Equipment for Uganda

For ten years or so, as individuals and as a church we have supported "Sam’s Street Children" a home for about 25 boys in Kampala, Uganda. Sam Mutabaazi, whom many of us have met when he has been in Britain, and his family and staff care for the boys, many of whom literally lived on the city streets. They were inevitably having to steal or beg to live and had no hope in their dangerous young lives.

Over the years Sam has built up the home, and in January this year fulfilled a long-term ambition and opened a school for the boys and other local children. We knew they would appreciate some computers to teach new skills to the children, skills that should help them find employment and break the cycle of poverty and hopelessness.

A chance conversation in January led to us being offered 18 computers that a local organisation was disposing of as they upgraded their equipment. Three more were also given to us by people at church so our dining room resembled a warehouse for a few months!

Out of the blue someone I work with offered to pay for the transport of the computers to Uganda and things started to fall into place. The best way to send equipment is via ‘Medical Missionary News’ in Essex so I planned to load up our car and go there, very indirectly en route to Spring Harvest on Easter Tuesday. And then my brother-in-law from Suffolk arranged to come and stay and offered to take the equipment with him, thus saving us a very long and round-about journey.

A hectic few days ensued, collecting large cardboard boxes, packing computers in them protected by children’s clothes, and filling corners with the 400 pairs of glasses that have been given since Christmas. [They still roll in - and now we have sent about 4000 pairs.] Against expectations we filled my brother-in-law’s car to the roof and cleared all we wished to send. We were elated to see it go, and hear two days later it had been safely delivered.

Ten of the computers will go to Sam’s school; one to a hospital in Uganda, and the remaining ten are waiting for the opening of Café Merge here in Ashton [the youth café for young people in Ashton]. It has been very encouraging to see the different pieces of the jigsaw falling into place, and we had a clear sense of God’s provision throughout it all. Interestingly God provided what we needed - but not in ways we would have expected or anticipated.

That is a good lesson for us; a challenge for the future; and ample reason to be very grateful to many people. And Sam should be visiting us in May so there will be the chance to hear then what is happening in Uganda.

Sam visited us in May 2006 and brought us encouraging news of Sam’s Street Children home and in turn we hope to visit them in 2007.

Sam's videos

If you are interested in learning more about Dorcas Children's Home, please view the four videos below. If you would like more information or feel that God is calling you to be involved in this important mission, do not hesitate to contact us at info@stthomasandstluke.co.uk or visit their website

Band Practice
Dorcus Childrens Home Message
Sam Speaks More
Thank You Horizons

If you have any problems viewing these videos, right click on the link then select the "Save Target As.." menu to download the videos to your computer.