INTERNATION CHILDREN'S DAY

Tomorrow is International Children’s Day—a day to celebrate children around the world. But for so many children worldwide, there will be nothing to celebrate.

Abuse, hunger, homelessness and loneliness are the few words that we can use to describe the life of most children in developing world.

The tragic reality is that every 2 seconds, another child is orphaned. Worldwide, there are nearly 145 million orphaned children, left vulnerable to issues such as hunger, disease, and HIV/AIDS

We at Words of Hope join the world community in observing International Children's Day and renew our commitment to improving the lives of children in the communities around us.

Around the world, even in the most desperate situations, people show astonishing determination and nurture high aspirations for their children. Today, Words of Hope is working in over six communities to help parents build better lives for themselves and their children. Words of Hope has chosen to concentrate our efforts on personal and community discipleship as one of three focus areas over the next five years.

We also strive to improve the lives of young people by seeking innovative solutions to poverty, including programs that provide emergency relief, promote economic opportunity, and integrate human rights concerns into humanitarian assistance. By attacking poverty at its roots, Words of Hope helps to build a future of dignity and security for all the community's children.

Today you can make a difference in the life of a child and it begins with you saying a prayer like this for children

O God of the children of Mbarara, Congo, Somalia, Sarajevo,
South Africa and South Carolina
Of Makopo, Alabama, Bosnia, and Boston,
Of India and Cairo, Chicago and Croatia, and all the nations and cities of the world,

Help us to love and respect and protect them all.

O God of Black and Brown and White and Albino children
and those all mixed together,
Of children who are rich and poor and in between,
Of children who speak English and Spanish and Russian
and Runyankole Ruganda and languages our ears cannot discern,

Help us to love and respect and protect them all.

O God of children who can walk and talk and hear and see
and sing and dance and jump and play
and of children who wish they could but can't,
Of children who are love and unloved, wanted and unwanted,

Help us to love and respect and protect them all.

O God of beggar, beaten, abused, neglected, homeless, AIDS,
drug and hunger-ravaged children,
Of children who are emotionally and physically and mentally fragile,
and of children who rebel and ridicule, torment and taunt,

Help us to love and respect and protect them all.

O God of children of destiny and of despair,
of war and of peace,
Of disfigured, diseased, and dying children,
Of children without hope and of children with hope to spare
and to share,

Help us to love and respect and protect them all.

In the name of Jesus

And all God's people say

Amen

more from the field

As we moved from the joy and excitement of seeing George give his life to Christ we took off to another words of hope community in Katukuru about 40 minutes from George's community. Here the group is rearing pigs and these pictures will show you how fat the pigs are growing. it was joy and excitement in these families. Our prayer i that our God will be exalted in all these projects

21st May 2009 i go on the words of hope home visit to see how mzee George has been doing with his project. The passion fruits are well, the rabbit farm which he setup from the passion fruit money is doing well and the family is well.
It was exciting to see what was happening in the family. the wife is HIV positive and a believer in Jesus. Mzee has been waiting for years and he used to say he wants to take care of his needs first.

This led me to Luke 9:23 ff. As i read the scripture i saw the look in his face and i knew the spirit was working in his life. i took the time to explain to the mzee what the scripture means and as i did i also asked him the question, mzee, do you understanding what Jesus is talking about. It was about 13:30 GMT and he asked me what can i do now.

Joy ran in me and i could not wait to explain to the person i have known for over 3years and have been waiting on him. He finally told me he wanted to receive Jesus in His life and as i led him into prayer i knew that this was the power of the Holy Spirit at work.

This week also my cousin brother asked the Lord Jesus into his life and 4 students gave their lives to Christ at the youth retreat.
As w continue to see people live transformed financially we want to give Go the glory for giving us the patience to wait on them for these major commitments. Please pray with us as w continue to be witnesses for our Lord

Our mothers living with HIV/AIDS

Think of all the friends you have ever had. Now imagine one in five of them are HIV positive – and there is little or no treatment available. This is the situation facing people in some of the communities we work with here in Mbarara Uganda. However, Medicines, known as antiretroviral drugs, have transformed HIV from the death sentence it was in the 1980s into a treatable condition. In rich countries these medicines enable people with HIV to live healthy, productive lives. However, for most people in poor countries they remain out of reach.

