We are excited to see how quickly the projects at Home Again are being complete. The crew that is constructing the Home Again addition began working on the walls today. Yesterday, with the help of our volunteer Scott, who has been an absolute blessing, the plumbing for the toilets was installed.

The ceiling in the lower house at Home Again is over half way completed now. Scot and a couple of other volunteers have used this opportunity to get several of the boys from Home Again involved in the process. This has been a wonderful experience for these young men, as they are learning skills that they would not have gotten without these great volunteers taking the time to teach them and provide space for them to participate. This ceiling project has been about much more than just a the installation of a ceiling, but a chance for mentoring and friendship as well.

Know.Think.Act and Global Support exist not to just complete projects, but to connect lives, to connect stories, and watching Scott working and leading our boys from Home Again demonstrates that, while the ceiling is important, it’s much more about building relationships. All our volunteers who have the chance to spend any time with our partners walk away changed, and walk away having left an indelible mark on those they have loved on during their time here.

Scott came with our first team in December and planned to spend 3 weeks with us here in Kaihura to help with the Home Again addition. His desire was to be used while he was here and we have greatly appreciated his efforts and willingness to jump in and lead the way with the ceiling as well.

We also want to take the opportunity to thank our friends at Facedown Records, the No Name action group, St. Matthew Lutheran Church and the amazing individuals  that donated towards these projects. We appreciate all that you are doing to help the children at Home Again! We are always looking for more people like Scott, no matter your experience or talents. If you are interested in being a part of a volunteer team, feel free to contact us here or at info@knowthinkact.com.

Today, I want to highlight our current team of volunteers. This team is from Benton, Alabama. We have been in relationship with this team and their church for nearly 3 years now. They have been faithfully praying for Bringing Hope to the Family and the people in this region of Uganda.

We are excited to have them get to see, experience and be a part of what they have been focused on for so long.

On Friday many of the team members went to the village of Mbale to visit homes and hang mosquito nets. It was a great day of meeting families, sharing Christ and helping to save lives with mosquito nets.

This team has been busy all week assisting us in helping the people here. They will be with us for about a week more, so more updates will be coming.

We have been flat out around here for nearly 2 weeks now. All but one of our last team’s members have headed to another area of the country to hold medical outreaches. Also, our current volunteer team arrived on Sunday and made it out to Kaihura on Monday.

This team has been quite busy this week. They have visited villages and hung mosquito nets, painted Home Again’s kitchen/dining room, baked Christmas cookies with the children at Home Again and been out to tour Bringing Hope’s farm in Kyongera.

On Friday another group of these volunteers will be visiting families in Rensinene to hang more mosquito nets.

More updates will be coming soon.

Today was another great, busy day in Kaihura. Our team visited 6 homes in Busanza where they hung 20 mosquito nets and provided medical care for those within the homes. Some of our team will be returning to Busanza tomorrow to provide medications to the people they were able to help today.

Work continued on installing a ceiling in the lower home at Home Again. Below are a few photos of the progress on the ceiling. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow holds!

We had a lot going on today from working on Home Again’s new bathroom/kitchen addition to the upper house and beginning to install the ceiling in the lower house, but I want to highlight today’s medical outreach (and as always, be sure to check out our pics below).

Most of the team, along side several of Bringing Hope to the Family staff members, went to the village of Nyayamba where they hosted an HIV testing outreach. This rural village is about an hour from even the main road so the journey is never dull.  The team had a steady flow of people coming to be tested for a wide range of illnesses. The team also tested those who appeared to be sick for malaria and provided medications to those who needed them. We will have more details in the next couple days.

On the way back they ran into some vehicle problems which delayed their return by a couple of hours, but that just adds to the experience.

Overall it was a great day with our volunteers providing tangible care to those they encountered. We will keep you posted on all that is going on and if there is anything you are curious about or want to ask our volunteers, leave us a comment and we will get them answered!

Our first team for the month arrived safely and with all of their luggage on Friday night. They have hit the ground running. After arriving in Kaihura early Saturday evening 3 of our volunteers helped deliver a baby girl at Hope Again Medical Center later that evening.

The digging for the foundation of the new bathroom/kitchen addition to the upper house of Home Again has been completed. Work on the foundation will begin tomorrow weather permitting. It appears that the weather is not aware that this is now dry season.

The second section of cement for the basketball court at Home Again was laid today. Start stretching now, because if you come to see us, we will be bringing our A game.

Also, we visited 5 families in the village of Kagorogoro today. We hung 10 mosquito nets and our medical volunteers were able to provide care and treatment for 5 patients.

