Thanks from Shadia

Shadia Lutaaya is one of the community White Eagles, and is just starting Senior Three this year. She tells us: “I am happy to have completed S2: it’s a great opportunity that has been given to me by the WEP, and by River of Life. My family wasn’t able to afford to send me to a good school such as Masaka Secondary School, so I feel really privileged to be there!

I sincerely love my teachers in this school because they act as good examples to us. They don’t come to class while drunk [!], they are always smart, and are good at time management. That creates a good environment for them to teach and discipline because they practise what they preach.

Another thing I like about my teachers is that they don’t only teach from books, but they also talk about things relevant to our day-to-day life. This has shaped many of us into responsible students. For those that don’t know, students here in Uganda may have to drop out of school at any stage because of different problems they face, so this makes practical lessons particularly important. Having skills and knowledge in areas such as computer work, food and nutrition, or art can make you a living later on! So, thank you Masaka SS!

 As for my dear sponsor…. I wouldn’t have been able to see and learn lots, and to be at such an inspiring school if it wasn’t for your help. Thank you so much for giving me this great opportunity and I promise you that it won’t be wasted.”

Unity - a blessing when disaster strikes...

We wanted to share an amazing story of what can happen when there is true Unity between fellow Christians – hint: you can overcome some serious adversity!  Just after the big outreach we recently had, as the Nyendo Ssenyange born again churches, something horrible happened to Pastor Sseremba Mark (who heads up Abundant Miracles Ssenyange church plant). He was slashing (aka cutting grass, not Texas Chainsaw stylie, don't worry!) at Kakuto a few days later, and the slashing blade hit a stone, fell off the machine, hit another rock and recoiled back, cutting off his foot.  

Here's an example of a slasher machine in action

He told us that as his foot was cut, he immediately heard a voice inside of him saying, “the Devil has only attacked the body”, and at the time, he smiled (though on seeing his foot hanging by a strand, that smile did fade somewhat).  He bled so much he lost consciousness, but onlookers were able to get him to hospital, where doctors successfully removed the rest of his foot, and stabilised him.  A grim day indeed, yet through the pain, he still smiled and proclaimed that Jesus is Lord.

Don't know about you - but this joy and hope during adversity impresses us!  It's the Holy Spirit, people!

Fast-forward two weeks, and River of Life held a Thanksgiving Service (as part of our monthly Organic Worship programme).  Over 300 people came, and nearly 3 million shillings were raised from the congregation to help Mark to buy an artificial foot, and to support his family during this trying time.  Please keep Mark and his family in your prayers as they adapt to this new way of life.  

Preparing for a different life ahead as a family

Parenting by Numbers!

We can share the gospel through different means, but it’s really important to foster good relationships between us (the Church) and the community around us.  We are, after all, called to be salt and light to the World, but no-one wants salt scattered in their eyes uninvited, so friendships are important! 

Elder Betty was recently talking to us about her community work, and said: “Whenever I go for community visits, I find non-believing parents treating their children in a way that doesn’t honour God: beating them, throwing horrible words at them….  Sincerely, this breaks my heart.  Well, I was thinking about it later on, and thought how great it could be to have a meeting with them at church, so that we could talk about the proper ways of treating kids, since they are gifts from God.

Some of the splendid gifts having a good dance with Elder Emily!

So we did it!  We talked to these parents about how important their children are, and also let them know that whatever they impart to their children’s lives, will be the very things that they will pass on to the neighbours, and to their own families in the future.

We also shared the word of God during these discussions, and four of the 24 parents that attended decided to give their lives to Christ, as did twenty six of the 49 children that had their own little class at the same time!”

Just some of the smiling faces we got to spend time with :) 

After the meeting we shared the little we had with the children and as you can see, they were very happy with their books, pens and pencils.

The Countdown Has Begun

As many of you will know, in a few short days, Sarah will be gritting her teeth and steeling herself for a feat of endurance unlike any she has ever undergone – the Masaka marathon. Sarah is no stranger to feats of endurance. Being the mother of 2 crazed toddlers and wife of a juvenile joker of a man has prepared her mentally, but physically she has had to spend many hours of hard-graft, running over 160km in the last 5 weeks in order to build her strength for what is about to take place. 

She will be raising money for the work of Synergy, the sports and discipleship program that Tim heads up. We are very grateful for the many generous donations so far, but need another push to reach our target of £3000. As promised, we have been sharing some of the reasons that this is such a good cause on the River of Life Facebook page. However, for those of you who have missed these posts, or only seen some, below are the top 5 reasons why you should part with your hard earned cash and sponsor brave Sarah!

(1) THE FANTASTIC EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES THAT MUST NOT BE WASTED: 

 This year 109 Synergy players have received educational bursaries, giving them a chance to attend schools and courses that they might otherwise have struggled to afford. However, there are many other requirements they struggle to pay for such as examination fees, uniforms, books, medical care and transport. The money you donate will go a long way to making sure these educational opportunities don’t go to waste!

(2) THE ATTITUDE & DISCIPLINE OF OUR LADS: 

Football players at school are notoriously ill disciplined. But not Synergy players! One of the reason’s so many of our players receive football bursaries is that head teachers from schools like Masaka Secondary School, are always impressed by the attitude and discipline of our lads. In fact the headmaster at Masaka Sec says that in all his years of teaching he has never encountered players like those of Synergy! Help our lads to shine a light and lead the way!

