As you may or may not know, Watoto Ministries was founded by Gary and Marilyn Skinner of whom I have had the brief honour of meeting as he was making a visit to Gulu. Gulu is located in Northern Uganda and it is currently coming out of the aftermath of the war conflict with the rebel army, the LRA. This rebel group has been the source of tremendous loss, heartache and pain for many here in Northern Uganda. It is very exciting that Watoto has come and initiated outreach ministries, trauma rehabilitation services and many other amazing things.
Watoto has 3 babies’ homes in total, the location we are helping with now is the newest one located right in Gulu and it just opened April of 2010. The home has 5 units, 2 which are being occupied with many lively babies and the others to be fully utilized in the near future. Right now, the home has about 35 babies and it is growing fast; just today two new babies came into the home. We had the privilege of being here to help with the opening of the 2nd Unit called the “Preemie” Unit to make space for more children. I got to help do things like putting up the mosquito screen for this second Unit with two of the staff Jeffrey and Arthur (these men do a wide variety of jobs such as maintenance, cleaner, gardener, being a father figure to the babies, and probably a few more that I don’t know about…hats off to these guys!) It was a pretty interesting day but we were able to get the job done! The last little while, I have been working a lot with these men and have become very fond of them; they really have a passion for God and I have been able to learn a lot from being around them. But the ones I love being around the most are my babies!!! They’re the biggest success story of all! Let me take some time to let you hear about how special they are!
All the kids here are adorable! They are smart and intelligent! And yes, they are also a handful! :-D. Morris, let me talk to you about him for a second…I have nick named him “Morris the Explorer.” I love this kid so much! He is everywhere! He never sits still in one spot. Is he ever with his own group? No. You have to keep your eye on him lol. Joy and Scovia are two adorable girls who have both recently begun to talk! It was play time and I had taken them for a walk in a “tiny tikes” toy car. I was holding Joy in my one arm and Scovia was in the car toy…Peter came running up beside us and I said his name….just then, Joy repeated me by saying “Pee-terr.” Scovia also said it then too! It was so exciting to hear them form actual words. I yelled over to the other nannies “listen!” it was an exciting day! Alison has since then taught Joy to say “Canada” as well lol. One day, Alison, another volunteer and I took Rose and Mercy to the pool at Acholi Inn for the day. They both loved it! They were playing around in the water as we supported them above the water…it was great! There are many other stories I could talk about, but some stories will have to wait till I get home. Before going, I would like to mention just one more…Caroline. Please keep her in your prayers. The first day that Alison and I arrived at the Gulu baby home, we were asked to help with the babies in Isolation. This group is kept away from the other babies until they are feeling better. Caroline was sitting up with her eyes half open and her arms were aimed upwards but both her hands hanging limp…right then and there she stole my heart. Her health would seem to be getting better, but then she would be sick again. This seems to be happening on a regular basis. Last week, it was decided that they would take her to the hospital in Kampala (which is about a 5 hour drive from here). She was supposed to be back this week, but was kept for further observation and treatment. We love all the kids here so much and will miss them dearly when it is time to say goodbye. Who knows? Maybe we will see them amongst the Watoto Children’s Choir children when they tour back to our city!
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