As some of you already know, I have been offered a position at Engineering Ministries East Africa as the Staff Architect and Intern Coordinator. I am happy to tell you that I have accepted and have officially signed-on as a long-term volunteer for eMi EA.
I have just returned to Uganda after a two-week visit to Switzerland, if you want to check out my adventures, have a look at Nick's blog: http://niftynickt.wordpress.com/
I will stay in Uganda through the end of December. In September, I will go to Kenya for the first time, on another project trip to help design an orphanage and ministry training center in a town called Nakuru. A project description can be found here: http://www.emiworld.org/cpn.html
Though I already have several commitments for financial support, I am still in need. If you feel led to give, email me at jeckloff@gmail.com, and I can let you know how to make a donation!
I would greatly appreciate prayer support as well- I know so many of you are praying for me already, and I can’t thank you enough!
I am very much looking forward to more time here in Africa, I am so blessed to be able to work with such a great ministry! As always, feel free to email me with any questions about me or eMi. Hope you read the new post below about my visit to a Compassion child!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Nasser
The first weekend in July, I had the opportunity to visit a child my sister, Emily, and I sponsor through Compassion International. We have both sponsored children through Compassion before, and she suggested finding a child specifically in Uganda just so I could visit. So, we signed up to sponsor a six-year-old boy, Nasser Kirunda (pronounced, Chee-roonda), and I started making arrangements to visit. Nasser lives on the outskirts of a town called Iganga. (I had actually I spent a week and a half there last year on a project trip with eMi.)
Jacob, the center’s director, actually grew up participating in another Compassion program, saw need in his home area, and decided to establish a new center in Iganga. He picked me up from Kampala and was my host for the day. The center was started in October, and because it was so new, I was actually the first sponsor to visit a child there!
We arrived at the center, and before I met Nasser, I had to sign some paperwork, meet the rest of the staff, and meet Nasser’s mother. Nasser came in and sat down by me at the desk, but was so shy, he looked at the ground the whole time- it was adorable! I asked him a few questions through the translator, but his mother ended up answering most of them because he was too shy to talk. There was a pastor in town that was also involved with the children’s center, and we walked to his house for a wonderful breakfast prepared by his wife. Afterwards, we went to the school Nasser attends (he is still in Nursery school), and he and his classmates sang a song for me.
We then piled in a car and drove to the outside of town to visit Nasser’s home. He lives in a two-room mud hut, with 7 other siblings and both of his parents. Surrounding the home were other mud huts, some the homes of relatives, including his grandparents, and some just the homes of neighbors. Everyone came out to greet me, but just Jacob, Nasser, his mother, and I went into the hut, where I gave out some gifts. His favorite were two small matchbox cars, I saw him smile for the first time when he played with them. Nasser’s younger sister had malaria, and actually had just vomited outside the house, so he let her hold a teddy bear I had given him to make her feel better. It was so sweet- I was very touched!
When I had finished greeting everyone and had taken some pictures, we went back to the pastor’s place for lunch and a quick tour of a construction site for a new office for the center. Then, the visit was over, I said my goodbyes, and headed back to Kampala.
I was very pleased to find Compassion had almost nothing to do with the program in Iganga (and I assume elsewhere in the world). The center was started and run by Ugandans, and Compassion basically only helps them get the sponsors from the States for the children. Everything else is completely separate, the center gets no money from Compassion for facilities, business, salaries, ect- they raise it all themselves. Agreeing with this may seem harsh, but after living here for some time, it is very clear to me that the best way Uganda (and Africa) can be improved, is when the local peoples step up and help each other.
