Magic

This is Vasco. He is a refugee from the Congo who has recently been displaced from the devastating effects of over two decades of civil war. He is a new student at Hope Primary, and he has come to school a week early, prepared, and excited that here at Hope he can have some peace and stability to learn like the rest of us.

Vasco and all the other students that are starting to return are amazed at the changes that have been made over the holiday. I have said before that the generosity that has been shown through Mollie and me from back home acts like magic here. You can't really explain how it happens. We can simply thank God together that he has listened to the prayers of this community.

 Water Tank and Connection $500! Cement Floors $775!
New classrooms $6000!

Helping our fellow man...Priceless.

"I can't imagine what a difficult yet rewarding experience this has been. You are so lucky to be a part of such progress. There is nothing greater than serving your fellow man. Congratulations on choices well made. I hope you continue to grow personally and together. May God bless you and continue to open your eyes to the realities of our world. I hope 2010 brings countless new opportunities to better our world."
-This is for all of us.Thank you McConnell.

Big Changes

Do you remember this photo?

We took this picture when we first arrived. We were shocked to see with our own eyes the conditions in which children were having to learn. This really was where the P6 and P7 children were getting their education! Well....

 We have done away with temporary, deplorable learning facilities here at Hope. We are moving forward with permanence and stability so that these children can have a better chance at succeeding in their pursuit of a better life.

We broke ground a week ago Tuesday. We have been through 9 piles of sand, nearly 10,000 bricks, and 9 days of very hard labor. The energy is buzzing around Ndejje.
"What is happening at Hope," they are all asking. 

 

 By this time next week our men should be almost finished framing the roof. We are hoping that the three classrooms will be ready just two weeks after the school term begins. It is hard to believe. Generosity acts like magic. No one can hardly imagine that P5, 6, 7 will actually have their own classrooms.

 

Education is a gift. I can't say that I have always felt as strongly as I do now about this sentiment. Being here and talking with the people that struggle everday year after year to put their children through school has given me a new level of appreciation for the education that I was able to receive.
 So here we are together making a change in the way children learn.

We can promise you that we had no idea what was in store for us before we left on this adventure. Having the opportunity to affect this type of change in a world full of need has profoundly influenced the direction of our lives.Without the incredible generosity that you all have contributed to this project, not one of these amazing improvements would have been accomplished. We are full of gratitude for granting us the privilege to play this role. Together we can pray that with these improvements, Hope's children will also improve their chances for success in a very difficult world.

Hoima, Uganda (Village Life)

We left Ndejje at 5:30am on Saturday, January 2nd to make sure we got on the MUCH slower Post Bus. we thought it left at 7am but we were wrong. We showed up and no one was even around. Finally, after making us sweat a bit it showed up. We left at 8am. The bus was slow slow slow and we will not be traveling that way again. It took us 7.5 hours to get to Hoima when the average trip is about 3 hours! oh well, at least we got to see some of Uganda and take it all in rather than speed by so fast that everything is a blur.

When we arrived in Hoima at 2pm, we hopped on a boda boda (the motorcycle taxis) and went to the hostel that Annet booked for us. We rested for about an hour and showered and then Annet sent a boda boda
to pick us up and take us to her house, which was not too far down the dirt road. When we drove up to her house, there were about 50 people gathered outside to greet us, mostly children! Every year, Annet's mom who is 71, has a children's party for all of her grandkids and neighbors and church friends, and 3 of her daughters were helping and other distant family members. Everyone in Hoima knows Annet's mom Vicky as "JaJa" or "grandma". It was awesome! And all of the children came up to us and kneeled (as they do here) and introduced themselves, some not in their local language but the ones that could, tried English.

Anyway, they fed us irish and sweet potatoes, matoke, millet, cassava greens, nakate greens, beans, peas, rice, avacados, mangos, g'nut sauce.....everything except the rice came from their garden!!!!!!!!!!!! Truly organic and made with love. It was so good. And they are poor. Not as poor as some people, but they are none the less, and they fed us SO much! Annet's mom is the kindest, sweetest most Christian lady I have ever met. In fact the whole family of girls is just like here. They prayed when we got there, they prayed before we ate, they prayed before we left. It was really neat. they all have a lot of love. They said, "A family that prays together, stays together." And they fed us everyday! and they always fed us, then make us eat more, and only then will they eat whatever we have left for them. It is a kind of hospitality that is so moving and genuine. (we try to eat modestly so they can eat a good meal too!)

