The World’s Broken Economy

By Mike Warneke

This recent trip to Uganda has humbled me on more than one occasion. There has been joy, where I did not think joy could exist, there has been hope, where I thought hope had long been buried deep beneath wounds, and there has been sorrow where there should be none that exists. Our team of Fields of Dreams Uganda representatives had the honor of visiting three campuses today in the Gulu region in Northern Uganda. All three of these were primary schools on the outskirts of Gulu, all serving around 1,000 children, and all doing great things with limited resources and staff.

The first campus we visited was Koro Primary School which currently serves 926 students with just 17 teachers. The crazy thing is that they are just over what the government of Uganda suggests as a proper ratio of 1 teacher to 50 students. There were other schools we visited that had small classrooms packed with over 100 children and one teacher leading the way. All of the schools that we came in contact with today are filled with hero’s that are teaching out of love, as there average monthly salary is around 200,000 Ugandan shillings which is equivalent to $80 a month in U.S. currency.   But here is the staggering fact: the largest issue for all of these schools is the dropout rate, because families, and often the orphans themselves cannot afford the school fees.

The schools in Uganda, all work on a three term system, and each child is required to pay his school fees for each term, often in addition to some small fees for programs. On average the three schools we visited today were only charging the vulnerable children in their care 11,000 Uganda shillings per term. Let me convert that for you, that is equal to $4.40 for a term, and yet countless orphaned and vulnerable children could not afford these school fees. The Gulu Region of Northern Uganda was horribly impacted by the 21 year civil war at the hands of Joseph Kony and the LRA. They are still rebuilding, and there have been countless orphaned and vulnerable children left behind to pick up the pieces themselves. The math is humbling; you could help send a child to school in Uganda for the same cost as a value meal at McDonalds.  

Please keep us in your prayers as we humbly decide which of the 8 schools in Gulu that we have visited will join the ranks of our partners in the North during the 2014 calendar year. The needs are great, but together with our donors, advocates, and board members back home a lot can be accomplished. Join in the story and help us provide hope for these children that are not giving up on their future!

A New Kind of Vulnerable

By Mike Warneke

As the Executive Director for Fields of Dreams Uganda, I am fully aware of our mission statement: to provide hope for the orphaned and the vulnerable children of Uganda through the vehicles of soccer and education. Well today I have witnessed a new kind of vulnerable, as I spent time in the presence of some incredible hearing and visually impaired children at two different primary schools in Gulu, Northern Uganda. The obstacles that children face in developed countries is great when it comes to disabilities of this stature, now throw in civil war, heart-breaking poverty, and the ill-conceived cultural understanding that you are nothing but a nuisance to society. If anyone is in need of hope, it is the two audiences that our team met with today.

But what is amazing, in the midst of these children we found joy. We found laughter amidst the crying out for their needs. We found dreams in the face of unthinkable odds. A sweet child by the name of Wilsee lost both of her eyes at an early age due to measles, and she is now a student in Primary One at the Gulu Primary School. And you want to know something amazing, Wilsee dreams of being a doctor when she grows up.  The kids that Fields of Dreams Uganda serves have always been in need of our support, but none quite like the children we met today.

We made no promises today, as we are visiting 8 different campuses during this journey, and we will then put our hearts and heads together to select the partners that we feel called to assist during this season of life. But we did promise the children and staff that we met, that we would knock on doors on their behalf. That we would share their plight back in Kampala, and back in the States. So consider your door knocked upon. There is little we can do on our own, but there is a lot we can do together. Please join FoDU in bringing hope in tomorrow in these children’s lives.  And more than anything, I invite you to join us on a future journey to meet the children that we serve, because I can guarantee that you will find the best version of yourself in their midst. Their joy, their laughter, and their perseverance will move you to action, and it will cause you to never see or hear the world the same way again!!!!!!!!

Punctuation

By Peggy Cox

Wow…have we really only been here three days? It seems like it’s been at least a week.  We started our Tuesday by meeting with Sophia Klumpp, one of the founders of AFRIpads. AFRIpads are washable, cloth sanitary pads that are designed to provide effective and hygienic menstrual protection for up to 12 months. The #1 reason girls in Uganda drop out of school is due to their monthly cycle.  It’s estimated that Ugandan girls miss 20% of the school year because they’re unable to afford disposable pads. TWENTY PERCENT! Amazing, huh? Can you imagine if that were the case in America? Would we tolerate our girls missing that much school, or dropping out altogether simply because they could not afford tampons or kotex? I think not.

