Uganda team 19 begins!!

TEAM 19 HITS UGANDA!

After an epic plane trip, we arrived safely at Suubi house after a VERY long and bumpy bus ride from Entebbe after our flight from Dubai. We were very exhausted and crashed into bed straight after about 30 hours of travel and a quick dinner, (beans rice and irish potatoes - yum!)!  This would be the quietest night at Suubi house for the next 3 weeks!!!

A late and slow start to the day was the plan with a luxury 9am breakfast of fresh fruit and rolex (egg and veggie omelette rolled up in chapatti). After morning devotions at Village of Hope, we spent some time playing with the children and meeting the mothers. The boys got into quite a serious soccer match with the children where the kids skill showed them up. We  went back to Suubi house for a lunch of fresh bread rolls and salad, then piled 18 of us into a 12 seater van to explore the town of Jinja. In Jinja we had the opportunity to get some money out, check out some local markets and sample one of Andrew’s favourite cafés. After another squishy ride in a different 12 seater bus (ours broke down!), we returned to have some quiet time before a dinner of good old spaghetti.

Check out a couple of photos of our day below...

Breakfast in the sun on the deck

Praying for the Village and kids

A view of the driveway

My tongue is longer than yours!

We got whipped!!

Our cool new friend!

18 people in one van, Check!!

Home of Hope: part 2
24/6/2015 (By Nicole McGrath)

Yesterday concluded the time that Ken and I have spent at the Home of Hope. It has been our second home for the past 6 weeks, and we look forward to what God has in store for its future!
Here is a summary of what we have been up to, as well as some changes that were made this time around:
Handiwork:
Reorienting the swings, now all the children are able to access them safely!

A therapy shelf and 3 bedroom shelves:

Footplates on the standing frames and wheelchairs, now the children can be in a better position.

Fixing of equipment, and modification of others. A base, some pressure tubing and some angle was added to this bucket seat for Faith, who is 18 years old and has cerebral palsy. Due to limited resources, this is the best seat she can be offered:

  Installing the swing on the verandah. Henry was particularly happy about this one!

Therapy:
Organisation of the new equipment in the therapy room (...well it looked like this
for at least 10 minutes!)

 Individual programs:

 Modelling of group programs:

In consultation with the OT, creation of individual programs to be hung on the wall around the home. Volunteers can now come and be a part of the therapy by reading about each child's goals and some activities that would help in their development. This one I'm particularly excited about, and looking forward to hearing how it goes with the team that comes on Friday!

Education talks to the staff on feeding, spasticity management and manual handling.

Hygiene matters:
We have had Em with us from Australia who is a nurse/midwife. She has been helping out with reinforcing the importance of hygiene for the children's safety and quality of life. She completed
a talk to the staff about hygiene matters, as well as demonstrating a nappy fold which would last a bit longer and prevent leakage.

Em will be continuing on with what we started for another week, as well as the women's health program, 'Wise choices for life' that she has been running with the young ladies at YSU and the youth at the Village of Hope. (To find out more: http://www.wisechoicesforlife.org/)

Please continue to keep Home of Hope in your prayers, and pray for God's protection and strength over Edith, who is doing an amazing job giving a life to these children who would otherwise not have one.
God bless.

Home of Hope 23/5/2015 (by Jessie Mole and Nicole McGrath, Aunty and niece)

We have had the opportunity to spend most of our time at the home of hope; an orphanage for children with disabilities. Working as a Special Needs teacher and an Occupational Therapist in Aus, it is a blessing to be able to use our experiences and gifts in the time that we are here.

Because of the donations of second hand equipment over 18 months leading up to our time here (from special schools, hospitals and op shops), the home of hope was immensely blessed with 2 trailer loads of equipment, which included walkers, standing frames, toilet and shower chairs and positioning cushions. They were so in need and so grateful for what God was able to provide for them, as they sang 'This is the day that the Lord has made' as we brought it all in.

As we slowly went through what was there and how it could be used, it was evident that God had a specific purpose for some of what we umm'd and ahhh'd about bringing in the first place!

One example of this is that there was a box of arm and leg wraps (stretching equipment) and within the box randomly, was a moon boot (the ones that people used for an injured leg/ankle). We don't know how it got in there, nor did we see a purpose for it, but decided to bring it anyway. Upon getting there we discovered that one of the staff members had injured her leg the day before caring for one of the children and it was exactly what she needed! The next day we did the same thing with a walking stick but it turned out she could use that too!

