When I was at Entebbe airport.....

When I was at Entebbe airport the other evening, waiting to fly to Kenya, I watched passengers checking in for a flight bound for Dubai.
Some were clearly seasoned passengers, possibly connecting to flights to other parts of the world; some were dressed in clothing that shows they are from Middle East.

But the heartbreaking aspect for me were how many of the passengers were teenage girls, all dressed in identical clothing, almost like a uniform - wearing T-shirts advertising the recruitment agency that had signed them up, a long plain beige skirt and a yellow headscarf covering all hair
The girls wore expressions that were a mix of apprehension and excitement at the ‘adventure’ ahead. They clearly hadn’t flown before. 

What sort of adventure will it turn out to be? Will it be one they enjoy, or will it turn out to be a time of false promises, quashed dreams, and worse?
I hope I’m wrong- I hope they have a good time, and return to their families with all expectations achieved. 

Unfortunately the cynic or the realist in me suspects otherwise and the concepts of human trafficking, domestic servitude and child brides come to mind. 

Could I have done anything? Not really, not there in the airport. Nothing except pray, which is what I did, and continue to do. 

So I am praying for those girls, and others like them all over the world who are lured away from home, education and safety by stories of quick money, employment, travel and opportunities to escape poverty, but soon discover that the reality is horribly different from all that. 

And praying for all those organisations around the world who work tirelessly to bring an end to these awful practices- oh that one day the need for such organisations will no longer exist. 

News from Acholi Quarters

Sometimes my role within Acholi Quarters is about introducing new people to the community. Sometimes it's about following up on previous links made. Sometimes it's just about catching up with friends who increasingly feel like part of my Ugandan family.
Most of the time it's a combination of all of the above.

So yesterday and today I have had the joy of introducing new folks to the community, following up on a link set up between the Hopeful Haven 'educational day care' and a primary school in Birmingham, and catching up with Harriet, Miriam, and many of the other ladies that I am delighted to call my friends out here. 

The new folks were two friends from Thornbury and their 9 year old sons. Yesterday we did some activities with the children in Hopeful Haven, looked round the community and had a lovely bit of time being shown how to make beads by the Acholi ladies. Sitting together in the shade of a building, rolling paper into beads is a very beautiful way to forget our differences and to just enjoy the experience of harmony and co-production

Today the focus was the 4th Mercy scout group - the two lads from UK are both from local cub groups, and so the time together was a real demonstration of the International nature of Scouting.

For the Thornbury lads, it was the chance to see a very different scouting set up - lots of drilling and parading, almost no equipment, no scout hut, no uniform to call their own, but even so a sense of belonging to something bigger than the impoverished community in which they live.

For the 4th Mercy scouts, it was the chance to meet some other youngsters their age, from the UK, and who were also wearing neckerchiefs, and who are part of the same international movement.

Yesterday also included seeing the delivery of some new benches for the children at Hopeful Haven, made by John who is a local carpenter in the Acholi community. The money was raised by the Birmingham school, and as a result of having the benches the children will no longer have to choose whether to use the bench as a bench or a desk - there's enough to have both!

It might all seem like little steps and trivial moments, but all those moments add up, and it's a privilege to be part of that.

Not long ago the Hopeful Haven didn't exist, and nor did the scout group. Now they do, and the Acholi children have the chance to think wider than just the here and now of survival and existence.

For the ladies also, those moments of sitting together and chatting, laughing and sharing, are precious times of sisterhood, of celebrating each other, of knowing that no-one is alone, and that we have each other in our hearts.

They are wonderful moments - of building bridges, of creating relationships, of letting the other (whether UK or Ugandan other) know that we are together, and that together we are stronger.

Looking forward to many more such moments!

WBA - taking it to counsellors and clergy

For a year or so now, I’ve been supporting John Njendahayo and the Vocational Training College that he has set up, as they seek to embed the concept of ‘Whole Brain Approach to Teaching and Learning’ into the heart of all that they do.

The college opened March 2018, and WBA has been within the ethos from the start. My role has been to support the staff in this, and to provide input and resources and training, to equip them to incorporate WBA in all aspects of college life.

