As students here in the US are finishing another school year and about to kickoff their summer plans, our students in Uganda are headed back for the second term of the year. Their 3-term school year runs from February to November with a 3 week break between terms. We are currently receiving school reports for the first term, and as soon I have them I’ll be sending them on to you! (If I haven’t already). As I review the reports for the term I am always amazed at the hard work of our students, especially in light of some of the challenges that they face. Here are a few examples of those challenges, as context for you as you think about the everyday life of a V127 student.
Our students in secondary school especially are facing a very tough curriculum. It’s not unusual for them to have up to fourteen courses at one time.
They are in school from early morning until late afternoon and are studying late into the night. Very few of our students who are staying at home with a parent or caregiver have any electricity or running water. Instead, they have outdoor kitchens and a community latrine. They carry water from a spring that is often a far and treacherous walk. Often their caregiver is not very supportive of schoolwork, but only looking for the children to help with chores. Every situation is different, but keep in mind that our students are constantly faced with obstacles to their education.
For instance, our Robert Rwiza, who is very intelligent and hard-working, struggled with his grades for the first time this past term. As we investigated, we found out that he was taking public transportation to school. The unreliability of that transportation meant that he was often late to his classes and missing important content. We are going to pay for him to stay at a hostel near the school this next term, hoping that will make a difference for him.
In another case, our Melvin Ssempa is staying at a hostel at his college where he is studying petroleum engineering. He came back from class one day and all of his possessions had been stolen. We are working to replace what has been taken from him, but are so sad that he had to experience that.
Our Suzan was struggling in her classes, and we discovered that her mother was alternating who would go to school that day, Suzan or her sister Sandra. Most likely she has been keeping one of the girls home to help her with the chores.
Our Isaac Afayo has been dealing with stomach ulcers, and is struggling to find foods that he can eat. He was unable to finish his end of term exams because of the sickness.
Our Cyrus Sengooba was experiencing a lot of stomach pain, and it turns out that he had a tumor in his stomach. He just had surgery to remove it, so pray with us for his recovery.
So what is our primary role in our V127 student’s lives? We are to be their Number 1 encourager. If your child is doing great in school, then tell them how proud you are of them, that you are praying for them, and encourage them to keep working hard. If your child is really struggling, let them know that you are proud of them, you are praying for them, and that you believe in them. We are to be their biggest cheerleaders! For some of these kids, they are just getting used to being in school regularly. Before they had the stability of a sponsor, they would most likely go to school for the first two weeks of the term and then be sent home for lack of school fees. Our job is to pray for them, invest in them, and encourage their hearts. The best way to do that is to write to them. It doesn’t have to be long, but just a sweet word of encouragement will have a big impact.
Did you know that the prefix “en” means “to put into, enable, empower, infuse”? So to encourage someone, is to “infuse them with courage”. What a privilege God has given us! We have the unique opportunity to infuse courage into the hearts of these kids who have already been through unimaginable difficulties. Let us vow to encourage our V127 children, all of those around us, and even ourselves! (No one talks to us more than we talk to ourselves. Are we encouraging our own hearts??)
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” I Thessalonians 5:11
Here are a few more photos of our students heading back to school! We just received this photo of some our students getting ready to travel back to Master Cares Secondary School this week. Master Cares is about 4 hours away and very rigorous academically.
Last week we also had a group of secondary students travel back to the Lion of Judah academy, which is about 45 miles, (but 2-3 hours!) away.
Please pray for all of our students in kindergarten, primary, secondary, vocational school and college. We now have 176 in our V127 family!
Thank you for your prayers and for your encouragement. I’m praying God’s richest blessings on you today.
Much Love,
Jan