So to catch people up, last year I helped Bringing Hope start an income generating project. That project is called Village Art and is a craft shop. They had a good beginning last year and it is continuing on this year. The girls that work in this shop come from nothing. They did not even get a chance to finish school due to things that might come up, like needing to take care of their family because a parent died. Another reason would be that they did not have the money to pay for secondary school. Thus they were eligible to go to Bringing Hope’s Dorcas vocational school.  These girls did very well in school and were selected to be able to work in the shop. Most of these girls have never been anywhere other than the village. Most of them have never been to Kampala, which is the capital. Most of them have not been beyond a 15 mile radius of the village, so their world view is very small. I would say that is the case for most of the village.
It is hard to imagine anything different if you have never seen anything different. I wanted to help out the girls fix up the place that they were working in. I wanted to expand their mind and show them something that is nice. I wanted to add color to help them create something new. So on www.knowthinkact.com we raised money to do the repairs and fix ups that I had in mind. We raised money for paint, some shelves, a table, and to put a light and outlet in the new retail store they are going to open.




I had no idea paint can make such a difference. We had so many people come by to see what was happening. People were amazed to see that a place in the village could look so nice and that they can dare to do something different.




That is why I said that paint on the wall can also paint the mind. I have to admit, I did not come up with that saying – a Ugandan friend said it to me. I hope to see other store owners in Kaihura follow this example.
So, Village Art is a craft work shop and a craft store. And coming really soon they will also have a salon (or what they call a saloon). The new manager for VA just graduated from beauty school and will be teaching at the vocational school and while also be doing hair in the Salon. We are hoping that this will bring in even more money for the shop and for Bringing Hope. There is not a good place to get hair done around here for women so we hope to be the place to go! If you want to get involved with this we will be posting more needs on KTA soon for the salon. Also, if you own a business or know someone who does and would like to order crafts to sell just let us know and we can figure that out!

As Always,

Stay adventurous
Katie

There has been a lot happening in Kaihura over the last week. There have been two soccer tournaments over the last two weekends. This past Sunday the boys from Home Again placed second in the youth tournament.

The rafters have been set in place for Hope Again Medical Center’s new clinic over the last week. The roof should be completed over the next couple of weeks.

Also, schools started back up today. The secondary students from Home Again were transported back to boarding school, and the nursery and primary students resumed classes locally as well.

-Chris
International Coordinator – Uganda

While I was attending a well handover ceremony recently in the village of Kariruga in the Katooke District (Western Uganda) I met some guys who had taken the opportunity to use their surroundings to make some money. In that area a lot of sugar cane is grown. So, these guys had mastered the art of making liquor from the sugar cane.

They had a hand cranked pressing machine that squeezed the sugar water out of the canes. Then they had a large trough where they let the sugar water ferment. After the fermentation process it was brought over to the distillery.

Now, I must say that I came upon this entire operation by accident. While I was waiting for the ceremony to begin I went over to see the communities old water source again. To my surprise the old water source is now a distillery. Only one of the guys, Peter, could speak English. He was very friendly and he walked me through the process of how they make the liquor. Once the entire process has been completed they collect the liquor and it is sent to Kampala where it is purchased by a packaging company. I was amazed to see such ingenuity and entrepreneurship being done in this village. I am not advocating one way or the other on liquor, but it was great to see young men taking initiative and making an income for themselves.

-Chris
International Coordinator – Uganda

While I was visiting Bringing Hope’s farm in Kyongera last week I stopped and watched two of the vocational school students play checkers on their homemade board for a few minutes. I have to say I was impressed with their ingenuity. Bottle caps and plastic roofing nail washers for their pieces. Brilliant.

Just thought I would share.

-Chris
International Coordinator – Uganda

I recently visited Bringing Hope to the Family’s farm and male vocational school in Kyongera. Over the last year,
Bringing Hope has made farming one of their main focuses. Their hope is that they will produce a large enough amount of crops to substantially cut down on their monthly food bills. Some of the produce will be for consumption and some will be sold in order to buy other foods.

Upon my visit I was pleasantly surprised to see how well the matooke trees (a type of banana) were doing in such a short amount of time.

The boys in the vocational school were in the process of planting pineapple “suckers.” Their maize was growing very well also. Tomatoes, collard greens, and eggplants were growing as well.

