First term in Uganda starts in February…so school has just begun for the year!

Update from John Mugabi:

So far we have 189 new high school students. This means that we may shoot to over 700 students this term. I really thank God that all these boys and girls are going to be preached to.

700 high school students...and counting!

In the primary school, we have 113 new kids. I am just worried where they will all sit. We do not have enough chairs, yet kids are coming in.

Many parents now know the secret of a Christian school. They admire the Christian culture and want to send their children to a school that teaches them about Christ. (In Uganda, parents must pay for any education–whether it is public or private.)

This puts the Nkumba schools at a total of 1300 to 1400 students.

Primary school beyond capacity!

Our list of items needed is growing.

Let me share part of the vision to explain the importance of the items below.

As the school grows and is able to attract paying students, this helps the school become self-supporting (so, for instance, all the teachers can be paid each month–small salaries of less than $100/mo. Keep in mind, cost of living is the same there as here).

Even though the school is growing, the orphan ratio is still about 50%.  So that means that a minimum of 50% of the students are unable to pay their own fees.  Currently 217 students are sponsored.  The money that comes in from paying students and sponsored students is streeettttched to cover costs for the remaining 400+ children who are not paying.  You can see the gap!

No furniture yet for the dining hall (kids eating on firewood piles)

As the school develops and adds items we would consider basic–furniture, a school bus, classrooms–more paying students will attend, which is of importance for two reasons.  First, they will learn about Jesus!  Second, they will help support the school and the other unsupported orphans.

Finally, as more income comes into the school, it will be used to support the food program and the prison ministry. And, John Mugabi wants to do more “up-country” missions to take Jesus to remote Muslim parts of Uganda.

Everything points to one thing–Jesus.

In the sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us we are the light of the world.  Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:16 That is EXACTLY what happens when we give and needs are met!

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 2 Cor 9:12-13

Will you ask the Lord how you can let your light shine?  Will you ask Him what obedience can accompany your confession of the gospel of Christ?

Maybe it’s eating in instead of out to sponsor another child or two.  Maybe it’s selling a car.  Maybe it’s buying a goat instead of going golfing or skiing or for a spa/salon treatment.  Maybe it’s selling a wedding ring or other possessions to buy 350 avocado and mango trees.  Or maybe it’s pulling money out of a retirement account to buy a truck to take Jesus to the prisons. Maybe it’s skipping a remodeling project and instead buying a bus or chicken coops!  Maybe it’s buying a less expensive house so more land can be purchased to grow food.  Maybe instead of birthday gifts, we give laying chickens to feed the hungry. The list of ways we can find to give is endless.

Seggy is right…no man is an island.  We are the body of Christ.  Let’s do it together!

OK, now for the list…

• A school bus– 1300 children, 1 school bus. $40,000
• Chicken coops & stables–$10,000
• 1000 laying chickens, 8 milking cows, 4 goats– $500/cow, $20/pair of chickens, $250/goat (with feed)
• A kitchen at the school with power, running water, etc. $16,000
• Sponsors for an additional 250 children- $42/month per child
• 10 acres of land (adjacent to the 30) to plant avocado & mango trees $1200/acre
• 350 avocado & mango trees- $2 to $3 per tree
• Used dual-cab truck for prison evangelism.  Currently they rely on public transportation to travel to remote prisons.  Nightmare!  And we’re asking for the dual cab–not John.   Seggy, Mark, Frank and others have piled in the back of the single-cab truck (which they no longer have), in pouring rain. $14,000
• Prison ministry- an additional $500/month will allow for expanded  evangelism
• Dormitories, beds, and toilet facilities to care for 65 street kids- $770 per child ($50,000)
• 6 classrooms, including furniture –$25,000
• Furniture for the dining hall –$9,000
• Daily high-quality multi-vitamin for the children (to help with malnutrition) $3.33/YEAR per child. ($4662)
• A vocational school is needed–costs not estimated yet

TOTAL: $328,362 (child sponsorship, vitamins, etc calculated on an annual basis)