Amazing potential! |
With the new season opening up, it has been a busy week at the school – and also elsewhere. Last Tuesday we did go to Kampala to try and sort out the Memorandum of Understanding that we need to agree with the Ministry of Education – as part of the requirements for the NGO Registration that is, in turn, part of the process of applying for our Work Permits. Well! To say it was frustrating – this second brush with Government bureaucracy – would be something of an understatement. And it wasn’t just bureaucracy that made it a frustrating day. Azedy and I literally lost count of the number of different offices within the Ministry of Education to which we were referred in our attempt to find someone who could help. The very best we could manage at the end of the day was to be told, “Go back to Kaliro, write a letter and bring it in.” In the meantime, Rob had been to the airline office in Kampala to confirm our flights back to the UK on 2 April – only to find that their computer system was not operating and he, too, was unable to achieve anything. Fortunately the rest of the week has been a lot more productive and positive. On Wednesday we had a meeting at the school to be informed of what areas of land will be used by OpFOL for the food and cash crops this season. It required some negotiating with some of the teachers who currently use the land for private gain. The negotiations, which rightly did not include OpFOL staff, seem to have been concluded positively and we received a very warm welcome to the school by the staff. And the OpFOL project has been allocated two blocks of land that amount to 7.5 acres. This will allow for 4 acres of cash crop and 3 for a food crop. Just as importantly – perhaps even more so – we were invited to re-start the Pastors’ meetings that were interrupted by Christmas and then never restarted. Rob was also invited to start the youth meetings that were due to have started in December. Although we were both keen to re-start these meetings, we held back from suggesting it because we wanted to know that it was something that the local Pastors and youth were actually requesting. So we will have one Pastors meeting before our leave in April, and then we will start a regular programme of Pastors and youth meeting on our return in May. This is an answer to your prayers for more opportunities to proclaim the Gospel, and give some much needed Bible teaching. On Thursday there was no power (again!) where we live, nor in the local town of Iganga. Since the start of the rainy season we have suffered a series of prolonged power cuts. So we headed for Jinja in order that we could work on our computers and access the internet. It turned out to have been a good move! Many of you will have heard of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Bill Gates is the founder of Microsoft and the richest man in the world). I am sure that all of you will have heard of Coca-Cola. These two organisations have come together to help promote agriculture in Africa. The idea is that the Gates Foundation will fund farmers to grow fruit, and Coca-Cola will buy the fruit to develop a new range of drinks as the consumers of the West turn to healthier fruit drinks. This scheme is being administered in Uganda by a company called TechnoServe. I e-mailed TechnoServe on Thursday to inform them of the work of OpFOL. Within a couple of hours I had a response from their company manager. Although the scheme does not operate within Kaliro District, the Country Manager has requested a meeting with us to discuss “areas of possible synergy.” I hope that we will be able to have that meeting quite soon. It has the potential to be an amazing development, but we will have to wait and see. On Friday we spent a large portion of the day at the school measuring and marking out the land for the project. We also set in motion the steps necessary for the ploughing to commence, and this subsequently started on Monday. And we arranged with Dassan (the Garden Master) a programme of work for the pupils, who will help develop the land during their agricultural extra-curricular activities. So - in theory at least – anywhere up to 100 or so pupils will be working the land for one hour each day of the week. This gives us tremendous potential to prepare the land for planting, and then maintain it through weeding and, when necessary, watering. The land is in two portions and because of its layout, we are questioning whether to proceed with the rice crop, or whether to simply put 5 acres down to maize – three for the pupils (with one inter-cropped with soya) and two to sell. On Friday morning we had a very positive meeting with the LC1 – the local leader who is a rice farmer. In another answer to your prayers, he was very helpful and supportive. Having given us lots of information, his parting comment was to invite Rob and I to call on him any time we needed any further input. So with that kind of support it would be good to be able to grow rice, but the land doesn’t really lend itself to it. So we will take further advice. Saturday was another day of computer work. Planning and the all important communications and publicity. We saw the young man. Michael, about whom I wrote last week. He had produced 6 paintings during the week, which we bought from him. These will now be framed locally, and the intention is to take them to England in April and see if we can sell them as part of our fundraising. For Sunday Rob and I had accepted an invite to speak at a church in Kaliro town. Another answer to those prayers for more opportunities to spread the Word. In the event I was unable to attend the church so Rob had another God-given opportunity to develop his preaching ministry. He had a greatly blessed day. After preaching in the main service he spent some considerable time with the young people of the church in a question and answer session, teaching them to always turn to the Bible for the answers to their questions. He then was taken to visit some of the sick of the church and asked to pray for them. We discovered by chance – having made several arrangements for the day – that Monday was a public