Bringing Hope to the Family recently installed an irrigation system at the farm.

A couple of the guys in the vocational school program gave me a demonstration.  It works great. Progress!

-Chris
International Coordinator – Uganda

The shallow pump well that GSM and Bringing Hope to the Family constructed in Kariruga was completed in mid-March, but they decided to wait for us to return before they held their official handover ceremony. So, yesterday we made the 45 minute trek out to the Katooke District to the village of Kariruga. We had a great turnout. Almost all of the 29 families had representatives in attendance.
As I have mentioned before, the people there are just wonderful. They are very appreciative, cooperative and hard working. They are a pleasure to serve.It is customary that when a well is dedicated the community gives the donors a goat in appreciation. Sadly, this community bought a goat, but it was stolen a couple of days before the ceremony. The community leaders felt so bad that they scrounged up $15 worth of Ugandan Shillings to present to me. Now, honestly, I felt bad for them. I would have liked to have said, “No, please keep your money,” but that would of been too offensive to them. Thus, I graciously accepted.
All in all we rejoiced together, praised God for his blessings together, and had a wonderful time together (minus the intense heat and lack of breeze.) I am encouraged and amazed every time I visit with the people of Katooke.

Until next time,

stay adventurous

Chris
International Coordinator – Uganda

So, it’s May now and the rains are upon us. It’s actually raining right now as I type. Last week we, with Bringing Hope’s management staff, sat down with a calendar and planned out the year and what we hope to get accomplished while individual volunteers and teams are with us.

I am still amazed at how many people come through this tiny little village in western Uganda. God is definitely up to something!

Katie is quickly getting to work on organizing Bringing Hope’s craft shop (Village Art). Thanks to some great support from our Know.Think.Act allies Bringing Hope has money for a table, wall shelving, 2 book case sized shelves, paint and electricity for the shop. Over the next couple of weeks Village Art is going to transform into a great place to work and shop.

I’ll save the rest for a later blog in which I will attach photos to. I apologize for the lack of photos this time.

Until next time,

stay adventurous

Chris
International Coordinator – Uganda

Yesterday morning I had the privilege of speaking to a large crowd of 1st-12th grade students at Providence Christian Academy in Murfreesboro, TN.  It was so much fun!  I love getting to share with students about the work that we’re doing.  It’s fascinating how much they soak it up.  Probably my favorite part is Q&A time… you never know what your gonna get!

If you would like me or another one of our staff to come and speak at your school… or any gathering of people… big or small, we’d love to.  Just email us at info@globalsupportmission.com.

Compassion = Action,

Travis
Founder & CEO

We were welcomed back to Kaihura with smiles and a sky full of stars. We never seem to make it back during the daylight, but it was a great welcome none the less. After a nice long sleep we were able to see all of the progress that has transpired since we left in January.

The stone walkways look great and grass is slowly beginning to fill in the yard. Also, the new stove for Home Again has been installed and is working perfectly. All of the students that are now attending boarding school are home for Easter. It is great to see them all again.

On our first day back Bringing Hope was holding a funeral for a baby girl. An infant girl was brought to Bringing Hope about a month ago. She was in terrible shape. After a month of care she did not improve and passed away earlier this week. She was buried near the church just down from Home Again.

It is a sad reality that life is fragile and not every child that comes to the home will pull through. But, we know that God is sovereign and we can only do our best and trust him in all things.

Where will this year take us? Only God knows. And, so the journey begins.

Chris
International Coordinator – Uganda

Bellehaven Christian Academy recently had a drama/talent show and raised over $500 for GSM.  This money is going to help us on our up coming trip to Uganda and Kenya.  We’ll be working with many artisans in both countries, helping them continue to develop their businesses and products.  These small businesses make a big impact in the local community by helping provide jobs and opportunity.  Through Red Earth Trading Co. we are able to help increase their income and grow their businesses.  These artisans are some of our favorite people to work with.  We are so grateful to the students of Bellehaven Christian Acadamy for using their creative talent to help us support others who are using their talent to create hope and opportunity!  Below are a few photos from their show.

Thanks again Bellehaven Christian Academy students!!

Travis Gravette
Founder & CEO