Watoto Newsletter - CA

ALL FOR THE GLORY OF GOD This June, Watoto held a big party to celebrate 20 years of Watoto Child Care Ministries. Thousands of people including many of our global friends joined in on the

performance, a song loved by many.

Restore Tour; “Child Soldier No More” a production that depicted the plight of people in northern Uganda during the LRA

poultry and vegetable farms. During the vision tour, Watoto founder Marilyn Skinner, recognized Watoto moms who have served for over 19 years, for their faithful service in

anniversary activities in Uganda. For the past 20 years, Watoto has rescued and raised more than 4000 children in Africa (3000 in current carfe). During the same week, Baby Watoto rescued its 1,000th baby. We are greatfull to God for His never ending mercy.

war and mainly consisted of former child soldiers, left many in tears. The choir also had the honor of performing alongside grammy award-winning artist Israel Houghton, the guest artist of the night.

During the same week, several people were

helping raise and nurture Watoto children.

We were honored that many of our partners, friends and sponsors all over the world managed to come to Uganda for the celebrations. We give all the glory and honour to the one amazing God who has

The Watoto Children’s Choir opened up the celebrations with an epic “Beautiful Africa“

able to visit Watoto’s Suubi village and other Watoto sustainability projects such as the

brought us this far.

WATOTO CANADA • PO BOX 98 • VICTORIA, BC V8W 2M1 1-888-9WATOTO • CANADA@WATOTO.COM

HOPE REGAINED Pregnant with her fifth child, Mercy joined the queue of expectant mothers waiting to sign up for prenatal treatment at the busy maternity unit.

After three hours of waiting for her HIV test results, she was led into a small room where she was told by a nurse that she was HIV positive. A wave of emotions broke over Mercy. She was shocked, afraid and angry.

She was told by the nurse that with treatment she would be fine and transmission of HIV to her child would be prevented.

Unfortunately, a year after their son’s birth, her husband died and Mercy’s health deteriorated. She had to spend some time in the hospital.

Her siblings, who looked after her children while she was away, said they would evict her wchildren if she died. Mercy cried as she realized that she was the only person her children had left. If anything happened to her, there would be no one to care for them. This ignited something within her. She drew from inside her the strength to carry on. Life was hard but with her basic skills in tailoring, she managed to keep herself and her children alive.

The children had to drop out of school and the family sometimes could only afford one meal a day, but she never gave up.

Mercy came to Living Hope in 2008. Here she improved her tailoring skills and learned how

A SOURCE OF JOY Watoto’s new gift pool policy was introduced in October 2012. It replaced a policy where beneficiaries directly received gifts from their sponsors.

Unfortunately, not every child would recieve a gift. This caused some children to feel unloved or not thought of by their sponsor.

As a result, It was decided that

parcels or gift items received from donors and sponsors would be inventoried and distributed to each Watoto village. These gifts are now given on special occasions such as birthdays.

The day of the gift distribution is a special day that all children and mothers look forward to.

The whole village is filled with

to save some of her earnings.

Today Mercy works as a trainer in our Kampala workshop and she is a great teacher. She is able to send all her children to school too. Her desire to build a home for her children, to ensure that they have a place that belongs to them, a place from which no one can chase them away, continues to be her driving force. This year, she opened her second bank account. She is well on her way to saving the money she needs to buy a plot of land and build her own home.

Thank you for partnering with us and helping us empower women like Mercy. Encourage your friends to do the same. www.watoto.com/livinghope excitement as people look forward to receiving a gift.

“The gift pool policy is a great idea because it makes all the children and mothers feel loved and valued,”mom Sarah Nalweyiso says.

In the month of April, several Children received their birthday gifts. “I love cooking, so this is a perfect gift. The book will help me learn new recipes and also help me improve on my cooking skills,” said 15-year-old Amelia.

Five-year-old David Musiime was excited about his drawing board.

“I will use it to draw cartoons,” he said.

