebook updates, and Lulwanda as necessary while Ryan is away. Ryan will return in February, and the family plans to move back to the United States in March. While they will physically not be with us in person, we are glad they will continue to be a part of the Lulwanda family and involved heavily. Medical coordination and supply orders are still being sent to Ryan for him to oversee the ordering and procurement. Our on-site nurse has been in communication with him for direction when needed.
1st UNIVERSITY GRADUATION OF LULWANDA CHILDREN
We are grateful to the Almighty God that we held our first University graduation ceremony for our alumni Children. Mercy, Sylvia Doreen and Allen made us proud as they graduated with Bachelor’s degrees in different fields. Mercy graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Art, Doreen graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration while Sylva and Allen both graduated in Social Work and Social Administration. We invited all the Lulwanda Alumni, relatives of the graduates, the local management committee and the government officials to the ceremony.
Currently Lulwanda has employed Mercy as the program coordinator and Sylvia as the social worker. Allen is working with microfinance as a loans officer. Meanwhile be praying for Doreen that she gets employed very soon. Be praying for Ivan Kuloba who missed out the graduation due to retakes and also failure to submit the research report. This function was a source of inspiration to our Children as most of them have got a positive mindset of working hard for a better future.
FINANCIAL TRAINING
Our Social workers and Anthony completed the financial training facilitated by Virgil from the USA. The purpose of the training is to have financial knowledge in business and increase our savings to live a better life and above all honor God with our money. This coming month before we break off for the Christmas season, the trainees will conduct the financial workshop which will be attended by the staff members and young adults of Lulwanda. They will also invite the Lulwanda Alumni for the same training next year 2022.
RESETTLED CHILDREN
We held a meeting with resettled Children who had discipline issues. Following the outcry from such Children who had not followed the Lulwanda policies and showing no signs of repentance, the Lulwanda Management team together with Pastor Morris met them to hear their concerns. All their views were noted by the social workers and we agreed that we shall address their concerns case by case after the approval from the Local management committee and the US Board.
VACCINATION OF TENDO YOUNG ADULTS
As the government opened up trade school and University, it is a requirement for all students above the age of 18 years to be vaccinated against COVID -19 before reporting to the institutions. We had to adhere to the government advice and mobilize our young adults at Tendo to receive the first Jab. We brought the health worker who vaccinated them after the sensitization and now they are waiting to receive the second Jab when its due.
CARE ORDERS FOR NEW CHILDREN AND SHOPPING
We are in the final stage of bringing the new Children before we break off for the Christmas season. The social workers have done the shopping of items like clothes and beddings for the new Children. We submitted the paperwork to the Senior Probation and Welfare Officer to secure the care orders. We are waiting for the endorsement and approval from the court first and then we shall take them for thorough medical checkup at the hospital before coming to Lulwanda. We are eagerly waiting for the day when the new Children shall join the Lulwanda family and be relieved of the stress as most of them are Child headed families.
TRADE SCHOOL RE-OPENING
The trade schools finally opened up this November after a long period of lockdown. The continuing students and new entrants have reported and are having physical lessons at their respective institutions. Brian Webisa and Timothy Wandiba joined Benedictine Vocational Training and Production Center in Tororo for the award of a certificate in plumbing and electrical installation respectively. Vincent, Jackeline and Alafat joined the Christian Childcare project and Miken vocational institute for plumbing, hotel management and commercial Art and design respectively. They were so excited to report to school and pursue courses of their interest.
SENIOR FOUR CHILDREN
We had a joint meeting with the students who sat for senior four (S4) this year in 2021 in guiding and counseling how to make the right choice depending on the performance, ability and interest. Those joining A-Level needed career guidance on selection of subjects to be offered at high school. This usually should be in line with the child’s ambition so that they can work hard and achieve their set goals. Furthermore, even those that are joining trade schools were also guided well and they are all happy and comfortable with the choices made.
| S/N | CHILD’S NAME | COMBINATION | COURSE | INSTITUTION |
| 1 | NORAH MASAI | BCM/ICT BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY, MATH | ST. MARY’S LUGAZI | |
| 2 | GIFT NALUBOKA | MEA/ICT MATH ECONOMICS ART | ST. MARY’S LUGAZI | |
| 3 | DONAH NADUNGA | GENT ART/ ICT GEOGRAPHY, ENTREPRENEURSHIP FINE ART | MBALE SS | |
| 4 | PHEOBE NAMBOZO | HLD/ICT HISTORY, LITERATURE, DIVINITY | MBALE SS | |
| 5 | JOEL WAMONO | MEA / ICT MATH, ECONOMICS, FINE ART | MBALE SS | |
| 6 | BRIAN WEBISA | CERTIFICATE IN PLUMBING | BENEDICTINE VOCATIONAL TRAINING AND PRODUCTION CENTER | |
| 7 | TIMOTHY WANDIBA | CERTIFICATE IN ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION | BENEDICTINE VOCATIONAL TRAINING AND PRODUCTION CENTER | |
| 8 | ALAFAT GIZAMBALI | CERTIFICATE IN COMMERCIAL ART AND DESIGN | MIKEN VOCATIONAL INSTITUTE | |
| 9 | VICENT WANANSOFU | CERTIFICATE IN PLUMBING | CHRISTIAN CHILDCARE PROJECT | |
| 10 | JACKLINE NGWABE | CERTIFICATE IN CATERING AND HOTEL MGT | CHRISTIAN CHILD CARE PROJECT |
ADMISSIONS FOR SENIOR ONE STUDENTS
We were also able to secure admissions for the children that sat for their primary leaving examination (Marion, Betty, Joyce and Madinah). These four Children have been admitted at Mbale Secondary School and will start schooling at the beginning of January 2022. They will be joining the rest of the brothers and sisters already at Mbale SS.
LMC MEETING
The Local Management Committee held an end of year meeting in which a number of issues were discussed. In this meeting the budget for 2022 was discussed, passed and forwarded to the US Board for discussion and final approval. The budget is high as we have a big number of Children entering secondary, trade school and University. This means an increase in the tuition payments and school requirements. We realized an increase in the household items and gas as the prices are continuing to rise up due to the effects of COVID-19. We are praying for God’s provision in financing the budget.
CHRISTMAS CLOTHES
We thank God for the continued provision from our sponsors and donors towards the purchase of the Christmas clothes. Each child has already received new clothes and a pair of shoes for Christmas as we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you so much for bringing a big smile on the face of the children.
CONCLUSION
We thank God for the opportunity to serve Lulwanda and above all for working with great men and women of God who support to bring hope and Joy to the vulnerable Children. Every support makes a big change in the lives of these kids. Thank you once again and wishing you a MERRY CHRISTMAS. May God bless you all!
In His Grace
Paul Isabirye
Administrator-LCH
