It was great to end the evening last night with a skype call to Rebekah, who was busy working back in the UK and couldn't come on this trip. Apparently I woke Gareth Killa (Who I share a room with) up this morning, with a most peculiar high pitched snore. Of course I denied it as I didn't hear it myself.
After a great breakfast of sweet bananas (80 different kinds in Uganda) and eggs, tomatoes and coffee it was quite a trek, missing streets and asking for directions along Uganda's unsigned road network to reach Kampala Children's Centre in Wakiso. This home was the vision of Arnold Muwonge.
As you drive through the gates you get to see the excellence within which these guys operate. from the size and quality of the homes they have built to the passion of the staff that served, was only over shadowed by the fact they naturally offered British people a cuppa Tea as we arrived.
We were so blessed then to visit the children in School, where they looked overjoyed to receive visitors. After singing and praying with the children, Peter Wooding then took some video footage of the children to produce a promo video for the home, which Arnold can use later.
The last few homes we have visited have given us a wealth of perspectives of how different groups address often the same set of problems. Some of the issues we've discussed are :-
- Institutional Care verses Transitional Care - having children remain within the care of an institution rather than trying to place abandoned children in the care of extended family members, into foster care or adoption.
- Preventative intervention verses reactive intervention - is it possible to support a work where the only way to prove success is by reporting how families retained the vulnerable child in it's care rather than having agencies bring children to home and then the home tries to place the child.
- Sponsorship programmes verses Children Choirs / Trust Fund applications and media driven promotion of the work ? One home for example look for £35 ($55) per month, but the inflation rate in Uganda is running close to 18%, so that basically means every year if the sponsorship received per month doesn't grow with the living costs it's basically the same as the home getting 18% less in their budget - a hard thing to try and convey to sponsors.
Sadly often our Western expectation of what has become a standard missions activity - open an 'orphange' and care for the children for the duration of their life. Big questions remain with this model, how will sponsorship be able to pay for the full extent of their education including university fees ? What happens when the child becomes and adult, but their education has finished ? What happens when the adult isn't able to get a job ?
These are real issues and the homes we have visited are all trying to address. What's very clear in our learning is each home has had a singular purpose or vision. Homes trying to achieve to much on a budget have a real challenge ahead of them as the newer Homes have marketing personnel on board they use social media, in fact any of the latest technology to promote their work. In fact ReTrack scored 63rd place ahead of Amazon and Coke Cola in how their organised used Social Media to market themselves.
We are learning so much, and it's great to be walking the journey with friends, who in and of themselves have a lot of travel, media and child care experiences of their own.
One thing that very clear, regularly reviewing and participating in the latest thinking various homes are involved in will enhance and improve any work that seeks to help children.
Tommorrow : An Open Door into Your Heart....
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