Mission Accomplished?

 By guest author Jen Bragg

Dressed for Easter Sunday.
From Left:   Karen Greeley, Jen Bragg,
Cheri Herzer, Julie Secrist, Jackie Holzinger

We’ve all heard the good parenting proverb: “Dear children, please leave an area in better condition than when you first arrived.”

Like a good parent, Mama Julie repeated this plea many times to her “kids” at Ebeneezer school; but for the first time ever, I realized this principle could also be used as a valuable plumbline for measuring the success of our time in Uganda.

Certainly, throwing out the trash or being careful with the furniture meets the criteria, but in a much deeper sense, this principle involves a goal to leave both an area AND an individual with more vision, wisdom and hope for the future! It requires the uplifting reminder that they have value, no one is alone in the daily grind, and that each person has divine purpose summed up in the profound phrase: “Love God and love others" (Matt 22:37-40).

So, did this group of eight women sent on the most recent HEED outreach accomplish what Jesus sent them out to do? Yes! Mission accomplished! We built genuine relationship with our Ugandan brothers and sisters in a way that sets up healthy anticipation for the next team and the skill sets they will bring to the village.

Jen with her flip chart with scriptures

Nurses Jenine, Karen, and Cheri having a “girl talk” at the high school

We loved the students and staff by recognizing needs and meeting them through meaningful and practical ways. Simply put - whatever skill set each team member had to offer was utilized. From creating system improvements throughout HEED as an organization, to a Saturday pop up medical clinic in the middle of one of the five villages HEED serves; from valuable teacher trainings on better helping their students with different learning styles, to teaching high school students on the principles of purity and biblical marriage; from helping the sewing ladies in their vocational training, to having a ton of fun creating crafts and playing bingo; this team partnered together for all of it.

We gave tools to create independence from the West and encouraged increased dependence on God’s word and the community God placed them in.

Teacher Summer addressing the Scripture Union
students at morning fellowship

The Community Clinic

We reminded the precious people of Kayakitanga that by God’s design, “Eternity has been set in our hearts" (Ecc 3:11). Therefore, the highest calling is to walk out our days following Jesus… calling dry bones to life, and Heaven to earth.

Nurse Karen at the medical outreach. Seventy-three
patients received medical treatment in one day.

Consultant Jessica did “heavy lifting”
with organizational planning.

Our team witnessed a relaxed Mama Julie enjoy a community that she has poured her life into. She is successfully building a capable team that needs her vision, but not her every direction.

Julie in her happy place
with a little one on her lap!

As a team, we acknowledged that relationship is a two-way street, meaning the giving and receiving happens in both directions, where both host and guest depart equally blessed. Still, with the unfair home-field advantage, it is safe to say our team departed with a little extra from our gracious hosts… a piece of Uganda forever deposited into our hearts.

Chairman Christopher Flips the Switch!

Christopher standing proudly next to his new TV and under the bulb
that lights his home after connecting his home to electricity

Christopher is an example of a life you have touched. He is the village chairman, our PTA president, and serves on the HEED Village Advisory Council.

Christopher has eagerly participated in every training and empowerment program we have introduced. More importantly, he has implemented what he has learned.

In 2015, he went to a 3-day training with 30 villagers to learn climate-wise farming. After the training, he changed the crops he was growing, began mulching, composting, and building burms to hold water on his land. Today he has a flourishing coffee plantation, grows natural fertilizers, and is able to pay school fees for all of his children.

In March, the government brought power to the schools. For about $1000 individual homes could also be connected. That is more than 66% of the villagers earn in an entire year, but Christopher had the funds to connect his home to electricity!

Thank you for equipping us to bring empowerment programs that impact lives!

His exterior light provides security and

lights the path safely to the latrine at night

Construction Update

In 2020, we began working on a 5-year strategic plan which included the goal of completing our high school campus and constructing livable teacher housing. It was overwhelming, but important, to look far into the future. The cost for all 20 buildings at $35/square foot construction cost totaled a staggering $1.6 million!

