This year has been going quickly. I can hardly believe it is
already almost November. The year has been full of changes for me. Many of
these changes have happened outside of my work at EMI and my communications
have been focused there. So I thought I would give you a glimpse of what I am
working on in the office.
We moved into our new office building two months ago and are starting to feel settled. You can take a tour of the building here.
This term has been a bit different as I have been working on
five smaller projects instead of one large one. I am also doing less production
work and guiding our interns to do the production work instead. It has been
a different time at work and I find it challenging at times. But we have a great
team in the office this term, highlighted by seven wonderful interns. Work is
progressing well and it is exciting to see what God has been doing through the
different ministries we are partnered with.
Here are the five ministries and projects I am currently working
on. You can check out their websites if you want to know more of what they are doing.
Music For Life
(African Children’s Choir) Choir Training Centre
EMI has partnered with Music For Life for a number of years
to help develop their primary school site here in Uganda. We are currently preparing
drawings for a choir training center to house and train the African Children’s
choir before going on tour.
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| Music For Life Choir Training Centre |
Here is the vision of Music For Life from their website
“Our mission to help Africa’s most vulnerable children today
so they can help Africa tomorrow extends much further than sponsoring the Choir
children through their education.
The African Children’s Choir are the ambassadors for the
millions of suffering children back home in Africa, and funds raised on tour
not only go towards the education of each touring Choir child but also to the
continuing efforts of our fundraising organization, Music for Life.
Music for Life works in Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, South Sudan, South
Africa, Nigeria and Ghana to improve the lives, education and futures of
thousands of suffering children living in unthinkable environments.
The African Children’s Choir and Music for Life have so far
educated over 50,000 children in our 29 year history, and have helped a further
100,000 children through our relief and education projects.”
Empower School
We are working with Empower African Children and Music For
Life to develop a secondary school campus in Uganda. The design drawings are
finished and we are preparing construction documents to hopefully begin
construction early next year.
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| Empower School Classroom Block |
Here is the vision of Empower African Children from their
website
“The future of Africa will be determined by its children and
that’s why we believe the best investment we can make is in the youth. The
result? A movement of passionate young adults prepared with the skills and
courage to shape a better future for their country and for the world.
We believe that a transformative education matched
with global connections is the key to preparing students for a lifetime
of influence.
There is nothing basic about our Scholarship Program. We
provide our scholars with the high quality education, experiences, and
resources needed to become global citizens and agents of positive change.”
Oasis Primary School
EMI is working with Oasis Uganda to develop a primary school
in Eastern Uganda. We are helping them to plan their site and develop drawings
to build a classroom block and some pit latrines.
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| Existing School Campus |
Here is a glimpse of the work Oasis is doing in Uganda and
in the community where the school is.
“We have three projects working in communities in Uganda. We
work intensively in the area around the location of the projects. We believe
that we can change the community for the better by helping the community help
themselves to develop and improve their own homes, businesses and
smallholdings.”
“Beersheba Community Development
Programme,
Musoto, Mbale. Located in the small but growing and important town of Mbale in
the East of Uganda. The project works with a very poor community which has a
reliance on income from making an alcoholic spirit. We have worked here for 10 years
and have seen much fruit from our work here. We concentrate on Agricultural
training teaching and developing simple and effective ways of growing with the
most yield. We run community savings projects, health training and social work.
We also have a large and growing football project with many teams who compete
amongst themselves and with teams from other communities. We use "Tackle
Africa" resource for teaching HIV awareness through the medium of
football.”
Cherish Uganda
EMI has a continuing partnership with Cherish Uganda. We
recently designed and construction a health clinic to serve the community near
their site. We are working on a number of small project to make their childrens’
homes and clinic function better.
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| Cherish Hope Health Clinic |
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| Akaloosa Village Childrens' Home |
It is exciting to see the work that is being done at
Cherish, here is a snapshot of the ministry from their website.
“Cherish Uganda is a faith-based response to orphaned and
vulnerable children living with HIV. We hope to restore life and create hope
for HIV positive children in Uganda.
At Cherish Uganda, we provide home-based care in loving
families for children who need to be rescued. Our efforts and trust-based
partnerships are helping transform communities where a high prevalence of HIV
and poverty co-exist. We are raising our youth with an anthem of hope, and
encouraging our community to step to the beat as we dream to change the story
of HIV/AIDS in Uganda.
We are based in Bulega Village in Wakiso District, Uganda.
The work of Cherish Uganda begins with Akaloosa Village, where the HOPE
Principles (Healthcare, Love, Prosperity & Education) are being
modeled in one place to demonstrate that if children living with HIV/AIDS are
cherished, they can embrace futures of promise. Currently, we have over
50 children living on-site in our Akaloosa Village, where they live in homes
headed by Uganda house mothers, receive the necessary medical attention and
grow up in an environment flooded with the love of Jesus. We desire to
disciple the children living on-site with the message of the Gospel and raise
up future leaders. It is our hope that Akaloosa Village will be the
foundation on which we can advocate for and be a voice for children living with
HIV/AIDS.
Cherish Uganda is also the home of Hope Academy. This
is our primary school that educates the children living in Akaloosa Village, as
well as the most vulnerable children living in the surrounding communities that
lack access to education. We believe that every child should be cherished
and supported with the essentials to achieving their dreams. Hope Academy
strives to afford such opportunities to vulnerable individuals and embrace the
privilege of sharing the Gospel through education.
The newest development at Cherish Uganda is our Hope
Hospital. This is our response to the community around us living with
high-risk conditions such as HIV/AIDS, malnutrition, malaria and tuberculosis.
It will also provide the necessary medical attention and healthcare
required of the kids living on-site who are HIV positive. We believe that
the Lord will be faithful in making this dream a reality.”
EMI is partnering with Word In Deed to develop a
resource/community centre in a rural community east of Kampala. They are
partnered with the local church in the community to help development and to
bring light and the gospel.
Here is a summary of the vision for the resource centre we
are helping to develop.
“Word In Deed Ministries recently purchased a track of land
within walking distance to the Ntenjeru Presbyterian Church and Clinic. Our
goal is to have a Resource Center that can be a multi-use facility for the
surrounding villages. We foresee it as a place for community growth and
expansion where there can be group gatherings and educational seminars for
locals and for visiting educators and pastors. The ultimate goal is to
offer training classes (i.e., secretarial, sewing, God’s Way of Farming,
carpentry, business management, computer training, adult education in reading
and writing) to local villagers seeking to learn skills allowing them to earn
incomes to support their families, teaching them to fish, not just giving them
a fish to eat. We also intend to have residential facilities for
missionaries to live, both short-term and long term. This is a long term
project and requires dedicated focus and commitment.”
-Please pray that God would be glorified and his kingdom
would be spread through each of these projects, that lives would be changed as
people hear the good news of God’s great love.
-Also it is easy for us (me) to get focused on the work in
front of us and to miss out of what God wants to do in our lives and the lives
of those around us. We want to be diligent in the work before us, but God is
much more interested in relationship than in works. Please pray with me that
all that God desires to do in the hearts of the people at EMI would be
accomplished.
Thank you for your support and encouragement. I pray that
you are encouraged by what God is doing around me here in Uganda but also that
today you see what God is doing right where you are.
Have a great day.
Matt
