Paul Jeffries' news from Uganda
Dear Friends,
Praise God for all His wonderful blessings! We have enjoyed a spectacular beginning to the new school year here at Bishop McAllister College. Enrollment is higher than ever, with more than 540 boys and girls now boarding at school. In addition to this we recently received news that in our district (Bushenyi) we ranked 12th in academic performance out of more 50 schools. This is quite an achievement for such a young school. We give all the glory to God as He continues to do great things at Kyogyera.
While the new school year officially began in the February, we had as many as 100 students in school by mid-January. Some were preparing for their national exams this year, and others had come to train for the upcoming soccer season.
I think one of the most important and successful programs we have ever engaged in is that of the Child Sponsorship Programme. It raises school fees to help young children who are orphans and unable go to school for lack of fees. This year more than 150 children will benefit from this programme, more than a 115 of whom are sponsored through friends in Canada. Together with these children I would like to send our heart felt thanks to all our friends in Canada, US, and Britain who support this programme and have given them a chance for a “better tomorrow”. Special thanks go out to Rev. John & Gail Tremblay who give so much of their time coordinating this important programme. We have given hope to people like James and his grandmother (pictured left) for his future, after spending a whole year out of school for lack of money.
In January we saw the girl’s dormitory receiving its final touches, including painting of the exterior. The long awaited computers from Canada arrived bringing our total to more than 50 computers. It is hard to believe how far we have come in such a short time. Praise be to God! Our new kitchen has been put to the test and has passed with flying colors. What a difference it makes.
Our biggest crisis so far this year is that we opened with no water. But thanks be to God the problem has been solved, and we now have plenty of clean water. We had planned to drill a deep water well, but discovered after testing there was no water to be found. We were a bit discouraged at first but fortunately a solution was found. We found a new source of water and that community agreed to allow us to hook to their system. It took time (and a lot of money) but the pipe was laid. It was a pleasure to see water coming out of our taps. We owe a debt a gratitude to John Tremblay who spearheaded the project, and to all of you who supported. Thank you so much!
We had hoped to start construction (at least slowly) last December of a sports and recreation facility but due to too much rain in December and no water in January, the project got delayed. But phase one is now under way which includes an office, store, and training room. We have completed foundation and walls are going up. It feels great to be pushing ahead.
With beds and desks on the way, we have too much to be grateful for.
Last but not least I would be remiss if I did not say something about our soccer team. For all of us in schools at these ends this is our soccer season. Our team is looking great! In January we registered as a club with the national football organization so that we could play not only as a school but as club, giving the players a greater opportunity to improve their skills. We are now called McAllister FC (football club). Our first round in the local league saw us win all our matches coming out on top of our league. Round two begins in May after school competitions are completed. Last week school competitions got under way. While we didn’t need to play before the finals, we went ahead so as to get a feel for the competition. After six games we had scored 45 goals and only conceded one. A good beginning! This week District finals, and if we are lucky (and we are feeling very confident) we will be at the nationals on April 22nd.
Well that is all my news for now; there is always so much to tell. Thank you for your continuing support and prayers, and for making this ministry possible.
You are also in our prayers.
God Bless!
Paul
The Rev. Paul Jeffries is a missionary priest from this diocese serving as headmaster at Bishop McAllister School in Uganda.