Another special moment was looking out the window to see that Maureen, one of the older girls (~14 years) who does not walk, but would sometimes pull herself to stand, took off down the driveway on one of the walkers! Upon further investigation, we found out that she used to use a walker approx 5-6 years ago, but as they only have 1 (for the whole home) she grew out of it and there was no other option. It was a joy to see the immense pride on her face as she was able to walk again. After that, we were able to find a more suitable walker and are slowly teaching her to be responsible for it (I.e. cleaning it, taking herself for a walk without prompts.

One more! We won't attach a photo of this one, but through the donation of a 'Rifton toilet chair' (for you therapists out there), one boy, Abraham was ecstatic to use it! Such an improvement to the comfort and accessibility he previously had, he said 'to the person who brought this for me, thank you!'. What a clever boy, as he waved to his friends on the original toilet chairs like a king on his throne. 

We also had the privilege to be involved in a community visit and some individual home visits. At the community visit we were able to assist with dispensing epilepsy medication to over 60 clients and we were both invited to speak through an interpreter and specifically encourage and inform  the parents of children  with disabilities. Nicole was involved in a small therapy clinic for babies and toddlers and it was such an honour to meet these mothers, some who had walked for many kilometres to receive therapy for their children. 

The home visits were another example of Gods provision of equipment when at one of the four homes we visited required a toilet seat for their daughter. Thankfully there was a suitable one from the container that was installed in the families outdoor toilet which immediately restored dignity to this young girl! 

On Monday we say goodbye to Jess, who has been an amazing addition to the work of home of hope. Nicole will be staying a further 4 weeks to carry out the programs that have been started.

The home of hope has 34 children, with one OT, one nurse and a social worker; as well as 6 rotating staff members. Please continue to pray for the work of Edith, who is doing an amazing job with the kids and has a huge heart for them, with some great staff members who are with the children day in and day out. The home of hope heavily relies on the monthly support from Hopebuilders, and for the rest on the faith of donations alone!

Week of Work and Fun

It has been a week of work but also having fun both the Team members and Children. Gutters are being raised on Houses 1-2, and 3-4, also to note .. the tank bases are being completed ready to hold the tanks for children to harvest rain water.
On Friday, it was taking the children out by the team for a swim........ This was the most lovely moment for the children as they all lined up to get on board in a bus, go past the Nile to King Fisher Resort for the moment of fun and exploring. Children never wanted talking about leaving the pool when the time came"; On our way back to the Village, we passed by a supermarket to grab lots of Ice Creams on the bus,this further raised  children's cheeks. Bus drive and swimming was the talk of the day with lots arguments.
Today Saturday, has been half day of work and after lunch we visited the KIKA Slums with the Team.We went with a group of new children who haven't visited their relatives since they came to V.O.H. Lots of excitement between their relatives and children themselves as they had conversations in their local language.
The relatives thanked Hope Builders (Village of Hope) for supporting and caring for the children.
In the 8 families we visited, Team members prayed for them, shared and gave them gift packs of cooking oil, sugar, and tea leaves...this was awesome and people were so thankful.
People in this slum real need help through prayer and physical support,,,so we pray that the Lord provides, heals and forgives all where needs be. Our day ended in that way and the is coming to VOH for evening devotions with the children.
Thanks and blessings to all

May Team Starts it's First Week

Hi to all,
We introduce to you the New Team at UG Hope Builders this May. Its a team of 7, arrived on 11,May and they have already impacted our projects (V.O.H, and H.O.H).
It all started on Monday  with touring around Village of Hope in Admin center, in Houses, farm area and they were all thankful for the great work being done to brighten the children's future. Its a lovely team to work with and they are all friendly people to the children...who always want to be near them., mothers and every body at the Village.
Day Two was a little bussier with the official opening of the New container and the sorting of which items belongs to who...  Jinja Christian School recieved hers, Home items were also organised and they are to be taken soon. The container opening brought alot of excitement ranging from Children whose interest is on many bikes in ....... this was the best item for the boys from the container,they could afford to miss lunch while having their bikes at hand.
Still on day 2, construction work had to start, with base for the Tank to collect rain water, and gutters are to be put on Houses 1-2, and 3-4 for the Team. House 12 roof truss is being raised with the help of African labor.
After half day of work at the village, the Team payed a visit to Home of Hope(Home for Children with Multiple Disabilities). They were received with joyful Lusoga songs and drums...The Team was so much excited to see the joy the disabled children can have with big smiles over their cheeks.This was really a touching moment for the team and they were also over whelmed by the great work being done by HOH,with support from Hope Builders.
The day was ended at the Keep Restuarant where the Team refreshed itself with juices and Milk shakes.
Thanks to all our blog readers ,we pray for a safer stay of our team in Uganda.