Update from Timothy Kakooza

Hello Bright Hope World Family,

Greetings and love from the precious family here at Katosi Community School and Chosen Generation School, Mbale. We are glad to let you know that our schools are back to normal after the COVID-19 lockdown. Most of the children are back, although we lost some of them especially in the secondary section.

Recent Events

Enrolment

Winners Secondary School : 169
Katosi Community School : 522
Chosen Generation School, Mbale : 127
Marisara Childrens School : 102 

Teachers

Our staff team has 14 new faces joining us this year. Seven of them have passed through our education system. We believe they will do a great job.

Katosi Community School = 22 teachers
Winners Secondary School = 18 teachers
Chosen Generation School, Mbale = 11 teachers
Marisara Childrens School = 12 teachers
Non-teaching Staff = 14 

Other

Feeding Program: The feeding program is progressing, but food prices have gone up and we are experiencing shortages of firewood and beans.

Accommodation: The accommodation of these vulnerable children has been improved with the finishing and furnishing of the girls' dormitory. Our dormitories now have running water, showers and flush toilets. However, the mattresses have deteriorated, and they need to be replaced.

Water: Our well is serving us good, and the pump is working well. We need to harvest rainwater in big tanks because sometimes the electricity is not on. We also need a purification system to increase the capacity of drinking water.

Library: Hopefully I told you about how we lost our books and computers in the fire two years ago. There is a need to replace them and restock the library.

Clinic: The clinic is serving the orphanage and the community well. Our staff there are doing a great job. 

Ideas for the Future

Christian Values: This is our primary purpose, and we are doing it intentionally, making sure that all our children develop a lasting personal relationship with Christ. We need bibles so that everyone of the 848 children have one.

Sanitary Project: There is a need to improve the general sanitation of the orphanage by improving our toilets and showers especially now with the boys. We need US$8,700 to do this important project.

Mission Movement: Reaching the unreached is a core responsibility. We want to proclaim the Gospel and plant churches on the islands. 

Mobile Bible Training: To disciple others and encourage the saints though our planned mobile bible training in order to maintain a healthy church. We would welcome teams to come to help us in doing this.

Prayer and Praise Points

1) Prayer for wisdom on how to continue to run this vital ministry
2) We need courage to stay strong
3) We need continual favour before God and people
4) Good health for all of us leaders, staff and children
5) Provision towards the needs

Thank you for joining us on this journey of helping these precious vulnerable children. God sees your sacrificial giving even in times when you could least do it. We pray that God gives you good health, protects you and lets your light continue to shine.

Together For His Glory.

Timothy B Kakooza

Further Comments from BHW Uganda Partnership Facilitator 

I had a long discussion with Timothy on 1st March regarding the ministry and the above report that he sent through a couple of weeks ago. It was a great discussion and I indicated that we were looking to travel to Uganda towards the end of this year, if the borders are open and travel becomes okay.

Schools: Timothy said that times have been very tough, but God has been extremely faithful right throughout. The schools in Uganda have largely been closed for the last two years and have only just reopened. The schools are also reopening under a lot of new rules and compliance regulations which need to be met. From my discussions with other BHW partners with schools these are causing considerable concern in some areas.

The schools which Timothy runs in Katosi and Mbale seem to be very well run and do not seem to have some of these issues because of their size and quality of organisation. Timothy said that one of the big issues they have is that, because of the pandemic, people have relocated from towns back to the villages. This has meant that quite a lot of the students have not returned to the Katosi Community School and Winners Secondary School. A couple of years ago we reported that the combined roll had approximately 870 students. Now it looks like it is approximately 690 in total, based on Timothy’s figures above.  

Their daughter Mighty is still working as the administrator of the school in Katosi.  Fatima, who we have previously reported on, is a teacher at the Mbale school. She was brought up in Timothy and Janepher‘s household as their own daughter (he calls her his daughter) although is from a Muslim background. 

Mbale: Timothy said that the village environment around the school in Mbale is very difficult. The children will come to the school one day and then not be there the next day, and the teachers have to go and find them. The village is very disorganised, and when I visited it with Timothy, this was extremely evident. It is very poor, and there is a degree of alcohol abuse which is very obvious. Timothy and the school are persevering and seeing progress though. 

Mission Movement and Mobile Bible Training: These represent important opportunities to expand the gospel in the local area and out on the islands where Timothy tells me that lots of people live, but with a great deal of poverty, low resources and hardly any church support. Clearly the idea of a venture to the islands and planting churches there is huge on his heart and something that he is keen to progress. However, it is going to require some form of transport, i.e., a boat or similar to get there, and both ideas are outside the scope of Bright Hope World’s focus.

I understand the mobile teams are operating at present but need additional support. Timothy also mentioned that he would welcome any short-term teams that might like to come and assist in that regard.

Foundations for Farming: I asked him how Foundations for Farming was going, and he indicated that it was being practised by a number of people in Katosi and surrounding areas. When we visit later on this year, we will get an opportunity to meet these people and see how they are doing. Timothy indicated that they are doing very well.