This month was full of excitement. All of the kids are in school and our new school building is coming along great. We thank God for the continued love and provision that He is giving this ministry. We thank all of our amazing sponsors who have made it possible for our kids to go back to school for another term. We also thank God that our Secondary Four students passed their national exams with flying colors.
The children were very worried for these exams. Most of them said that they were very difficult. Thank you to our Social Workers and House Mamas for the wonderful job they did encouraging and supporting these kids. At RUHU we do our very best to encourage each of our kids, whether they have excelled in school or have had to repeat a grade. Each of our kids has their own unique story, their strengths and their struggles. We love and care for them where they are. I want to share with you a story about a boy in the neighboring village of Bulenga. He was a Primary Four student who hung himself because of the stress/challenges he faced. He lacked the ability to pay his school fess, he had no uniform, and he wasn’t able to afford any food while at school. He hung himself because he thought there was no other option. Our younger generation needs mentors to support them and stop this from happening. 67% of young children in primary schools in Uganda under the age of 15 drop out of school, many are orphans. They lack food, clothes and the resources to be able to go to school. We praise God that he has equipped us to start the RUHU Primary school in this community to make a difference in the lives of these children!
We thank God for everyone who has helped make the school expansion dream a reality. RUHU will be able to equip and change the lives of children who would otherwise not be able to access food and education. With lots of excitement we would like to announce that this year alone our amazing teachers will be working alongside 250 children. At RUHU we not only look after the wellbeing of the children but we love to see the real change that happens in a child when they receive the support, mentorship and education our social workers and incredible staff members provide. We wouldn’t have been able to do this without you, our wonderful donors. We appreciate your support so much. We are also very happy to announce that the RUHU Primary School is now fully licensed with the ministry of education. We have only one process remaining which is the certificate. We were able to purchase more benches to accommodate the increasing number of students, though more are still needed, but we thank God for Sasha’s donation. We have also bought scholastic materials to use in our classrooms thanks to Duncan. The first floor of the building has been roofed and the ground floor was cemented. This has provided us good space for the kids to study. We have also added five additional teachers.
In addition, our school has sent a signal to the community that we are committed to a safe educational environment through Ron & Ann’s provision of an Impact Water Filtration System. At RUHU we no longer have to boil our water. Every day our kids are able to receive 6 cups of clean, filtered water. This is a long-time solution to reduce Typhoid and other diseases related to unsafe drinking water. We are currently working towards being able to purchase a tank for the RUHU Girls’ Home and Village of Hope. (Stay tuned for more details in next month’s newsletter)
Love,
Patrick
House of Hope – Submitted by Patrick
Vivian is a very smart 16 year old who was born and raised in the slums of Kampala. At some point during her childhood her mother died and left her all alone in the slums. People in the slums tried to help her but gave up on her when she turned 11. Her life became even more difficult when she was raped in the slums. Vivian became pregnant during that time and we praise God that she was able to stay strong as she struggled with 2 babies in her belly! Unfortunately, when she gave birth on the streets one of the babies was stillborn. Praise to God her other baby, Blessed, survived. It was very difficult living with a newborn in the slums. Vivian had to use plastic bags as sheets for Blessed. That is when RUHU learned of her situation and she came to RUHU. We thank God that Vivian and Blessed are now happy, and Vivian has hope for the future. Thank you! With your generosity, hope is raised again.
We thank God that this month we were able to secure new sponsors for all the babies! Thank you to our new sponsors for giving hope and providing for these babies!
