West Ankole Ministry Partnership
What are we up to?
Partnering with the Diocese of West Ankole in southwestern Uganda, St. Timothy's Church has adopted a health clinic in called the village of Nyambaare. This clinic is the only available medical facility for two thousand people in the area. Currently, it is about at the level of a first-aid station, with no light, no running water, no refrigeration, and only the medicines that it receives from government aid programs.
The goal shared by St. Timothy's Church and the Diocese of West Ankole is to raise the Nyambaare clinic to a higher level of care, then to use that clinic as a model to improve other rural clinics in the diocese.
One of the biggest challenges that the clinic faces is malaria. It is epidemic in the region. Over that past two years, St. Timothy's has raised funding for anti-malarial medications and mosquito nets.
July 2009: Work & Ministry Trip
On June 26th-July 12th, Jared & Rebecca Osborn from St. Timothy's church will be travelling to Nyambaare. In partnership with Solar Light for Africa, they install two solar panels at the medical clinic and one at the neighboring church, St. Peter's Church. Solar light will allow the clinic to treat emergencies at all times of the day or night, and will provide light for the all-night prayer vigils that take place at St. Peter's Church.
The main goal of this trip is to continue to develop trusting relationships with members of the community and discern how we and the Diocese of West Ankole, Uganda can serve together in Christ. While doing so, the Osborns will serve in whatever additional capacities they can.
UPDATE: Finances have been provided for the three solar panels; praise God! However, we are still seeking donations to cover the cost of the team's travel. If you would like to make a donation for this trip, visit our online giving page, and with your name, the date and amount of your gift, and a note indicating that you would like your donation to be put towards the Uganda trip.
January 2009: Relationship & Groundwork Trip
From January 19th-31st, Fr. Terry Sweeney and Vestry member Timothy Bellis traveled to Uganda to lay the ground work for a work team to return in July 2009 to install a solar power system and offer medical and spiritual education to adults and children in the surrounding area. Because a picture is worth a thousand words, scroll down to see the story of this trip in photos.
How can I help?
Quickstar Productions is currently assembling a CD of Christian musicians. This CD will be used to raise funds to keep the clinic supplied with the necessary medications. If you would like to learn more about the project please visit Quickstar's Website or call 443-552-7058.
Would you like to receive updates on the Nyamabaare clinic? Please send your email address to .
The missions team is raising funds for their trip in July of 2009, which will include installing a solar panel light system in the clinic and the church. To do this, we still need to raise funds for plane tickets for the team. If you would like to make a donation to this cause, you can do so through our online donations page. If you do so, please also with your name, the amount and date of your donation, and a note saying you would like your donation to be applied to the Uganda mission.
Photos:
In January of 2009, St. Timothy's Church sent its pastor, Fr. Terry Sweeney, and vestry member Timothy Bellis back to Uganda with the following goals:
- Continue to develop a relationship between St. Timothy's Church and the Diocese of West Ankole and the Bishop Yona Katoneene.
- Visit the clinic at Nyambabare to gather specifications for a solar power system to be installed at a later date.
- Discover other mission opportunities in Nyamabaare and Kampala.
Here is their story! To see other pictures, see the full Uganda January 2009 gallery or the Uganda October 2007 gallery.
After flying into Entebbe, a short drive took them to Kampala, the capital of Uganda. They spent a few days in this busy place, buying medical supplies to take to the clinic, getting connected with other missionaries, and praying their way through the city.
While in Kampala, they were able to spend some time with Jennifer Leber. Jennifer and her husband Phil have been missionaries in Uganda for ten years, sent by St. Timothy's and supported by the South American Missionary Society (SAMS).
A long car ride took them from Kampala to Ankole, which is in the southwest corner of the country.
They were able to spend some time with the Bishop of West Ankole, Yona Katoneene, and his wife. He was pleased that the team brought him a Ravens shirt, as purple is a very appropriate color for a bishop!
Finally, Fr. Terry and Tim arrived at their destination: the Clinic at Nyamabaare. In this photo they stand outside the clinic along with a few members of the Bishop's staff, the clinic committee, and a few local children. They were able to determine from their measurements that in order to light the clinic and power a refrigerator, they would need four to five of the solar power kits provided affordably by Solar Light for Africa.
This is St. Peters Church, which is in the same village as the clinic, very close by. This faithful congregation often has members who come and pray all night long. For this reason, they also would benefit from having solar-powered lighting installed, so St. Timothy's, Lord willing, is going to provide one solar kit from Solar Light for Africa so they can have light as they pray.
This lady lives in the village of Nyambabare, and five of these children are hers. The rest were orphaned when their parents died of AIDS. Orphans are very numerous in the area, and they are usually taken in by family members or other villagers.
However, these families often do not have enough food to feed all of the children in their expanded household. What you see on the ground next to Tim is a cut-up turnip, which is what the children in the previous picture have to eat throughout the day.
This young boy happily latched onto Fr. Terry as soon as he appeared. He is also an orphan; he lives with the lady in the yellow dress standing in the doorway, who is his aunt. The boy had a laceration on his ear, and a small crowd watched while Fr. Terry cleaned and treated the laceration, explained to the aunt how to take care of the injury, and gave her the supplies to do so. It became clear that classes on this kind of basic medical care could be very beneficial to these families.
Before the trip, the team raised enough money to purchase 117 mosquito nets to protect children from Malaria. Instead of just passing them out, they stopped in to show the families how to set them up and use them.
The team was successful in their goals for this trip, even though it was shortened by medical issues. God paved the way for very smooth transportation and communication, meaning that even though they left two days early, they were able to get in all the meetings they had planned. Your prayers made a difference!
Another team is preparing to follow up with another trip with the following goals in mind:
- Continue to develop a relationship with the Diocese of West Ankole, with the Bishop Yona Katoneene, and the village of Nyambabare.
- In Nyamabaare, install solar-powered light and refrigeration at the clinic and solar-powered light at the church and train local volunteers and congregants how to maintain the equipment.
- Hold a vacation Bible school for the children in the village.
- Conduct classes on sanitation and medical care for village leaders.
- Set up a system to more directly supply the clinic with more medicines, as right now it only has what it receives for free from government aid. This would include regular visits to the clinic from the Lebers.
Would you like to become a part of this mission? The team is looking for partners in prayer and financial support. If you would like to join the prayer team, with your name, the amount and date of your support, and a message that you would like your donation to be put toward the Uganda trip.
