Watoto Newsletter - UK

WWW.WATOTO.COM | OCTOBER 2014 | ISSUE NO.1

me. Now I know that God is

blends traditional and modern

they can rebuild their nation.

a brand new production, Oh What Love, beginning January

Watoto is thrilled to bring you

my father. He loves and cares for me. In the choir, I am going

dance with original music. Oh What Love celebrates the urban

Each of the children in the choir has suffered the loss of one or

2015. Through this dynamic worship experience, the Watoto

to show people that God loves them too,” says six-year-old

African landscape and brings out the unique personalities of

both of their parents but they have been rescued and now live

Children’s Choir, who were once orphans, share their journeys to

Jackie Nakku.

Based on the Bible verse, 1

the children.

Since 1994, Watoto children’s

in a Watoto village.

Book the choir in your region

redemption and demonstrate that God desires to be a loving father to all mankind.

“After losing my parents I felt lonely, with no one to love

John 3:1; “See what kind of love the father has given us, that we should be called children of God, and so we are,” prepare for a unique worship experience that

choirs have traveled all over the world sharing the plight of Africa’s orphaned and vulnerable, making an appeal to help raise these children so that

now. Email us at europe@watoto.com.

WHAT WE DO ORPHANED CHILDREN | VULNERABLE WOMEN | COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION

WATOTO CHOIR 63 Smiling faces, happy hearts, enthusiastic expressions and beautiful voices cascaded again across our churches during this year’s Beautiful Africa 2014 tour.

From the Scottish Highlands to Ireland and the South of England we have received stories of people giving their lives to Jesus and receiving hope for a future.

We serve such an awesome God; He loves the widow and orphan but, also the lost, the hopeless, the friendless and the hurting.

Our choirs know the change this love can bring and share personal testimonies of this truth.

All the children have been orphaned or abandoned yet they have a message of Jesus transforming their lives, giving them hope, a loving family and a future.

We love to engage with

you in your concern for your ‘neighbours’ in your community and support your mission in bringing the joyful news of the Gospel to their hearts.

TO HOST THE WATOTO CHILDREN’S CHOIR We simply request that a love offering be taken during the concert and the choir be given the opportunity to promote Watoto’s Sponsorship Program and merchandise sales. We also ask that your church would provide 9 host homes and 3 hotel/B&B rooms for the Team Leader and two drivers, along with meals for the duration of their visit.

Sue Jones our Tour Coordinator would love to chat to you about the choir so for more information please call: 0203 225 1048 or email: sue.jones@watoto.com

A FUTURE SO BRIGHT Juliet ran her fingers over the wheel of her tailoring machine, admiring its contours. She shifted the weight of her feet over the pedal and listened to them falling into rhythm. The machine was a gift from her husband’s grandmother on the day she gave birth to her first child. It became one of her most valuable possessions. She stared at the machine with a faint ache in her heart, wishing she had the skills to use it.

When Juliet met her husband, she was searching for a home. Her father had stopped supporting her and she was forced to drop out of school. When she tried to move in with her mother, she was rejected.

She saw marriage as an escape; an opportunity.

Juliet was twenty-one when she

sat at a maternity ward holding the results of her routine HIV test.

She was pregnant with her first child. She was shocked when she read that she was positive, but her husband seemed unfazed. Juliet wondered if he’d always known, but she didn’t ask him any questions.

She couldn’t afford to lose another home.

Seven years later, he abandoned her and she was left to look after their two children on her own.

She managed to support herself by helping her sister braid hair, but work was irregular and she never had enough. She worried when a child showed any sign of sickness because she couldn’t buy medicine. She knew that soon her eldest would be old enough to start school, but she wouldn’t be able to

SPONSORS RAISE LEADERS Being a child sponsor for Watoto is a rewarding experience, especially during graduation season. This spring 2014, Watoto congratulated a number of new graduates for their skills, knowledge, and accomplishments. Our sponsors have had the pleasure to witness their sponsor children grow into mature leaders. Now ready for the real world, our graduates have made great strides with the support of their sponsors.

Chuck and Julia Freed saw the Watoto Children’s Choir perform at their church in Glendale, Kentucky in 2005 and were inspired to become sponsors and guide a child

spiritually and emotionally. After being paired with Francis Mubiru, the Freed family has enjoyed sponsoring him for over 8 years.

“When Francis wrote to us, we were always amazed at his devotion to the Lord and his desire to help expand His Word to others,” said Chuck Freed. “We are so proud of his accomplishments.

He took advantage of all of his opportunities and has grown into an upstanding young man.”

An avid soccer player, Francis graduated from Kampala International University with a degree in Medical Lab Science and is employed as a Farm Supervisor in Watoto’s poultry farm in Buloba.

Fellow Watoto graduate

afford it.

