Discovery Trust is delighted to be supporting Elevate Life, a not-for-profit initiative of Elevate Eleven. 

Elevate Life supports young people in both primary and secondary education who are suffering from severe anxiety and a range of other mental health issues that cause difficulties with schooling and interaction with their peers.  

Elevate Life’s specialist youth clubs (currently delivered with the support of local church organisations) provide a safe space for these young people to meet and have fun with others, and gives them specific structured support through mentoring programmes, anti-anxiety techniques, and additional therapeutic modules such as board game design, film making, cooking, sports, etc.  

The impact of these clubs has already been considerable, with potentially suicidal teens finding new ways to cope, children who are avoiding school finding a new route back into day to day education and families who have been at breaking point gaining hope for the future.

We are pleased to be able to support and endorse Bible Gift Aid Uganda, founded in 2014 by Seth Gichuru to distribute Bibles to Christian believers in poor and remote communities who have no other access to Bibles of their own.

Since its foundation in 2014, Bible Gift Aid Uganda has given out 250 Bibles, and has an initial target of distributing at least 5000.

Solar Power is an Economic Option in Africa

In Africa, the majority of people could never afford a landline telephone, and communication for the masses jumped straight to mobile stage. Now the same thing is happening in power generation. This interesting article explains why simple economics are driving an explosion in solar power generation in the developing world, where most people don't have access to the electricity grid: http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/39544/?ref=rss

Namungoona Church Centre Project

The latest news and photos from Namungoona show great progress on the building project, with the concrete slab of the second floor laid, the 'forest' of internal scaffolding removed and the auditorium returned to use. However, political changes among the planning authorities pose a significant threat to the project.

This latest front elevation shows the almost completed fascia and the finished second floor slab. Work has started on the walls of this floor. In the meantime, temporary structures have been constructed on the slab for storage and for the Sunday School.

This means that the building can begin to meet fully the needs of the church, as well as being a resource to the local community.

Planning changes

Effective from March of this year, the Government of Uganda dismissed the Kampala City Council because of alleged corruption and mismanagement, and replaced it with a new City Authority. This brings the management of the Ugandan capital under direct government control.

One consequence has been a significant tightening of planning regulations. The church building has already been adapted to meet some of the new requirements, with additional staircases at the rear and provision for a lift. However the key change required is the provision of parking spaces, with the building currently lacks.

Expanding borders

A next door neighbour recently disputed his boundary with the church, asking them to remove some building materials which he claimed were stored on his land. When the boundary was re-measured in the presence of a city representative, the church's land was found to be bigger than had been realised. In fact, the man's son had built a house partly on the church's property. There is now a possibility of purchasing land from this neighbour to make provision for parking. Please pray that this option can be realised, as it would be much the best solution to the parking problem.

Side view showing entrance and proposed parking area

Temporary classrooms
on the second floor slab

Some of the pupils at Quality Primary School, Namungoona
who have received sponsorship from the UK

Some of the students at Namugoona Parents School
who have received sponsorship from the UK

The True Size of Africa

I just came across this amazing map that graphically demonstrates the sheer size of Africa compared with other parts of the world.
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/71630

Thanks to @KMPR (http://twitter.com/KMPR) for the link.

Louise Bowley

Congratulations to Louise Bowley who took part in the Windsor Half Marathon on 26th September to raise sponsorship for students in Namungoona, Uganda. Please consider a donation via her fundraising page, http://www.justgiving.com/Louise-Bowley

Uganda Still Among The Poorest Nations

In spite of the strides it has made politically and developmentally, Uganda was recently ranked the 17th poorest nation in the world, behind even Haiti and Nepal: http://www.businessinsider.com/poorest-countries-in-the-world-2010-8#17-republic-of-uganda-4

Neighbours Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo also appear on the list, the latter being the poorest nation of all.

Gichuru Jeremy Visit, Autumn 2010

We are looking forward to Gichuru Jeremy visiting the UK again in the Autumn of 2010, en route to Norway and the USA, and on his return.

Details of the visit including speaking engagements will be posted here as soon as they are confirmed.

Can Charity Make Things Worse?

I found this animated video link on Roger Mitchell's blog - very interesting, entertaining and thought-provoking: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpAMbpQ8J7g

Quality Primary School, Namungoona

Namungoona Parents Secondary School

Income Generation

After 3 years studying Business in the UK, Seth Gichuru returned to his home country of Uganda to start up a business of his own. With help from friends in Molesey Community Church, he is now busy developing a chicken farm on the outskirts of Kampala.