As a result, in some of the communities worst affected by HIV and AIDS, hundreds of people are dying each day. The HIV and AIDS pandemic is sweeping away teachers, nurses, farmers, mothers and fathers. This leaves a community locked into a cycle of poverty and a life of Hopelessness

Words of Hope believes that all people living with HIV and AIDS have a right to life and dignity and Hope.

We work in partnership with poor and excluded people in their communities, at Village level and family level to defend this right and bring Hope.

Our mothers
The effects of the AIDS crisis are felt most sharply by women. In Uganda more than a big percentage of those living with HIV are female. Discrimination, poverty and gender-based violence are all driving these statistics.

What’s more, women who become HIV positive are more likely to face violence and discrimination. Women and girls also shoulder the burden of caring for relatives suffering with AIDS-related illnesses and for looking after children whose parents have died.

we believe that for what our mother's have done,we need to do more for them. We are starting up campaign to help our mother's living with HIV. This campaign will see them receive food supply, support for an income generating activity and a bible. Today you can be part of this campaign by committing to pray for our mothers and also prayerfully considering supporting a mother with $25 on a monthly basis.

Responding to Hunger

Words of Hope staff members in are reporting that despite a good harvest this season, many people remain desperately short of food because of the effect HIV/AIDS is having in the community. .

“Historically, shortages of food have been caused by severe drought that resulted in poor harvests,” says Onesimu, Words of Hope community group leader. “Now it is the result of less agricultural productivity brought about by AIDS. A good harvest no longer guarantees everyone enough to eat.”

The majority of people living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda are between the ages of 15 and 49. It is estimated that one in four people within this normally productive age group are infected with HIV, translating to fewer adults supporting more people. “Many people are too weak or ill to work the land,” says Onesimu. “Much of the burden of responsibility is falling upon young women and children in the community to do the difficult task of planting and maintaining gardens.”

These circumstances only elevate the problem of little or no income for an increasing number of people. Many affected families are forced to sell what few assets they possess such as chickens, cattle and goats to survive. With little income, many families can no longer afford school fees and must withdraw their children from school. An increasing number of children are forced to leave school in order to take care of sick family members.

In response to the immediate crisis of hunger among AIDS victims, Words of Hope staff member, Pastor Naboth, says staff members are helping community groups in Mbarara generate improved methods of food productivity that should require less day-to-day physical labor for those affected by AIDS. Establishing small Passion farms and Piggery are two projects that will require minimal maintenance once established, but will yield foods beneficial to people’s health.

“Words of Hope staff members are committed, along with many other individuals and organizations, to the battle to end the AIDS epidemic in Uganda,” says Pr Naboth. “But until that end, we will do what we can to help communities develop food security and sustainable good among residents most affected by the disease.”

Through your support, you can help us create a sustainable change among the world's poor, including those most affected by HIV/AIDS.

The God from whom all blessings flow

Hallelujah. Praise be to God from who all blessings flow. When we launched the seed loaning project, we had no ideal what it would turn out to be. We give God the glory, people have successfully harvested and what was amazing is that these families donated to words of hope part of they produce as food to give to poor families in the food parcels. We give you glory God and pray that your blessings will continue to flow.


The seed loaning is its second season and we need 2000kg of beans for the seam in August to take God's blessings to yet another community. Pray for God's provision.

George visiting with Pastor Aloysius and Peace a beans garden side by side with a passion fruit garden in the pictures.

FROM FRUIT GROWING TO KEEPING RABBITS

A s you may all remember its now over two years that we started growing passion fruits with patients living with HIV/AIDS to support their incomes. Far from what we expected, its been a great success as more and more people got involved in this project. Today families can purchase basic needs for supporting their homes and we give God the glory.
In July we shall be giving out fruits to another 200 families.

