Update: Kaberamaido & Greek

Things have been rather busy around the Uganda Refuge & Hope office lately!  A few of us recently returned from a trip out to our project sites in Kaberamaido district and Kapchorwa district.  David Harding, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's International Coordinator for Emergency Response, also accompanied us on the trip.  He is an agriculture and water expert, and he gave us (and the people we serve) some great advice along the way! (see photo below)

David Harding showing a group of widows the health benefits of a local tree

In Kaberamaido, we met with two different groups that we will be providing agriculture training and implements to.  One is a group of ten widows, and the other is a group of ten "Arrow Boys," former village defenders against rebel attacks who have now been demobilized and many of whom returned home to great losses of property.  There are also women in the Arrow Boys group who were either fighters themselves or are widows of Arrow Boys.  The meetings went well, and we hope they will be able to begin training/planting in the next two or three months.

In Kapchorwa, we met up with one of the local bishops, Pastor Thomas Godwin, and went out to a village of formerly displaced people called Greek.  I first visited Greek less than a year ago on a short-term visit to Uganda, and I was deeply impacted by this community and its lack of basic necessities such as clean water, health care and education.  Seeing Greek was actually what prompted me to pray about returning to Uganda to volunteer with Refuge & Hope.  I am happy to report that there has been good progress in Greek these past few months, including a health center that is being built and four water wells.  Refuge & Hope plans to join this progress by helping the community to build a multi-purpose community center to serve as a church building, school facility and community center.  We hope construction will begin in the next couple months.

We are also busy making arrangements for a small group of students from the U.S. coming to do sports ministry, VBS activities and mosquito net distribution for three and a half weeks next month.  The team will be ministering in both Kaberamaido and in Greek, and we appreciate you joining with us in prayer for their safe arrival on May 31 and their ministry while they are here with us.

Click here to see some of my photos from the recent trip to Kaberamaido and Kapchorwa!

P.S. - We still need to raise a bit more funds for the community center in Greek.  If you'd like to contribute, please email jade@refugeandhope.org or donate through our Facebook page!