Watoto Newsletter CA

WWW.WATOTO.COM | OCTOBER 2014 | ISSUE NO.3

Watoto is thrilled to bring you a brand new production, Oh What Love, beginning January 2015. Through this dynamic worship experience, the Watoto Children’s Choir, who were once orphans, share their journeys to redemption and demonstrate that God desires to be a loving father to all mankind.

“After losing my parents I felt lonely, with no one to love

me. Now I know that God is my father. He loves and cares for me. In the choir, I am going to show people that God loves them too,” says six-year-old Jackie Nakku.

Based on the bible verse, 1 John 3:1; “See what kind of love the father has given us, that we should be called children of God, and so we are”, prepare for a unique worship experience,

underscored with the sounds and rhythms of Africa, that blends traditional and modern dance with original music. Oh What Love celebrates the urban African landscape and brings out the unique personalities of the children.

Since 1994, Watoto children’s choirs have traveled all over the world sharing the plight of Africa’s orphaned and

WHAT WE DO ORPHANED CHILDREN | VULNERABLE WOMEN | COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION

vulnerable, making an appeal to help raise these children so that they can rebuild their nation.

Each of the children in the choir has suffered the loss of one or both of their parents and they have been rescued and now live in a Watoto village.

Book the choir in your region now. Email us at canada@watoto.com.

BABY WATOTO TEAM If you have a desire to serve with Baby Watoto in Uganda, there is an opportunity to volunteer in our 3 Baby Watoto facilities. We will be taking a team comprised of Canadians from July 13th - 27th 2015. You will also have a chance to visit the many Watoto projects on the ground which include Living Hope, Watoto farms and the Watoto Villages.

The team volunteer activities will

BECOME A WATOTO AMBASSADOR

include baby care from feeding to changing diapers and most importantly to love our precious babies. At the end of your time in Uganda, you will have an optional 3 day/2 night safari where you will truly experience The Pearl of Africa! For more information: Email visitafrica@watoto.ca or call our Visit Africa Coordinator at 1-250-920-8597

A FUTURE SO BRIGHT Juliet ran her fingers over the wheel of her tailoring machine, admiring its contours. She shifted the weight of her feet over the pedal and listened to them falling into rhythm. The machine was a gift from her husband’s grandmother on the day she gave birth to her first child. It became one of her most valuable possessions. She stared at the machine with a faint ache in her heart, wishing she had the skills to use it.

When Juliet met her husband, she was searching for a home. Her father had stopped supporting her and she was forced to drop out of school. When she tried to move in with her mother, she was rejected. She saw marriage as an escape.

Juliet was twenty-one when she sat at a maternity ward holding the results of her routine HIV test.

She was pregnant with her first child. She was shocked when she read that she was positive, but her husband seemed unfazed.

Juliet wondered if he’d always known, but she didn’t ask him any

ACT AWARE

questions. She couldn’t afford to lose another home.

Seven years later, he abandoned her and she was left to look after their two children on her own.

She managed to support herself by helping her sister braid hair,

We often say, “It Takes a Village to Raise a Child”, and that’s true not only within our Watoto villages, but also in our global village (that means you). We would like to invite you to be a Watoto Ambassador in Canada.

As a Watoto Ambassador, you’ll have the opportunity to use your skills and creative ideas to raise awareness/support on behalf of the orphaned children and vulnerable women in Africa.

Act Aware by fundraising - As a Watoto ambassador, you will have an opportunity to do something to mark World AIDS Day and Christmas. Fancy organizing a movie night? We have a short film and material for you to host a movie night. This December, we will rely on your fantastic fundraising to raise vital funds on behalf of Watoto. For more information, suggestions and ideas, email: ambassador@watoto.ca.

but work was irregular and she never had enough. She worried when a child showed any sign of sickness because she couldn’t buy medicine. She knew that soon her eldest would be old enough to start school, but she wouldn’t be able to afford it.