For Mzee George, its been more that a success, he was taken back his sons to school and has now a rabbit farm. We visited him yesterday and he told us he now has 22 rabbits from the savings he made after selling off his passion fruits. More pictures on the farm will be uploaded.
We want you to pray with us that God will provide financially to the organization so we can reach out to more people as we share the gospel with families and individuals building comm8nities for Jesus Christ. You can learn more about the current needs and possible ways you can be part of these projects. We always need volunteers in all fields. Please speak to us if you have the heart for ministry

Looking Back

We have been blessed to have worked with different people here at words of Hope from all over the world. We continue to offer opportunities to men and women from within Uganda and out side to serve God in our different projects. From Dr Larry, Kelly, McDowell, Jena, Evas, Peace, Naboth. We give God the glory for the impact you have caused in these communities.

Training and Equiping

For communities to be fully transformed, then men and women need to be trained. Training that is bible based, goes a long way in shaping valves and changing beliefs in communities. When communities learn to put God first, they begin to realize that transformation is possible, reconciliation is attainable and development is at the corner.

Meeting the communities needs

While the communities we live in have a number of challenges, one of the major ones is poverty and low income levels. We at Words of Hope are committed to a biblical approach of responding to communities needs in a sustainable way.

Through our trainings and a close work relationship with the communities, we have been able to creat a sese of sharing trust, honest and responsibility in these communities. While we do not have enaugh resources to meet the needs of over 2000 people that have come our way, we do create opportunities. One of them is the seed program where we give seeds to members and later they return the seed given after harvest so they can be redistributed among those who didn't not get in the first place.

Seeds have a great potential to transform communities.

From Passion seedz to a passion for Christ.

When it was started, it only begun as a way of supporting the community with a source of income. Today, the passion project has registered a number of successes in different communities and it's driving community members to share the passion of Christ. People are continuing to give testimonies of How their hope was not restored by the project but by the message that it came, with the project. Today more and more people are learning and hearing the wonderful message that Jesus, lover sinners, and there is no sin that is too bigger not to be forgiven.

The fruits are sold in the local market where Farmers get income to meet the basic needs of life. Men and women work hard to keep their plants healthy. Today this projects has worked to bring the community together and creating a group of people with similar problems. Reconciliation and forgiveness are some of the successes registered besides a tremendous harvest. Words of Hope continues to look for innovative ways to impact the community. Each family can harvest fruits worth 500 ug sh ($2.6) and given the fact that most most of Ugandans live under $1. This project has worked to alleviate poverty and improve the standards of living.
With this money, patients can now easily reach the hospital, have soft drinks and can afford to support their basic needs.







This widow looks at the passion project with a lot of hope as she has no land for bigger Agricultural projects. The passion projects takes a small pierce of land. 10 by 200 plot of land each family is assured of continuous produce.

Ensuring quality of the Team

As we continue to work in this field of AIDS, there is a need to keep the team informed and trained in all aspects of our daily work. We join Pr Aloysisous after his recent graduation from the Uganda Baptist Seminary in Jinja.

Aloysius graduated from the seminary with a Bachelor's degree in theology something we all cherish at the organization. With the continued refresher courses in HIV/AIDS care and management, we try to keep our staff informed with the latest in this field.




Words of Hope has been commended for its theology of healing and medicine and this we attribute to the training that our staff undergo.

Praying under the tree

If you are that person with the passion to listen and pray, there is no better opportunity that going on a words of Hope home visit.
Our counselors meet the patients at the AIDS clinic and take their home directions. The patients are expectant and happy about the visit. Sometimes the visits are challenging as the stories are heart breaking. With permission from this family we can share their story

Living at the banks of the river here in Mbarara, this family wanted nothing more like living in such a house. She is a widow of 3 and her house was falling on her, with only one room left, her fears were growing day by day.
Fortunately for her, she meets a words of Hope team member at the AIDS clinic while she had gone for treatment. She pours out her worries and cries and while no decision could be reached at the moment regarding her house, she gets the hope of knowing that a home visit will be made with her. On reaching to the site, it was scary, how could she been living in this house with young children. At a words of Hope team meeting, she condition is shared and all that could be done was to pray and believe God for who He says He is.

