The Graduates!

We are excited to say that we have more graduates from University this month.  Stephen Mudangha and Jesca Norah Kataike both graduated from Uganda Christian University.  Stephen majored with a Bachelor's in Agricultural Engineering and Entrepreneurship and Jesca graduated with a Bachelor's in Business Administration/Accounting.  We also have Sarah Sabano, who has been working with us as a Social Worker that went to school at night to get her Bachelor's in Social Work Administration from the same school and Harriet Acham, who graduated with her Bachelor's in Social Work Administration.  We have others coming up this year and are excited to see them finishing because of faithful sponsors.  God bless you all for helping these children to do something with their lives.  Harriet has a widowed mother who has really struggled and the same for Stephen and Jesca (who are brother and sister).  Sarah's parents have many children and have really struggled.  The we have Anton Otimongo, who is graduating with his Bachelors from Gulu University.

Coming up soon we have Sosi Musana, Andrew Nkambo, Harriet Konga, Alice Nawere, Diana Nankoma and Julius Bumba (who we wrote about earlier in a post), Michael Wafula and Fred Gadala with their diplomas which are like Associate Degrees.  We also have Badiru Mukama, Peter Kolokolo, Andrew Muluga, Helen Gwenda, Henry Maleza and Julius Musene who finished in vocational studies.

Most of these young adults are God fearing people who want to make a difference and they will because of the sponsors that faithfully sponsored them through until the end.  Thank you to all of you who care and are a big part of this ministry.

Mudslides of Bududa

Recently I went and visited an area known as Bududa on the slopes of Mt. Elgon.  Mt. Elgon is an old volcanoe with some activity going on at this time.  It is 14,177 feet high.  Mbale sits in the foot hills of the mountain range that borders Uganda and Kenya.

I am always amazed by the disasters that happen.  There are six children who lost both parents in the mudslides so we were asked to check out the children and see how we can help.  The children's father was a Pastor of a Penecostal Church and he was working hard to get everyone to evacuate, but the mudslide turned almost 90 degrees and went over his home while he and his wife were having lunch.  The children were at school.  The youngest is 5 years old and the oldest is 14 years old.  Right now they are staying with their Uncle and his wife, who has eight children of his own.  They are all evacuated and living in a tent in the Bududa area.

The mountain has been splitting in many areas causing these mudslides or landslides.  The day it happened it was not even raining.  There are volcanic rocks all over still blue in color.  A landslide also occurred on the Kenyan side this month, killing over a hundred people.  There were eight killed that are known of in this mudslide.  The last one we visited left over 2,500 people living in tents for a long time and hundreds were killed.  Please pray for all of these people.

The government is trying to get the people to move, but they do not have any funds and they have no where to go, no land, etc.  The government is trying to relocate them and paying the expense but finding it hard as there is over a hundred thousand people living in the areas of the mountain.

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Above and below are a few pictures of the area we visited recently.  You can see the big machines digging and looking for bodies of people who were buried.  Another man lost his wife and one of his children.  Their bodies have not been found and he is left with a four year old at home.  He is beside himself and so upset that he does not think he can manage life.


My Little Women of Africa

I love the movie "Little Women" and often relate it to my home and the girls that I have raised here with the gracious help of Jesus.  I have so many and I loose count!

Let me see, we young Sarah, who is now the oldest and is going to be 25 years in August and she has graduated with her Bachelors Degree in Social Work Administration from Uganda Christian University and is currently working with HUM as a social worker.  She is so sweet and pretty and kind.  She loves helping the children and is so involved in their lives that it is such a blessing to have her on staff.  She knows what it is to grow up in extreme poverty, having lived in a mud hut with very many children.  Sarah came to know the Lord as a teenager in high school.  She had suffered a lot as a child with her father drinking and mother not caring.  Her father is now a Christian and we are thankful for that, and Sarah was blessed to be used to harvest him unto the Lord.

