Uganda Project
By Michelle Bozenske
Our work in Uganda is coming to-
gether nicely. This past month we re-
ceived a packet of photos and histories
for fifteen more individual orphans
whom we are going to be working to
sponsor individually.
Last month’s Spotlight on Orphans
featured an article by Vicki about the
Acholi tribe and
the Lord’s Resis-
tance Army. The
histories I re-
ceived from Al-
fred Mukhooli
contain informa-
tion about two
children who es-
caped their town
during Kony’s
war.
A seven-year-
old girl named
Sharon Namakoye
and a ten-year-old
boy named Dembe Mukisa have
been left to live in the crowded
streets of Mbale without parents.
Since rebels attacked their region,
their parents cannot be found. One
can assume they lost their lives in the
invasion. Both of these children had
been living on the streets for some time
when Alfred Mukhooli found them.
They were naked and rummaging
through dustbins (what we call garbage
cans) for food. Alfred has helped pro-
vide these two children with food and
clothing, and put them in school. He is
praying for sponsors for them so he can
continue to care for them.
We also have added five more wid-
ows’ families to our project. The sto-
ries are quite heartbreaking, describing
how these women struggle to care for
children and grandchildren in the most
dire of circumstances. Currently the
famine conditions that have stricken
Kenya and other parts of Africa are im-
pacting the prices of commodities in
Uganda as well, where many gardens
dried up before the plants could ma-
ture. Alfred has informed us that when
he visited these new families, he found
their living conditions were horrible. In
one family the children were all sickly
and one had malaria. He left them with
what grain he had and the promise of
help.
We are so blessed by the dedica-
tion of Alfred Mukhooli in Mbale and
Fred Musungu in Kampala. They are
working hard under very difficult and
dangerous cir-
cumstances, of-
ten walking or
riding bikes to
visit these
women who so
impacted Esther
when she met
them on her visit
to Uganda in
November of
last year. They
have been taking
histories and
photographs so
we can share the
stories, with the
hope of saving
the families from
starvation and
returning the
children to
school. We pray
that by our following God’s command-
ment to serve the widows and orphans,
their faith will be rewarded.
The packet of material we received
contained a big envelope of receipts for
each little purchase the men had made,
right down to the cost of seeds for the
widows’ garden. They are planning to
work with the widows and orphans in
letter writing to their new friends and
sponsors. We are so thankful for them
and for you as well.
We are very excited to share that
we have had an inquiry from a family
interested in sponsoring Savernina’s
family, whom we featured in our last
issue. You will recall that Saverina has
five children and one of the girls has a
serious disease in her leg, possibly
cancer
One point we wish to make clear is
that even though a family might have
several children, we still are keeping
the rate at $50 per month to sponsor a
whole family. We feel we can maintain
a minimal lifestyle for that amount, and
anything higher might discourage
sponsorships. Needs above and beyond
this amount will be provided through
general funds that come in.
The dollars have been coming in to
help feed and clothe some of the wid-
ows’ families. One women’s group in
Michigan raised enough to feed two
families for one month already! Many
of these women are elderly and were
moved by the notion of trying to care
for many children with no income.
Another of our sponsors from
Michigan “took the widows” to her
women's church group and walked
away with nearly $100 for Julia’s fam-
ily (in Kenya). This same sponsor
shared with us that she has made a
“change jar” into which she and her
husband throw their change each day.
At the end of the month, she plans to
send it for the widows. Each of these
dollars is carefully divided amongst the
families to help as many children as
possible. We are still hoping to “spon-
sor” these families so they have a reli-
able income each month, as well as a
sponsor to correspond with, but with
the “Widow’s Might,” we are taking
care of them and will continue to care
for more as our support grows.
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If you are interested
in
helping with the Uganda Project
contact:
Donations: Pat Kroeger, PO
Box 197305, Louisville, KY
40259, Phone: (502)-239-5489,
Email: pskroeger@netzero.net.
Child Sponsorship: Michelle
Bozenske, PO Box 32,
McMechen, WV 26040, Phone:
(304)-233-7848, Email: jimicboz
@worldnet.att.net.
Dembe Mukisa at left
and friend Sharon
Namakoye below.
Please note that ties
on dresses are an
incomprehensible
nuisance in all of
our projects.
