Spared from Forced Marriage

Sylvia is 16 years old and lives with her uncle in the village. When schools were closed in 2020 due to the pandemic, her uncle connived with relatives to arrange a marriage for her in return for a dowry of six cows. She averted the marriage by escaping to live with a relative in Kampala during the almost two-year lock-down. When schools resumed, she returned to the village for school, but her uncle refused to pay any school fees to force her into the marriage.

She shared her dilemma with our team, and we were able to enroll her onto our Scholarship Program. Sylvia now boards safely at high school and continues her education. Our staff reports that Sylvia is a committed Christian and a minister in our church in the village. She is an outstanding leader within the school and on the leadership team for the Scripture Union Club.

Sylvia wants to finish high school, and even dreams to go as far as university. She wants to be a teacher when she completes her studies and make her own choice as far as marriage is concerned.

The Vocational Learning Institute is Open!

We are excited that on November 1st our Vocational Learning Institute was able to officially open, welcoming 85 new students with more forthcoming. We believe in equipping students with practical skills to live healthy, productive lives, and earn a living. We are offering tailoring, hairdressing computer, agriculture-veterinary, and auto mechanic training. In the future, we would like to add welding and carpentry. Because of the COVID lockdowns, students have largely been out of school since April of 2020. We anticipate that many will feel they have aged-out of high school and feel pressured to begin earning a living. The Vocational offerings will provide an avenue for them to gain skills needed to thrive.

Do What You Can

“Did the president announce reopening of schools in the address?” Our village primary and high schools had been closed for a 42-day lockdown due to COVID, and I was hoping for good news.

 “No, Mama. Some restrictions are lifted but schools and churches are still closed. The next announcement will come in 60 days,” Julius, our Program Manager told me.

My heart sunk. 60 more days of closure?  600 children normally fill our campuses with laughter and life. Their colorful uniforms painting a collage of hope as they stream into the buildings from orange dirt paths leading from every direction. School is a haven of safety. A place with food, friends, health care, and growing in knowledge and faith.  COVID lockdowns had kept all of that from them.

“We have to pivot, Julius. We can’t keep waiting for schools to reopen. Can we bring the kids to us in small groups? Can we go to them?” I asked.

This touched off some fast planning by our team to organize a student outreach program that would bring kids to school in small groups for counseling, encouragement, prayer, a big meal, and to receive take-home school and discipleship materials. The teachers worked fast, phone calls were made to students and area leaders, and the program kicked-off the first week of September.

The first reports back reinforced that the outreach was making an impact but also our fears about what the children had been enduring during the school closures.

“The children have been coping with quite a lot at home,” High school Head Teacher, Jotham, wrote in his report after the first few days.  “The psycho-social counseling part of the outreach has been so important. We listen, counsel, and pray for the students. We are identifying families we need to visit in-person.”

Happy students with their learning resources and food packages

Their reports noted more than a dozen problems plaguing many of the children. The lockdowns had disrupted the already fragile economy, and things were harder than normal.

I read, “Some are engaged in child labor since they have to look for something to survive. Some are discouraging girls from going back to school and forced marriages of girls are rampant,” noted Jotham.

Robinah’s report stated, “Lack of food and basic needs has led some into prostitution. Some feel they have overgrown school. The repeated lock downs have them studying in the same classes for so long.”

It was hard to keep reading, “Some parents have left to look for work and  thrown the responsibility of looking after families to the children, especially the boys, who have now resorted to doing odd jobs to support their siblings.”

Though devastating to read, it also reinforced the difference the schools had been making.  The outreach team encourages each child and helps lift the load of their troubles where they can. They are equipped to provide food for households where there isn’t enough to eat. They make home visits to counsel and advocate for girls to be given a chance to continue in school. Children receive learning materials to revive their hope in studying again. The kids are loved, nurtured, and encircled with care and community.

It feels so small in the face of the challenges, but Uganda has taught us to focus on what we can do instead of being discouraged by what we can’t. For today, we’ll continue serve each and every student as we can, and we will pray that one day soon, children will again be streaming into our classrooms from orange dirt paths coming from every direction.                                                          

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do Good works which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

Primary school and high school reopen to students

We are thrilled that our primary and high school have been able to partially reopen to students this month. Classes for Primary 7 and Senior 4 (last year of “ordinary- level” high school) were allowed to resume for schools who were certified to meet government standards for COVID safeguards. Though we only had 44 students total in those two classes, we are grateful to have at least some of our students learning, growing, eating daily meals, being tended by our school nurse, and being loved with Jesus’ love.

It is very expensive to operate the schools for so few students, so we thank you for your support that enabled us to say yes to participating in this government-certified trial-reopening that will hopefully lead to a full reopening next year. The note below is from our high school head-teacher expressing his appreciation to you for equipping them to open our doors wide to children again:

“When the government of Uganda allowed the phased re-opening of schools, it almost seemed impossible for our schools to reopen with so few students due to budget issues. Additionally, putting in place all the new operating procedures as directed by the government became quite expensive. We would therefore like to thank you so much for coming in to alleviate this pressure from us by helping to avail ALL the equipment and items that we needed to keep all our students and staff safe from COVID-19. It’s because of this that the government allowed us to operate after inspection of our schools for compliance against COVID-19. We are forever grateful and we promise to be good stewards of this equipment as we strive to keep our schools free from COVID-19. We also pledge to make all your efforts worth your while as we aim at providing the best education for our students at Ebenezer schools.”

~Jotham Musiime, Head Teacher Ebenezer High School

Welcome back, precious one!

We can have up to 25 students/class to keep a safe social distance

New touchless handwashing stations and signage

Every student’s temperature is taken before classes daily

They're Back! (Partially)

Schools in Uganda have been closed since April as Uganda battled COVID-19. To date, there have been less than 100 reported deaths in Uganda, and the government has begun to loosen restrictions. We are elated that students in their last years of primary and high school will be back in classes on October 15 with new hygiene and social distancing requirements. All students will board at the school full time to avoid carrying germs to and from school. We are thankful for our dormitories!

We have a total of 44 students in those two grade levels, and to reopen for so few students is expensive. Schools who reopen will be monitored by the government, and if successful, hopefully allowed to reopen fully for the new school year in February. Though costly, it is important to participate in this "trial run." Because of the faithful support of many for HEED, we have the funds available to say, "Yes!" to this partial reopening. Thank you! We are elated to have even some of our students back in classes this week, eating well, being tended by our nurse, and learning about Jesus in chapel. Prayers appreciated for all of the children to be back in school next February.