In all of our meetings with our partner schools so far, I think the thing that has gotten the biggest reaction is when we tell them that starting this January, we will begin providing every girl with an AFRIpad hygiene kit. The news has been received by gasps of shock, huge smiles and gratefulness. Yep, gratefulness… for giving them a pack of washable kotex, a couple pair of panties, a bar of soap, a drying hanger, and a bag to store everything in. Who would have imagined the availability of those common everyday items that, let’s admit it, we all hate to be seen buying in a store…who would have imagined that those things would be what determined whether a girl received a basic education? I wouldn't have prior to today.

We ended the day with a pre Big Five-OMG birthday party at The Little Donkey Mexican restaurant in Kampala! We’re headed to Gulu tomorrow morning (my actual date of birth).

So, I guess you could say our day started with a period and ended with an exclamation point. =)

Much love,
Peggy

Returning to the Scene of the Crime

Once again, it has proven to be a delightfully long day here in Uganda. November in Uganda is the rainy season and the weather has been nice and cool.  Each day we have been treated to a beautiful downpour. The difficulty of this rain however, is that it has the power to literally bring Kampala to a standstill. All of the boda boda drivers search for a dry place to park their bikes. Vendors on the sides of the roads and in open air markets scramble to keep the products which they sell from being ruined by the rain. Just when I begin to feel completely comfortable in these surroundings, I am reminded just how difficult life here can be for those struggling to survive.

This morning we had the great honor of sitting for a meeting with the FUFA (Federation of Uganda Football Association) president, Mr. Moses Magogo. It was such a pleasure to share with him about the work of Fields of Dreams Uganda and to hear his positive feedback on our efforts. President Magogo was a former university classmate of our National Director, Jonathan Ssebambulide, It was an honor and a blessing to be received for this meeting. We were very much encouraged on the feedback we received and we can now see some very good avenues moving forward where we can receive support from FUFA for the children we serve at our partner schools. Mr. Magogo is a wise and very educated man.  I was very moved by these words in which he spoke, ”For someone to excel at football they have to be gifted as a physical player, but 80% of their success remains on building up the person inside the player.” It is certainly our hope that through our efforts we will be helping to create the future leaders of this country.  We hope that we are touching the person inside the player and the person inside the student at each step of our development.

We next had the opportunity to meet with a Mr. Mark Dudley, whom is the executive director for the Kids League; a wonderful football organization in Uganda that has been in existence since 1998.  It has changed thousands of lives over the years through the power of sport. We were greatly encouraged to learn some of their successes and failures in Uganda over the years.  We have definite plans of coordinating some of our efforts in the future. It truly takes a village, and we are happy that we are beginning to be seen as a key part of the village here in Uganda as we strive to empower the orphaned and vulnerable children of this beautiful nation.

After a quick lunch, we then set off for the campus of Blessed Hope Champions Academy. This is the orphanage the Peggy first visited in 2010, and also the place that the plans for Fields of Dreams Uganda were cemented as well. It was the location that Uganda truly stole both of our hearts. Being in country in mid-November has brought a few disappointments with it. So many of the Primary Seven students have already taken their exams, and therefore they have already traveled back home for the holiday to assist their relatives with field work and other chores. One of these absent boys just happened to be Dibya William, a young man whom I consider one of my sons of Uganda, and a face I shall mourn not seeing on this journey. Dibya’s grandmother lives alone out in the village, and so he is needed there to assist her. I did however get the chance to give Gilbert, I boy I adore, many hugs. I have never left the campus of Blessed Hope without a letter from Gilbert, and I cherish each and every one.

We had a wonderful conversation with the staff of Blessed Hope, and their founder Pastor Joel Bukenya. As we shared all of our new plans in the realm of Education programming for next year, the staff was overwhelmed. Not so much by the scope of what we were doing, but by the fact that it was addressing critical needs that the staff had been sharing just days before. I continually stand in awe of how far FoDU has come, and as we attempt to meet the needs of these children, just how often the wisdom we are receiving seems to be inspired from above.

Before we left today, we got to ride down a back road toward the secondary school where Barbara, a daughter to Peggy, goes to school. We were able to surprise her along the road, and what a blessing to be witness to this joyous reunion. I am always amazed at the strong bonds that develop on these trips between the children we serve and the volunteers who sacrifice their time and finances to join us on these journeys. FoDU would love to have more people join our trips this coming year.  However, be prepared for the “dangers” that lurk in Uganda. It is highly likely that a large part of your heart will be stolen by the precious children that we serve. Join in our story, and travel to Uganda with us in 2014!!!

