A haircut... Child of Hope style

Keeping clean (and therefore keeping healthy) is a tough job in Namatala slum. If we're not able to keep clean then parasites/bugs take residence in our bodies - which is what our pupils go through as their families usually can't afford the basics like water, soap, etc.
One of the things the kids struggle with is keep their hair and scalp in check. Their hair is obviously very thick and curly, which means it's a haven for various nasty bugs (ringworm, scabies, lice, bacterial infections, etc).  The easiest way to sort this out is to shave their hair very short - so, although they all end up looking like they're in the army (!), it does help with keeping the scalp healthy.  Then at least the staff can see the infections and treat them. 
You'll find the staff checking the heads each morning as the kids line up to come in to school. They'll use ointments and local preparations to kill off the parasites and infections. Occasionally there are mums who are able to cope with this problem themselves, and are good at keeping an eye on their kids health, so there are a few girls who are able to grow their hair and have it plaited.

Stream where children collect water if their families cannot afford to buy clean water

No, nor do we! And not for the children we support, either, so we provide clean drinking water every school day.
There are only a couple of taps nearby from the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (a bit like our water supply in the UK) but standpipes are owned by the landowners where they're positioned, and they charge the community 100 shillings (approximately 3p) for 20 litres.
 However, if you've got no money at all - then even 3p is a lot - and many of the community use local streams like this one, or the river - which have rubbish, excrement and many varied bugs lurking in them. Pretty horrific really.

To combat that, each day we take water from the tap situated in Mustard Seed Church compound - where the nursery is currently located and where the nursery and primary kids have breakfast and lunch. We pay the monthly bill for Mustard Seed as we're usually the main users.
But the water even from the standpipe isn't safe to drink - you can still get typhoid, etc from it. So we treat it with a chemical called 'Waterguard' which kills all harmful bugs in a matter of minutes. Then we add some squash to give it a flavour and, hey presto, safe and tasty water!

We also use that standpipe to give the children a bath if they arrive very dirty or haven't been able to find any water at home. They just strip down, use some of our soap and get on with it with a little help from Grace (one of our teaching assistants).
Often you can turn the tap on and not get any water - it just runs dry.  So we have built a storage tank which continually fills up when water is available. If National Water turns off the supply (as it often does), at least we have a tankful left to use.

A big 'thank you' to the people behind the three recent sponsored events for Child of Hope - which involved long runs, mountain bike rides and climbing mountains! We hope to get some reports on this news page soon.
We weren't able to simplify things for them by providing online giving through the likes of JustGiving.com - but now we can! Child of Hope UK been accepted by HM Revenue & Customs as a charity for tax purposes - which means we can now claim Gift Aid on payments made by UK taxpayers
So if you are interested in doing a sponsored event to raise money to help children in Uganda - talk to us and we'll support you in any way we can.

pkug

Since receiving a Child of Hope income-generating grant, Olivia is now able to provide for herself and her son and has regained some of her dignity... and hope for the future. After just three months, Olivia had managed to put aside about £40 as savings for the future. Each time that we meet with her, she cannot stop praising God and thanking Him for all that He has done for her and her son.

Olivia lives with her eight year old son in the Namatala slum. Her husband ran away and abandoned them some years ago. She had a small market stall selling vegetables but the business collapsed when she was taken very ill.

For the last five years, she and her son have been living in a tiny room in a house that is due for demolition. This meant that, although there was no rent to pay, they could be thrown out onto the streets at any time. They were barely surviving and were relying upon small irregular hand-outs of money and food from the local church. Olivia was very depressed and had lost all hope.

After attending our business training course, Olivia decided that she could start up a small roadside restaurant. We helped her realise her new dream and provided her with a grant of around £21, which enabled her to purchase a good quantity of food stuffs and ingredients, various cooking utensils, some plates and cups and also put up a small structure for her customers to shelter in whilst they are eating.

The new restaurant opened on 13th April 2010, serving breakfasts of cassava chips and tea to children on their way to school, and lunches of beans and posho (maize flour) to men working locally.  We have continued to mentor her and the business each week.  There have been some difficult challenges but the business is going really well.

Flying the plane

Three-legged race

Twister - kids love it everywhere. here are the rules...

Skipping is anothyer global past-time!

Twister... not so easy as it looks, huh?

Great pals, these guys

The girls love netball... so do the boys

OK, so here's how you do the hopping race

What's the time, Mr Wolf?  Dinner time!

A bit of footie fun for the guys

 

While Moses and Bex were in the UK they met up with Isaac's sponsors - Gary and Tina Wood and their two children, Jake and Jordan. They wanted to get Isaac something special but realised luggage space would be limited - so they gave some money and told Moses and Bex to buy Isaac what he needed - £20 which can go an awful long way in Uganda!
It bought a new mattress, a new blanket, school bag and some new clothes - Isaac's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw it all! His family were amazed too.
Isaac lives with his mum and six siblings (including a new baby sister) in a tiny thatched mud hut and they were all very excited to see a new mattress - this would be the first time any of them had ever slept on anything other than just a mat on the hard mud floor. You can fit quite a few children on one mattress, you know!
Isaac is very proud of his gifts and you can see him in the photos showing them off to his neighbouring friends. Isn't it amazing how just £20 can really change the standard of living, not just for one little boy, but for his family too! Big thanks to the Wood gang and all our sponsors.

Dr Andy Douglass and his wife Ceri have helped out here in Uganda several times. Dr Andy helps cover for Dr Jan at JOY Hospice and did an outreach clinic to our kids a while back. Meanwhile Ceri asbsolutely adores children and pops in to see our kids when she gets a chance to read them a story and sing a song about Jesus.

Child of Hope was  pleased to work in conjunction with the Student Association for Medical Aids (SAMA) of Mcgil University (Canada) led by Alex Jinwoo. They carried out a  mobile medical outreach in Namatala for four days... and then... they helped build five more pit  latrines!

These latrines are in the most  densely populated areas where previously there were no sanitation facilities.  One of the latrines caters for 150 people. Everyday there are about 1000 people using these latrines.



If you'd like to see more of this, you CAN help! A donation of  £75 will build a latrine and improve sanitation. 

These are pics from a recent clinic when Moses' brother (Dr Olupot) conducted research into scanning kids' hearts with an American doctor- while at it, they did some basic health checks on them too.

Medical student Rowan McCarthy is currently visiting Child of Hope in Uganda and here's an excerpt of an e-mail we received today...

"...Even though I knew it would be a shock to visit Namatala (Mbale's slum) I was still shocked when I was shown around. Living conditions are desperate, with tiny, virtually empty, mud huts 'housing' around 8 people each, with a lack of food and extremely dirty water. Having spoken to the people who work there, and seen a little of how life works there myself, it seems that the only way out of the cycle of poverty is by educating the children from a young age. This will enable children to acquire skills as they grow up, enabling them to earn money, and provide for their families, as well as giving them the confidence and hope to make a difference to the community themselves. So Child of Hope's ethos is brilliant, and making a real difference in the lives of families who live there.

"I have been down to the nursery/school and played with the kids that have been taken on by the Child of Hope team, and they are just amazing - full of joy, enthusiasm and are well behaved. Also Jesus is on the Child of Hope curriculum, and many children (all who understand in fact) have made a personal choice to follow Him!! They have been going back and praying for their families and seeing miracle healings! I'm looking forward to spending more time with them over the next couple of weeks, playing, teaching, and whatever else God wants :-)

"I was also shown the school building project, which is hoping to have floor 1/3 completed in time for the new Ugandan school year, it is amazing to see the faith of Bex and Moses in everything they take on, including this building which will enable many more children to be educated."
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