Airfield View Primary School

Games with the children



Mary teaching the children


Bethany and Sarah doing role play on "How to say NO"

Rebecca talking to the older children

Dickie asking questions to the older children

Deep in conversation

Noah in action with younger children

Mary and her teachers are doing a brilliant job with the children in this school, which we had the privelege to visit during our Uganda trip.

Final comment - written from home

All the Uganda 2009 team are now safely at home and I would want to thank each one of the team for all their efforts at making the 2009 trip so productive and a blessing to those we met in Uganda.

In total we delivered programmes in 24 different places (20 schools and 4 other church/projects) In all 58 programmes were delivered to pupils, teachers and parents.

Additionally 18 different items of playground equipment were erected and over 90 cases/boxes of mercy items distributed.

What was achieved was quite amazing and considering for many on the team it was their first time in Uganda I would have to say they all adapted and worked brilliantly to achieve our purposes.

As is always the case in Ugandan trips what will linger longest in the minds and hearts of the team are the people we met, the relationships we formed and the memories of Uganda as a place and the Ugandans as a nation. We will continue to remember all the children, teachers, pastors, parents we met during our short time in Uganda. They can teach us much about humility, thankfulness and simple faith. In this they are definitely our teachers.

Many, if not all of the team were challenged by their experiences and it is our prayer that it will not be the last time that they work in Uganda.
We are thankful to God for safety during our trip and for good health that we all enjoyed – no one from the team missing a single day with sickness during what was a very busy schedule is testimony to Gods grace and is quite an achievement. We are thankful for the prayers of many that were answered on our behalf.

As this Blog closes can I ask you to continue to remember our Charlene. She was scheduled to go to Uganda but her health did not allow her to make the trip. She very bravely sent us on and although there were times when we felt we could not go through with the trip or that either Janice or I would have to return early, Charlene continued to encourage us to complete the task she had sent us to accomplish – namely selecting the school build for Charlene’s project. Basil, one of the team prayed with us a few nights before we left as we agonised over our decision. He said that God had called us to go and if that was the case He would look after Charlene at home while we were gone. Basil was right. Charlene remained in Belfast City hospital the full time we were in Uganda receiving excellent care and made very significant progress.

She met us in the luggage collection area of Belfast city airport and it was wonderful to see how well she looked. She had progressed so much that she was able to travel with Dickie to the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne for her inpatient lung transplant assessment the Monday after we returned from Uganda.

Charlene in Newcastle

As this Blog closes Charlene will begin her Blog which will keep you informed of her progress and the project she is starting which will allow others in Uganda to be educated during the time she is unable to complete her education as a result of her ill health. It is found at http://charlenesproject-theschool.blogspot.com/2009/08/and-so-dream-begins.html#comments

Thank you for sharing with us in thought and prayer through our UgandaCrew2009Blogspot

Day 23

I am writing this on our last night in Uganda. At 5 am tomorrow morning we will be up and leaving for Entebbe and our return BA flight to Heathrow and onwards to Belfast. What can I say except that the last 3 weeks have been an incredible experience of knowing the Lords provision as we have delivered our programmes in schools, churches and community groups around Kampala. The need is enormous and we have been blessed as we have done just a little for a few people to make things a bit better.

Today we dropped off pineapples at Hands for Hope with Joe Cummiskey, Wenford and Andrew returned later to distribute some clothes and other gifts as the children were leaving nursery.

The rest of the team headed back to Airfield View Primary School to deliver programmes at Mary's school (see yesterdays Blog). Hannah led the Kids Programme while Dickie led the I'm Special; You're Special programme. We were amazed at the knowledge of the children around spiritual issues and their awareness of sexuality and relationships issues.

Mary asked Dickie and Janice to visit an 11 year old who was unable to sit up. Sadly the little girl although bright and alert had severe cerebral palsy from almost certainly a cerebral haemorrhage that occurred during her premature birth the result of a botched abortion. The mother was advised around simple measures to reduce the likelihood of her arms and legs developing contractures. Mary said she would bring cushions to the bare little one room home so that the little girl could be nursed at least in a way that she could interact a little bit better with her family. Mary also said she would bring some plastic sheets so that her incontinence could be better managed. This was the second child with severe cerebral palsy that we had come across durng the trip and you wonder how many other children with cerebral palsy are in little houses across Africa being managed by their families in very primitive conditions with none of the assistance that is so necessary and that we are so used to in our own country.

We were able to distribute a lot of mercy items in the local community around the school and shared a wonderful time of fellowship with Mary. She hopes to contact Bernard at Fields of Life around the possibility of becoming a Fields of Life Associate.

It has been a wonderful couple of weeks. We have had a good team of people working with us and have met some very special Ugandans. I don't think it will be our last time in this beautiful country.

The Barr family are looking forward to seeing Charlene again.

Day 21 and 22

Day 21
We started off our day at a little more leisure which was lovely! We split our team to visit two projects. Five of us went to Joe’s project at the Namuwongo slum area. The project is called ‘Hands of Hope’ and is run by Joe Cummisky. We had a lively morning in their nurseries. We enjoyed playing with the little ones who were very affectionate and full of beans! We had fun doing the Noah presentations and seeing the little ones singing and participating. The teachers are doing a good job with all the wee ones from the slums. We were impressed at some of the older nursery kid’s levels of English. We had a great chat with Joe who was kind to give of his time to fill us in on all that is going on with his very diverse project.

