We recently partnered with Neema Development, a biblical-based business training company, to get our ROWAN Ugandan staff trained on a new business program module. Once all of our ROWAN staff is fully trained, they will be able to incorporate the training they received from Neema into our Widow’s Legacy Program. We also plan on incorporating this training into our higher-level education programs.
During the first group of sessions with Neema Development, we had 14 ROWAN staff members in attendance. They were all excited and eager to learn. These sessions covered things like marketing, business management, business operational skills, customer care, and the understanding of new business trends.
At the conclusion of these sessions, our staff members all felt more confident in their understanding of the foundations needed to start a new business. Our ROWAN staff members also said they appreciated the way the trainers from Neema Development referenced the bible throughout the training and they loved learning about the concept of “Purpose” and how it relates to business. We are so grateful for our partnership with Neema Development and for the opportunity it gives ROWAN to further help our widows and children build a better future for themselves.
This is Ibrahim, he has been the recipient of help and support through ROWAN. He is one of 13 children whose grandparents took them in after their father died. Five of his siblings are now grown but eight of them still live with their grandparents.
Ibrahim’s grandfather with some of his grandchildren behind torn down house.Ibrahim as a young boy helping with chores.
In addition to being in grade Senior Two, Ibrahim has taken on the responsibility of helping to support his younger siblings. He weeds the cassava garden and has built a small hut near the house his father was in the midst of building when he passed away. Ibrahim and some of his siblings live in the small hut he built but it takes a lot of work to maintain. The grass needed for the thatching is hard to get and can leak when it rains. During times of drought, the thatching is eaten by termites. In addition to issues with the roof, Ibrahim and his siblings must also worry about the snakes that creep in during the night. Despite these hard living conditions, Ibrahim’s faith remains strong and he carries gratitude in his heart.
Today, we have GREAT NEWS! With the help of his sponsor and other supporters, we are going to build his family a new house! Soon his grandfather and siblings will have a new, safe place to call home. We will post new photos of their house in a few weeks!
Want to help donate to the next house building project? It only takes $3,300 to build a new house top to bottom! Donate today!
“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” – Mother Teresa
This is Josan Mpina. As a child, he was orphaned and faced an uncertain future until help came in the form of sponsorship through ROWAN from the Beason family. The Beason’s helped fund Josan’s education and in February of 2020, he was able to graduate from the mason skills and building practices program. To celebrate this huge accomplishment, the Beason’s bought Josan the tools he would need to be able to work in his new industry.
In a letter he wrote at the end of his sponsorship, Josan spoke of his gratitude for ROWAN, its leadership, and his beloved sponsors. He also expressed his appreciation for the love that he, “a needy orphan” received and for the fact that people were willing to advocate “for a person like me.”
When we say that we are grateful for each of our sponsors and donors, we are speaking words from our hearts. Your help allows ROWAN to be able to do the work that our Savior exemplified during his mortal ministry – that of loving and serving our fellow men. What a blessing that is. What a blessing you are.
We wish each of you a beautiful Easter filled with the peace that is found in Christ.
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect people across the globe and Uganda is not exempt from its reach. According to the JHV CSSE COVID-19 Data, to date, Uganda has a total of 40,719 COVID-19 cases and has had 334 deaths from COVID-19. While the number of cases in Uganda has, thankfully, remained relatively low, COVID-19 has affected many people and industries there. But March brought with it new hope in the fight against COVID-19 in the form of antibody testing and a vaccination rollout.
(Photo by Reuters)
In mid-March, SABC News reported that the University of Makerere in Uganda, with funding help from the French government, was able to create a COVID-19 rapid antibody test that does not require the use of a laboratory or electricity to work. This new COVID-19 antibody testing system will give people living in remote or rural areas across Africa the ability to test for COVID-19 activity in their area. This new testing system requires only a finger prick for a blood draw and has been shown to have a 70% accuracy rate so far.
(Photo by Nicholas Kajoba/Xinhua)
In addition to the new COVID-19 antibody testing system, Uganda began a vaccination rollout campaign on March 10th. Uganda is using the Astra Zeneca vaccine and it will be made available to groups of people in phases.
As in other communities, it is the widows that ROWAN serves that are most at risk from COVID-19. Thankfully, COVID-19 has not yet reached the area where ROWAN is headquartered. We are working to be proactive in the fight against COVID-19 and are setting up a gathering for our widows to meet with a doctor who will explain more about COVID-19 and the things they can do to help prevent it. The doctor will also go over the vaccine, and its pros and cons, with the widows. ROWAN is currently working on a COVID-19 plan of action for the people in the village. We are setting up a phone number that people can call if they are feeling any COVID-19 symptoms. When a person calls this phone number, a representative from ROWAN will talk them through things they can do that will aid in their recovery as well as the steps they need to take to help keep those around them healthy. We will also get them tested for COVID-19.
