As Chair of Friends of North Kigezi Diocese (FNKD), I visited Uganda in July and August to spend time at our children’s centre and oversee ongoing projects. This trip was full of meaningful moments, challenges, and celebrations that I’d like to share with you.
Arrival and Welcome
When I arrived in Uganda, I was welcomed by our dedicated team. Martin, one of our trustees, joined me for the last three weeks of the trip. We, along with our local managers, keeps the work running smoothly day-to-day.
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Caleb is our overall manager, handling building projects and community labour.
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Silas looks after administration and coordination.
They always meet me at the airport, and it feels like coming back to family every time.
At the Children’s Centre
The next day, I went straight to the children’s centre. The children greeted me like a visiting grandmother from the UK.
The centre now cares for 28 children. They live in dormitories on-site, with boys’ and girls’ accommodation and play areas. When we started building the centre 12 years ago, it was just bare ground. Seeing how far it has come is a constant reminder of what’s possible.
They proudly showed me their drawings, which I admired one by one.
Play, Creativity and Joy
We organised a small toy distribution. The children had never been able to choose toys for themselves before, so it was fascinating to see what each picked. With just simple items, they invented games and played together with so much imagination.
We also repeated an Easter activity they loved: painting flowers with cotton buds. Creativity always brings out joy.
Special mention goes to Aaron and Trevor, two boys we rescued from prison. It’s uplifting to see them now, playing happily and growing in confidence.
A Shopping Trip to Remember
One highlight was taking the teenage girls shopping – something they had never experienced before. Each chose a new sweatshirt, and three boys received trousers and t-shirts. Afterwards, we took them to a café for a soda.
It was such a simple outing, yet for them it was extraordinary. When they returned to the centre, the excitement spread to all the children.
Projects Completed
This trip we managed to complete some long-awaited projects:
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Toilets and showers: New facilities were built at the centre for children and staff.
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Water supply: A permanent connection to the national water system was installed.
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Electricity: Solar panels are now supplemented by a direct supply, meaning reliable power even on cloudy days.
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Painting and maintenance: Buildings received a fresh coat of paint, keeping the centre safe and welcoming.
These improvements make a huge difference to daily life at the centre.
These children had never painted anything like this before, and loved helping to paint the walls in this picture. So many first for these young children.
A New Water Well!
Water is life is the saying in our rural villages as clean water is a rare commodity. Great joy was it then that a well wisher and his family donated us funds to construct a hand dug well in our local village of Bucence.
We engaged with local water engineer Abel and a site was determined for the project.
Plans were drawn up, budgets agreed, and the work began very quickly as water is more valuable than liquid gold.
Under the supervision of Abel and our manager Caleb the well was hand dug to 17 feet and lined with large size concrete reinforced rings and water was found to every one’s pure joy.
Water was to be pumped to the surface care of a hand pump for anyone to draw clean fresh water.
I was on location and along with villagers and local dignitaries rejoiced as I commissioned the new well and formally handed it over to Bucence Village as a gift to mark the 100th anniversary of Bucence Parish.
FNKD have built many water tanks but this was our first well and a great blessing was enjoyed and a hope for better times was felt in an area where hope had faded for such a wondrous event.
If you are interested in helping us construct our second well contact Canon Rachel please and she will give you details.
A Joyful Wedding
Not everything was work. We also shared in a very happy occasion: the wedding of a local friend who had been with his partner for 30 years. It was a day of laughter, dancing and celebration with the whole community.
A Special Sight
One personal highlight was finally seeing the Ugandan cranes. I’d hoped to catch sight of them, and this time they appeared near the centre. A small but memorable gift of the trip.
Looking Ahead
While in Uganda, I met a young filmmaker who offered to create a short documentary about our work. This will be shared soon, giving supporters an even clearer picture of life at the children’s centre.
Thank you to everyone who makes these trips and projects possible. The children’s lives are being transformed, and their smiles tell the whole story.