It’s been a wonderful journey of learning for all – me re cultural context of embedding the concept, the staff re learning about a totally new way of thinking about teaching and learning, and the students re finding out more their different learning preferences and how to maximise on that knowledge to get the most out of their studies.

We aren’t there yet, but we are all on the journey together, and I love it.

Last week, I had the opportunity to take WBA to a new audience – the I Live Again Uganda team in Gulu who have trauma counselling as their focus. They work with those who continue to suffer the after-effects of living through the horrors of the LRA atrocities and are now starting to work with Sudanese refugees as well.

It was both wonderful and exciting to see the ILA team embracing the WBA concept so well, and exploring ways in which it can be applied to their work – both regarding team dynamics for the staff, and also relating to mental health therapies for people that they work with. The upshot was that I’ve been asked to return and do longer training, with them, and also with some other interested groups.

And then today I had the delightful task of giving a presentation on WBA to a group of clergy who were predominantly from the Church of Uganda. Having the opportunity to link it to Biblical texts and faith-based thinking was a real privilege, and again the workshop participants lapped up the information with great enthusiasm.

Next week I am doing some more training at the college, and then the following week I am taking it to a CRED Partner in a school in Kenya. 

I don’t know where all this will ultimately lead, but that’s fine – God does, and I’m happy to leave it with Him. For now, I’m just delighted to be able to take this information and new way of viewing ourselves and those with whom we interact, work and live, and offer it to others, that they also may be enriched through discovering process.

A letter from John Njendahayo

Nkuru-Nziza Foundation Progress Report 2019

Dear friends,
Hope you have had a good start to 2019. I must first apologise for taking long to send in a report on where things are since my last visit to the UK. Your prayers and support are continuously being appreciated. We continue to be blessed in different ways and we thank God for that.

Since my last visit to the U.K, I have been very busy particularly with the development of a new Vocational and Business College now known as ‘Nkuru Business and Vocational College’ which opened last year in February. I have also been busy with family life!

Family wise, we continue to push on and we send our warm greetings to all our well-wishers, supporters and friends. Our Daughter Patience is now six years and joined primary one this year! Unfortunately, my mum has not been so well and we have been in and out of hospital with various complications. She is putting on a brave fight though and she is with us now, so she can receive our support. She is nearly 80 years.

College Development and Kid’s Joy Nursery School
Through the development of the VTC, and the Nursery section, it has been possible to provide some kind of employment bearing in mind that many young people in the area are, for one reason or the other, out of employment. Over 20 people in construction alone have worked on site in the busy months of construction. During this time, they earn an income to support their families.
The income earned has also filtered through the local economy as these people spend some of this income in local shops etc we can hence talk of a multiplier effect. Much of the building materials are sourced locally too.

Since our focus is on sustainability, we brought in new ways and methods of construction including ISSB technology. This has allowed us to move on fast but also local residents have been impressed and are now wanting to copy and paste given the opportunity!
The college aims to provide quality education at the least cost possible through its sustainable methods (water harvesting, Biogas, solar energy and sustainable food production using aquaponics etc). Many of those technologies have been implemented and are beginning to bear fruits but as always, good things take time!

As a result, lots of people (both local and international) have been coming to check on us almost daily to learn from us! We have hosted people as far as from Australia, Austria, Germany and the UK! I have been invited to be part of the Namutamba Child Rehabilitation Group.

Just before Christmas, we had the joy of having ‘college and community salon’ open for student training and for community use. Being a festive season, we had lots of customers and the two staff members where kept busy indeed. The primary focus now is on new students that have enrolled to do a course in Hair and Beauty. Some are boarding students from afar.
This facility was well built, conscious of the environment where the graduate students might be working in the future.

This was in addition to ‘college and community restaurant’ having been opened some months back. Like the salon, this also doubles as a catering training centre but also as a community restaurant. Our main customers are the local people, workers from the nearby tea factory and missionaries from Namutamba.

Both the college section and Nursery section are now employing 12 teaching staff in different teaching departments and 8 non-teaching staff (20 people altogether)

Looking forward to 2019 academic year
New term started late February and slowly by slowly we are registering new students to do different courses in Hair and Beauty, building construction, Green technology, catering, fashion and design and secretarial. In the future we hope to offer Boda-boda Mechanics and repair, carpentry, electrical installations and plumbing.