So this is what our quick trip to the village looked like:
Saturday: Annet's from 4pm-8pm eating dinner and visiting the family. Annet and Alex, her cousin and best friend, walked us home.
Sunday: Met at Annet's at 8am to have tea and bananas and sweet bread before going to church. Church from 10am-2pm!!! WOW a long service, but probably the best preaching yet! And we took communion, which was interesting. Then back to Annet's for lunch. And then walked around the land to other family members' to visit, like Alex, etc. Later, one person from church invited us to their house for some sodas and fruit, then back to our place at about 8pm. Needless to say we were so FULL (our bellies and our souls) but we were exhauseted!
Monday: Walked around Hoima town, just the two of us, and then to Annet's to help with lunch. But instead we helped clear a tree that had been cut down. Manual labor. They didn't want us to, but you can't just sit and watch while others work. They think "mzungus" are so weak. They kept saying, "the sunshine is too much, you are too tired, you must need to sit, you are too tired." It was funny. But Annet said, "Mollie and James don't sit when their is work to do" which made us feel so good. Plus, they were hosting us so nicely we felt that was the LEAST we could do. We ate lunch after our work and then went straight to the bus park at 2pm. But the buses were full, so we had to take a taxi. Not exactly the best option, but we arrived safely in 3
hours to Kampala. Then switched to a taxi to Ndejje and home by 7pm. We were greeted by all of our friends and neighbors, especially the kids. They love screaming "mary mary mary high five high five (becauseI
taught them, oops)!!!!" and running and jumping on us even when we are carrying heavy things. Anyway, it was great.

So that was that. All in all a fabulous trip to the village. Except that the mosquitoes over there have malaria, so we returned and discovered that they had gotten us! But we are all better and excited to fill you in on the progess at Hope School. Just wanted to catch you up to date.

Ringing In 2010

The New Year! 2010! What is that feeling you get you're counting down the final seconds of the year? Why does it feel so huge? It doesn't matter where you are or where you come from. When the clock reaches 12 midnight, an energy permeates the air whispering into everyone's ear saying, "Great things are coming this New Year! There are opportunities that await you on the other side." The ball dropping, the fireworks exploding somehow remind us that this life we are living is in fact a gift. We can unwrap once again, as if for the very first time, the wonder of living.

To all of you out there supporting the work of Global Ties, Mollie and I thank you and wish you the most successful and wonderFull 2010. From the ground up, your gifts over this Christmas Season are building new exciting opportunities both in the short term and in the long term. Above is Bonaventure on the scaffolding getting the canteen prepared for the instillation of the roof. As you can see we have come along very quickly on our canteen project, and we fully plan to have it finished and well stocked before the children arrive in late January. Bonaventure and Martin have asked that I convey how appreciative they are to have this work over the holiday season. It has allowed them to provide their families with proper holiday celebrations. Over time the canteen will also be a continual source of income for Hope Primary School development so that more families and more children can benefit from the affordable, quality education it provides.

As they are completing the school canteen, Bonaventure and Martin have also started work on another Global Ties Initiative, the water harvesting system. It takes up to week for the base to harden so that the tank can be installed.We will be placing a 2000 liter water tank just next to the current school bathroom (pit latrines) so that there will be a permanent, sturdy hand washing facility for all the members of Hope School. We are excited to provide an environmental and cost reducing solution to further help Hope's sustainability and image within the community and other potential outside investors.   

Mollie and I are planning a quick trip to Hoima. (Bruce we promise to take the slowest, safest bus available.) We have been invited by Annet, who you met many weeks ago on the blog.(the Head Mistress of Hope) We will just stay two days and then return as we are extremely anxious to see and update everyone as the projects are completed. Again, thank you everyone for the opportunity to start 2010 giving in a way that we have never given before.