We stayed in Lira for 2½ days. While there we had a great opportunity to see how Hope Restoration Centre was doing. We did this in conjunction with reviewing the micro-loan group, including the new group (UGA06). We also took some time during our stay there and visited with Walter Okello who was at the Foundations for Farming training and who we referred to in last year’s report. Walter has considerable potential as a future FFF leader and is already actively practising FFF principles and encouraging others to do so.
Unfortunately the mill, which they had high hopes for as assisting in some income generation to help support HRC into the future, has struck significant snags. There are still serious problems with the power supply to the mill and it has been unable to start. When we met with Simon he did discuss the possibility of starting the mill grinding sesame (Simsim) on a smaller scale and using a mill which only required single phase power. At the time of sending this report he is still exploring that as a possibility but there have been some other possible developments with getting three phase power connected to the site and he is hopeful that this will be able to be done. The mill literally only needs the power connection before it is ready to start. Simon has someone lined up to run the mill and we now have some hope that at least the mill might start on a smaller scale before the end of the year. They still have the money previously sent by BHW to purchase maize for this project.
It was great to spend time with some of the children and to hear how they and others were doing and their hopes for the future. Some of these are listed below.
There are 18 children living fulltime at HRC. Others are away in secondary and tertiary institutions and are boarding. From what we can perceive the children seem to be doing very well and we have received a pretty full report on each of the children together with their current training and education needs. We also noticed a greater degree of laughter and enjoyment of each other in the general environment during this visit. The children put on a song and dance performance for us and the adults at HRC which was a generally fun and pleasant evening which ended in a dancing session for all involved.
The children appear to all be in good heart and we are continually impressed with the standard of care that they receive, particularly given their background. It is obviously very difficult at times, particularly for Penninah to cope with the responsibilities she does. In addition to coping with the day to day care of the children at HRC (assisted by some of the women in the micro-loan programme and the local community), Penninah also has the overall responsibility on a day to day basis for the Gen Obango micro-loan programme (UGA06). We understand that she is responsible for the receipting of money and ensuring it reaches the bank and is appropriately accounted for. She is now being assisted by some capable new leadership and our hope is that this will result in less workload/pressure for her.
One of the big developments over this last year has been endeavouring to liaise with Anna regarding future direction for HRC. In particular, and in line with BHW strategy, we are encouraging the leadership at HRC (and talking with some of the children as we can) to consider vocational training as an alternative to tertiary education. Vocational training seems to have a better outcome in this culture as there are very few jobs available for tertiary trained graduates. Apart from the difficulty in obtaining employment in this culture, there is the simple fact that education costs are escalating and, perhaps like everywhere else in the world, education is now almost a business in its own right. It is one thing to have course graduates, it is another thing for them to find appropriate employment.
We are seeing some significant shifts in Anna and Penninah’s thinking in this regard and are hopeful that as many of the students come through now they will be encouraged into vocational training or apprenticeships etc.
Finances
We did not carry out a review of the actual finances of HRC this year. This was done last year and the information was provided. Because HRC runs the micro-loan programme and orphanage through the same account there is always going to be some considerable confusion with how the money is actually spent and allocated. In some ways we probably simply have to accept this.
Here is an overview of some of the original 29 children:
Onesimus Ocen : He has recently re-contacted Anna and Penninah after being out of touch for some time. We are not sure whether he is wanting to do further studies and is perhaps looking for financial support. This remains to be seen but we have indicated that we would be unlikely to provide further support.
Monica Akullo : She does not require any further financial support and is a trained nurse.
Mirrian Akello : She has an agriculture internship and is involved in training farmers and supervising them. Anna was shortly to catch up with her when we discussed it.
Amos Agong : He is presently doing short courses and volunteering at a local hospital to get job experience. He is applying again in the 2016 year for medical school. He still lives at HRC and when we met with him he was involved in one month of night duty. No funds are required for him.
Monica : She has qualified as a lab technician but has not obtained work. She is presently volunteering to acquire experience.
