It is such a delight when God leads you to do something that you love to do. Spending 12 days with dear friends from the US visiting dear friends from Uganda was above and beyond a joy. For me it was wonderful to introduce my friends to Africa and to Robert and Sarah of Jinja, Uganda. My co-travelers were the donors of this beautiful playground, Betsy and Michael Riggan. The playground was installed while we were there at Fountain of Hope School. We and the children watched each day as this mysterious conglomeration of bright blue metal pipes and plastic cylinders turned into something they could play on. Robert told me he didn’t know what a “playground” meant when I first asked him if his school with 1300 kids could use one.

Now

The story includes much more than a playground, as we brought the teachers some great ministry training. Kids Around the World, the organization that refurbishes Chicago suburb playgrounds (that are being replaced by new ones), supplied this huge set for Fountain of Hope School, and also sent trainers (from Nairobi) who trained teachers in Bible story telling methods. In a world where the facts on this page pictured here are true, it makes good sense to teach the age-old art of telling a story well. That’s what we saw in a 6 hour session with 25 teachers. The were energized to do what they already love to do….see life-changing material be taught in their classrooms. It was a delight to see their enthusiasm.

Claudia Root, my dear friend of 30 some years joined our small team and as a teacher of  English to refugee and immigrant children in Glen Ellyn’s public schools for 20 some years, she gathered about 10 school teachers who teach English in this Ugandan grade school and middle school together to talk about teaching methods. They loved this time and will benefit from an American teacher sharing the craft of teaching English as a second language.

Betsy and I were able to present a lesson from the It Takes Courage! Curriculum. My hubby Jim has traveled with Kerus Global Education and presented teachers with the It Takes Courage! Curriculum for 20 years both with Campus Crusade for Christ and Kerus Global and seen teachers and students relate well to this 16 week lesson plan about life skills, character development and AIDS prevention material. It was well-received by the 8th grade class where we presented a sample lesson on Forgiveness and by the faculty that grasped a vision for using this plan.

Seeing the children’s lives in this school community was so encouraging. Robert and his wife Sarah had the vision to begin this school in this very Muslim populated area 14 years ago. It is an incredible testimony to God’s blessing the work of these two visionaries. They have hired great faculty and we know that there are higher paying jobs elsewhere so we pray that they will remain as they continue to feel God is using them so mightily here in Bukeeka, Uganda.

The Islamic community where this school is located have persecuted them in the past as you may read in the story linked here, The school has seen hundreds of children from this community come to Christ and families that follow and come to the local church that Robert planted across the road from the school. It is a remarkable story.  They could use your financial help to put the sides of a new church plant on this pole church. We worshipped here on their first year anniversary and the church is already at 300 worshippers.

It is so remarkable to be on-site and meet and see what God has done through Robert and his team who are training pastors, using evangelistic teams to plant 13 area churches, hiring fully devoted followers of Christ as teachers, and investing in the lives of children.

Partnering with faithful, gifted leaders in the majority world is one of the best thing for us to do with our mission dollars. If anyone wants to learn about how to do this well, there are resources available through Catalyst Services. Finding and developing a good partnership overseas is not easy, but this ministry will teach you what you need to know.

There are also kids you can sponsor at this school. About 100 of the 1300 kids would not be able to attend school without a sponsorship coming from the outside. I took two young girls, Florence and Jedidah for $30 a month each. If you’d like to consider this, visit this website.  

We enjoyed a 3-day Kenyan Safari in Masai Mara on our way out. God’s creation is glorious. We saw a family of 9 elephants really close up and personal on the first day.

In 2010 they got the money to build a boarding dormitory which was their first permanent building on the high school site. As the contractors were laying the foundation, the senior and well-respected witch doctor in the community came and spoke to the contractor demanding to be given a goat before he could allow the construction work to continue.

This is how an incredible story begins about a school in Uganda. It will leave you in awe. It comes from my dear friend, Robert Sityo, whom I met in 2014 while visiting African students at Wheaton Graduate School. Robert graduated in 2016 as a Billy Graham Scholar. I have told you about him before. He is since back home with his 21 children (18 adopted and his own triplets) and deep into his leadership roles in this school and many church plants. He was in the states this summer and told this story.

Bukeeka Church

His school, Fountain of Hope, has grown from a few students in an elementary school begun by he and his wife in 2004 in a predominantly Muslim area of southern Uganda to an enrollment of 1300 students (K-12 in 2017), where about 90% of the students have become Christians since enrolling in school.  God is blessing this school and the church in this town. Watch a video in the middle of this Home page of Robert for a bigger picture of his ministry.  

Fountain of Hope School K-12, 2017

I’d like to give you a way to give this school a boost. They need a playground. While Robert was here, we visited a children’s ministry called Kids Around the World in Rockford, IL (my hometown). They take suburban playgrounds that are being taken down and replaced in our suburbs and rehab them and then send them overseas.  It is a great ministry. Short term mission teams may help or accompany.

Robert and KATW Director, Jim Rosene

Do you know there are schools around the world with hundreds of kids without any playgrounds? In our country you can find a beautiful playground made of metal every mile or so in our U.S. suburban parks and school yards. They are everywhere and so plentiful that they are often empty of the children they were designed for. Kids Around the World (KATW), has received nearly $14,000 from friends of Fountain of Hope since August. We hope you and your family will consider giving the remaining $10,000 so the kids at this school can have their first playground built on the school grounds in early 2018. Make one of these playgrounds a reality for the community of Bukeeka, Uganda. Donate by Phone or Mail at the bottom of page at Kids Around the World, designate Bukeeka, Uganda.

This is the warehouse where Kids Around the World stores the playgrounds waiting for their new homes.

My husband, Jim and I have been involved with school aged kids in Africa for over 40 years. We have helped find sponsors for  Hope for Life-Kenya kids to be able to finish high school and Jim has taught an AIDS prevention curriculum to school teachers all over the world. You know this is our heart if you read this blog very often. A caveat…we are very serious about which organizations we support and become involved with. Your trust in our discernment may be a way for you to enter into learning about and supporting ministries in Africa.

These darling triplets are the children of Robert and Sarah Sityo…they will enjoy this playground someday….let’s make it this coming spring.