Northern Uganda Women and Children Support Initiative, Inc. (NUWOCSI)

I’ve been here three weeks now and it’s been a busy three weeks in trying to get around in Gulu; in settling into my house; traveling with the ECM water team that’s here to install water wells; and in meeting and getting to know the children and ladies of Tegot-atoo village.

I am also enjoying getting to know the ECM Ugandan workers. They are a great group to work with and have been so helpful. There’s Simon, Mary, Erik, Tony, David and Dennis. Simon I met back in 2008 when I was here and he is in charge of the Gulu group. He’s really on fire for the Lord and for helping Tegot village. Mary I have just come to know and from what I see it’s Mary that keeps things coordinated and moving smoothly. Erik, Tony, David and Dennis are a great group of young men and I know I’ll enjoy working with them all.

Since the ECM Ugandan staff has been busy working with the water team (that is here to install water wells and filtration systems) and are not fully available to the long-term missionaries yet, I decided that I would tag along with the water team as I can’t do much without an interpreter or driver. This however, has given me a chance

Digging for water

to meet some of the people in the outer villages and their children. Once we arrive at an area where the pump will be installed some villagers usually come to greet us and their men quickly join the men on our team in digging the bore hole for the well. Some ladies have come out too and lots of children. I have had the opportunity to present the wordless book to a few children and two, Sandy and Eleanor responded to the salvation message.  In addition, one man on the water team lead two men to Christ. One of these men had once been a soldier in the LRA rebel army. Praise the Lord!

Who can resist this smile?

Currently, there is one water pump working and the second is near completion. Both of these pumps are in remote areas so I believe these pumps will be a real blessing for the villagers living near them.

ECM Sponsor Children

On Saturday mornings we meet with children who are part of ECM’s sponsorship program for the Saturday club. During this time we give a bible lesson, sing Acholi praise songs and teach the children our songs. It has also been a time to play with and get to know the children. The boys love the soccer ball and the girls have fun trying out the frisbees, whiffle ball and bat. They also enjoyed me reading to them. Currently, there are approximately 70 sponsored children. This past Saturday we started teaching the Wordless book, one page a lesson, starting with the gold page and five children came forward to accept Christ.  I really enjoy the Saturday Club.

I’ve met some of the ladies from Tegot when the water team went to give lessons on clean water and water hygiene. One of the ladies, Evelyn, seems to be a spokesperson for the others and has some special requests. The ladies would like bibles in the Acholi language and Evelyn would like a bicycle so she can ride out to ladies in the remote areas and minister to them. They also would like some warm clothing for when they are out in the field farming early in the morning. We are currently pricing the bibles which have to be purchased from Kampala. I was able to find one Acholi bible at a bookshop here in Gulu.

Evelyn is the spokesperson for the Tegot ladies

These ladies always honor us by killing and cooking a chicken for us, then serving us a meal before we leave. They will move us to a hut that is set up just for us and there we eat a delicious meal, although I’m not always sure what I am eating.

One day we all went over to Lira. Lira is about and hour and a half from Gulu. ECM has recently began ministering to a group of albino adults and children. We went and listened as the adults and the parents told their stories of how difficult it is to be an albino in Uganda. Albinos are missing all or most skin pigment and this makes it very difficult for them to be out in the sun. In Uganda it is pretty difficult to avoid the sun. We saw a couple of ladies who were disfigured from the effects of the sun due to skin cancer.

Children from Lira

It is very important that parents keep their babies and children covered from the sun. Hats, sunglasses and very strong sunscreen are a must. The team purchased sunglasses and some of us were able to get a few tubes of sunscreen to bring out. I’m upset with myself because I had a few ball caps I had packed and never thought of bringing those to Lira. I will remember these next time though!

Albinos not only have the extra physical problems and hardships to endure but there is also a lot of emotional and physiological problems with albinism. These people are largely rejected by society so attending school or finding employment is very difficult. Many times their own families will reject them thinking they are a curse. Fathers will deny paternity and mothers will even abandon their baby. The biggest danger though for albinos in Uganda and eastern Africa is being killed and their body parts used by witch doctors to make expensive potions.

The stories we heard from the group that gathered was heartbreaking.

I’m also busy finding my way around Gulu and checking out the best shops for prices to shop. I can even walk from the house to town and back without getting lost. I also experienced my first boda boda (motorcycle) taxi ride. I’ve been hesitant as the boda boda’s have the worst safety records but my first two drivers were very good and went slow for me. It wasn’t bad at all and beats walking in the humid weather!

Home

My house is pretty comfortable and with some paint and TLC it could be pretty nice. There are three of us ladies sharing the house and we each have our own room. In addition, there’s a living room, small dining area and extra-small kitchen. The bathroom is two rooms within one with a shower room and a toilet room. It only took us two weeks but we finally figured out how to get hot water.

The other morning I opened one of my duffel bags that was in the storage room and got a whiff of what I thought was a dead animal. I thought the bullfrog came back and got trapped in my bag. After further investigating I discovered the critter was alive and it turned out to be a RAT. To those of you who know my phobia concerning rats you are probably surprised that I didn’t get on the next plane home. However, God is giving me the courage to deal with it.

The electricity seems to be off more than it is on and when it’s on I haven’t had the opportunity to get on my computer but I’m starting to learn the time of day or night when to expect electricity so I’m timing myself a little better. I hope to be able to update you more frequently.

God is providing me with all kinds of helpful people and this is making it easy to adjust. The Ugandan people are so gracious and so quick to assist you. Though, they can’t help laughing at my attempt to speak Acholi.

Thank you all for your prayers and support.

I’ll get more pictures up soon too!