Report from BHW Uganda Partnership Facilitator Following Visit 17th September

We met initially with Thomas for a few hours at the Source Café in Jinja and got an overview of his ministry, particularly of the vocational training programme. 

Recent Events

Students

At present, there are 15 students in the vocational training programme, three of whom live with Thomas and Joyce at their home and are supported by them on a day-to-day basis because they have no regular income. Six of the vocational trainees are South Sudanese and nine are Ugandan.

There is no shortage of refugees from South Sudan or from any of the other countries adjoining Uganda. Many of the adjoining countries presently have significant conflicts raging in their countries. Uganda is now even receiving refugees from Sudan, which is further north from South Sudan, due to the civil war raging there as well. 

We asked Thomas how the students for the vocational training programme were chosen, and in particular the South Sudanese ones. He told me that there is a huge refugee population in Koboko and most of the students have a connection with them through the Pentecostal church that they founded there in 1990. Most of the church attendees there are refugees.

We also discussed the level of contribution from the students. As reported previously, it is unrealistic to expect the students to repay their support once they have achieved employment. This is because many of them go into the training while they are unmarried but marry shortly thereafter and start families. They also relocate to other parts of Uganda and many of them lose touch with Thomas and Joyce. There are still some, however, who stay in contact with Thomas and Joyce and there is the occasional contribution or thank you from those students.

Thomas and Joyce expect students to contribute something up front before they start the training, which they do, but there are significant poverty issues, which mean that this doesn’t always happen. Some people simply do not have the resources. This is particularly so for those from the refugee camps. Recently, the food allocations to the camps have been cut and in some cases, there is no food given out anymore. This means that people living in the refugee camps have to subsist on what they can grow and largely have nothing left apart from what is needed to feed the family.

Current Student Info

Repent Juma (Refugee)
Plumbing - Iganga Technical Institute 

Winny Khamis Kennedy (Refugee)
Nursing - Arua School of Nursing 

Benitah Ainobusinngye (National)
Ophthalmic Clinical Officer - Jinja Ophthalmic Clinical Officers Training School 

Atai Joan (National)
Accounts & Finance - Kyambogo University-Kampala 

Iman Faith Gloria (National)
Pharmacy - Bugembe Institute of Health 

Richard Baraba (Refugee)
Laboratory Technology - Bugembe Institute of Health 

James Andama (National)
Medical Clinical Officer - Bugembe Institute of Health 

Ana Ita Samuel (Refugee)
Civil Engineering - International University of East Africa 

Simeon Itulia (National)
Machine Fitting - Uganda Technical Institute-Lira 

Sylvia Akello (National)
Early Child Development - Nile Vocational Institute 

Nabirye Zulaa (National)
Cosmetology - YMCA-Kampala 

Keji Faith James (Refugee)
Accounts- Uganda Christian University 

Ozelle O.Sylvia (National)
Early Child Development- YMCA-Jinja 

Jackline Adiili (Refugee)
Nursing - Bugembe Institute of Health 

Tricila Ikoyo (National) 
Laboratory Technology- Bugembe Institute of Health 

Courses

In general terms, Thomas and Joyce are looking at medical work as one of the particular areas into which to bring students. At present, five of the 15 students are in some form of medical training: three as medical officers at Bugembe, and one is training as an ophthalmologist in Jinja. We had a delightful meeting with her and report on her below. There is also a nurse trainee in Arua. The reason for the strong focus on medical training is because there are huge opportunities for employment, and some of that is addressed when you read the report on Benitah.

Similarly, there are big openings in the government hospitals. In particular, Benitah, the student that we interviewed who is training to be an ophthalmologist but is also receiving medical officer training, said that the government has introduced a requirement that every hospital in Uganda have two ophthalmologists treating eye issues. This means that there is an enormous need to recruit more ophthalmologists and to train them, and it will be many years before that need is actually met. Ophthalmologists are also clinical medical officers so have other medical abilities too.

Personal Stories

During the course of the conversation, we had a discussion about one of the previous students, Dominic, with whom Thomas and Joyce are still in regular contact. He was the best engineering student in his year at Nile Vocational Training Centre where we met him some years ago. We have previously written about him (May 2019 report). He is a South Sudanese refugee, both of whose parents were murdered by troops during the civil war. Dominic is now married and has trained as an engineer. He was previously working in Juba in South Sudan, but he has received a special grant from the office of the wife of the president of Uganda to train in further engineering studies in Rwanda, which is where he is now. This is a wonderful outcome given that he was a conflict refugee with no family when he was taken under Thomas and Joyce's wing in Koboko.

