Projects
Boots on the Ground
Many of the Ugandan students that we have been working with over the
past several years are growing up and
ITFM
is working hard to discover ways to improve their future as they become
adults. Working in Uganda is not always easy and when problems arise,
the answers are not always clear. What happens when these kids complete
7th grade if they are not suited to go on to University?
What projects that we complete will be more self sustaining in
the future? How can we best serve the people there without having them
become overly dependent upon us? What projects can we
do immediately with limited funds that will give the people we serve the
biggest return on investment? What can we do as an
organization to get more people from here directly involved and hands on
in Africa? We need people like you to step up and at least think about
getting on a plane and seeing for yourself what is happening in Uganda!
Since one of our main goals at In The Field Ministries is to provide
“Strategic Community Improvements” the board of directors has decided to
create a “Home Base” in Uganda. This will enable us to put down a much
deeper footprint with a place to work out of and expand from in the
future to other areas in Uganda and East Africa.
This would include setting up a comprehensive site in Uganda. By having this “home base” we won’t reinvent the wheel every time we begin a new project in Uganda. As an added bonus we will be able to buy and store many tools and specialized equipment that can be used over and over again on both current and future projects. In March of 2011 John was able to secure a 25 acre location in which to begin this work in the village of Nabisoto. (Now 26 acres with more frontage road access)!
As with most rural locations in Uganda the local people raise animals
such as cows, pigs, goats & chickens and also farm their own lands or
rent land to farm from local elders and landowners. Corn, matoke
(bananas), cassava, beans and fruits for personal use and sale and in
this particular area Robusta coffee as a use and sale crop. Many
families are truly struggling on a day by day basis to just provide
enough food to eat and have a place to sleep. The children of too many
families have been moved around due to sickness and loss for a variety
of reasons. These are the ones that
ITFM
will be focusing our attention on in the years to come. Using this new
land to begin opening opportunities for children as well as adults
through;
· Health Services; beginning with a drilled well completed in the summer of 2011 and the building of a rural clinic in 2012. ITFM will expand as time, demand & resources allow. Far too many children get sick and die from easily preventable diseases such as dysentery or Malaria.
·
Primary Education;
ITFM
has built the first two rooms of Integrity Primary School in Nabisooto
at the end of 2012 with the school opening its doors in February 2013.
Teachers housing has also been built with the first 4 dedicated rooms
and one large visitors room that will become a learning center in the
future.
The third school block is being built now and is going to be
needed for the 2015 school year. Check out our photo gallery for
more details and pictures.
·
Vocational Technical School; One of the dreams and ambitions of John
has been to provide that proverbial “fishing pole” to young
people in Uganda. So many children do not have the opportunity to learn
a saleable skill and are relegated to virtual poverty for their entire
lives. You have the opportunity to help a young person become something
that they have only dreamed about.
ITFM
intends to begin by building skills like carpentry, cement work, tile,
plumbing, basic electrical. We also want to move into areas of animal
husbandry, sewing and teaching basic business planning and operating
skills. From there we will move into mechanics and welding – the sky
truly is the limit.
·
Animal Programs; A specific way to reach out to the widows and orphans
is through
ITFM’s
“give a goat” program. This is new to us in 2011 and thanks to students
working through the
Adopt A Class program
many families have already
received goats.
ITFM’s people on the ground in Uganda will continue
forward with the donor families to help with teaching about the general
care of these goats. Doing our best to ensure the health and future of
the program. The adults are gifted and the first born are returned to
the program to keep it growing and gifting into the future!
·
Agriculture; One of the reasons for looking for such a large piece of
property was to be able to begin clearing and growing a significant
portion of the food that would be needed by both students and future
staff.
Nabisoto Clinic
Medical care is a hot issue right now in our country. Thankfully we do
have a wide array of doctors, clinics and hospitals to choose from. What
would happen if the only medical care available to you was in the city
and you lived far out in the country with no means of transportation? In
the Ugandan countryside people will walk for days while ill or injured
and stand in line for hours in order to visit a clinic. On occasion
pregnant women in labor and having troubles are placed on the back of a
small motorcycle and sent miles and miles over bumpy, muddy roads to the
nearest clinic or small hospital for help. You can just imagine the
results of that and we have seen it firsthand. No one goes to the clinic
just for the flu, colds or viruses they simply can’t afford to do that.
They go to the clinic for diseases like malaria, AIDS,
tuberculosis, broken bones & other accidents from machete cuts, burns
from cooking to bicycle and motorcycle accidents which are extremely
common.
ITFM
will be focusing on helping to facilitate this project as a part of our
“Home Base” with the following things in mind:
Clinic building - medical waste removal handling - staff housing -
visitor housing for medical teams (future) - bathroom facilities -
furnishings - outdoor kitchen – solar power, generator for medical
equipment - security fence – refrigeration for immunizations
(future) – piped water systems for cleanliness. We will expand and add
as needed and as we are able to afford to continue forward in this area.
This is not an easy job but well worth the effort. This clinic has the
potential to save thousands of lives every year. As we plan the
facility we will continue to communicate our estimated budgets as things
continue to change with the world economy and the price of fuel. Please
do what you can to take a Bite out of our elephant!!
Teachers Quarters / COMPLETE October 2009
The teachers quarters pictured below are about 8x8 ft rooms with mud walls and floor. These rooms are big enough only for 2 twin mattresses and little else. The rooms are riddled with termites, ants, spiders and other assorted pests. I know because we stayed here. I LOVE MY BUG TENT!!!! (Kimberly) The photo you see below has 4 rooms with doors on each side of the house.
As of August 2007 Total
- housing complex $60,000 To house 12 teachers / families
Permanent school buildings / COMPLETE December 2008
Rwenjiri is in desperate need of classrooms and teachers quarters. The heavy rains there cause constant damage to the mud walls of the temporary buildings.
Rwenjiri has 8 grades now, baby class, middle class, top class and 1st-5th grades. 2 of these classes currently meet in the church building next door, which does not work well as there is no separation between the classes. They would like to add more grades but are unable to at this time do to funding, school room shortages and poor teacher accommodations. Material items are always in short supply but potential students are abundant.
A basic structure out of brick and cement with metal sheet roof costs approximately $10,000 each. This would serve a class of about 50 students. 10 of these rooms will be needed eventually. The teachers need two of these same structures and it would house 4 teachers each.
As of August 2007 Price Total
- 10 school rooms $10,000 each $100,000