Juliet heard of Living Hope from other women in the community. “I knew that if I was given the chance, I could also become an empowered woman,” she said.

Last month Juliet and five other women were called to be trained in tailoring at our workshop in Kampala. In just

three weeks, she went from learning to run the machine and making basic stitches, to learning how to make a dress.

“I hope to be a tailor and to grow so that I don’t need to depend on my family,” she said.

Empower other women like Juliet by partnering with us. Email us at livinghope@ watoto.com.

SPECIAL MOVE

Lawrence Kyebanja received a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and Social Administration from Kyambogo University. Lawrence has been a facilitator at children’s camp and is also currently pursuing a music career.

“Lawrence was excited to talk about his work and school progress,” said Destiny Valladares, a 2-year sponsor of Lawrence.

“He would encourage me through scripture, and I always looked forward to hearing from him. I love being a part of his life and a supporter of Watoto.”

Rebecca Kirabo received a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration and Management from Nsamizi Training Institute of Social Development, and

volunteers as a social worker for Good Life of Hope Ministries. Irene Atim also received a degree in Social Work, and attended Uganda Christian University Mukono.

As our graduates venture into the next chapter of their lives, we want to thank our child sponsors for being there every step of the way. Without our sponsors, Watoto would not have the ability to provide these young adults with the skills they need to rebuild their country.

You too can change a child’s story. Log onto www.watoto. com/sponsorship and start today.

This past quarter, a number of our Baby Watoto Suubi toddlers graduated into our villages.

Many of these abandoned babies joined the Watoto family severely malnourished, premature, abused, and or neglected. They are now cherished, active, creative toddlers filled with hope and joy. It is amazing to watch their transformation and we celebrate this exciting milestone in their lives.

For a number of years, we have been praying about and discussing the best long term plans for our children with significant special needs.

Over the past few months, we established a partnership with a

WELCOME PAUL HOUIELLEBECQ “It is a great privilege to link up my key passions for the Church in mission, community development among the marginalised and the nation of Uganda into one strategic role. I am looking forward to leading the work of Watoto UK into God’s purposes for the coming years, believing there are exciting opportunities for churches in the UK to engage with us into the future as we support the developing work of Watoto. I would keenly ask our supporters around the UK to please pray for me; for wisdom, insight and understanding as I seek to lead the team, get to know many of the broader Watoto family at home and overseas and seek to develop further strategic relationships around the country.

Thank you for all you have already done to bless the lives of so many children and families in Uganda. My warmest greetings in

Jesus’ Name”.

Paul originates from the island of Jersey, one of six sons, who grew up with a strong sense of the value of ‘community’. He worked as a Production Chemist

for a few years in Cheltenham before entering Elim Bible College to retrain for church ministry in 1983. He met his Swiss wife, Evelyne, whilst at College and moved to work with a Swiss

new Christian organization, The Gem Foundation, in Kampala.

They specifically care for children with significant special needs, into their adulthood.

We are excited by what this organization is doing and believe that this is the best option for some of our children with special needs, who have outgrown Baby Watoto. The first group of children moved from Baby Watoto Kampala to The Gem Foundation in August. We believe that this is a great opportunity for our children and are excited to continue to watch them grow and develop.

Partner with us by sponsoring Baby Watoto at www.watoto. com/sponsorship today.

Pentecostal Church after getting married in 1985, ministering in the German language in Winterthur, where their sons, Tom and Phil, were born.

Paul has just completed 20 very happy and fruitful years with his family in Cardiff, South Wales, where he planted a church on a deprived housing estate in the east of the city and has spent the last 3 years working as the Regional Manager for Samaritan’s Purse for Wales and the Marches.

During that time, he led a number of mission teams into Uganda and has developed a real love for the people of that nation.

He is an ordained Elim minister but has worked for many years across denominations, linking the Church into mission with a clear Kingdom focus. He leaves Cardiff to move to London at the end of September, with his wife, who is a social work manager, taking up a new role with a Christian charity in west London.

WATOTO EUROPE PO BOx 64946 LONDON E4 0EF EMAIL: EUROPE@WATOTO.COM CHARITY NO. 1090810

CHRISTMAS GIFT FUND A Christmas tree, a glow with lights and coloured baubles surrounded by presents wrapped in shiny Christmas paper, this is the scene millions of excited children will wake up to this year.

The anticipation of discovering what is inside those parcels can be seen in faces of the children, the smiles getting bigger and bigger as they open that long awaited gift.

Giving a financial donation to the gift fund enables you to be a part of putting that same excitement on the thousands of faces in our Watoto villages. If you would like to make a donation to the Watoto Gift fund you can mail your donation to Watoto Child Care Ministries, P O Box 64946, London E4 0EF or call our office on 0203 225 1048 to give by debit/credit card.