The Kirabo Seeds children are in school.

It’s count down time. We will leave to go to Uganda in almost one week. I’m excited, but from what I hear from Phiona, the children in our new home are more excited to meet their American family than we could imagine. I have to believe it is at least mutual.

I’ll take a moment to break from tearing up my house as we pack to be away for a month and share the wonderful news about all fourteen of the new children settling into school. There is a school that is a little further away from the home that is both affordable and has a good “standard” as they say. We would call the standard a good “ranking” academically. They can’t walk to this school but thankfully it was affordable to have a shuttle van fetch them each morning and return them each afternoon.

The only problem with this situation is Auntie Julie has to rouse fourteen children at five in the morning to catch the shuttle at six. They aren’t accustomed to being students, and I have to believe this early morning poke out of bed is the worst part of going to school.

Phiona arranged for the older children to help the younger children the night before to make sure that all items that are needed for school and their uniform are in place for the morning. She reports that these kids are more than willing to work together and help one another.

There are two college girls, MIsha and Hannah, departing for Uganda this week to serve with Kirabo Seeds for a month. It is exciting for them to immerse themselves into this culture and sink their hands deep into the care of the children we serve. I’m hoping one of the first goals they can reach will be to help make a routine that has the morning shuffle running like a swiss watch.

At my own home the boys know their morning routine and they are independently responsible for getting up on time, being prepared, fixing breakfast, doing chores, and kissing me goodbye. I can survey the action from where I sit with my computer on my lap and write. I hope that a routine will decrease the amount of effort Auntie Julie must apply in the mornings.

The report that comes to me is the children are so thankful to be able to go to school. It causes great wide smiles that melt me into  a puddle of joy at just the thought of their excitement to learn. It is the best news they’ve had in a long time. In the Ugandan culture it is a privilege to be a student, and wearing a uniform (no matter what color the school chooses) is an honor and it provides approval and respect from citizens.  School costs vary from school to school but on average it is three hundred dollars a year for fees. That doesn’t even cover my weekly grocery bill. For a family that might live on less than one dollar a day, three hundred dollars a year is impossible. The hope of every parent is that they will be able to provide an education to their children. Half of the population of Uganda is under the age of fifteen. So what happens to this nation if their children are not educated? It will slide deeper into the pit of poverty, breeding corruption.

One of our major goals of our non-profit Kirabo Seeds in Uganda is to find sponsors who are interested in helping children attend school that would not have the opportunity otherwise. Currently we are helping seventy-five children get an education. I am so thankful for the devoted, praying, concerned  and committed sponsors that help us help the children. There’s still a need for more, as some of our sponsors have slipped away from last year and moved onto where their hearts have lead them. But the children in Uganda still hope and pray to be able to have the help they need to attend school. Let me know if you are interested in helping a child have an education: tonya@kiraboseeds.com

 

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