Thank you to all our sponsors who have adhered to the new policy. www.watoto.com/sponsorship

A SPONSORSHIP S FULL CIRCLE During the Watoto Children’s choir tour that began in January, the Borrie family in Ontario experienced what many sponsors dream of, a meeting with Maria, their sponsored child for 18 years.

The past months of the Canadian tour have been filled with memorable moments. Six Watoto children in the choir got to meet their sponsors. After experiencing the shock of winter, it’s moments like these that bring warmth into the lives of the children. Brian, Jane, Noeline, Rachael, Victor and Jimmy were among the few in the Watoto choir who got to share in this rare experience. It’s very moving for both the children and their sponsors each time they meet.

The climax of the tour was when the choir was in Sarnia, ON. Maria, team leader of the Watoto Choir got to meet her sponsored family for the first time in 18 years. More than most people, Maria knows how special the bond between sponsor and child can be. As

REFLECTIONS 20 YEARS OF CELEBRATION

STORY TURNS a child growing up in Watoto, it was the letters she received from her Canadian sponsored family that drove her to succeed in school and life. During the concert that evening, the story got the best of everyone’s emotions as Maria hugged her sponsored family and thanked them for the difference they had made in her life.

“Sponsorship doesn’t just improve living conditions,” Maria explained, “it gives children hope and that’s the greatest gift of all.” Maria’s story is a powerful example of how child sponsorship can change lives, for both children and their sponsors.

If you’d like to challenge yourself and see Watoto’s work firsthand or you would like to learn more about sponsorship, please visit our website www.watoto.com. If you have a special sponsorship story to share, we’d love to hear it. Just send your message to sponsorship@watoto.ca sponsorship@watoto.ca

Watoto celebrated it’s 20th Anniversary this June and we are taking this opportunity to share our gratitude even more with our friends and partners.

Over the past twenty years Watoto has provided a safe loving family for over 3,000 children.

Over 1,000 babies have been rescued from dire circumstances. Now they are

healthy, chubby and thriving either at Baby Watoto or in a Watoto village. We have already seen 154 orphans grow from children to adults, complete all educational levels, including advanced training, and now live productive lives as contributing members of society. Additionally, Living Hope is restoring dignity to the lives of thousands of vulnerable women, who have

BABY WATOTO CANADA TEAM The Baby Watoto Canada team headed to Uganda in February this year. The team was a mixture of various ages ranging from 7 – 65 years old from different cities

across Canada and a few from Washington State. The goal of this team was to come and serve at Baby Watoto wherever needed. Some of the projects that the team members

been abused and left with no resources.

This is our goal. This is our passion. This is how we change a nation. Twenty years is not the end, but a milestone in our journey. The dedication and partnership of our Canadian friends gives us the motivation to continue this journey.

Thank you

participated in were painting, cleaning, sewing crib blankets, organizing medical supplies, taking care of over 250 loads of laundry and general baby care.

The team also visited the Living Hope ladies, Watoto Church and the farms.

Many of the team members were already sponsors with Watoto and were able to have lunch and spend some time with their sponsor children. Jackson, (7) was able to meet his sponsored brother David (7). Jackson’s family had sponsored David since they were both 2 years. David and Jackson were quick to make friends and sang, talked and giggled away in no time.

The trip was concluded with a short two-day safari on the way home from Gulu. The next team is traveling in the fall – will you be on it? For more information on visiting Watoto in Africa, please email visitafrica@watoto.ca.

WATOTO CANADA PO BOX 98 VICTORIA, BC V8W 2M1 1-888-9WATOTO CANADA@WATOTO.COM

SPONSOR BABY WATOTO TODAY Baby Watoto exists to provide quality care, love and stimulation to the most vulnerable babies and toddlers in Africa. This foundation is a vital part of the overall mission of Watoto, to rescue the most vulnerable, raise them, and help them to become Africa’s future leaders. Partner with us by sponsoring Baby Watoto at www.watoto.com/sponsorship