Next to the college, we have added a nursery section! And this is near completion. 70% of the work has now been done and resources allowing, the rest of the work should be completed soon.
Because time was running out to get the nursery started, I came up with plan B. To temporarily use one of the available rooms for the nursery and so we opened the doors to 22 young kids as pioneers of ‘Kids Joy Nursery school

The kids as well as their parents are over the moon to be studying in a conducive environment and with good teachers. Hopefully, these kids will have their ‘new home’ soon where they can play, learn and enjoy life! During the ‘unofficial opening’, parents and well-wishers came to visit and check on the development of the college and Nursery

All together, we now just over 42 young people (college and Nursery) being educated daily. With limited boarding facilities, we are limiting numbers for now until we are ready. We want to grow at a pace that is manageable.

The Bishop of Mityana diocese briefly visited us and when we have worked out the date for the official opening, the Bishop and senior clergy will be willing to come and bless the occasion! The college has a Christian Foundation and Ethos.

This year is getting busy with various things at college but also with some groups booking in to come and visit us. We have a small family team in April.  As usual, we have our SDC family team coming in July headed this time round by Zoe. We also have a Cred team that will be arriving at the same time, another team in October going to Mbale and the campsite. As always, it is our pleasure to have our home open to all our families and friends. That is what real community is about ‘sharing and learning from one another’

I am sure there is a lot that I have forgotten to include in this report but for now let me wish you an amazing new year full of God’s blessings. Love and warm greetings to you all.

Yours, John Njendahayo.

#BalanceforBetter

International Women’s Day 2019 has taken the theme of #BalanceforBetter, to raise awareness of the ongoing need for a more gender-balanced world. After all, it seems fairly sensible to assume that a balanced world is a better world.

This led me to think through the CRED portfolio of partners, and to consider how gender-balanced are the organisations that we partner with?

Top of the list are the three partners that are headed up by women:

Alice heading up Butterfly Space in Malawi, Etenesh who founded and leads Berhan Lehetsanat in Ethiopia, and Janaki who did similar with FIAM in India

And then if we dig a bit deeper we find Seble and Sabah supporting Nebiyu at Ellilta, Josephine co-leading with Aaron at Chisomo, and Pendo heading up the community work with Daniel at TVST.

Add in Cherry, who founded Ellilta, and Dr Jember, who founded IHA-UDP which in turn gave birth to AHISDO and CBISDO, and we have a wonderful set of inspiring women who are all making massive differences in the world, and really raising the profile of women in leadership.

But, they are working in cultures and communities where gender-balance is often anything but the norm, and where day after day they are having to take a stand against patriarchal and unequal mindsets.

Child-brides, abusive and arranged marriages, domestic servitude, prostitution, communities where it is the cultural norm for the men to sit and discuss the day whilst the women go out to work, girls who miss out on education because they are expected to stay home and look after the younger siblings, girls who arrive late at school because they first had to collect water, girls who miss one-quarter of their education because every month they are unable to attend due to a lack of tampons or sanitary pads,  – these are just some of the issues that our partners are experiencing in the communities in which they work.

And gently, subversively, tactfully, through action and example, our partners are making inroads, and changing mindsets. Women are being given a voice, girls are equipped to be able to attend school even when on their period, provision is put in place so that children are looked after, conversations are had with community leaders to discuss how to tackle some of the patriarchal and cultural norms that are no longer seen as acceptable.

This is being done by the women I’ve mentioned, but it is also being done by our other partners, who happen to be led by men, but who are just as focussed on pursuing the rights of girls and women in the communities in which they are based, and through the work that they are doing.

This International Women’s Day, as we celebrate the role of women around the globe, I give thanks for our partners, and for all that they are doing to forge a more equal, gender-balanced world.

And I ask myself, and you (if you’d like the challenge), what can we do - in our communities, our schools, our places of work - to help raise awareness against gender bias, to help promote gender equality, and to take steps, one at a time, towards a more just and equal society for all.