Then I have Harriet, who actually lives in Christine's home (our child sponsorship administrator - see picture left) and they eat and pray in our home.  Harriet is going to be 25 in November and is graduating soon from Kyambogo University with a Bachelor's Degree in Economics with a strong background in accounting.  She hopes to find a job soon with Crane Bank, but is not sure as yet, but is currently doing her final internship with Uganda Clays (brick making industry).  She came to know the Lord when she was young in Sunday School and she has a wonderful singing voice.  She loves to sing in the choir.  She lost her father when she was very very young and was raised by a widowed mother who did not have any income.  She came to stay with Christine because the mother could not manage to feed all and when she was in high school.

There are more and I will write about them as time goes on - I would love to write a book (pray for me to have time) on so many of the children that have grown up into success stories to the Glory of God.

From Left to right back row Brenda, Irene, Violet, Mary, Christine, Katie, Sarah, Violet 2 and in the front three are Beatrice, Sylvia and Alpha and we were missing Alice - and I have three little girls to be featured later!  Their names are Susan, Sabrina Joy and Norah.

We will not forget my boys either.  I have four little boys and nine older boys (some men actually now!).  the four little ones are Ssemu, David, Goma and Israel.  The nine older ones are Elvis, Ssemu 2, David 2, Tukkei, Henry, Benjamin, Duchu, Bumba and Charles.

These are the names of the children that God has graciously given me to me a mother to in Kamonkoli and have been growing in my home.

All the Little Children

There are so many children who have passed in and out of my life here in Uganda.  Everyone of them so special in different ways.  I am blessed to be a servant to our Lord and to have been chosen to serve the little children of Uganda.

When I first came here, life was very difficult, and still is at times.  I struggle with even going for a walk as the only white lady (muzungu) in the village.  Everyone wants to stare, especially the little children.  I am no longer known, however, as muzungu but Mummie Katherine.  However, the stares have not reduced!  I love the little children and when they come running up to me it is such a blessing to me.  I only pray that the Lord will use me to be such a blessing to them.

I remember a little girl named Esther Naula.  She came from the same home that David lived in when I got him.  She was a very quiet and shy little girl and very sweet.  She fell sick so often and I kept wondering why, even Christine, our child sponsorship administrator was wondering what was going on that she falls sick almost every other week.  We finally took her for extensive medical tests and checkup.  It was discovered that this little girl had syphilis and was suffering quite a bit.  She received treatment from the same doctor and got a lot better for a while.  Then one day she walked into our office crying that she felt really sick.  Checking her temperature we discovered that it was very high.  We took her to a doctor in town and she received treatment but was suppose to get an injection twice a day.  The clinic nearby was willing to take care of the responsibility of giving her the injections. 

That very week when she was walking to the clinic, Esther collasped on the roadside.  She was too weak.  She did not come that morning or evening before for her injection, but had told her Grandmother that she had.  She was very ill.  We took her to the clinic very quickly, as her cousin, Bumba Dison, had found her.  She died that evening.  We were all heartbroken to bury this little seven year old girl. 

Very often it is easy to think that life as a missionary is just an advaneture.  Well, some of the time it is.  However, very often it is a time of sorrow and tears.  I remember a vivid  time when I had to help a woman deliver a baby with no help, no water, no nothing - just in the bushes literally!  It was difficult for me, but the poor woman is the one who really suffered!  I ended up using a string from my slip to tie off the ambilico cord and keep the woman from bleeding to death. 

Children came and got me as I was walking home from the junction of Kamonkoli.  I had gone to get some onions and carrots to use for dinner with a little beef.  As I was walking they came and grabbed my hand and kept telling me that someone needs me and I should go with them. 

When I got where we were going it was not far from my home.  The lady was on the ground screaming in pain and was not doing well at all.  She had a fever, though I had no way of measuring what her temperature was.  I sent one of the kids to my home to get some good clean water and call a worker at home to come and help me.  We had hot water now, a dull knife and nothing else to help me to deliver this child.  I had no experience at all.  The lady was crying and screaming.  I gave her a big stick to hold on to.  She told me that the baby was not due for some time but she was sick. 

