We left the comfort of Mount Elgon Hotel to begin the car journey back to Kampala in time for a vision day with An Open Door management team. Being the smallest person on the trip I volunteered to sit in the middle back seat of the car, which is fine for a 20 minute journey but not the best thing in the world for a five hour journey - feels like you have ridden a horse for a day or two by the end of it.
The vision day was to help us review our journey to date and also to think and pray about what we should be focussing on for the next few years.
The day was held in the Namirembe Guest House a place where Peter Wooding's father Dan Wooding has become a Christian 30 years before while reporting on the persecution of he Church in Uganda under the reign of Idi Amin
After a buffet lunch,we discussed our history, personal journey stories and then went onto the debate child care challenges in Uganda.
We have a great team on the ground and one of our longest serving staff members 'Eleanor' is finishing this friday after 15 years of service. Eleanor will still volunteer part time, having recently gotten married.
After a few hours of great chat we agreed that between 2011 and 2015 our focus will be :-
- The continued Rescue, Rehabilitation and Resettlement of Children.
- To place more of a focuses, on foster are and placing children within homes, moving totally away from instutionalised care.
- To focus our care on Babies under the age of three years old, referring any other children to other specialist NGO's.
This will help us become a best practice agency in the short term as well as help the marketing of AOD in the longer term.
It was also great to have the input of Jeff Thompson (www.mercyprjects.com) who has faced similar issues in child care through his operation working in Ukraine and Kosovo.
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