So, my work at eMi may contradict this, but I am not saying that every Western ministry or aid organization should get up and leave. For example, construction of buildings- anywhere in the world- is so specialized that it needs the attention of qualified professionals. I feel like every other week there is a story in the newspaper about a collapsed building, or a fire in a school that killed students because they could not get out. Yes, Africans need to be able to build for themselves, but most importantly they need to build safely. EMI plays a huge part in this aspect of building, and I think it is still an area where Western knowledge is very useful. As an organization, we need to be open to learning from the people here, but there are also things they can still learn from us. I hope you understand…
Anyway, I was very happy Jacob took the initiative to start the program in Iganga, and hope you will pray for him and all the children at the center. I can’t remember the number, but I’m sure there were over 200 children in the program, not every one with sponsors yet, but he told me that he and the staff sit down and pray for each sponsor once a week. The whole time I was there, the staff just kept telling me how grateful they were to all the sponsors, knowing we do not have to do it. It was very humbling, knowing I could honestly afford to give more, but they were so appreciative of what had been given. This program is truly a light in the dark, and a blessing to everyone in the community, I know God will do great things through it!
Jacob, the center’s director, actually grew up participating in another Compassion program, saw need in his home area, and decided to establish a new center in Iganga. He picked me up from Kampala and was my host for the day. The center was started in October, and because it was so new, I was actually the first sponsor to visit a child there!
We arrived at the center, and before I met Nasser, I had to sign some paperwork, meet the rest of the staff, and meet Nasser’s mother. Nasser came in and sat down by me at the desk, but was so shy, he looked at the ground the whole time- it was adorable! I asked him a few questions through the translator, but his mother ended up answering most of them because he was too shy to talk. There was a pastor in town that was also involved with the children’s center, and we walked to his house for a wonderful breakfast prepared by his wife. Afterwards, we went to the school Nasser attends (he is still in Nursery school), and he and his classmates sang a song for me.
We then piled in a car and drove to the outside of town to visit Nasser’s home. He lives in a two-room mud hut, with 7 other siblings and both of his parents. Surrounding the home were other mud huts, some the homes of relatives, including his grandparents, and some just the homes of neighbors. Everyone came out to greet me, but just Jacob, Nasser, his mother, and I went into the hut, where I gave out some gifts. His favorite were two small matchbox cars, I saw him smile for the first time when he played with them. Nasser’s younger sister had malaria, and actually had just vomited outside the house, so he let her hold a teddy bear I had given him to make her feel better. It was so sweet- I was very touched!
When I had finished greeting everyone and had taken some pictures, we went back to the pastor’s place for lunch and a quick tour of a construction site for a new office for the center. Then, the visit was over, I said my goodbyes, and headed back to Kampala.
I was very pleased to find Compassion had almost nothing to do with the program in Iganga (and I assume elsewhere in the world). The center was started and run by Ugandans, and Compassion basically only helps them get the sponsors from the States for the children. Everything else is completely separate, the center gets no money from Compassion for facilities, business, salaries, ect- they raise it all themselves. Agreeing with this may seem harsh, but after living here for some time, it is very clear to me that the best way Uganda (and Africa) can be improved, is when the local peoples step up and help each other.
So, my work at eMi may contradict this, but I am not saying that every Western ministry or aid organization should get up and leave. For example, construction of buildings- anywhere in the world- is so specialized that it needs the attention of qualified professionals. I feel like every other week there is a story in the newspaper about a collapsed building, or a fire in a school that killed students because they could not get out. Yes, Africans need to be able to build for themselves, but most importantly they need to build safely. EMI plays a huge part in this aspect of building, and I think it is still an area where Western knowledge is very useful. As an organization, we need to be open to learning from the people here, but there are also things they can still learn from us. I hope you understand…
Anyway, I was very happy Jacob took the initiative to start the program in Iganga, and hope you will pray for him and all the children at the center. I can’t remember the number, but I’m sure there were over 200 children in the program, not every one with sponsors yet, but he told me that he and the staff sit down and pray for each sponsor once a week. The whole time I was there, the staff just kept telling me how grateful they were to all the sponsors, knowing we do not have to do it. It was very humbling, knowing I could honestly afford to give more, but they were so appreciative of what had been given. This program is truly a light in the dark, and a blessing to everyone in the community, I know God will do great things through it!
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