Lazarus : He is training to be a plumber. He has a high level of motivation and is doing very well.
Deborah Akello : She is in the deaf school in Kampala and is doing well. We met and had a lovely time with her in Mbale. She is a very bright, talented young woman who is able to relate and communicate well with others.
Isaac Ojok : He is continuing to do well in his law studies at Uganda Christian University. He is finishing his second year.
Christabel Laker : She came across much more confidently this year. She is one of the leaders with the children and obviously enjoys taking responsibility and helping those younger than her. She is training to be a nurse at the Nursing School in Lira.
Jen Achola : She is in year 2 of her nursing studies and doing well.
Joshua (formerly Brian) Odero : He still lives at HRC. He is training in information technology.
Sharon Opio : After finishing school she started university in September doing a degree in commerce. Last year she was planning to seek employment but this year is going to tertiary.
Peter Okello : He wants to be an engineer, or involved in architecture and planning.
Robina : She wants to go for ICT (information technology) at Kampala University. She is doing well in school and is likely to succeed.
Haggard : He is going into senior six next year and is doing very well.
Pilkington : In senior 5 and doing well.
Emmanuel Aayoo : In senior 5 and doing well. He is also doing carpentry over the holidays. His father was a carpenter and he likes it.
Night : She is doing very well but has had challenges. She was a good friend of Pamela (who died) and Night was sick during the year with malaria and typhoid which has caused her results to not be so good.
Alan Okello, Elvis Ogema and Yako : They still continue to have some challenges with their education. They are all going into senior one. We spent some time with them and they responded well to us, appeared to be relaxed and able to relate well with each other. Fun was had together and with us as well as the other adults at HRC.
Stephen Ogwino : He did not do so well at school in 2014 but has caught up really well and is doing well now. He apparently was given some form of ultimatum.
Winnie : Is doing well.
Tom : He is doing well and going into senior 5. He is quite a serious young man in some ways and takes his faith seriously. He is called “Bishop Tom” by the others and boy can he dance.
We continue to find it a little difficult with some of the children having changed their names and are never quite sure that we have got all of the names completely accurately. For them the name change is a way to move away from being identified with their previous experiences when abducted by the LRA.
It is clear that the partnership continues to influence not just the children in their care, but also the wider community. There are always other people at HRC, particularly some of the widows and mothers.
Although HRC exists for the purpose of caring for the children, clearly others are involved and feel an integral part of it.
We like our interactions with the children and they are a real credit to the care they have received, particularly given their very difficult and tragic backgrounds.
We like it that several of the students have a clear vision for themselves into the future when once they might have had a very hopeless outlook on life.
We are aware that the children’s history with the Lord’s Resistance Army as captives or child soldiers means that they still carry some stigma in the town. Apparently this is very hard to get over. Being HIV+ also continues to carry a degree of stigma and naturally health challenges so some of the children have these factors to manage also.
We would like 2016 to be the year that the mill gets underway and for some conversation to happen as to how the children can become involved in Foundations for Farming with a view to developing life skills and self-sustainability on their own when they leave HRC.
Like last year education costs are rocketing.
In this culture people view university education as important and a high value is placed on academic qualification, even if no work is available.
We would like to see a bigger uptake in Foundations for Farming. It was great that Anna, Moses from Lira, Emmanuel Ocen and Fiona (Penninah’s daughter) were able to attend the Foundations for Farming training in Jinja. We are expecting good things to come out of this and are hopeful that they will find an opportunity to start to encourage the children to view agriculture as an honourable profession. In this culture it is stigmatised still.
1) That the children continue to do well
2) The children who are HIV positive do have difficulties at school. One of the boys continues to have behavioural challenges and has run away at times. Anna and Penninah have given him an ultimatum and he appears to be responding to this.
3) Pray for the mill to get started. The delays to this are frustrating and limit their ability to improve income/livelihood at the moment.
4) Pray for Simon to have wisdom around the commencement of the mill
5) That the mind-set of the leadership of HRC would continue to encourage the young people to consider vocational studies for their future, rather than academic training.