We know we don’t have all the answers about COVID-19 and we will be upfront about this with all those who contact our ROWAN COVID-19 helpline. We just want those who reach out, and those who need help, to know that they are not alone; we will be there for, and with, them.
It’s time for you to buy a new shirt for yourself, a family member, a favorite teacher, a new neighbor, or an old friend! These whimsical shirts are a breath of fresh air for Spring 2021. The best news is that the sale of these shirts will directly benefit ROWAN Widows in the new Legacy Program launching next month, April, 2021! See below the photos for more details.
Check out these cool designs! All shirts come in unisex sizes XS to 3XL with multiple shirt color options. Click the image or caption to SHOP!
All sales will directly benefit ROWAN Widows in The LEGACY PROGRAM~
This new program is beginning for widows at ROWAN! It’s a 4-year certificate program.
Through a comprehensive curriculum, training will empower widows to become successful and independent in all areas of life. The Legacy Program will focus on:
Entrepreneurship & Financial Training
Health & Wellness Training
Literacy and Educational Training
Family Needs & Healthy Relationships
Life Skills Training
Spiritual Development & Discipleship
Social Training (addressing local issues such as women’s rights and land rights)
In May 2019, a summer ROWAN team visited many homes for the first time and met families common to East Uganda; families where children have lost parents and are being raised by grandparents, aunts and uncles, or older siblings. The team held and loved on these precious children. The team met Uncle Yazidi, who was caring for his nieces and nephews because they had suddenly lost their mother. Yazidi’s youngest nephew was Bruno, and he was only 9 months old. Everyone at ROWAN fell in love with this sweet baby boy! His caregivers had no way to provide breast milk and could not afford to buy formula to feed him and give his body the nourishment it needed. He was given black tea, because that was all they could offer him. ROWAN was able to provide him formula and secured two sponsors to help with his daily needs! This praise was met with eventual grief, as Baby Bruno’s body could not fight the irreversible damage due to malnourishment. At the age of 11 months, Bruno passed away.
And what happened to Bruno’s siblings? Uncle Yazidi is still caring for all of Bruno’s brothers and sisters, as well as his wife and their own three children. This is a large family with many needs. ROWAN recently completed TWO house for Yazidi! ROWAN built one house for Bruno’s older siblings, and one house for Yazidi, his wife, and all the little ones!
Yazidi, his wife, and the little ones in front of their beautiful house! These two houses were built for a total of only $5,000! This tangible, life-changing gift for this family and future families was made possible by those who’ve been giving to the ROWAN HOME BUILDING campaign. We give these donors and sponsors our very special thanks for helping HOPE CARRY ON.
There are many more families that need homes. If you feel God leading you to give, please visit the HOME BUILDING campaign page!
Thank you for helping us honor Bruno and his family.
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life,neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,will be able to separate us from the love of Godthat is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
I have a daughter who is my “why” and my reason for trying each day to be, and do, better. She is my greatest joy and my surprise miracle. Becoming a mother opened my heart in ways I never knew possible and I know I am not alone in feeling this way. Bringing a child into your life changes your priorities, your way of looking at life, and adds to that innate desire we have as humans to make things better.
My husband and I had been married many years before our surprise miracle arrived. During that time, I looked for ways to support children and families around the world and in that search I came across ROWAN. As I read through the information online, I knew I had finally found the organization I had been looking for. My heart melted, and tears filled my eyes, as I read of a beautiful baby girl and her grandmother who were in need of sponsorship and I quickly signed up to help sponsor them. That was almost ten years ago, and I have been a supporter of ROWAN ever since.
What do I love about ROWAN? I love that I am able to donate what I can afford and that I can be sure my donation is being used to directly help people in Uganda. I love that ROWAN strives to help widows and children better their lives through education and the opportunities that brings. I love that ROWAN follows the teaching found in Matthew 25:40, “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (KJV) And I love that ROWAN is led by love.
My name is Kirsten, and I am grateful to say that I am a ROWAN supporter.
Children in Uganda, like many others across the globe, have not had access to in-person learning since March of 2020. The effects of this lack of access to education are beginning to show; we have seen some children losing interest in school, older girls are getting married or have become pregnant, and older boys have left home and taken low-paying jobs rather than wait for schools to start back up. It breaks our hearts to see children struggling and leaving the learning path. As we mentioned in our post last week, the Ugandan government is planning to start reopening schools for some of the older children in March, but it will be a slow roll-out and a lot of children will still be left at home with no access to education. To this end, ROWAN has been hard at work on a strategic plan for the new Learning Center we introduced you to last week.