holiday, with everywhere shut down. There is an interesting attitude here to information. It seems that if you ask the right questions you will be given the relevant answers; but if you don’t know what questions to ask then information will not be volunteered. It seems to be a curious aspect of the local culture because we have heard the same from other foreign organisations working here. We have encountered this several times – for example, not being told that Azedy was a member of KADAF until just a few weeks ago (when we could have benefited from knowing that back in October), not being told until very recently that the LC1 is a rice farmer – and so on. It is part of our learning process and we are starting to be much more inquisitive about every aspect of the work. Fortunately there is always work we can do on the computers – particularly now as we prepare presentations for our time in England in April. Our work on the computers was hampered – again – by yet another power cut. Since the rainy season started these are now a daily occurrence, and not just when it is raining. Again we are fortunate because if there is no power in Nambale (where we live) we can head for the nearest town, Iganga, which is on a different grid and, if that also fails, we can always head for Jinja. We received news on Monday that the Makerere University students, who were struggling to raise the support they need from the pharmaceutical companies in Kampala to enable the planned community outreach in March, have now received some support that, in the words of Baker (the main organiser), “Puts us one step ahead.” I am not clear the level of support but he said that he was “very excited” when he was told about it. Once again, this is a direct answer to your prayers. With the actual outreach delayed until May, and support now coming in, we have got plenty of time to make sure it is a successful outreach that benefits the greatest number of people possible. This medical outreach is yet another excellent example of the work and principles of OpFOL. The first medical outreach at the school was funded by OpFOL, but with the idea of local people and local resources meeting local needs, the fundamental principle of OpFOL, now planted in the minds of the University students - through the presentation that Rob and I did towards the end of last year – the students have now owned this idea and are staffing it with local people and supporting it through local resources. The role of OpFOL has always been to act as a catalyst, and this medical outreach – and the way it has developed - wonderfully illustrates how that can work. And one further development that may have a lot of potential to assist the work has come in response to an e-mail campaign I started about a week ago. I have seen since being in Uganda that so much aid is wasted simply because it is not directed to where it is really needed. And I am certain that this will be the case across the developing world. So I put together an e-mail around the subject of targeted aid – achieving more and costing less. Putting the aid directly into areas that will facilitate self-sufficiency and really make a difference in the lives of many ordinary people. I asked that people forward the e-mail to friends and, most importantly, to their political representative. One of my friends was really gripped by the content of the e-mail. In fact, he described the information as “gold dust.” He has friends in the media – in the film and television industry – and he is speaking with them about the possibility of an interview in April that will, perhaps, then be made into a video/DVD for distribution to churches. This, if it happens, will raise awareness of the issue of targeted aid, which is vital if the wealthier countries are to really make an impact on the grinding poverty that affects so many, but it will also raise the profile of OpFOL - with who knows what implications for the work. If you would like to join this e-mail campaign for targeted aid, please send me an e-mail at Niall@christianbiblechurch.co.uk and I will send you the original e-mail for forwarding to friends, political representatives and anyone else you think my be interested and able to help. It’s time to stop the huge wastage that most Governments call “International aid” and time to target the aid to make a real difference. With the possibility of a media interview, and the possible link with TechnoServe, it has been a week that has produced huge potential for the work. But, of course, these are just ideas at the moment – but certainly something to be praying about as either of these opportunities could have profound implications for the work, which means, ultimately, profound implications for the poor. Today (Tuesday) we are hoping that Rob will be able to go to Kampala to try again to sort out the Memorandum of Understanding that we need for the NGO Registration. It now seems quite certain that we will not be able to obtain the Work Permits before we leave for the UK in just over three weeks, so now the task is to have all the paperwork with the NGO Board before we leave. They have assured us that they will then be able to speak with the Immigration Department and have our visas extended until the formalities are complete. On the domestic front, we are having on-going problems with rats in our accommodation, and there has been one minor health issue this week. Other than that it has been a quiet week with no major disruptions or interruptions. The rains have continued and we have had some heavy downpours. We are all hoping for a good rainy season that we help ensure a successful second crop at the school. In England the publicity is being distributed for the fundraising events in April, and the tickets are now going on sale. A huge amount of work has gone into getting the various events this far, and there is still a lot to do before April. The Home Team are all working hard to raise as much money as possible towards the next phase of the work when we return in May. If you are anywhere near Devon then do try and make either of the two major events: “Offshore with OpFOL” on 10th April or the OpFOL Community Day on 17th April. Both of these are in Dartmouth, Devon and you can get details from Gilly Ridout on 01548 581184. If you cannot attend but would like to contribute towards the costs of the events – maybe even act as a sponsor – then that would be a great way to make sure that more of the money raised goes towards the work in Uganda and less towards meeting the expenses of the events. Once again, call Gilly if you would like to support these events in any way at all. Please do pray about the following matters concerning the work and needs of OpFOL: 1. Please do pray for the processing of our application for a Memorandum of Understanding, and NGO Registration. There is no reason to assume there will be any problems, but the sooner these formalities are behind us, the sooner we can really concentrate on the work and not have to divert time, energy and money into sorting out paperwork. 