Project Gulu

We really want to give extra thanks to each of you this month. The trip our older kids were able to take, was absolutely life-changing. Remembering where they have lived all their lives with the most horrible war, some in the pure bush with parents killed and with different guardians putting them to work, they really had no hope but to continue in endemic poverty. That is, until you and we came along, by God’s grace! Read more about Gulu Kids Summer Vacation Highlights

As you know, many of the children we have are children of child soldiers, who were abducted from their schools (just as the dear Nigerian girls were recently). A large number of these children grew, were forced to become soldiers, had babies (our students) and then were killed. However, some survived. I was sitting with Michael under the tree the day most students started to return to school, when one of our mommies of a long-term student waved to us, giving us a very warm, heart-felt smile. Michael explained later that she’d been a notorious commander in the LRA! Read more about Learning to Forgive

We have been so busy during the school holidays building before the children return. Our current project is to build 4 new dorm rooms. In the first picture above, you can see the completed foundations. Our surrounding community have been coming over asking if we would be building again this year. They are thrilled to help with any job, to raise school fees and bring income to their sparse existence. Read more about Four New Dorms and a Kitchen, Coming Right Up! | Activated Ministries

Today was guardian visitation day and Open House. It was so cool that quite a few of our children's guardians got to make their way to our school and spend the afternoon with their kids. Everyone got to enjoy sitting around picnic style, relaxing and catching up on recent news and the latest progress by teachers and staff. Many of the guardians rented a pick up or vehicle together. The mirale is the vehicle actually made it. Check out the picture of their ride   Read more about Open House - Getting a Visit from the Children's Guardians

Since we normally focus on the children and progress made at the Project Gulu School, we thought to take a look behind the scenes and introduce you to the team that makes it all possible -- our Project Gulu School teaching staff. Lately, we have been able to spend some quality time with everyone on our teaching staff discussing progress and the overall program. The Project Gulu School is truly made possible thanks to each of our teacher's dedication to the job, as well as their skill and care for the children.   Read more about Meet Our Project Gulu Teaching Team | Activated Ministries

Here are a few pictures we took on one our class excursions to see the famous Samuel Baker Fort with some of the older classes. Samuel Baker fought against slavery and this fort had previously been used by Arabs to hold and even kill slaves.

In these pictures you see the kids and their teacher Douglas in Samuel Baker’s house. The bedroom is behind. The original house was made of stacked stones, on a high rock formation that gives a safe view of all the surrounding area. Read more about Class Excursion in Gulu

It’s been so exciting for our children to not only be participating in cultivating in our farm, and studying hard at school, but of course they’ve had a lot of fun sports time. For many, this is the very first time in their lives they’ve been able to eat 3 meals a day! Now being in a stress-free environment where they don’t have to hustle on the streets to sell a few onions or to carry water or do brick laying to bring in enough to pay for their only meal a day–in the evening, it’s meaning they are just radiant! Read more about The Face of Change | Activated Ministries

Apart from plowing 10 acres this month, our seedlings in our plant nursery have been flourishing and we just began replanting this weekend! The kids have started taking turns helping on the farm one class each day. Most Acholi children do farming before school. It’s a very common sight to see children walking along the road, dirty uniform, hoe over their shoulders on the way to school at about 8 or 9 when they’d left home for their plot of land usually around dawn. Read more about Project Gulu - Progress on the Farm