Tomorrow our team will be holding an HIV testing outreach, so check back again for more updates. We love our volunteers and can’t wait to see what the rest of their time holds!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday weekend.  I just want to share with you another update from Kaihura and share some of our Thanksgiving photos.  This year we hosted Thanksgiving at our house for all of the American missionaries in our area.  It was a great day of hanging out with friends and eating good food.

The first portion of the slab for Home Again’s basketball court has been poured.  We hope to have the project completed within the next 3 weeks.

Also, the pineapple crop at Bringing Hope’s farm in Kyongera is starting to produce now.

Most of all this Thanksgiving, we are thankful for each and every one of you who partner, who resource, and who pray for the work of Know.Think.Act. We are grateful for you! Have a great weekend!

We have several projects running at the same time as I mentioned in an earlier post.  I want to update everyone on where the projects stand as of now:

The plastering of the lower house of Home Again is about half way done.  The dividing wall in the lower home has been constructed, which separates the house into 2 smaller houses.  One side is for boys and the other is for girls.

The screen windows for Home Again’s dining room are just about done.

Weather permitting, work will begin on the basketball court Monday morning.

Also, all of the shelves for Home Again have been completed and most of them have been installed.  Plastic bins have been ordered to go on the shelves.  This way each child will have their own bin for their clothes.  This will bring them one large step closer to getting the inside of Home Again organized.

We want to thank everyone that has contributed to any of the projects.  Every project contributes to the greater good, to the support and health of all who come through the doors of Home Again. Together we are making a difference!

On November 17th, Bringing Hope to the Family held a well handover ceremony in the village of Kisangwa to celebrate the completion of a new shallow pump well.  Kisangwa is a small village on the outskirts of Katooke town.  This well has provided clean water to over 160 people!

Over the last few well constructions we at GSM, have been transitioning out of the lead role where wells are concerned.  In order to have this well program fully succeed Bringing Hope has to own the project fully.  We are still involved, but in a minor role.  A young man, Peter, who works for Bringing Hope has been doing a great job taking the lead. We are excited to continue to equip and train him in order to be the lead in our clean water and sanitation program. It is an exciting time as we empower more local leaders!

We love progress!  Thanks again to those who donated to make this well possible.

A week ago today felt very normal. It was Thursday, which means that at some point I was going to get to witness some Tom Haverford shenanigans, but other than that, there was nothing really out of the ordinary about the day.

Around noon, we found out from our international coordinator, Chris, that there was an urgent need for baby formula. On that Monday, Nov. 7th, Bringing Hope to the Family was called by the hospital about a three-day old baby whose mom had died during birth and who had no other relatives. Baby Ana was in desperate need of formula and a home.

We quickly posted the need for formula on Know.Think.Act. Each can of formula cost $30 and would feed Ana for a week. She would need 20 cans of formula to feed her for the next five months. The people of Know.Think.Act. responded quickly and generously, meeting the total need for $600 of formula in around 4 hours.

4 hours.

$600 dollars.

1 life saved.

I can’t get over this. First of all, let me say thank you for everyone who shared, tweeted, prayed, and gave. Thank you.

There are several things about this story that keep coming back to me again and again:

I love our leaders. I love that our local affiliate, Bringing Hope to the Family, is a place where the community knows it can get help. I love that our local leaders have worked hard, been faithful, and are known for meeting the most dire needs in the community. I love that they are being such a light in an place that needs hope. I am so grateful for our team that works hard and has earned such a high level of trust within the community. This is exactly why we work so hard to train, equip, and resource local leaders within their own communities.

I love the 100% model. Every single penny of the $600 donated went directly to formula for Ana. That means everyone who generously donated money for a can, 2 cans, or 10 cans of formula knows that his or her money went for formula that is going to feed and provide the necessary nutrition for Baby Ana.

I love our community. Know.Think.Act. looks like a website, but it is so much more than that. It is a community of like-minded individuals who come together to change the world in real time. It’s made up of individuals and groups who want to be able to meet tangible needs. It’s people from all over and from all different backgrounds who are not going to sit idly by, but who understand that compassion = action. They do not hesitate to act – and act quickly.

I love Baby Ana. Her story has changed us forever since she is now a part of our lives through Bringing Hope to the Family. Things are not going to be easy, but I love that we can walk beside our partners as they love, support, and care for Baby Ana.

Thank you so much. This is just one story of many. Know.Think.Act. has plenty of needs that must be met and there are plenty of opportunities for you to get involved. While today may feel like just another Thursday, it’s also a chance to change the lives of people around the globe. We can’t wait to change lives alongside you…

…adam