Juliet heard of Living Hope from other women in the

community. “I knew that if I was given the chance, I could also become an empowered woman,” she said.

Last month Juliet and five other women were called to be trained in tailoring at our workshop in Kampala. In just three weeks, she went from learning to run the machine and making basic

CHANGING LIVES THROUGH SPONSORSHIP When Maria Roth decided to partner with Watoto by sponsoring 2 children, she had no idea that one day she

would see firsthand the impact that her monthly support would have. Maria, a supporter of Watoto for 6 years and sponsor

of Sharon Nanyobi (18) and Frank Ssekubulwa (16), was excited to sign up as a sponsor with the intention of making a positive difference. As the years have gone

by Maria has built relationships with both Sharon and Frank through letter writing. After 6 years of sponsorship, Maria decided to pursue the possibility of meeting her sponsor children in person in Uganda. With the help of some of Watoto staff members, she was able travel to Uganda and have a life changing meeting with Sharon and Frank, “I actually think that God has something really big planned as a result of our meeting” Maria stated after her return from Uganda. ”Sharon and Frank are both wonderful examples of the benefits of child sponsorship.

Sharon wants to be a doctor and Frank wants to be an engineer and both are lovely young people”. After seeing and experiencing the impact that her monthly support has

had on her sponsor children, Maria wholeheartedly spreads word of the value of the Watoto sponsorship program. We encourage you to prayerfully consider sponsoring a Watoto child today. For $38 per month, you can become a Watoto sponsor and contribute to rebuilding the continent of Africa.

Each sponsorship has the ability to transform lives and change a continent for Christ. For more information, please contact our Watoto Canada office by phone (toll free) 1.888.9.WATOTO or by email sponsorship@watoto. ca. If you are interested in joining a sponsorship Visit Africa Team that will travel to Uganda in 2015, please contact our Visit Africa coordinator at 250.920.8597 or by email at visitafrica@watoto.ca.

Thank you to all of our past, present and future Watoto supporters, without your faithful support we would not be able to do what we do.

For a number of years, we have been praying about and discussing the best long term plans for our children with significant special needs.

Over the past few months, we established a partnership with a new Christian organization, The Gem Foundation, in Kampala.

They specifically care for children with significant special needs, into their adulthood.

We are excited by what this organization is doing and believe that this is the best option for

some of our children with special needs who have outgrown Baby Watoto. The first group of children were moved from Baby Watoto Kampala to The Gem Foundation in August. We believe that this is a great opportunity for our children and are excited to continue to watch them grow and develop.

Partner with us by sponsoring Baby Watoto at www.watoto. com/sponsorship today.

stitches, to learning how to make a dress. “I hope to be a tailor and to grow so that I don’t need to depend on my family,” she said.

Empower other women like Juliet by partnering with us. Email us at livinghope@ watoto.com.

SPECIAL MOVE This past quarter, a number of our Baby Watoto Suubi toddlers graduated into our villages.

Many of these abandoned babies joined the Watoto family severely malnourished, premature, abused, and/or neglected. They are now cherished, active, creative toddlers filled with hope and joy. It is amazing to watch their transformation and we celebrate this exciting milestone in their lives.

WATOTO CANADA PO BOX 98 VICTORIA, BC V8W 2M1 1-888-9WATOTO CANADA@WATOTO.COM

CHRISTMAS GIFT FUND Curled ribbons and shiny bows on top of wrapped packages are what millions of children will wake up to see at Christmas.

The anticipation of what’s waiting to be unwrapped can be seen in the smiles on the faces of every child. Giving a financial donation to the gift fund or donating a gift allows you to be a part of putting that same excitement on thousands of faces in our Watoto villages.

Call (toll free) 1.888.9.WATOTO to make your tax-deductible gift or you can mail your donation to Watoto P.O. Box 98 Victoria, BC V8W 2M1 and simply write Gift Fund in the memo.