The rest of the team visited the Hospice in Kampala. We heard the history of the work and about the home visits made daily to many who were dying with cancer or complications from HIV/AIDS. As a result of the project morphine had been made available for pain relief and very significant progress had been made with training health staff across Uganda in effective palliative care measures. There was opportunity to interact with some of the children who were receiving Day Care at the Hospice and we were pleased to be able to give the children small gifts.

Patients waiting to be seen at the Hospice

Children receiving gifts at Hospice

Day 22
The team headed off this morning with great excitement to visit an abandoned babies home. Sanyo baby home has 40 little ones ranging from 3 months to 3 years. We had such fun playing with the babies, learning their names and experiencing some little personalities! It was shocking to meet the youngest baby who was abandoned and just arrived in the home yesterday. Deborah was very frail and had very prominent bones. Many of the kids are left in latrines, dustbins or abandoned on streets, hospitals. These wee ones are the lucky ones who have managed to survive and are now thriving on the love and care they get in Sanyo. Many of the children are adopted in Uganda and also outside of the country. It was a privilege to visit the home today and also to learn from the Social Worker about the processes of Ugandan local and international adoption.

Wenford relaxing at sanyu while the others fed all the babies

David had left a Greek New Testament with us to deliver to Father Aloysius on the Entebbe Road. We took the opportunity after Sanyu to see him. He was delighted to receive the New Testament and offered to come with us to deliver some relief items to needy local communities. We called at a school in the slum area and left clothes and footballs for distribution and then he brought us to see Airfield View Primary School which was being run by Volunteer director, Mary Smith from USA. Mary told us the story of how God had given her a vision for orphans and those sexually abused and she had bought land to build an orphanage for those who had been traumatised and bereaved through the terror of the LRA. Already Mary had opened an orphanage in India and had come to Uganda 3 years ago investing all her resources in the school and in land for an orphanage. On her own she had established the project and it was amazing to hear how she had established the school and was working towards her vision with no outside help. She had met Father Aloysius 2 weeks earkier and asked him to bring any visitors he met to her school. We had asked Father Aloysius to bring us to places of need and he had immediately thought of Mary. She told us she had been praying for folk to visit and had just that day prayed for a football (we brought her 4) and we were her first foreign visitors. Wow – to be an answer to prayer and to be able in just a little way to bless her by providing a few simple resources for use in the school – which was so impressive. What a mighty privilege for us to meet Mary and see the work. We will definitely follow up this amazing networking opportunity. Only God knows where this connection will go.

Day 20

Hidden Treasure Christian School in Wakiso District

Today we visited Hidden Treasure Christian School in Wakiso District. The school, which was about 40 minutes from central Kampala, is one that has been approved by Fields of Life for a school build and is awaiting sponsorship to allow progression of the project.

After arriving in the town we were met by the Pastor/Head Teacher who jumped on a boda boda and we followed him up firstly a short mud road and eventually up a narrow grass path in the most beautiful surroundings to where we stopped outside the simple, tiny wood building that housed the little school and the 75 pupils.

The school had originated 7 years ago from a Sunday School with the vision of giving a Christian education in this little community where both alcohol and marijuana related problems abound. The Pastor and his wife and 3 other teachers welcomed us and showed us round the little campus and it was immediately evident the excellent care and attention that the children received.

The children were a little timid at first as they were not used to school visitors, let alone white ones, but they soon warmed up as Hannah and the team told the Noah story as the HeadMaster translated. The children sang heartily and were excited as they listened and sang. The visit was rounded off with the presentstion of simple gifts to all the pupils and teachers in what was a very needy school.

As we looked around the tiny classrooms which contained the most simple of homemade furniture and little if any resources, we were glad to have visited and everyone counted it a privelege to have spent just a little bit of time with some very special teachers and children.

As we consider "Charlenes Project", which will involve Charlene raising money to build a school in Uganda Hidden Treasure Christian School will be one that we will consider a worthy option to assist if God so leads.

Charlene has had to drop out of school this year due to failing health from cystic fibrosis. Charlene was originally scheduled for Uganda with the team this summer but sent us on the look out for a school for her project when she had to remain in Belfast City Hospital being unable to travel. She is currently undergoing assessment for lung transplant, travelling to Newcastle next week for a weeks intensive assessment. It is her desire that if she is unable to continue presently in school - she will do all she can to help others receive an education in Uganda.

Day 19

Day 19 began early but in relaxed mood as we made our way to Makerere Full Gospel Church for 9am service. There we received the customary warm Ugandan welcome and joined with over 800 others in an uplifting lively and challenging worship service. The choir was all you would expect from an African choir and the Pastor gave a truly inspiring address on qualities required from a true Christian .The second of the 3 services for the morning lasted until 11am and as we left the Church was filling again and the 3rd service was beginning.

We travelled for about 2 hours by bus to District of Jinja to the area where the river Nile flows out of Lake Victoria. This is an unbelievably beautiful area and we had a light lunch on a balcony overlooking the River Nile and Lake Victoria.

We then spent the next 3 hours travelling round the Jinja rural area in our mini bus giving out teddies, blankets, clothes, sweets to people who are unbelievably poor but seem so grateful and content with life. It was very rewarding to see the hard work of folk back home in making blankets and teddies reaching such needy and deserving recipients.

Until Tomorrow. Wendy and Sarah.

Best African Dancers in the team

Today has been quieter for the team and we have had the chance to judge the video clips to decide who was the teams best Ugandan dancer - two of our team members tied for first place - Basil and Wenford.

The clip links are below - we have all enjoyed watching these phantom dancers - I hope you enjoy seeing them displaying what unitl now has been hidden talents. These two guys will go down in Ugandan folklore.

Wenford:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiOGKsk5Ntw

Basil:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2t4m0JrqyE