Two months later, together with a Ugandan volunteers, a 3rd home visit is made and this Ugandan Lady offers to help in providing the Iron sheets , Words of Hope arranges for the foundation to be constructed, poles are collected and the work on the house begins.
Today this Family leaves in a two roomed beautiful hose and the Lady has even put her faith in Jesus. We give God the glory for the acts of compassion by you Harriette and a team of Volunteers from US who made the mad for construction.

Pigery Project

Words of Hope continues to look for opportunities to show Jesus's practical love in the community . With support from a group of Youth from a church in the US, we were able to support Nyarubungo Community with Piglets.

in this project, Patients living with HIV/AIDS and other desperate families have been given piglets in groups of 5. They are responsible for caring and ensuring that the piglets are fed and kept health.

Each pig is expect to produce 5-8 piglets which will be re-distributed among the group members so that each one gets a piglet. In two years the project is expected to benefit 50 Families.

Projects like these can improve the living standard of poor families, patients can sell the piglets and be able to buy books for their children, pay for transport fees and meet the basic needs of life.

With $35 you can donate a piglet and help 5 families in one of our communities. Words of Hope ensures that families are trained in the management of these piglets. Other families have been supported with Goats and we know that God is glorified in this kind of work.


Cages are constructed to ensure that the piglet gets enough protection and this also improves on the hygiene which yields to better quality products.

Piglet project taking shape. Restoring hope through the piglet project in communities affected by poverty and HIV/AIDS

Feeding the Hungry

While its true that the world is falling into a recession, its also true that there are more and more people that are going to spend a day or two without food. For you the problem may not be food but for many on the African continent, food is a day today challenge they have to live with.
To address this problem words of Hope ave out free seeds to patients to plant and increase their production to reduce the food crisis problem.

Words of Hope continues to strive to providing Hope to patients their families and community members. One kilogram of posho or beans may help a family see life in a different window, and this begins with you.

When marriage becomes a challenge

For this young lady, she may have escape ex-communication when she left school to get married to her boy friend, but now its not what she expected.
At church on 15th Feb 2009, after the second service, there comes this young lady who says pastor i need to ask you something. Having known her from a words of Hope home visit and group meeting, i told her it was OK to speak to me.
As she opened her mouth, tears started falling from her eyes, and as she cried i knew it was going to be more than 5 minutes as she had asked. After minutes of crying, she finally told me what was troubling her. My husband is seeing another woman- she said. And she had the answer to this problem. As she looked down she said i want to abort my 5 month old pregnancy and go to Rwanda.

While to her life was coming to an end, for me it was an opportunity to help her see that there is still more in life. She had come from home to go for abortion but decided to seek counsel from the church. While some would want to agree that if the husband has failed to introduce her and pay the bride price to make the marriage legal, that now that the husband is seeing another woman, then the life on this 23 year old and her future is over so she should go on with an abortion, to this is painful situation she is going through but one that should never make someone commit this sin of killing an innocent unborn child.

Going through the bible gave both us us hope that the God cares and thought the situation may not necessary reflect that, the truth is that He is loving and He mercies never come to an end. Today this 23 year old young Lady is still looking for hope but knows that regardless of the situation, abortion is not the option. While we continue to pray for her, you may have been through the same experience and want to write to her or encourage her. Please leave a message behide or write to wordsofhopeuganda@gmail.com with Hope in the tittle box
Blessings

Adult literacy classes

we praise God for the work done with widows in kaberebere

Passion projects

Its been over 9 months of God working through the Words of Hope team and the groups in the villages.
We thank God for His mercy and hand of protection over the passion fruits. Today, our patients and group members are harvesting the passion fruits and day after day a praise report is recorded as patients have another reason to smile.
Thank you for praying and supporting the passion projects.
Prayer request
Word of Hope has already started 3 new passion projects in katete, karugangama and Rubeho villages, prayer for success in every stage as discipleship is done.