2. Please give thanks for the very positive outcome of the land negotiations at the school. It was very important to keep that staff on board for the project, and that seems to have happened even though some have had to surrender land. I think this represents another answer to your prayers for a spirit of unity and co-operation. 3. Please do pray that we will know God’s wisdom in how to be able to use the land to best advantage, choosing the right crop and implementing all the necessary steps based on the learning from the previous crop. 4. Please do give thanks for the invitation to re-start the Pastors and Youth meetings. Please pray for Rob and me as we prepare the material for these meeting. They do represent another answer to your prayers – thank you for praying. 5. Please give thanks for the surprisingly swift and positive response from TechnoServe. Please pray as today (Tuesday) I phone the country manager to arrange the meeting that he has requested. Techno Serve have been working in this field for decades and are very experienced. To get them on board, in any way at all, could make a huge difference – whether through finance, practical support or technical advice. 6. Please give thanks that the land preparation has at last started with the ploughing. Lack of organisational skills here means that it is very easy to lose a few days, a week – and then the optimum time for planting is gone. So please pray for an efficient approach to this aspect of the work, so crucial towards getting a successful crop. And please pray that as we include the pupils in the land preparation, and as we physically work alongside them, they will give of their best to help make the project - and the crops – successful, they represent a significant workforce and could make a big difference. 7. Please give thanks for the very helpful meeting that we had with the LC1. In yet another answer to your prayers we were given a lot of advice, a promise of on-going support and a welcome to his home any time we need advice. Rice is a high maintenance crop and, without going into too much detail, the layout of the land makes us question whether it is right to proceed. Please pray that the Lord will clearly guide the very important decision about what the final cash crops will be. 8. Please give thanks for the preaching opportunity enjoyed by Rob on Sunday. It represents another answer to your prayers. He was greatly encouraged by the day’s events, by the response of the main congregation and the young people after the service. It is wonderful to watch as the Lord develops Rob’s ministry. Please do pray for Rob, particularly for wisdom and humility, as he grows into this new role of preacher of the Word. 9. Please do give thanks for the offer of support that the Makerere medical students have now received for their planned outreach. This represents yet another answer to your prayers. Please pray for the remainder of the planning and preparation, that these will be similarly blessed. 10. Please pray that the efforts to secure an interview, and from that a video/DVD for distribution to churches and other groups, will be successful. It is dependent upon people who don’t know me, or the work, and will have to be persuaded by my friend in England who received my e-mail about targeted aid. Please pray that the Lord will indeed bless him with both passion and persuasive powers to bring about the desired result. This could result in support for the work but, even more importantly, the ultimate goal is that it could bring a change in the way aid is distributed. 11. Please do pray about whether you should receive a copy of the original e-mail, and whether you have a part to play in making aid far more effective than is currently the case. If enough people are prepared to receive the e-mail, “copy”, “paste,” “send” – who knows what the Lord may be able to do! 12. Please do pray for all those who are working so hard on the Home Team to make a success of the April fundraising events. Please do pray for the events themselves – particularly the events on 10th and 17th April. And, of course, please do pray about whether you have a role to play for OpFOL during April. 13. Please do continue to pray that we will receive positive news about the mango variety the fruit processing company wants – that it will be a type that we can harvest in meaningful quantities from the wild. Such a successful result could make a significant difference to the financial situation of OpFOL and, therefore, for our potential to develop the work. It is now approaching the time when we will need to phone the company for their decision. 14. And finally, please continue to pray for all the people whose co-operation is vital for the plans of OpFOL to achieve maximum effect. These include Azedy, John, Christine, Dassan, the LC1, the members of the OpFOL Planning and Evaluation Committee, and the Makerere students including Baker, Robert and Caesar, the officials at the department of Internal Affairs (the ministry that deals with NGO registration), and now the officials in the two High Commissions as well as Patrick and Fiona from KADAF. So many answers to prayer, still so many things for which to pray!
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