AMAZINGLY, God sent commitments for $1.2 million of the funds without us initiating any fundraising! Today we are just a few thousand dollars short of full funding for all four phases. Phase1 is already built, and Phase 2 is nearing completion.

The four-phase Master Plan buildout will:

• Complete the high school campus
• Construct an inviting teacher housing village
• Create vocational spaces in current teacher housing blocks

Having this impact:

• Provide capacity for 340 more students to receive a quality, Christian education
• Additional students will move the high school toward sustainable operations
• Equip us to attract quality teachers

Construction is done completely by hand

The roofs are now on and we hope will be ready for the new school year in February

Thank you to everyone who has helped this dream become a reality!

Update on Water

Piped water from the National Water Supply is now flowing in Kyakitanga!

This summer when the normal rains didn't come to fill our water tanks and the well was dry, we had to spend several thousand dollars to have a water truck deliver water to the schools. This week, we have successfully connected a pipeline to the National Water Supply! It is not a constant supply, but taps can be turned on to fill our tanks if we don't get enough rain. We rejoice that we now have a secure supply of water for the schools and clinic!

This water tap from The National Water Supply
will be connected to water tanks for the high school

The piped water was once 12 miles away at the main road. Over the last few years, the water line has been extended little-by-little, and stopped 13km from the village. HEED hired workers to dig the trenches and lay the pipe to bring the water line up to Kyakitanga. We are thankful for our monthly donors who supplied the funding for this important project.

13 kilometers is a long way to dig a trench!

To continue in the quest for a year-round water supply for the community, we hope to drill a new, extra-deep well at a location identified by a new technology called Fracture Trace Analysis. The plan is in place when funding allows.

When we can drill the new well, we pray gathering
water from ponds like this will be a thing of the past

It's A Girl!

Lily Treasure Secrist Kitibwa

The first baby delivered in our new maternity ward

On October 22, our own Nurse Pamela delivered the first baby ever in our community clinic! Thanks to a grant from MBridge.global, we were able to set up maternity services which will serve the surrounding villages and over 1500 families.

Baby, Mom and Dad with Head Teacher Robinah

Now women will be spared a difficult motorcycle taxi ride 12 miles on a dirt road to the nearest clinic to deliver their babies.

Our clinic now provides the second ultrasound machine in Kassanda District which has a population of 370,000 people.

Ours is the 2nd ultrasound machine in Kassanda District

Her Future is Bright!

Bright is the little girl in the photo above.

As our team conducted our annual community baseline survey last February, they came across Bright and her family. The family was exceptionally poor and none of the children were in school. Our team learned that the father was disabled and couldn’t do heavy manual labor. From growing crops on their small piece of land, they earned less than $30 annually. To support his family, the father had resorted to stealing.

To intervene, we enrolled Bright and her sibling onto our scholarship program so they can attend school and receive two hot meals to fill their tummies every day. The parents will help on our farm learning better farming techniques they can utilize on their own land. They have signed up to participate in our saving circle program with the funds they will earn working on the HEED farm. We will show them Jesus’ love and give them tools to improve their livelihood so that this family can thrive.

Vocational Institute for Employable Skills

Students lean in for a lesson

Uganda had the most days out of school of any country during the pandemic. Many students felt they had “aged out” of high school and about 1/3 didn’t return when schools fully reopened in January. In response, we opened a vocational institute to teach practical, employable skills. 85 students from the community registered for the first term, and more students are joining all the time. All high school students are also trained in computer technology and at least one other vocational skill, so they are equipped to earn a living after graduation.

We offer certified courses in:

• Auto mechanic
• Welding
• Masonry
• Agriculture
• Veterinary
• Tailoring
• Motorcycle mechanic
• Hairdressing
• Computers (ICT)

This happened! A computer lab in Kyakitanga!

Tailoring is highly employable as most clothing is made to order in Uganda

Auto mechanics is a popular course