Some Pandemic Perspective

Hi friends,

I hope you all are doing so well amidst the myriad of current circumstances we are up against in this life! I asked my friend George to write a little about how the pandemic has affected our ministry and his family at GM Childrens Home, so some of us could see a different perspective! 💚

Dear friends and family, when the lockdown and quarantine announcement came in place, our children didn't understand what that meant,-Until we were told that no school should open, no teachers were allowed to teach, no cars were going to move, no one was allowed to work,- remember our children's home and school are in the same compound. We were told that the only way the government would allow our children to stay together was to separate them into different families of 6 to 10. That is when I saw children crying and trembling, and traumatized, each one asking where are we taking these children to? Remember, our full time children in the home are 30 children, 5 teachers, 3 volunteers, a matron and two cooks. We needed to find 5 couples willing to host our children for two months but the children were not willing to leave the home they have grown up knowing as theirs, where they had become comfortable and felt safe. Another big challenge was to find these couples and sign a contract of supplying food to them every Saturday in two days time and yet our children's home has no savings or source of income. We needed to find money and transport our full time workers to their families. By Gods grace,we managed to separate the children and left behind 10 children at the compound, and started traveling on a bicycle every Saturday to take food to the families for one month. Later the government added another month of lockdown and it became very hard for these families to continue being with our children. First of all our supply of food to these families became very hard and they are also struggling with their children too. Before the lockdown we managed to get donations and my work and the church helped us a lot to run the children's home but right now everyone is struggling, churches and work is also on a lockdown because of covid19. We have found a way of bringing back our children in the home. And caring is very hard in terms of feeding. Looking at the children you feel that they are traumatized, they don't why things are not like before. I see they have so many questions but no one can give a clear answer. We are looking to the Lord every day for his provision, when we see donations, all we can do is praise God. -George Kiiza

Y'all, We appreciate so many of you who have helped us to come this far in creating a safe space for our kids and who have consistently supported and cared for us, and prayed for us!! I knew as soon as Corona started being mentioned that this would be a huge deal in Uganda, because the conditions from my perspective are already very harsh! Every one I know there has to walk and carry a jug of water back from a pump or spring on a DAILY BASIS just to have water for drinking, bathing, washing dishes and laundry, cooking, cleaning. Our kids take breaks during school and hike down with empty Jerricans and then come back carrying them full- this is on a NORMAL DAY. They have small little arms and bodies-these containers of water are heavy! The kids are literally stronger than me. They have no choice but to be.

When I travel to this region and stay, it is very difficult for me, due to the harsh conditions. When you add on the whole corona thing, its a completely different and more difficult scenario. Just imagine a line at a water pump or a spring and you are supposed to be standing 6 feet apart and not touching things after each other.. GM Childrens Home is really all these kids have on a daily basis. They have each other, and their home, and the ones who care for them, and a heavenly Father who cares deeply for each little one. I believe each little one has endless potential and will do great things in life, but I am just trying to have perspective and share it, because i don't think a lot of us have been thinking of this reality.

You also have to realize that Uganda took this pandemic very seriously because they just got done dealing with Ebola, so as soon as word got out about the pandemic some things like imported food came to a halt and certain items were hard to find or prices started rising. They started telling people they couldn't be out in the street selling produce and walking around, this is rural Africa Y'all, they don't have grocery stores where GM Childrens Home is, they have markets, that are usually full of people. I know many people starved during this pandemic. We had several people at Gm Childrens Home with health conditions, and they had to pay for an ambulance to come and get them, because they were not allowed to drive!!!!! That is a totally different setup than what most of us have been living. Some of us were looking for toilet paper and rearranging our budgets, and others in the world were trying their hardest just to stay alive. Then there have been floods all over the mountain regions and people have died, lost their homes, lost loved ones, all during the same time period.

There is a lot happening, and most of us have so much to be grateful for. Please take time to sit with that gratitude, and experience it, truly feel it. And please take a moment or two, to pray for Uganda, and to pray for our children and our friends. They already have a lot of stressors in their lives, and are very strong people, because they have to be.

It is easy to get caught up in the fear and the drama and the news and the updates that we keep hearing and seeing on every outlet, but please take time to be grateful, take time to pray for others, take time to nurture yourself, and gain BALANCE. I didn't write this to pity my friends and our kids, and this is not to sadden you and give you more burdens to carry on your back that is already breaking. I just want to give you some perspective. We are remaining positive ALWAYS. God is in control. We are in his hands. We must maintain BALANCE. We take time to feel and experience all of the negative, depression, anxiety, suffering, sadness, frustration, anger, despair, isolation, stress....... and then we let it go, and we give it to God. The we seek the positive. We thank God for our blessings and for giving us another day. For each other. For every nourishment and gift he has provided us. We thank him for loving us and never leaving us. We look forward, and we believe in the good things coming. Believe with us! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

If anyone wants to make a donation in any amount, it will be extremely appreciated and you can donate at: paypal.me/beautifulpursuit.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I pray that all is well with you and your loved ones and that you are surviving and thriving through all of the struggles and obstacles. and if not, then I pray that you will be- very soon! Keep your head up ! We are gonna make it in Jesus Name!!! 😘

💛- S