Nicholas and Sezi our sponsored students wearing their donated football shirts

Report on North Kigezi Diocese visit 2/9/11 – 11/09/11

Mission: To assess progress of ongoing projects; to obtain accountability figures; to deliver gifts; to assess feasibility of additional projects.

Diocesan Estates Projects at Kinyasano.

Trees:            The aim of this project is to grow trees, both pines and eucalypts, on Diocesan grounds in order to supply a sustainable source of saleable timber.                        At present, 3,600 pine (pachera) have been planted around Prayer Mountain. Approximately 300 eucalypt sucklings have been planted on the slope beneath Diocesan offices, over the road from the Bishop’s residence and the Mother’s Union (for those familiar with the site). Theft has been an issue.                                                                            It is planned to build a secure nursery involving timber-constructed seedling beds.

Cow Project:        This project is essentially to provide milk.   We currently have bought two cows.  One is black with a small white patch on its face (kyasha), the other is also black with white patches but with big horns(ungawo)

  Goat Project:      From starting with 10 goats, our herd population is now 18. There have been six kids born recently, two females and four males, but it was unclear whether these were all ours or included the Bishop’s as well. Both herds are together and maintained by one goatherd.   The shed we have built for them accommodates them well but already there is a desire and need for a smaller shed to accommodate the younger kids and expectant nannies for protection.                       

Kisiizi Hospital:           Although this is not one of our Church supported projects I would like to report on our (Matt and Martin’s) visit there. The purpose of the visit was to deliver the equipment donated by NHS Blood Transfusion and to provide training to the staff in its use. This was achieved and will provide an immediate and significant improvement for the treatment of malaria-induced anaemia in the very young and therefore an increased availability of blood for the adult population.

Accountability at Kyabugashe:                                                                                                Details regarding accountability for the Kyabugashe project will be covered by Canon Richard Darmody separately. Richard met with Treasurer Benon Magezi, Headmaster Charles and Canon George. Suffice to say we saw ample evidence that previous funds were spent wisely, the school hall/laboratory/ chemical storage building now has strong secure doors and window frames and the first layer of flooring is down. They are awaiting the release of the final instalment to proceed with wall plastering before the floor and fittings can be installed.                                                                                                                                     Matt was able to spend a lot of time on the Wednesday meeting and talking to the students and gleaning a little of the issues they have to deal with. He was warmly welcomed and appreciated every moment of the experience and took the trouble to learn a few expressions in the vernacular which everyone appreciated.

Rugarama Women’s Health and Childcare Clinic:                                                             Our assistance has been sought for the redevelopment of this clinic.                                      In the May-June visit £1000 had been spent on the purchase of drugs for the clinic. My role was to investigate the needs of the clinic and to determine  whether we were able to offer assistance. I met with the current Project Development Officer Kwizera Patrick and Bishop Patrick Tugume-Tusingwire on separate occasions to discuss the project.

Conclusion:              It was a very busy few days but I feel we achieved our mission.     Matt had a great time and was very pleasant company. He embraced all that Uganda threw at him with enthusiasm and acceptance. We hope it has further stimulated a willingness to help that he can take with him to University in order to establish more links.

We ask for your prayers for Richard, Martin Muir, Matt Damant as they go to Uganda on 1st September until the 11th. Matt has just completed his A levels and is soon to go to University. Richard is using this as his holiday from the parishes and they are all travelling at their own expense.

• God be with you in every pass, Jesus be with you on every hill,  Spirit be with you on every stream, headland and ridge and lawn;
  Each sea and land, each moor and meadow, each lying down, each rising up, in the trough of the waves, on the crest of the billows, each step of the journey you go.

Their programme is very busy. They are planning, God willing, to visit:
The Bishop’s School, Kybugashe
Kisizii Hospital (under the Church of Uganda) – Matt and Martin
The Diocesan Clinic in Rukungiri,
TheGateway Project – Richard
All Saints Church
Visit Gershom, the Principal at The Bible College.
They hope to make contact with the Primary School near the Bible College.
They will also want to meet up again with Nicholas and Sezi our 2 sponsored Students. We are thankful for the donation of 2 Arsenal shirts for them and others who have given financial support for the students.

As you can see this is a lot to fit into a few days.

• Lord, we pray that Richard, Matt and Martin may know a sense of Your presence with them as  they travel and know Your blessing on all they do.

Lord you slumber not nor sleep; preserve our going out and our coming in from this time forth and for evermore.         Amen.                 From Psalm 121

 Establishing contact with the new Bishop

Richard, June and Gita were invited to a meeting with the new bishop,  Bishop Patrick and his wife Eva, the retiring bishop, Bishop Edward  and his wife Vasta,  to discuss our involvement in the Diocese of North Kigezi.  The meeting lasted for two hours and many issues were discussed.  They were able to explain how we linked up with this work and the various things that we have done over the years.  The new bishop is very interested in maintaining this contact and has given us his blessing to continue helping and supporting his people. Bishop Patrick was pleased with the work carried out at The Bishop’s School, Kybagashe and with the many gifts given to support this. He was very honest about the problems facing his Diocese and of the difficulties in the schools over staffing and finance as well as issues relating to delivering the curriculum and so was grateful for all that had been done.  He wanted to thank all involved.