Watch a video of his progress here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hwoPPSeTaQ

Two other established businesses, belonging to Mr Karioki and Mr & Mrs Karunji, have received loans of £500 each from Andy Bowley. These will be paid back over 10 months, and the money reloaned to other projects via a new microfinance scheme being established with help and training from Wellspring.

Landmark Fundraising Event Raises Over £1000

The church in Namungoona are continuing to take increasing responsibility for the ongoing church building project. They recently organised a Harambee, or fundraising event ('Harambee' is Swahili for 'pull together'), to raise money to continue the work. This included both a raffle and an all-pay auction, in which everyone pays what they bid, win or lose, and the highest bidder wins.

Gichuru Jeremy reported, "It worked better than expected and an amount of Ug Shs 2,486,000 (about £880) was raised in cash and about Ug Shs 880,000 (around £290) in pledges and cheques. People gave willingly without any pressure and enjoyed it because it was like a game, participating up to the last minute."

"Many people won prizes they never imagined. For example buying a raffle tcket for Ug Shs 200 and winning a goat worth Ug Shs 100,000."

Gichuru's sons Seth and Daniel helped initiate and organise the Harambee. The church has committed to supporting further events on a regular basis.

In May of this year, Gichuru Jeremy and Fred Musisi, assisted by Koboi Edward from Namungoona, went on an eight day pastoral mission to visit and minister in various small village churches in the regions of Sembabule and Kiruhura (formerly Mbarara), districts that lie in the south-west of Uganda towards the Rwanda border.

The mission began with a day's training for pastors at Nyungu, the main base in Sembabule for the Quality Discipleship Churches of which Gichuru is bishop. The training was highly appreciated by the pastors and leaders present, and they asked for it to be repeated. Most such events are held hundreds of miles away in the capital, out of reach of pastors in the bush.

The team then visited 36 churches and held meetings in some of them, teaching and praying for the sick. Some notable healings took place, including one man (see photo) who was deaf in one ear, who after prayer could hear in both.

In one location, over thirty people came forward to offer their lives to Christ, and in another, seven.

In March 2009 one of Uganda's main newspapers, New Vision, ran an article about marriage that featured Gichuru and Eunice Jeremy. Gichuru talked about their own experience, and suggested some helpful practices for avoiding and resolving conflict in marriage - such as dealing with issues before bedtime, not bringing up past mistakes, and not trying to change your partner.

Orphans' Christmas Meal

These pictures show orphans from the orphanage run by pastors Moses and Joseph. They are enjoying a Christmas meal provided by donations from the men's group at Molesey Community Church in December 2008.

Pastor Moses commented, "We had wonderful Christmas celebrations. One of the boys told me that this Christmas has been the first when he has had good meals three times in the day, and he told me to thank you on his behalf for that memorable day of his life. I asked him to write and he told me he couldn't write English, as it is with many children in our country and even those under our care. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Economic Challenges

Inevitably the effects of the current economic crisis will extend well beyond the shores of the west where it originated, to have a serious impact on poorer countries like Uganda.

Uganda's inflation rate is currently running at around 7%. That's quite moderate compared with many third world nations. But when you are already living on the breadline, a 7% reduction in your standard of living has serious repercussions.

Added to that, the value of the pound against the Ugandan shilling has slumped dramatically in recent months. The overall result is that, pound for pound, the value of donations from the UK had fallen by around fifth in the last year - putting added pressure on the various projects that we and others are supporting there.

Please pray that as people and governments in the West look to cut back during the recession, support for people in developing countries will not be a casualty. They should not have to pay the price for the fiscal irresponsibility of the west. They cannot afford it.

Namungoona Orphanage

Gichuru Jeremy reports from Uganda:

As per now, we are maintaining 16 orphans in a rented house at Namungoona. The project is sponsored by Louise and Andy Bowley from the UK. Since the money donated is not enough for the children’s upkeep, Eunice and I have been trying our best to assist as we did not want to overburden our Church members because of the heavy task of the Church construction. We are praying that the Lord will open more doors for the provision of these needy children.

We have rented the house for the last four months and the landlord wants to renovate his house after which he will use it as at the moment he lives in the UK.

That means from December this year 2008,we shall rent another house which should be paid 3 months in advance. The current house rent is about 130 English pounds excluding water and electricity.

The photographs show the current house from the front, and from inside the compound.