Difficult Reminders - FoDU Executvie Director Mike Warneke Reflects on His First Day Back In Uganda

Difficult Reminders

By Mike Warneke

What a privilege and honor to return to Uganda once again during the 2013 Calendar year. As always that journey to get here has been long, but Peggy and I managed the travels with only a slight delay in Amsterdam, which only resulted in a few hours less sleep the first night in country. I apologize for the randomness of this post, as it is difficult for me to put all of the thoughts together from such a wonderful day, long days and a quick week!

Today was a joyous day as we had the opportunity to look in on two of our partner schools in the Kampala area. Because our visit took place on a Sunday, the schools were lower in attendance than normal for both students and staff, and so a few faces we were longing to see were absent from the crowd. Our morning began with a visit to New Kabaale Busega. We joined them for a time of worship in their chapel and got help pray over those that would be sitting for the Secondary Leaving Exams during the upcoming week. The pressure of these “leaving” exams is a lot for these young boys and girls to endure, as there future academic careers are weighed so heavily by the results.

Following our time of worship we had the chance to talk with the kids a bit, and as always it is such a blessing to see old friends. So many children, whom remember me, asked if I remembered their names as well. And as usual, I failed on many fronts, but managed to connect with many children that I have really grown to care for over the years. Ritah was excited to say hello, and eager to ask about the aunties whom she missed, and Eddy was a joy to see and spend the day with as well. Rose, the head master gathered the staff and the students outside and we had a chance to chat about what the work of Fields of Dreams has meant to them, and some other needs that are still lacking as well.

It was extremely humbling and gratifying to hear from so many students and teachers about how our work was impacting them in a positive way. Teachers shared how much more focused the students have been in class, and how the DREAMS plans we had conducted in June had lead there students to be more passionate about their studies, and their futures. But we also spent quite a bit of time talking about additional needs for the future. Benson, one of the fine and committed teachers mentioned what a blessing a copy machine would be to their work as teachers. I am not an educator back in the States, but I am pretty sure that there are not too many teachers that could excel at their profession without text books, handouts, or a copy machine to put into the children’s hands the materials they need. With our new programming that will go into effect in early 2014 a lot of the needs will be met by what we already have in development, which was reassuring that we are on the right track with our efforts.

We wrapped up our session, and said our goodbyes to the students and staff alike. Before leaving I wanted to check with Eddy’s uncle if he could join us for the day. It was an honor to be in Eddy’s home again, and his uncle who cares for him and his 3 younger brothers was gracious as always. I learned today that his uncle Sandy is only 23 years old, and he is caring for 4 nephews. Jonathan shared a with Peggy and I today, that it is so hard in Kampala, because when you go to bury a loved one in this country, you not only walk away with their memories but usually their children as well. The burden is heavy here, but like Sandy, so many good people are stepping up to the plate to help those in need.

We moved on from New Kabaale Busega and stopped by Café Javas for a quick lunch before pushing on to AGL. It was a treat taking Eddy out to eat, but I was once again humbled at the same time. As Peggy shared the chicken she was not going to eat I had the opportunity to show Eddy how to properly cut chicken with a fork and a knife, as he had never had this opportunity before. This is not to poke fun by any means, but just a reminder of how much I take for granted, and too what I attribute the tag “normal.” We had a lovely lunch and got to watch the rains coming down in full force.

We hopped back in the van with Jack and then pushed on to Africa Greater Life. What a good time we had. We had the joy of seeing how the new field is coming, with much of the grass planted and growing well. We got to name the prized goat from the Independence Day Tournament victory, it is Hope by the way, a name I picked out when put on the spot. We got to help plant a new Mango tree to be a reminder to the children to show gratitude for their blessings and to continue to follow their dreams. And we once again got to hear both the need being met and those that still need our attention by the students and staff.

Africa Greater Life, was a part of my first trip to Uganda, and it will always have a special place in my heart because of this. The needs on this campus always seem a bit greater, the precious children always seem to be a bit dirtier, and the impetus to provide hope for these kids is always stronger when I am with them. The needs on this campus are great, and it was obvious during our discussion that we have much work to accomplish at this school. The children at our partner schools typically exemplify the passion, joy, and gratitude of the teachers who serve them, and at AGL our work has not quite won over all of the teachers at this point. I am excited to meet additional needs, but we have more work here, simply to encourage, uplift and insight passion into the staff.

It has been such a wonderful day, seeing many of our efforts produce fruit, and also the acknowledgement that there is still much work to be done. We have not done this work alone, and we cannot do it without further help in the future. Please consider getting involved in our efforts to help more children in Uganda find hope in tomorrow.