Watoto Newsletter - UG

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 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.

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

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

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

PO BOX 26366 • KAMPALA UGANDA • PHONE: +256 (0)414 697 003 EMAIL: UGANDA@WATOTO.COM

REFLECTIONS 20 YEARS OF CELEBRATION

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 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

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 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 Uganda friends gives us the motivation to continue this journey.

Thank you

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 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,”mum 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-yearold 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

WATOTO UGANDA PO Box 26366. Kampala Uganda Phone: +256 (0)414 697 003 Email: uganda@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