Child sponsorship letter from Entebbe
28/07/2007
Update from the SOS Children's Village Entebbe, Summer 2007
Re: Greetings from SOS Children’s Village Entebbe
It is a pleasure to once again have the opportunity to convey to you heartfelt greetings from the children, mothers and staff of SOS Children’s Village, Entebbe. So much has happened over the past months. Because you are a part of our lives, we wish to keep you informed of the events and activities that the children and mothers were involved in.
I would also like to let you know that I will be taking on another role as the Child and Youth Development Coordinator and Sheila Bukirwa will take up the correspondences to you. Thank you for your cooperation during the time I have been the Sponsorship Coordinator.
Generally, the children are healthy. Eight children from the Village joined Kindergarten this year and are happy to make new friends from the neighboring community with whom they attend school. Currently, a total of 55 children attend primary school. They could not wait to start when the new school term begun early February. Many of them joined new schools in the neighborhood and have adjusted very well to the environment. Their performance is also quite encouraging; Jimmy and Joachim have managed to score grade A’s and B’s in their exams while Paul was also identified by the school administration as the most disciplined boy and has maintained A’s in all his exams. Among the girls Perepetua and Sarah were awarded gifts for good conduct and smartness respectively. We are so proud of all of them.
One child Moses, from House one, was successfully reunited with his biological family early this year. In his place, we now have a new little girl Harriet. Her new family and several other children in the village warmly welcomed her and are so happy to have her as their new sister. She is being helped to adjust to life in the village by everyone including children who can speak her local language as she is not yet able to speak and pick instructions in English well. We believe that the more she interacts with others, the faster she will adjust.
The mothers once again celebrated the International Women’s day in style. During the earlier part of the day, they visited elderly women in a nearby community and donated a few domestic items. Later on that day, the Village Director, Ruth, hosted all of them to a dinner in the SOS Entebbe gardens. It was during this function that the new Mother Representative; Maama Elizabeth house 5 was announced. Maama Harriet, house 9 the outgoing Mother Representative received a certificate in recognition of her period of service. This time round, the Mother of the Year award went to Maama Rita, the House 2 mother.
Just like the mothers, the children participated in a community programme where they visited less privileged children in the neighbouring community. They carried some used clothes and shoes with them that they handed out to these children. This has now become a regular activity carried out by the SOS Children’s Village Entebbe children. With the help of the Village Educator, they identify places where many children in the community normally gather to play and later on make arrangements to visit them. As a result, SOS children have made new friends and are quite eager to keep in touch with them. Learning the value of sharing and caring for property has also been catered for in this way.
In order to determine their ability, all the children were assessed by specialist; Dove International as well as counselor. 3 children with special needs were identified Lydia, Loyce and Joel. Lydia and Loyce were placed in schools that will best suit their needs. They are both very happy girls now and enjoy their new schools. Joel on the other hand is still studying at the Kindergarten after which he will also be placed in a special needs school.
In order to support families and communities to prevent abandonment of children, SOS Children’s Village Entebbe has plans to begin operating the Family Strengthening Programme (FSP) in 2008. In the mean time, preparatory meetings are being conducted with the community local leaders and other existing Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that we could possibly work with to successfully carry out the programme. We are hoping that out of this families’ capacity will be built to meet their own needs and lead self-reliant development.
Our friends at Samaritan’s Purse stirred excitement in the village when they donated a variety of gifts to the children. Each child received a shoe box and they surely felt special and cared for. Some of the needy children who were identified in the community also received these gifts and they were equally excited.
Recently Mother trainees have attended a training at the Regional Training and Resource Centre (RTRC) in Kenya. this enriched their child care knowledge and they learnt new skills that will help them in their work. On their return, 2 of them were appointed to a full Mother position.
Generally, life in Entebbe village has been going on well, save for the occasional water shortages. They are as a result of the ongoing efforts to replace the old water pipes with new ones to cover the entire surrounding community. We however improvised with the help of a water tanker that brought in water which could carry us through for a few days.
