Uganda trip 2023

Thoughts by our trustee, Anne…

From a TEARFUND Lent Devotional…
“When there is a growing gap between rich and poor, there is a growing gap between humanity and divine will. The way of Christ is to call this out. It is to redress the balance. It is to fight for justice. This is
why the church exists.“
This is why Global Challenge exists….to close that gap.
From our recent visit I would suggest another balance to be redressed. When thinking about the challenges in keeping Crossroads School running it’s easy to be overwhelmed. Yet visiting the school and being with students and staff, we were reminded how much we should pray and trust God who has all the resources.
Crossroads has grown because people are struggling to pay the raised fees in other schools and because Crossroads provide lunch, the only meal of the day for many.
There are 91 students in the new Senior 1 class. 300 in total but at the last count only 50 students had paid any fees. We want so much more for them and feel inadequate but they are so appreciative of what they have at Crossroads.

They love being at Crossroads;
They have hope;
They pray!
Redress the balance …. PRAYER and ACTION work together.
Please be informed and pray with us that those students will get the education they deserve.

Special Needs Project Report by our trustee Angela…
The main purpose of our special needs visit this year was to reconnect with our coordinator Billy and the volunteers as well the families we have supported in the past and continue to work with. We also had the
joy of sharing resources and gifts that had kindly been donated by schools and sponsors. Dresses made from pillow cases were distributed to deserving families known to New Life Baptist Church. Blankets and
knitted baby clothes were handed out to special needs children and their family members. Pens, felts and pencils were given by Upton Junior school, in Broadstairs for us to pass on to Crossroads school and to children we met on our visits.
The children and young people at Cherry Tree Special School in Margate had raised money at their school fair and were keen to be directly involved in Global Challenge’s special needs project. Their school council
decided to donate their hard-earned cash to the livestock project. They were keen to buy a pair of goats to support a special needs family. The Headteacher and Deputy were so proud of them that they too donated to Global Challenge and so we had enough money to buy four goats. However, Adam
our volunteer in Gweri (one of Soroti’s four sub counties) was able to purchase six goats for the price of four. He also determined that each family only needed one goat each, as nearby families would enable their goats to mate! So six families have benefitted from the children and staff at Cherry Tree school and their kind donations.
John has benefitted from the special needs project in the past having received treatment and two wheelchairs. Last year his brother Isaac (another special needs benefactor) died and he has been missing him greatly. So he was delighted to be given a goat. He wants to be a shoemaker and therefore, he will be able to support himself all the more by being able to purchase the starting materials. Angela has ordered her pair of shoes ready to collect next year!

Martha will also benefit from a new wheelchair – after her house collapsed onto her existing one, she has also received a goat to help pay for her medical needs.
It was not only informative but also a great privilege to be welcomed into the two special schools that Global Challenge are involved with, Ngora school for the Deaf and St Francis school for the Blind. We sponsor Miriam to be able to attend St Francis school for the Blind. We had not met Miriam before. She sadly lost her sight about a year ago as she had been treated for several symptoms as they presented but not for the condition that was eventually understood to be the issue that eventually took away her sight. She was progressing well in the mainstream school but then struggled when she became blind. This was our first time of meeting Miriam and we were told by the Headteacher how quickly she was learning to read and to print braille. She has made some friends and is making great progress with her studies.
We currently sponsor five children (one was off sick during our visit this time) to attend Ngora school for the Deaf. These four children we had met before on previous visits to Ngora school and are progressing well with their learning of American Sign Language and graduating to each new primary level. We were also glad to hear how well three older pupils had got on with their studies and vocational skills courses. Those three boys are now keen to start work either as tailors, bricklayers or carpenters.
The Headteacher Charles will be retiring next year and so we hope and pray that the school will continue to develop and remain the loving and caring place that it always has been.

Here are some snippets of this fantastic trip. Enjoy!