The Bishop’s Installation

We, along with other overseas partners as well as the President of Uganda were guests of marquee at 3pm soon after President Museveni honour and received a round of applause from the congregation which numbered thousands. Richard and Gita sat with the clergy whilst June, James and Jeremy sat at the front of the main marquee trying to keep out of the sun. We were in our places by 8.30am with the action beginning from 9.00. We left the had presented Bishop Patrick with a new car for his personal use around the diocese. Thankfully most of the proceedings were in English and we were each given a bottle of water half way through. Worryingly for our friends back home we are all getting used to these long services and preachers talking for hours rather than minutes!

The Goat Project

We were delighted to find that this was flourishing and that the long term aim of providing breeding goats as well as education to small village communities is on track for the future.

There were kids everywhere and James and Jeremy thought they were back in school …

The New Health Project

The diocese has for many years run a maternity clinic in Rukungiri where women can receive ante-natal care and a safe environment for their babies to be born. In recent years this service has grown to include general childcare and it is planned to open an operating theatre in the near future so that difficult births do not have to be transported to Kisiszi Hospital over three hours away down a very bumpy track. We agreed to support the purchase of drugs for the hospital that are presently bought on an ad-hoc basis but with our help can now be bought in bulk in Kampala saving millions of shillings each year which can then be used to pay staff who when we were there had not been paid for over three months.

Prayer Mountain

Last year when we visited Prayer Mountain, the special place where people of all faiths can visit to be close with God, we discovered that the diocese needed significant funds to put the roof on the meeting space.

A phone call to Ramsey soon identified a generous donor and James and Jeremy were delighted to join the hundreds of pilgrims who gathered together in May to officially open the newly finished building. It was a very moving ceremony made all the more so by the fact that without Ramsey support it would not have been taking place.

A New Project involving the planting of trees

Another generous member of the congregation in Ramsey provided us with funds to help establish a new project to support tree planting in locations around the diocese. The plan is that local communities will receive matched funding from the diocese to encourage them to plant new trees to replace those increasingly felled for fuel and other uses.

Compassion Sponsored Children

Richard, June and Gita were pleased to be introduced to the two young men the church is sponsoring, Nicholas and Seth through Compassion UK.We met them at the Kinyansano Compassion Centre under the supervision of Barbara, the Centre’s Director. We received an update and correction to some of the information we had.  The support given provides them with health care, advice, friendship, basic needs and spiritual development.  Both young men like singing and lead the younger Compassion children when they meet together in worship.

Nicholas is now 21 and only has a few months left in the Compassion programme but it would be possible to stay in touch with him by letter.  He has been working as a mechanic at the Diocesan garage and has applied to do a driving course for 3 months. Nicholas is very grateful for the support through Compassion and seemed a well grounded young man.

Seth is 19 and still at Senior Secondary School.  He would like to complete his GCSE’s and maybe A-Levels.  He has aspirations of joining a Leadership Development Programme when he has gained the necessary qualifications. Seth seems a very caring young man, doing what he can to help his widowed mother and his siblings.   He helps a lot in his church and leads groups at school.   He believes God is calling him to be a pastor.

Fact Finding Mission

On another day Richard, June and Gita travelled with Bishop Edward and his wife Vasta  to visit the site of  the proposed Gateway Project for a Retreat Centre for clergy. Another couple who are retired professionals and leave near the lake,  joined our discussions.   This site has a beautiful view overlooking a lake. We discussed the immediate requirements for the project and the longer term needs and possible costs.  We agreed to employ a planner and make consultations about water supplies.     Previously we had visited a Pastor and his wife who ran a resource with similar buildings to those envisioned, to learn how they proceeded with their development.  This information was very useful to us.   All of this is in the early stages and we are prayerful that the development may be according to the needs of the people of the area.

The Bishop’s School, Kyabagashe

James and Jeremy raised money through contacts with several schools to provide much needed resources.  They were able to buy some of these in Kampala with the bargaining skills of Benon, their driver.  They delivered these to the school to the delight of staff and pupils.  The resources included 2 generators, school writing materials, PE equipment, a laptop loaded with science programmes and a solar charger, a data projector as well as football shirts.

We were all able to visit the school and are pleased to report that the building work on the multi-purpose hall and Science lab is very nearly complete.  It looks very impressive.  At present they are laying the floor.

Martin Muir was part of the team which visited Uganda last year.   During the visit Martin spent several days working in the Lab. at the Kisiizi Hospital.   Since then he a has been researching how to obtain and send certain needed supplies.  He has some good news to share.

“HSBT are going to ship 50 bloodbags for me so this should all be done within the next fortnight or so.”

We give thanks that Martin has been able to arrange this.    Nothing is simple when it has to be located in one country and then shipped so far.  These bloodbags are very much needed and will make a lot of difference to staff and patients.  Pray for their safe arrival in this remote location.