These projects are still going strong. Our monthly grocery distribution program is now able to serve 300-400 people fresh produce, dairy, and meat items every month. We are also busy getting ready for another school year, and determining the current needs of each school that we support.

In partnership with a local nonprofit group in Uganda called Canaan International Outreach Ministries, we purchased 14 acres of land where we have since started a school. We built a primitive, temporary structure that currently functions as a classroom, and we have hired three teachers. In addition to education, we provide school supplies, uniforms, and books for each child, and we feed our students two meals each day. There is also a nurse practitioner who comes to the school once a week to provide basic medical care for the children.

There are currently 125 students enrolled in our school, and more than 150 kids are still waiting to join. In fact, many children who are not enrolled come to the school anyway, and our teachers have a hard time turning them away. Whenever possible, the teachers provide these children with meals and allow them to participate in the classes alongside the enrolled students. As you might imagine, it is our great hope to have the resources to support all children who wish to enroll in the school, and this is one of the goals we are currently trying to meet.

In addition to the school, we are in the process of converting part of the property we purchased into a farm where we can grow food for the villagers, and surplus produce can be sold in the market to bring in more funds for the school. Ultimately, we envision a self-sustaining community, so we have started asking students’ parents and other villagers to donate their time and contribute to this farm project anyway they can.

At the same time, we are turning our attention to the urgent need for more buildings on the school grounds. Our top priority is to build teachers’ quarters and school bathrooms. Currently, our teachers are staying with families in the village, but this arrangement is temporary, and we must move the teachers to their own quarters on our property as soon as possible. Plans for this initial building project have been approved by our board of directors, and the board itself will largely fund this project.