Mission Update March 2014

 LEFT: In Arua, classroom settings are often very cramped and with little visual stimulus. We hope that a teacher development programme, Red Earth that is making a massive positive impact on children’s learning in S Uganda, could bring improved teaching & learning at to two large primary schools in Arua that have deaf units.

Dear Friends and Partners.

       

       My (Adam’s) trip to Uganda recently was so encouraging and fruitful.

      

       Thank you so much to all who supported this visit through prayer, practical support and finance. Reports overleaf. A few video clips will be on the ‘Fielders in Uganda’ page of our Facebook soon. 

      We have a shortfall in regular financial support from September. Please get in touch asap if  you can help.. 

       Helen loves her study of Old Testament books, yet still managed to coordinate  a big party!. Our w/e away in Telford on my return was special. 

       Shalom. 

      Adam & Helen  

                       

                          In this update…

-More support, growth & lobby focus amongst our Kampala partners

-Warm welcome, support for refugee camps

                                   & community development from YWAM Arua 

-Deaf students  progress again as knitting/tailoring training re-starts

-Deaf Arua youth to attend three year full- time pastor raining

-Vocational Training School to consider mobility impaired applicants,
  as deaf  graduate, with new job, gives radio interview.

-Arua teachers of deaf visit Red Earth teacher development project

-Signs & Wonders: see next issue

-In the Refiner’s Fire: see next issue

-News from the family.

-Future Plans, Community Development Plan: see next issue

More support, growth & lobby focus amongst our Kampala partners

Having landed at Entebbe at 2am, I was grateful my great Entebbe guest house hosts, Dave & Alison, ,top right, who were there to collect me. I couldn’t remember the dirt track route to their place at night! We’re grateful for their support. Ask me for their contact details if you need accommodation in Entebbe!

I was in Kampala at the deaf church of deaf pastor, Rev. Fred by 11am, shown right with two of the members. Numbers are growing and they now have a development plan. later, I met Rev Fred  and Deaf Bible School director Samuel again to exchange recent developments in our discipleship programmes and explore how we can continue to help them with documenting their development of  biblical sign language vocabulary. As a result, our IT training partner, Andrew (Inset) whose work with us has recently helped him gain full-time work, will be partnering Rev Fred  and his collegue David to continue this work. 

Then I met Ray (right), He interprets a national  TV company’s  weekly news summary. We discussed  which children’s programmes might  have the greatest impact if interpreted for the deaf. We explored how all involved might be motivated to do more than the minimum legal requirement.

On Monday I met Joseph (right), lead advocate, at national deaf association’s offices. Lobbying for  the  introduction of  signed  children’s TV programmes is not one of the national deaf association’s priorities for 2014. However, he has agreed to join Ray and I in requesting a meeting with the TV company Ray’ works at to raise the issue . Joseph has also highlighted another project that will be useful  for our sign-language resource work. D0 pray for break-through in this area. Clear communication is vital for healthy relationships with family, school, our creator & for gaining knowledge, practical skills, work too.

  Then it was off to Arua by bus.

Warm welcome, support for refugee camps & community development from YWAM Arua

 After a relatively cool trip to Arua I really appreciated being met by my YWAM colleague Paul from the bus stop and the warm welcome from our  part-time compound staff and many other base staff.  I was blessed with some local delicacies, and my favourite cake. Helen taught Kevin our home help to make it.

At the YWAM base meeting the following morning I was warmly welcomed and began to feel as if I’d only been away for four  weeks, not four months. 

The base has been regularly visiting a refugee camp for people displaced by the recent conflict in S Sudan. YWAM has been providing shelter for the most vulnerable refugees, e.g. is Single mothers with many children, Child headed families (Parents are still in South Sudan), the elderly and the disabled. I joined a team visit to see if there were any deaf refugees needing support .


Several visiting teams and couples were on site. DTS graduate Charles, centre, one of our advocates, is enjoying bringing compassion and hope to his customers as he shaves them. 

