Thursday, March 26, 2009

Ugandan Village Visit

Bobby drove us out to a village about 1 1/2 hours from Jinja today - one of the poorest areas of the Basoga people. It was a village that is partnering with Kibo Group through the Water Source, Mvule Project and the Women's Empowerment Program. Ronald, Abraham and Ida - directors for each respective project joined us.

We first visited the water well that was provided to the community last year. There was obvious joy and thankfulness from the people around for the access to clean water. Hundreds of families are able to get clean water that was unavailable to them before. We pumped some water into cans for some women. Brett and I then carried over 40 pounds of clean water for Justine, a woman at the well, to her house. I was afraid she may live up to 2 miles away but fortunately her house was only about 1/4 mile away so we managed. We greeted her family and visited with them for a few minutes. They shared their appreciation and described how the clean water has improved their lives and the health of all of their family members. That alone made my trip and reminded me of why Kibo Group's work is worth our while.

Next we joined the meeting for the Mvule Project that was meeting under a church member's mango tree. For over two hours we listened to them discuss in Lusoga (translated for us) the value of planting mvule trees and working together as a community to improve their lives. On this visit, the Mvule Project provided 1/2 kilo of sugar for each tree planted by various community members. They were very appreciative and ensured that no drop of sugar was wasted as they separated the 1/2 kilo bags weighed in front of the group meeting. They prayed for the drought to end and the rains to begin to aid their tree planting and crops of food. When the project concludes their plan is to have a piggery project that will multiply and in the future benefit children through providing meals for them at school.

Ida was given a chance to speak to the group and as usual had everyone on the edge of their seats. She wove Bible stories into the discussion of serving each other in their every day lives. Ida is expecting a baby in the next two weeks.

Tonight we had dinner at the local chinese restaurant, the Ling Ling, which is interestingly joined to the Shell gas station. The Ling Ling has been around for years and it was fun to see the owner we have known for a long time now.

After dinner we joined Ben and Kym Langford for coffee and dessert at their house. They just returned from the States and are refreshed and ready to get back to their work here. It was good to catch up with them and hear their excitement for continuing their service in this place. They encourage me.

It has been a full and a very good day!

3 Comments:

At 9:26 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Clint, you do such a good job sharing your experiences. I know
that it is easy for you to share because of your love and passion for those people and their country. It sounds like Kibo Group can celebrate some successful projects and look forward to many more. I'm so proud of you and your work with the poor. How are Brett and his daughter doing? They have experienced some really neat things in the week they have been there. I miss you and will be glad when you are back but I'm so happy that you and Briley got to go and that you were able to share Rwanda and Uganda with Brett and his daughter. I love you, mom

 
At 12:14 PM, Anonymous Ben said...

It’s great to hear about all the work you are accomplishing in Uganda! Have you ever considered other ways of providing communities with clean water options, specifically through the use of a Basic Utility Vehicle? Sponsoring one of these is a great way of providing people with the chance to at clean water, as well as providing economic development tools that can empower women, as well as the entire village. The Basic Utility Vehicle is a low cost (about $6,000), low maintenance vehicle that can be a valuable tool to those in impoverished areas. A remote village can pool their resources and use it for delivery, or perhaps bring in supplies to drill a well. It's just another great option to help those less fortunate than us in a very tangible way.
If you want to find out more, head on over to their website at drivebuv.org. The BUV ministry is part of the Institute for Affordable Transportation, and has been working hard to provide these vehicles all across the world. I hope you'll take to time to take a look for yourself!

 
At 11:29 PM, Blogger ANDRAINO ADAMS said...

Mr Pedro and his investment funding helped me achieve my project funding with the return of 2% rate in return for loan amount of 500,000.00 Euro to finance my project and it was very fast and secure so I will advise anyone here looking for loans or investors to contact Mr Pedro on WhatsApp:+1-863-231-0632 Email: pedroloanss@gmail.com
Thank You.

 

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