Despite the above, we can not forget to say thank you to you for the great impact you have had on the children’s lives. They now have a hope and a future because of your generosity and desire to make a difference in their lives. May you succeed in all your endeavors.
Yours faithfully,
Sarah Nayiga
Sponsorship Coordinator
Sponsor's update from Kakiri
Update from the SOS Children's Village Kakiri
In new developments, this year started with the appointment of a new Village Director; Mr David Mwesige replacing Mr. Francis Luyera who was known to many of you. Francis resigned after 10 years of wonderful service to SOS Children’s Village, Kakiri. Furthermore, Family House 3 has got a new mother; Maama Immaculate replacing Maama Persis who retired towards the end of last year. The children have adjusted to their new mother so fast and they show her so much love. The older children from the same house who now live independently and at the University have kept in touch with their retired mother, who sometimes pays them visits in their new homes.
Slowly but surely, SOS children’s Villages Uganda is achieving its mission. 2007 is the year we are seeing off the 2nd group of youth into self reliance and are leaving them on their own. These include: Fred who is now a Head teacher, Catherine is a Kindergarten teacher, Juliet is an accountant and Saiti is a computer engineer.
It was a joyful moment when 2 SOS Youth boys finally managed to enroll for studies in Universities in South Africa. Dickson for Bachelor of Laws at the University of Witwatersrand while Alex Bachelors of Commerce in Human Resource Management at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. 2 girls who studied in the United States of America (USA) graduated; Florence in BA Health care Financial Management while Jennifer in BA Economics. Sarah on the other hand successfully completed her diploma studies in a fine art course at a local University. She emerged as the best student overall with a 1st class diploma and she has continued to make her art pieces even while at the village some of which she sells off to earn herself some extra money. Thanks go to all those who have contributed their resources to help them have a future.
We believe that exposing children to realities has a positive impact on their lives and plays a role in preparing them to face the world when they finally leave the village to start an independent life. This was the inspiration behind the visit that the children made to families that are being supported by SOS Children’s Village Kakiri under the Family Strengthening Programme (FSP). Children have from time to time visited fellow children who have lost their parents but are unable to come into the SOS Children’s Village. Most children in the SOS village are always touched when they make these visits. It is then clear that the children feel privileged to have education, a descent home, and above all people who love and care for them. They each make an action plan and many have promised to work even harder at school and listen to advice when ever it is given; whether at school or at home.
A group of youth from Sports Friends International has won the hearts of many children over the past weeks. Since the holiday began, the “aunts” and “uncles” have faithfully come in everyday to train the children in Soccer, netball, and athletics. The children have learnt new skills as well as ethics such as patience, loving one another, respect, and forgiveness which are catered for after they have played for hours. They are so attentive during lessons and keep reminding each other even while at home.
Yet again, children from both the village and community were showered with a variety of wonderful gifts from Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child. Each one of us having been a child before can relate well to the experience of receiving a gift and the excitement that follows.
We have continued to have a challenge of placing the special needs children in suitable schools. This time, we were able to find a better school and here the children’s confidence has increased and they are more aware of what is going on.
SOS mothers continually undergo training and at the end of last year, there was training in Kenya and the mothers are more than ready to apply all that they had learnt. Many other mothers are reaching the retirement age. Two of them recently attended a two-week mother retirement preparation course aimed at getting them ready for retirement.
Life does not always go by without obstacles and as we have shared with you before, getting meaningful employment for the youth after they have finished school remains a big challenge as the competition is very stiff.
The energy crisis we faced last year was lessened after the village managed to purchase a new generator replacing the old one. However the prices of commodities are very unpredictable these days as these may change many times without notice. The prices of diesel shot up after we suffered a nation-wide shortage inevitability forced prices of the fuel and other commodities to raise. This meant that the generator could not run as long as desired because the diesel had to be rationed.
Despite the above, we can not forget to say thank you to you for the great impact you have had on the children’s lives. They now have a hope and a future because of your generosity and desire to make a difference in their lives. May you succeed in all your endeavors.
Yours truly,
Sarah Nayiga
Sponsorship Coordinator
Relevant Countries: Uganda.