Building hope in Uganda
Revd Ken McGrath (right), rector of Kilkeel, recently returned from a Hope Builders trip to Uganda where a team of 38 built one large classroom block and two dormitories in two weeks and 40 degree heat! Ken also had the privilege of seeing a new project, ‘Hope Village’ which is making a huge difference to the poorest families in the area.
With the exception of 2014, a Hope Builders team has been travelling from County Down to Uganda annually since 2001. Originally the vision of Kilkeel parishioner and Diocesan Reader, David Charleton, several parishes in the diocese have sent team members and been involved in fundraising over the last 15 years.
All the trips have been to Nakasongola, north of Kampala, in an area once known as as the Luwero Triangle. In these notorious ‘Killing Fields’, many people were murdered and had their bodies dumped. In the late nineties Nakasongola was not only part of the jungle, it was a place without hope.
“It’s been incredible to see what has happened here since Trevor Stevenson (Fields of Life) arrived in 1995,” said Ken. “It started with a primary school and now Bethel Royal is a model secondary school and a whole community has sprung up around it. Not only is there hope here, there is also tremendous potential.”
High quality local leadership has been key to the success of Nakasongola and Ken, who was a headmaster in Kenya in the early nineties, also spent some time with the headteacher and staff of the school.
Also on the trip, Professor Rab Mollan, retired orthopaedic surgeon and NSM, ran a daily clinic at the medical centre. As word spread the numbers grew and Rab was able to treat a wide variety of ailments and refer others for lifesaving treatment.
Hope Village
Hope Village is another project born in Kilkeel, this time the vision of parishioner, Karen Campbell, Michelle McCartney (also from the town) and Romayne Douglas from Ballywalter.
Whilst cooking for the teams over the years they were impacted by the plight of some of the women and their families who were destitute, often through no fault of their own. They were squatting on the land in very basic dwellings and at the mercy of the landowner.
“We really wanted to do something permanent to help and the obvious solution was to build a community,” says Karen. “We purchased 20 acres of land and now there are 12 houses and 12 families in ‘Hope Village’.
“Every family arrives with nothing and is given a 4–room brick house with a separate latrine and wash house on a one and a half acre plot which they have to clear and cultivate. They’re also given basic furniture and utensils, a bull and 4 months worth of food.
“We set them on their feet and give them a chance to flourish,” continues Karen. “The hardest thing is having to turn some families down, but we have eyes and ears in the area looking out for the most needy cases.”
Land in Uganda is steadily rising in price but, after stepping out in faith and offering to buy 22 more acres, God has provided the funds and Hope Village is set to grow again!
(Hope Village is administered by ‘Inspired Hope Uganda’ a charity registered in Uganda with 7 trustees.)