Our local ROWAN members met with the primary children last week and grouped them into four groups:
Nursery age children and those who would soon be joining that age group
Primary 1 and Primary 2
Primary 3 and Primary 4
Primary 5 and Primary 6
We will hold classes for our Primary groups on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays with one group coming per day. We will hold classes for the older children not yet in public school on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. This schedule allows us to give a large group of children access to in-person learning while also giving them a chance to spend time with their peers and friends.
Our local ROWAN team and board will continue to monitor the Ugandan government’s school reopening plan and will adjust ROWAN’s Learning Center schedule accordingly. The pandemic, and the necessary responses to it, will require our Learning Center plan to stay flexible; there are so many unknowns. Questions like, “Will the children need extra help to catch up to grade-level curriculum and How often will the schedule need to be adjusted?” are questions that only time can answer. The one thing we know for certain is that it is vital for these children to feel supported and to stay motivated about their education. With your help, prayers, and donations, we are taking steps to do just that.
“Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”
Isaiah 43:19
A new program called The Legacy Program is beginning for widows and adult members of ROWAN! An enormous amount of prayer and planning has gone into this brand new program for Adults; these Adults are the sponsored Widows, Widowers, and Caregivers of ROWAN.
The Legacy Program is a 4-year intensive certificate program for sponsored ROWAN widows and other adult members.
Program Details
ROWAN leaders have partnered with other reputable professionals to create a comprehensive curriculum that will encompass all aspects of education, training, care, and follow-up. Each year, the Legacy adults will attend specific trainings to help them become successful and independent in many different areas of life. Our new program will focus on these key areas: Entrepreneurship & Financial Training
Health & Wellness Training
Literacy and Educational Training
Family Needs & Healthy Relationships
Life Skills Training
Spiritual Development & Discipleship
Social Training (addressing local issues such as women’s rights and land rights)
How does The Legacy Program relate to adult sponsorship?
88 adults in the first round will move through The Legacy Program together, and a new group will enroll in four years as these incredible members graduate from the program with a well-earned certificate as well as many new life and business skills.
LEGACY will replace our earlier adult sponsorship model. Previously, adult members of ROWAN would enter programs as beneficiaries with no end date. As co-founders Pastor Paul and Kelsey Hargadine evaluated ROWAN programs and plans during his time in the U.S. in 2020, they found that this wasn’t completely accomplishing the vision they set out for.
Sponsorship with no end date placed a lot of pressure on sponsors of adults in contrast with sponsors of orphans, who can see when the projected graduation date will be of the child they sponsor. It also wasn’t as effective at empowering widows toward independence and self-sufficiency as this highly structured, goal-oriented Legacy Program will be.
The Legacy Program will also cover medical care and regular, nutritious meals throughout the 4-year program. When you support a widow, widower, or caregiver… you make Legacy a possibility in more ways than one.
At the end of the program, these women and men will attend a ROWAN graduation ceremony where they will be presented with their program certificate and get to celebrate all of their hard work and development. We will celebrate them as a community: our newest ROWAN Alumni adult members!
The Legacy Program will prepare the enrolled members extensively for this day and the ones that follow, as the certificate symbolizes thee official beginning of a self-sufficient, sustainable future. It marks the journey toward building a Legacy through entrepreneurship and a healthy lifestyle.
If you currently sponsor a widow, widower, or caregiver, please send them a note to encourage them on the 4-year journey ahead!
If you’d like to partner with us in transforming a widow’s life and making her legacy possible, please meet our adult members and sponsor one of these heroes today! If you sponsor a Jajja (grandma), thank you for supporting one of the elderly women cared for by ROWAN in their final chapter of life. While they are too old to go through the entire 4-year intensive program, they will join in different aspects and experiences of The Legacy Program as much as they can!
Join us in the coming months!
Please watch this space as we follow some Legacy members throughout their journey to see how God moves in their lives and in the ROWAN community. Thank you for praying for these women and men as they battle to care for the young ones they are raising and the generations that will come after them. With your help, they are well on their way to establishing a legacythat will impact their family and community for many years to come!
Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.”
In spite of (and in light of) the unpredictable, tumultuous year we all had, God proved faithful time and time again!
Thank you for partnering with us in serving hundreds of orphans and widows in rural Uganda. We invite you to celebrate with us as we see all of the small miracles that came through on behalf of these women and children, our neighbors.
We know that when disaster strikes, it always strikes the marginalized hardest. Thank you for the part you played in alleviating that suffering. Your prayers and gifts will have ripple effects for generations, and we’re already seeing evidence of that!
ROWAN deeply values integrity, accountability, and transparency with our community, and sharing this Annual Report for 2020 is one of the ways we are pleased to follow through on that. We hope you enjoy this snapshot filled with testimonies of hope in one of the hardest years the world has seen.