It turned out that she had very high malaria and did indeed have a high temperature causing the baby to be born premature.  It also turned out that the woman had AIDS.  She had a baby girl and it was so tiny.  I was scared and not sure what to do.  We got her cleaned up the best we could and found some men to help us lift her and get her to the nearest clinic.  But it was too far away so she ended up in a guest room at my home.  I kept the baby warm as I knew this was important and put lanterns around her so that it would generate heat.  The woman was happy but because of the malaria she had no milk for the baby.  I got some fresh milk and boiled it with some water and let it cool and then preceeded to find a midwife to help me before feeding the baby. 

I found a midwife who said that the baby was doing well and that she should live.  The mother was happy.  Later on the father showed up and he was not happy that the baby was born early.  He began to cry that we should kill it now, it is going to bring to many medical bills and we will not manage.  I did not understand his attitude.  I went to get a car to take them to the hospital in mbale for better care, and when I came back the baby was dead - suspecting that the father killed it.  When I had left to get  a vehicle, the child was doing fine.  I was only gone twenty minutes.

I was saddened - they had named the baby Katherine, which only made it worse.  Well, these are the kind of things sometimes we go through as a missionary.  The Lord was with me and I still felt that He impacted this woman through me who was a Muslim.

Two years later she accepted Christ and then died two months later.   Her husband had another wife - all of them were infected with AIDS.  They are all dead now.

Dearest Samuel!

This blog is dedicated to a special woman whose name was Robinah.  She was the Grandmother to very many children, including some orphans.  Samuel was one of them.  Samuel's father died of AIDS when he was around four years of age.  He was brought to HUM by his mother, who was very sick with the virus herself.  She left the children with her mother, Robinah, their Grandmother. 

Robinah has always been active in the women's group at the church and likes singing a lot.  She enjoys studying the Bible and learning more, but her reading is not very good.  She attended every Bible study that she could to learn more.  She enjoyed helping out during crusades with house to house evangelism, and was involved in any way that she could be.  She loved the Lord, Jesus, and it showed in her life.  She had a problem with high blood pressure and heart disease.  The Lord took her home about three weeks ago and now Samuel and the other orphans that were living with her have no one taking care of them.  We asked Samuel's mother to come and take care of them but she has refused to stay there and just takes off and leaves them for days at a time. 

Samuel has given up on even wanting to live until the last few days.  He has become sick with malaria twice since the Grandmother died and has been on an I.V. both times.  He has been refusing to stay at school, does not want to eat, and his CD4 count dropped from 300 down to 15 in the three weeks time.  This is very concerning.  I remember when Junior died his CD4 count was too low. 

One of our staff members, Nancy, has volunteered to help look after him and we have been praying with him and talking with him with hopes that he will gain and come around.  Today I was so happy to see him at the youth Bible group and he even looked so much better.  I ask for your prayers for continued improvement for him and his younger brother (who is also infected), Edigar Francis.

A Missionary's Journal

It is a very hot day for this time of year in Eastern Uganda.  It is even unusual and we have had a long dry season compared to other years. There is much rain now, but it is still hot and humid during the day.  Uganda normally has a very mild climate with temperatures reaching around 75 F, but lately the temperatures are around 90 to 100 F.

 There is no electricity and it is hard to sleep.  I praise the Lord that at least I have a bed and a pillow, and it is even clean.   I give thanks for all that the Lord has provided.   I go on my knees and begin to cry out to our Lord for Uganda.  I pray for the government that seems to be unstable.  I pray for the Lord’s touching and direction on the president and all of his workers.  I begin to pray for the people.  My mind then drifts to the children and I begin to cry.  The children.  Who will save the children, oh Lord?  They have little to eat, sleep in the dirt, even many of the houses are made from mud and sticks from the trees and grass on top.  I begin to think of the rain we had in the evening and know that very many of the children have slept another night in a wet area of the mud in their mud hut.  I know some are sick with malaria and have not had any treatment from lack of care or lack of funds.  They get bites all night from ants and other insects.  I have learned the meaning of “Don’t let the bedbugs bite!”