William our gardener showed me the rabbit-breeding income generation project that we have asked him and David, a local youth to pilot. Despite some challenges it is progressing well. Numerous litters are beginning to sell well and they continued to do so whist I was there. 



I hope to introduce the idea to a family with a deaf member so that they could run together. Book-keeping, avoidance of inbreeding and tithing are key values for us in this project.

Deaf students progress again and welcome YWAM team as knitting/tailoring training re-starts

TiC Stephen was pleased to report that three deaf students(e.g.Ivan left) we have been channelling support to have all been promoted to a higher ability group. Our efforts to support a deaf to attend a secondary deaf school are still ongoing.

I made time to take one of the teams of visiting  YWAM students (right) to Eruba Prmary School where Stephen, teacher in charge (TiC) of the Deaf Unit kindly mobilised some deaf students to teach them sign-language using the illustrated booklets we helped train local youth to produce. Everyone enjoyed the non-verbal but very expressive sign workshop.

Stephen and I were also able to prepare staff , resources and recruitment material for a further trial of the knitting/tailoring project this term.

Deaf Arua youth to attend three year full-time pastor training

It was great to see a large number of deaf and hearing members at St Phillip’s Special Needs Fellowship service I attended. The service was made more special with the great news that financial support was available to cover the school fees for one suitable deaf youth to attend a three year full-time pastor training course at Immanuel Bible Training centre for the Deaf in Kampala. The Centre director, Samuel , centre, was there to make the announcement. The whole fellowship was so happy.

An interview panel was hastily set up for the deaf youth Lydia (centre) who’d previously applied. I was invited to join the panel. Happily she was passed the interview and was selected. We were able to help
ensure her critical travel/childcare needs were met.

We have now  started a project to train more sign interpreters. Trainee interpreters such as David and Dorcas (right) are clearly improving, thanks to Jonathan who trains them.

Rev Allan (left) and I met later and we have agreed to visit the churches of a couple of pastors who attended our inclusive communication course last year to see the extent to which they have implemented its objectives. We have also agreed to jointly interview several more deaf youth who are interested in attending the YWAM Go Camp next January, to help them know God better. 

Rev Allan is in the process of updating the Special Needs Ministry programme as are we DC’s. We agreed to discuss them after both are drafted when we return to Uganda later this year.

Vocational Training School to consider mobility impaired applicants as deaf graduate with new job gives radio interview.

Special Needs Carpentry instructor Moses (left) oversees the deaf students at W. Nile Ecumenical WNEVTC . He met me with one of his deaf graduates, Wilfred (centre), who has also just gained
permanent work. Moses explained that WNEVTC want to expand provision for the deaf and would consider mobility impaired applicants as well this year if it is felt they could cope. 

So we sat together to rehearse and then record a commercial for the course at a local radio stations, Voice of Life. The radio presenter, Lillian (above right),  interviewed Wilfred, as I interpreted, about the benefits he gained from the course and why  parents of youth with a disability should take up such opportunities.

Moses and his wife Beatrice also told me how their marriage has continued to strengthen since the marriage enrichment course we worked through together.

Arua teachers of the deaf visit ‘Red Earth’teacher development programme

This was a providential encounter  that promises to bring improved teaching and learning to two large primary schools in Arua that have deaf units. 

Retired experienced teachers, Ronnie (2nd left) & Lyn (inset) are running a teacher development programme  that is making a massive positive impact on children’s learning. 

Ronnnie and Lynn first observed lessons at these Arua schools.         


Then senior and junior teachers were chosen from of these primaries to accompany us to Masindi (right),where Ron and Lyn are training  teachers to use phonetics, groupwork, and create wall displays out of local materials etc. We have invited the selected Arua teachers to trial some of the ideas they have seen. 



In September we will select those teachers who have employed these new techniques for more training. My hope is that this training will really benefit teaching and pupil progress at the Arua Municipality schools we

partner, because  they have  deaf units.