(3) THE FACT THAT AGAINST THE ODDS, MANY CONTINUE TO SURPASS EXPECTATIONS: 

We believe in our lads, and know they can achieve not only on the pitch, but also in the classroom! Many football players are seen as useful for football only, and are expected to do poorly academically. But many of our players continue to surprise even their teachers. Want an example? Look no further than Ali (17 years). 3 years ago this boy was on the streets. He had finished P7 with the worst marks possible and struggled to even read or write! With the help of Synergy he received a football bursary at one of Masaka's top schools, starting in Senior 2. Despite pulling up academically, the school was not confident of him doing well, and as they were concerned about how this might affect them in schools’ results tables, asked that he take his exams elsewhere. Brian arranged for him to sit his exams and Ali returned Brian’s faith in him by achieving a very respectable 3^rd grade! The school were of course extremely happy (if not some what sheepish) and have gladly offered him a bursary to continue onto study A-levels. 

(4) THE INVESTMENT IS PASSED ON AGAIN AND AGAIN: 

At Synergy, our players know that they are blessed and so they know that it is their responsibility to pass on this investment. That is why some of our more senior players, Like Andy here, take time to invest in others including both the Synergy academy and also the girls squad at Masaka SS.

(5) INTEGRITY IS ENSURED: 

In a country where self seeking and corruption are rife, your money will only be used to directly help our players in need. How can you be sure? This story will help you see:

Recently a 17-year-old lad called Lawrence
joined Synergy. He has great passion,but not a great amount of natural football talent. His granny took manager Brian aside and offered him 300,000 shillings to find him a bursary to school. Brian explained that he is not involved in “buying” bursaries for players, but told her to keep her money and let him work with the boy and see what he can do. Having worked with him and seen his ability and attitude, he took Lawrence to one of Masaka's top secondary schools, where we have many players with bursaries. Brain explained to the Head master that he is not the most talented player, but has passion and discipline and a desire to achieve. Such is the high regard for Brian’s opinion, Lawrence was given a full bursary that very day. The granny, wanting to show her gratitude to Brian, again put the money in his hand, this time as a thank you. Did he put this in his pocket as he so easy could have done? No, Brian took this money straight back to school to pay for some of Lawrence’s requirements not covered by the bursary. The granny’s response? “I never knew that in Uganda there are still honest people like you alive today!”

If none of these 5 reasons are enough to convince you, then here is one final shameless plug: look at the graph of the elevation change that the marathon will involve and then look at Sarah’s blood soaked arms having taken a tumble during one of her training runs. 

Make her suffering worthwhile and help us blow through our target of £3000 by going to the following link: 

https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/sarah4synergy

Thank you so much!

Kasirivu really is the business!

If there ever was a story of turn-arounds, Ernest Kasirivu has one.  Here he is with his super-proud mother, celebrating his graduation with a certificate in business studies. 

What a triumphant day!  But life wasn’t always so rosy for Kasirivu.  Back in the day, his mum wasn’t able to look after him, so he headed to stay with some relatives.  As all-too-often happens, he was mistreated, and ended up living on the streets, with little to no hope for his future.  He had days of starving, as well as suffering a lot of abuse from the other street kids, and people around Nyendo.  And that’s when he was found by John Mukiibi, and brought to River of Life.

He tells us, “It would be wrong if I say that I am speechless, because I have a lot to say… but the problem is where to start!  I had seen a lot, and been through a lot, before I joined ROL.  As I was a young boy, it was my own family that gave me a hard time, and when I ended up on the streets, all my dreams were kind of shattered.  But that wasn’t the end of the story, and I’m so proud to have earned my certificate in business studies.  I thank River of Life for the love and care since i joined, and my dear sponsors for seeing me through.  Next stop is a diploma and I can’t wait!”

 

 

Officially a resourceful fella!

The 24^th of March 2016 marked a great occasion in the lives of two of our leadership Academy young men – and therefore for all of us at River of Life!

First up to the plate is the one and only Sserunjogi Gerald, who recently graduated with a certificate in Human Resources.  He’s very special to River of Life, since not only has he been with us for a long time, but he is also the son of Mama Katende, our cook!  We met them after they had lost their father – and as if that wasn’t bad enough, relatives had thrown them out of their father’s house.  Mama Katende was really struggling to even feed them, since she didn’t have a job at the time, so as you can imagine, their arrival at River of Life was a big relief for her, and an opportunity for her kids to study! 

Sseru says: “Thank you so much ROL for running to my rescue during those times of need, it was hard for me to predict back then what the future might hold, but now it’s so exciting that I have made it to this step”.  Mama Kat adds: “a big thank you to this organisation for everything they have done for me and my two sons, and for giving me a chance to work with the young people and the White Eagle Project.”  Congratulations Sseru!

 

Sign to Sing!

Let it never be said that River of Life don’t get involved… and here’s a fantastic event that we were delighted to join in! It’s the Sign to Sing March, which is organised by Guinness World Records. This event was spear headed by Sign Health Uganda (the deaf health charity) in conjunction with Masaka Disability Network (of which River of Life is part).

The day starts with a triumphant march lead by the band, starting from the Post Office and leading through the busiest areas of Masaka town.
 

It’s a great opportunity to spread the word about honouring the rights of children with disabilities, and saying no to violence in homes. In particular, we talk about deaf or physically disabled children, since many parents in Uganda believe that having a child who can’t hear or can’t walk is “bad luck” and wouldn’t bother investing in such a child. These children then miss out on education, and many other essentials of life.
 

According to Elder Emily, “The marching was so good… it was so encouraging that many people came of their shops to see what was going on the streets. Those very people might have a disabled child at home that they treat badly – but hearing our message is the first step in changing minds and behaviours”