Global Challenge Team Returns

This years GC team, formed of ten trustees and volunteers, has returned from Uganda after what has proven to be one of our most challenging and productive trips yet.

Aside from the normal quality control and accountability checks that are carried out during our visits to Soroti, this year’s itinerary for our trustees and volunteers was one of the busiest in Global Challenge’s history and saw a wide range of support being delivered.

In addition to visits to Crossroads School to check in on the staff and children, the team helped to repaint the school’s buildings, deliver teacher training in the local regions, lead church-based conferences – including new material designed by The Bethany Children’s Trust – and conducted special needs clinics nearly every day. Part of the group even travelled one hundred kilometres from Soroti to deliver training in an extremely remote village close to Karamajong territories.

GC Chairman, Chris Knight, commented “It has been a real pleasure to work with this team. Everyone has come from a wide range of backgrounds and expertise but, each one of them has come into their own and really captured the heart of what GC is about. I feel blessed to see so much support for our vision.”

GC Trustee, Angela expanded on Chris’ comment, saying “This has been among the busiest trips that I have ever taken part it. Everyone has given so much and you just never know what to expect. It was a real pleasure to meet with familiar faces such as our Special Needs Coordinator, Billy, and witness some of the wonderful work that he helps us to do.”

Important Medical Support

In addition to the clinics that took place during the team’s visit, some of the children who attended our clinic at Gweri needed urgent medical support. Thanks to Billy’s network of professional contacts quick interventions, we were able to get vital medical assistance for these children within four days of them first being seen. One of these children was admitted to hospital for life-saving nutritional help whilst others saw specialists such as ophthalmologists which Billy informed us, “was undoubtedly needed to save a child’s vision”.

New Special Needs Shelter

For Angela, one of the highlights of the trip was getting to see the newly built shelter at GC’s community playground in Ocholoi. The shelter will be used to store specialist physiotherapy equipment used by Billy and his dedicated team of volunteers to give expert support to children recovering from gluteal fibrosis (GF) and other conditions. Angela said “Billy kept the shelter a secret from me, I had no idea it had even been started, let alone finished. It is such a terrific surprise and I am so thrilled as it will improve our capacity to support children in the area.”

In 2015, the team helped to clear the land for the Ocholoi playground where the new shelter is located and got to see some of the equipment installed. Many of the children have been able to enjoy the climbing frames, swings and roundabouts. However, the swings proved to be so popular that they collapsed and the wooden-framed tyre-walk that was built has since eaten by termites. As you can see from the picture, the roundabout and the climbing frame still stand and have been freshly repainted for the children to use.

Hygiene and Sex Education Talks

One of the biggest accomplishments during this year’s visit to the children at Crossroads School was the hygiene and sex education talks that took place. Two groups from our team delivered talks to both the boys and the girls at the school.

During these talks, Josh, Tim and Chris spoke to the boys about personal hygiene and the importance of keeping hands and bodies clean. This involved a practical demonstration of how to wash hands properly using soap and water, as expertly displayed by Tim.  At the end of the talk, all of the boys were given their own underwear to help keep their bodies clean and took great pride in showing off their new boxer shorts to the staff.

At the same time, Ella, Niki and SJ delivered similar talks to the girls but, also handed out reusable sanitary towels to all of the students who were present. This proved to be a huge success and resulted in the girls shouting and laughing with joy when the team presented diagrams of a uterus and handed out the gifts which proved to be immensely precious.  Ella commented, “It was great to see the reactions on the girl’s faces and it clearly made a huge difference to them.”

Niki who is a Trustee for Global Challenge and whose daughter suggested issuing the reusable sanitary towels said “I am really pleased that the talks went so well and I am proud of my daughter for suggesting it. After the talks, the teachers at Crossroads told us that so many of the girls are unable to purchase sanitary products. For some of them, it is a problem which is serious enough to keep them away from school. It is great to know that we can help to keep them in school where they will learn and get fed just by meeting their basic needs and providing them with products that are relatively cheap in our own country.”

Niki’s husband, Josh, who is a special needs teacher at Laleham Gap School in Ramsgate said “It was a privilege to feel so welcomed by the students at Crossroads and to be able to give something so simple but, knowing that it was greatly appreciated. It was also wonderful to hear the girls absolutely roaring with laughter while our male team stood talking to bashful teenage boys about washing correctly and being responsible. It just goes to show, no matter where you are and what challenges people face, teenage boys and girls are the same the world over.”

Global Challenge Information and Coffee Evening

If you would like to hear more about this year’s trip to Uganda, please come along to our information and coffee evening event being hosted at Queens Road Baptist Church in Broadstairs on Sunday 5^th May. From 6:30, the church will have the majority of this year’s Global Challenge team on site to share their experiences. All are welcome to attend so if you are free, please join us and learn more about the work that we did and our vision for a brand new school.