I bring greetings from the big family of Lulwanda in the precious name of our Lord. We thank the Almighty God for enabling us to go through the month of September smoothly. His Grace has been sufficient to enable us to accomplish a number of activities. Allow me to report on the following.
Health
Medically the Lulwanda family is doing well. We have fumigated for bugs and pests and placed mosquito bait and traps throughout the compound. We received a large number of ProVector flowers from a donor in the US. These flowers contain bait and are placed in each room and mosquitos feed off them then die. Due to these combined efforts malaria cases have drastically reduced. We have had no major illnesses this month and are thankful to God for his provision of good health over our staff and children.
Almost all of our children are now in the new homes and their overall health is benefitting because of this. This smaller setting is allowing us to closely monitor mosquito net use and overall health. Many children also had dental work performed this month that was carried out successfully.
Hand Over Of House 5 & 6
We are grateful to the Almighty God that Houses 5 & 6 have been completed and handed over to us by the P&A contactors. The houses have been built very well and are ready for use by our kids as soon as we buy the household utensils and receive the furniture we ordered. We are so grateful to all of you for the donations made towards building for the future. We are sure that God shall remain faithful in the provision for the next phase, Houses 7 & 8. Thank you very very much for your generosity!!
Farewell Party For Hillary Jackson
This month we said a painful goodbye to Hillary as she returns to the US. She was a very instrumental missionary to the Children and staff of Lulwanda. She was working as the School Coordinator as well as the farm supervisor. At LPS a lot of changes were introduced to help the Children learn better, while in the farm she bought a milking machine to ease the work of the farm assistants, and also improve the quality of milk produced for our Children. A lot of impact has been left behind on both programs and I wish to thank her for tireless effort and the legacy left behind.
Hillary loved to take part of her daily schedule off to spend time playing with children. She taught our Children to make a mud house typical of African settings and this impressed many of our kids who up to now try and imitate the same even if she is gone. During her goodbye celebration, it was very emotional but she encouraged us when she said “I’m not going to cry” and stood strong to deliver her speech. We celebrated her great efforts and prayed for journey mercies. May the Lord continue protecting and using her while in US.
Women Conference
Our girl children in secondary school, Trade school and University participated in a three day women’s conference held at Mbale Secondary School on 5th – 7th September. The Theme was “The power of a praying woman.” The conference was organized by Mbale Presbyterian church and spearheaded by Mama Aida Ogenga and Pastor Morris Ogenga. Different motivational/inspirational speakers shared different life experiences with the women, all based on the Bible. Among things shared included the Love of Christ, and managing resources among believers (stewardship, budgeting and saving).
The last day was a fun night marked with the red carpet experience. Several women of different ages showed off their talent of fashion modeling, and the curtain raiser was Mama Aida Ogenga. Our daughter Mercy Chekwemboi excelled in the fashion show and received a lot of applause from the audience. Pastor Morris and Administrator Paul were called to show off on the runway and this attracted lots of laughter from the audience. The fun night was attended by several dignitaries from the US including Chairman Larry with Dee, Peter Palermo with Rosemary among others. The crowd was excited to see Dee and Rosemary participate on the catwalk.
Children Conference
Our Sunday school children attended the Children’s Discipleship conference held at Mbale Presbyterian church Mbale in partnership with Scripture Union Uganda. The Theme was “Watch Your Life and Doctrine Closely” 1 Timothy 4:16. For one week they were allowed to participate daily in all their age groups. The Children enjoyed all the activities and look forward to another conference.
Team Around The Child Panel
As we abide by the government laws of reintegration for Children approaching 18yrs of age, the following Children were presented to the District panel for assessment and approval. They included Gift Naluboka, Andrew Masiga, Phoebe Nambozo, Sandra Namakoye, Willy Joel Wamono, Mary Namubi, Sarah Fatuma Namubya, Wycliff Seddu, Zachariah Leka, Ivan Butali and Donah Nadunga.
This team guides and advises approved homes on assessments and reintegration, and also helps in improving social work practices.
Lulwanda Financial Analysis
We held a financial analysis discussion, with a goal of reducing the increasing expenditure to fit within the budget. The discussion was chaired by Larry Hoelscher and attended by Pastor Morris, Ryan, Osama and myself. We carried out a ranking for each expense category based on priority areas to reduce the expenditure. We also embraced the idea of using an envelope system for cash management, where cash will only be spent when the budget for that category was not yet used up. Major reductions were made in some categories and we are hopeful that the system will work out for the good of the home.
In enforcing the new changes, we held a staff meeting to share our thoughts with the staff members. I invited Pastor Morris and Chairman Larry to speak to the staff members and reinforce the directions.
Renewal Of Care Orders
We have embarked on the renewal of the care orders for some Children whose care orders are soon expiring. The care order is mainly given for a maximum period of three years and after three years the child can be reintegrated or the care order can be renewed depending on the circumstances at home. All these kids still need care and protection and will remain at Lulwanda. They include, Ketty Kakayi, Whitney Khanakhwa, Dan Makhonje and Mark Pande.
Conclusion
Finally a lot of thanks go out to the GICF donors and sponsors for supporting us financially, spiritually and morally as this has enabled us to accomplish the above activities. We appreciate your endless love and your continued support. God bless.
Yours faithfully,
Paul Isabirye
Administrator
Lulwanda Children’s Home
