Day 13

Hello everybody,
Today was another busy day, but very different from the rest. It started off tough when we heard that one of the teachers in the prison school that we were to go to had passed away the night before so therefore the school was closed. We therefore would really appreciate all of your prayers for the school and also the teacher's family, friends and community as the funeral is tomorrow and it will effect the whole community.

When we found out we weren't going to the school due to the circumstances we decided to visit an organisation called Waakisa. There we saw Sharon and Stuart Hamill who had just arrived in Uganda on the Friday. It is a very good organisation which helps young girls who get pregnant at a young age and are abandoned or don't know where to go or what to do, some of them were also girls who wanted abortions. Waakisa took these girls in and counselled them throughout their pregnancy and when it became time took them to the local hospital and cared for them. These girls who had wanted to have abortions learnt to love their babies and look after them. Waakisa then tries to get them back enrolled into there families and homes and then they follow up a couple of months after to see how they were getting on. We heard one awful story of a young 13 year old girl who was raped by family members and she became pregnant and came to Waakisa for help. Some of these girls find it hard to open up at first but through Waakisa counselling they finally do. There are some situations when the families won't accept their daughters back into the family because they blame the girls. In these situations these girls are given a new home and are allowed to run a small business. It is a very good organisation which could do with a lot of prayers.

After our visit we then went back to the school we were at on Friday to leave the football team a kit and two balls. They were so happy and thankful and it was lovely to see all there smiling faces again and hear them sing the songs we taught them on Friday.

We then ate our lunch looking out onto Lake Victoria in the warm sunshine. It was a beautiful sight and it was very peaceful. After that we took off and went to a small viillage where Arnold lives with his mom, Joy and his brother. We collected them and took them onto our bus. We then went into his small village and gave out small gifts like goodie bags and knitted teddies and blankets to the children. It was lovely seeing there smiling faces as we gave out the gifts and we got many good photos.

We then went back to the guest house and some of us rested and some of us made more bracelets while Ruth, Keith and Jessica went with Joy and Arnold to the hospital. This was to decide what was to be done with Arnold. As he is not too well as he needs two valves in his heart repaired. His situation is being talked over with a surgeon tomorrow so a lot of prayer will be needed tomorrow for Arnold and his family. They then returned and ate dinner with us which was a lovely experience. Also joining us at dinner was Ribena and Robert, two teenagers Rebecca had got to know on a previous Uganda trip. They are originally from Rwanda and tragically lost both parents to the genocide. They have struggled to stay in school being unable to afford the necessary school fees.

The outlook looks good regarding Charlenes project. The project which will see a school built in Uganda is part of Charlenes to allow some children in Uganda to be able to go to school, something she currently cannot do as a result of failing health. We think we have identified a school pending further research by Fields of Life.

See you soon, Bethany and Serena.