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Writer's pictureTusonge Children's Ministries

Newsletter: May 2021

Tusonge Moving Forward in Amazing Ways


“Tusonge” means moving forward in the native language of Uganda. And “moving forward” is what our children, volunteers, sponsors and donors have been doing in miraculous ways over the last several months.


As Covid-19 restrictions began to lift in April 2021 two of our board members, Becky Berg and Shelley Crawford George, traveled to Uganda to see how things are going. We are thrilled to bring you up to date on what they saw and what we’ve accomplished since our last report.


 

New Sponsorships


Life in Uganda is hard. Our "kids" come from very deprived backgrounds. Some are orphans, others come from single parent households while others may have two parents but the dire poverty in which they live makes it impossible for their parents to provide healthy meals, sanitary living conditions and an education. Families live on a dollar a day or less. Homes are nothing more than one-or-two room mud or tin shacks.


We are delighted that 2 beautiful children have recently been sponsored.



Bright is a 6 yr. old who lives in a village outside Kampala. His father denied that Bright was actually his child. He is staying with his mother who is a house helper and she didn't have enough money to send him to school.





Immaculate is 13 yrs. old and lives with her brother, mother & father. Her father is struggling with cancer and cannot work. Her mother makes bricks for her family to survive. Immaculate is extremely excited to be able to go to school.


This brings to 45 the number of children we are caring for. Sponsorships are $100 per month, or $50 per month for a shared sponsorship. This covers a child’s tuition, room and board, and health care at an accredited Christian boarding school, plus their room, board, meals, clothing and other necessities at our group home. All of your donation goes directly to the children. We cover staffing and administration fees through separate donations.


We invite you to visit our Sponsorship page to learn more.

 

Bringing Clean Water to the Community

Tusonge Children's Ministries Water Project

Contaminated water is a tragic fact of life in Uganda. It is the leading cause of illness, death and shortened life spans. We learned of UzimaFilters.org, an American company operating in nearby Kenya that manufactures inexpensive yet very effective home and commercial water filters.


We purchased several filtration systems to take into the community. Shelley and Becky trained some of our older children to assemble the filters, and to teach families how to use them. They went out into the community on a test run and quickly distributed our first units to excited and grateful families.


“Some were reluctant to drink the water at first, so I said if I drink it will you?”, Shelley said. “That convinced them to try it. Once they took a taste of the clean healthy water they were amazed.”


To learn more details about the clean water filtration system visit our Clean Water page. You can also view videos of putting the systems in the homes on our YouTube Channel.

 

Thoughtful Donations Help Tusonge Girls

Women volunteers at Louisburg (KS) United Methodist Church have been providing thoughtful gifts to our Tusonge girls for the last few years.


These volunteers make washable and reusable sanitary products from donated fabric and non-permeable material that are then shipped to Uganda. Our girls are so deeply grateful for these gifts. They make a huge difference both personally and financially.


If you’d like to support this program, please email us at tusongeministries@gmail.com for more information.

 

Tusonge Grads Have “Eyes on the Future”


Two young men who have grown up in Tusonge are the first to embark on new pathways, thanks to our “Eyes on the Future” grant program.


The program provides up to $2,700 (10 million Ugandan shillings) to successful high school graduates who seek to enroll in college or a trade program, start their own business, or acquire tools, equipment or materials as they start a career.



Regan Aslimwe was awarded a grant to pay for tuition at Makerere University where he will be studying International Business. Makerere is Uganda’s flagship university, and is rated among the Top Ten in Africa.




Joshua Bugembe has opened an audio and video recording studio with his grant. He is a recent graduate of a music production trade school. He already has numerous clients utilizing his creative services.


If you would like to learn more and/or support this exciting new program, visit our Grant Program page.

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