Watoto Christmas Update

CHRISTMAS UPDATE 2015

Oh, What Love, the album, is a mosaic of stories that reflect a common heart. The heart of the story is God’s love, and it is shared through the combination of the unique experiences of more than 25 artists.

The album gave local Ugandan artists the chance to collaborate with international songwriters and musicians.

This cultural exchange pushed the musical boundaries of all involved.

These songwriters and musicians each brought their own culture and talent to the table. Together they created a rich and diverse narrative, combined with powerful music that mixes traditional African elements with modern sounds.

We believe in the power of our individual stories, and this collaboration gave those involved a platform to celebrate their personal journeys.

“When we collaborate as creatives, we are not only celebrating our unique testimonies, but we are also growing in our understanding of who God is,” said James Skinner, Creative Director for Oh, What Love.

“It’s important to share the message of Oh, What Love because many people don’t know who Jesus is. When we share the message of God’s love, we can really change people’s lives.”

Our hope is that people will see a reflection of their own stories in the narrative of this album. We pray that, through these songs, people will come to a better understanding of God’s love for them.

Watch the music video Be Exalted and share the album with someone this season by purchasing it at https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/ohwhat-love/id974470550

We’re excited that another 748 ladies graduated from Living Hope in December 2015. They’re now empowered with a vocational skill, basic business acumen and adult literacy. Through the discipleship classes, we’ve seen Jesus bring peace to many, who have come to terms with their past.

Some of these women will go on to build their own small businesses. Others have been recruited for the Living Hope workshops, and many are now employed in the marketplace.

Annet Kabahenda is one of the ladies in our Kampala workshop. She is small, but feisty and loves to find humour in every situation. Even though her life has been tough, she’s still a little girl at heart.

Today Annet works in our beading department.

Our intricately woven Kabahenda necklace (worn by her on the opposite page), is named after her.

Furiously working to produce the many orders for this piece, her colleagues lean towards her with furrowed brows as they weave. They shake their heads and tell us, “This necklace is difficult, just like its namesake,” says someone as the whole table erupts with laughter.

Annet takes the joke graciously as she remembers her recent past, “I had to be tough in those days because no one had ever accepted me.

But here, I have learned to be kind, humble and to cool down,” she says with a smile.

Throughout her life, Annet experienced rejection

and loss by the men in her life. She was disowned by her father, abandoned by the father of her first child, and widowed by the father of her second.

She found herself living on the streets, finding shelter in the hallways of local hospitals, on sidewalks and semi-constructed homes.

Everyday she would hussle, trying to make ends meet with any odd job she could get. She washed cars, helped lay down tiles at a construction site and washed towels at a salon. Each job payed her about a dollar a day.

Eventually, she heard about Living Hope through a Watoto Church member. A few months into the program, Annet said, “I found a new life. I felt like my cry was over. I came searching for freedom from my past. I found that, and so much more.”

“Today I have a key that opens the padlock of my own home. I have a place where I can sit and have dinner with my children,” she says. “That has been my dream for over 34 years.”

Annet is a hero. Her story is shared through every purchase of the Kabehenda Necklace on Marilyn Skinner’s Return to Dignity Tour. Her and thousands of other women like her, are empowered through your continued support.

Thanks to your faithful support, 98 new children joined our Watoto villages this year. 15 of our young adults graduated from university with various degrees.

This means we now have 340 graduates, who have succeeded in obtaining a tertiary qualification. We give glory to God for that.

Every year, the children at our Watoto villages celebrate Christmas with a gift distribution. This year, we decided to change it up, create some memories and celebrate in style with an all-day Children’s Fun Day. On 8 November, Watoto’s Suubi Village was a hive of activity as children, 10 years and younger were treated to their first ‘Fun Day’.

“They were so excited. It’s not every day that the kids are able to experience something like this,” said Carol Tusiime, Child Development Coordinator.

Action kicked off at 11 am with many fun activities that included swimming, bouncing castles, dancing, and facepainting, among other activities.

Brian Twesigye, who was sporting a painted Spiderman face, said he enjoyed the face painting while Grace Nabatte said she had the most fun at the bouncing castles.

Everyone enjoyed a hearty lunch and the day was topped off with a cake cutting ceremony, where the children expressed their gratitude for their sponsors.

“We are really grateful to all of our sponsors for giving towards the gift pool, over and above their regular sponsorship. We would not have been able to have these parties without their support,” said Alex Ssozi, Watoto’s Homes Team Leader.

Baby Victoria was approximately 5 months old when we discovered her. She arrived swollen and severely malnourished, with a large superficial ulcer on her stomach.

Victoria had been kidnapped by two women who are now under detention with local police as investigations take place.

We witnessed Victoria’s first adorable smile a few days after she received special medical care. We look forward to seeing her grow into a healthy toddler in the future.

Watoto’s sustainability arm exists to generate income to sustain Watoto’s activities in caring for orphaned children and vulnerable women. It also exists to create a training component for Watoto young adults to become future business leaders and to create employment opportunities for Watoto young adults.

Every year, some of our Watoto children are both trained and employed at the Watoto farms.

24-year-old Francis Kizza started working at the Buloba Poultry Farm in April because he felt he had a passion for something different.

“It was always hard for me to grasp things in class. So I asked for a hands on opportunity and the farm offered just what I needed,” Francis says.

At the farm, the students are equipped with the knowledge and skill they would need for their future pursuits.

“For the eight months that I have been here, the major thing that I have learnt is

teamwork. I have noticed that through teamwork, one can learn a lot and work gets done easily,” says Francis.

To encourage more children, a dormitory and staff house building at the farm has been completed. This will provide accommodation for our children who sign up as interns or have practical classes at the farm.

In a bid to be reach out to the surrounding community, we started our community water project, which allows local dwellers to collect fresh water from tanks at the farm. A solar powered pump installed in a recently drilled borehole fills these tanks.

In addition, 35 community members are also employed at the Watoto Lubbe Farm.

WATOTO CHURCH AT WORK

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