We have also previously reported on Nancy Among, who trained as a lab technician. Judy and I met her in the Njeru Clinic in 2019. She has since relocated to St. Francis Hospital in Jinja, which is a very good hospital, and she is doing well.

Benitah Ainobusingye, age 21

Ophthalmic Clinical Officer training
Benitah grew up in the Wakiso district in Uganda in a very poor family.  Her parents got in trouble with “loan sharks” when she was 15 and left the family in the night for safety to avoid prison or punishment by the lenders.  She was left at home with her five siblings to care for themselves.  Her eldest sister had already married and left home, and she therefore moved to Njeru with her siblings to be cared for by her sister.  It was in Njeru, that Benitah encountered Thomas and Joyce Lubari, and she started attending the church they had founded in the slum area.  She was supported and cared for by Thomas and Joyce, who she respects and cares for tremendously. 

As a result of this relationship, Benitah was chosen to be a beneficiary of the vocational training programme that Joyce started, and Benitah is in her second-year training to become an Ophthalmic Clinical Officer.  This is a three-year course, followed by a one-year internship and exam, before seeking employment. She lives onsite at the training institute but is still responsible for her two younger siblings who currently live with their eldest sister in Njeru.  Benitah is excited she will be able to financially support them and care for them when she has gained employment.  

This opportunity “means everything” to Benitah and one she will “always value”.  It has given her a plan and purpose; she will be able to care for her siblings; she is eager to “give back” to her community; and it is a dream she never thought she would fulfil.  She is the first person in her family to study at a higher level. Her older brother has also been a beneficiary of the programme and achieved a Certificate of Construction.  He is now working in the western part of Kampala.  Benitah is immensely grateful to God, Bright Hope World, and Thomas and Joyce. 

James Andama, age 27

Bugembe Institute of Health Sciences, Jinja
James was brought up in a poor family in the Western Isle near Arua in Uganda. He was one of eight siblings.  He first encountered Thomas and Joyce Lubari through church in his district at Koboko.  He was offered the opportunity to be a beneficiary of the vocational training programme and is now studying to become a Clinical Officer at Bugembe Institute of Health Sciences in Jinja, where he also lives.  He has completed 1½ years of the 3-year course.  He was also chosen by the students to be Student Head of School. 

The biggest challenge for James through his life was money.  He lived in poverty, and it was an ongoing challenge until he entered this programme.  He always dreamed to be a Medical Officer, and he is very happy to have been given this opportunity to improve his future and his family’s future, especially given his father passed away early in 2025. His mother is currently supporting the rest of the family by small scale farming on a small plot of land which provides food to feed the family.

James is very appreciative of Pastor Thomas and Joyce, and Bright Hope World, for this opportunity that he never thought he would have. 

Ideas for the Future

One of the other visions that Thomas and Joyce hold is the possibility of establishing some form of medical clinic. There are some significant and obvious advantages to this idea. They would be able to offer some of the medical services at cheaper prices. At the same time, it is pretty clear that a medical clinic does not necessarily require a large level of initial overhead, and the clinics are much in demand. From what Thomas tells me, they are reasonably profitable, and this could be a win-win. Any improvements to the clinic would come from profits. 

The idea of a medical clinic in one of the poorer areas around Jinja has definite merit. It would provide surplus income to support the work that Thomas and Joyce are already doing and might help to supplement their income, given that Thomas has no actual regular income himself. It would require the employment of a medical clinical officer and probably an assistant at first, and some basic equipment. However, things like the pharmacy and medicines could be sourced from outside and the clinic would simply provide a starting access point to medical services. It is worth suggesting to Thomas and Joyce that they make a business case about this as it is something that could be worth supporting.

Prayer and Praise Points

1) Gratitude to God for the progress that many of the graduates have made. As far as we can tell almost all of the graduates of the programme have gone into some form of employment or further training. This is an incredible testimony to the love and care that Thomas and Joyce have given these young people, at considerable personal cost.

2) That Thomas and Joyce would continue to choose the correct and most promising students.

3) For those who have graduated to become leaders in their fields and communities, with a heart to serve and make a difference.

Comments

Overall, we find this to be a very encouraging programme. We love meeting the young people who are benefiting from it and can see that many of them are going to go on and play significant roles in the future of this country.

Our opinion is that the programme should continue without any amendment at present. Thomas and Joyce can cater for 15 students. Every now and then, there might be the need for some small amount of additional funding to meet emergency costs but this is not unreasonable in the circumstances. We think that the payoff in benefit from this vocational training programme is quite exceptional and are very grateful to Thomas and Joyce who have made a sacrificial commitment to benefit the lives of many young people, at significant personal cost to themselves.