After I pray for some time, I find my way to the kitchen where the children living with me are about to have breakfast.  It is just beginning to get light outside.  We have candles lit and I thank God for the candles.  I know that most just have to stumble in the darkness.  We also have some charged lights that run by batteries that we can charge when the electricity is on, and electricity is rare these days.  I see that my children are smiling and are clean and eating fine.  They even excel in school.  I believe because of good care they excel in most everything.  I give thanks again for the Lord providing. 

The children go off to school and I begin my day after some quiet time with the Lord.  From there I go to the office and my mind is taken by the sounds of a woman screaming and crying from the clinic nearby.  This is the very clinic that HUM helped to build and helps support.   I learn that her child has died from malaria.  She herself is not well.  To make matters worse, her husband has died from AIDS and she has no money.  She will not marry again, for she too is infected.  She has many other children at home.  She delayed to bring the child as she had no money and did not know what to do.  An hour later her brother comes to me in the office and asks me if I can help them with the burial.  They have no money to bury the child and no one to turn to.  Usually children are just wrapped in a cloth and put in a hole in the ground.  Again, I try to find some little money from my own pocket to help them. 

I go back to my room and cry out to God again with many tears asking him why the children have to suffer so much.  I pray for them and ask God to help them and to give me strength and courage and direction. 

A short time later an older woman comes with two younger ones.  She has a hernia and needs an operation but has no money.  I struggle to help them get her into the car and the car will not start.  The car is now six years old and was 10 years old when we bought it.  This is like new to many Ugandans as  few even own cars.  The woman cannot walk, so we have to carry her.  We take her to the hospital in Mbale in the van.  There is no one there to help us.  She is in pain.  We have to wait until a doctor comes on duty and there are no beds available – she will have to lay on the floor.  The hospital does not provide food or sheets or anything.  If you want these things you have to provide for yourself.  There is a nurse on duty but the woman is not seen because there are too many patients.  After a few hours, I have to leave  her there with the two younger women and little money. 

I return home and it is now lunchtime.  I have not done any work in the office today as yet and this afternoon I have a Bible Study to prepare for.  I eat my lunch quickly and go to the office.  A teacher comes to tell me he has a discipline problem with one of our sponsored kids.  We may end up spending over an hour discussing the problems.  By the time I finish dealing with the situation I have only an hour to prepare for my lesson.  After the study, yet another medical problem arises. 

When I am in America people often ask me what a typical day is like.  I am giving you an idea of what a day can be like and every day is different.  I have a hard time explaining, as I may have a schedule, but God has a different one.  There is no typical day in Uganda.  Every day is different.  I give thanks and praise to the Lord for the days that are normal, but they are rare.  You truly learn to give thanks in all circumstances, as you must look for the positive always.  Without the Lord, you cannot manage or make it here when you have been raised, sometimes spoiled, in a country like America.   I give thanks for all the blessings that God has given to fellow friends and people of my country, America.  America the great!

I did not grow up rich.  I have had good parents, and they provided for us and loved us as children, and continue to be supportive and loving to us as adults.  I lost my mother in a car accident when I was 19 years of age.  I have a wonderful stepmother who is very supportive and caring.  I again give thanks and praise to the Lord.  I always had a bed to sleep in and food on the table.  I always had clothes to wear and was able to go to a good school.  There is so much to give thanks for.  I do not ever remember the roof leaking or being eaten by bugs at night.  I had a good bath every day.   Not at all like a child you would find in Uganda.

I look around me here in Uganda and see that the children are not cared for. They are not taught – many never go to school.  Their parents are dying.  Here where I live in the Budaka District at least 1 of every 3 adults is dying of AIDS.  They tell me it is getting better – but it is hard to see.  We have burials every week where children are burying their parents.  What will happen to these children?  We are glad that HUM can help at least some of them.    I continue to pray and believe that only through the Lord, Jesus can we make a difference and give any hope.

I know there are many organizations out there, but I do not see any of them in the Pallisa District of Uganda – the second poorest district in the third poorest country in the world.  A place where the biggest problem is AIDS and children are left alone.  A place that goes beyond we can imagine.  A place that God laid on my heart as a teenager and brought me here eleven years ago and founded HUM in 1999.  A place where you can make a difference together with us.  I pray God touches your heart today. 

God bless you,   Katherine