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Curious About Our Learning Center?

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An Update on the ROWAN Learning Center, Part 1

Just as it is in other countries around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect families in Uganda. The Ugandan government announced last week that schools for older children may begin opening in March. While this is good news for older children, younger children in nursery through Primary Level 5 will still have to remain at home.

What’s the Learning Center and when will it open?

Our ROWAN team in Uganda has been working tirelessly to meet needs and fill in the gaps during this COVID crisis. Due to the hard work of our board and team in Uganda as well as the generous donations we received during our Christmas fundraiser, we are now able to move forward with a way to meet the educational needs of these younger students through opening The ROWAN Learning Center for children in nursery through Primary Level 5 (which is similar to 5th grade in the U.S.).

We are working with the local government and elementary schools to get our Learning Center up and running by the end of February! The learning center will be based in our Hall of Hope building and will have four teachers on staff.

How will it work?

Along with helping to make the Learning Center possible, the generous donations we received from our sponsors also cover regular meals for the orphans, all of the necessary school supplies, sanitizing and hygenic supplies, bus rides on the ROWAN bus to and from school, and new school uniforms!

Sharing the exciting update with ROWAN orphans!

Earlier this week, primary children (aged 4 to 12) were able to gather at the Hall of Hope for the first time since March of 2020. We picked the children up from six different zones using the ROWAN bus that our sponsors helped fund!

It was a joyous day, and Pastor Sam Kuloba said that the children were very excited to all be together again. Our local ROWAN team plans to hold a similar gathering later this week for the older children. 

Stay tuned for further updates!

We will continue to post updates on the Learning Center as it progresses. If you would like to continue to support ROWAN in our work at the Learning Center, please click here and select “Education and Training” under the “Purpose” dropdown box.

We appreciate all the support and love you, our sponsors and friends, give so willingly. Please continue to pray for our board and staff in Uganda as they work faithfully to make sure the children are able to continue their education with love and hope in Christ! 

How to Make Sure You’re Receiving Newsletters

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January 25, 2021

“Why am I not receiving ROWAN newsletters and email updates?”

We know you love seeing good news and exciting updates from ROWAN. If you’ve experienced problems receiving our email newsletters, it’s probably that they’re being mistakenly filtered out of your inbox.The good news? It’s not your fault, and it’s easy to solve!

Here are some quick fixes to be sure your email settings aren’t preventing you from seeing our encouraging emails:
If you use Gmail:
FIRST:

  1. At the top right of your email inbox, click Settings > Mail Settings > Filters (second from the left).
  2. Click the tab that says Create a New Filter.
  3. In the From field, type “info@loverowan.com” and “kelsey@loverowan.com” without changing any other settings on this screen.
  4. Click Next Step.
  5. Check the box that says Star It.
  6. Click Create Filter to confirm.

THEN:

  1. Open an email sent to you by ROWAN.
  2. Click “Add to VIPs.” ….. or …..
  3. Open an email from ROWAN.
  4. Tap the email address or ROWAN (at the top of the email).
  5. Tap ‘Create New Contact’ from the menu at the bottom of the screen.

If you use Microsoft Outlook:

  1. Login to your Hotmail or MSN Mail account.
  2. Click on Options > Junk Mail Protection > Safe List.
  3. In the box provided type in “info@loverowan.com” and “kelsey@loverowan.com”.
  4. Click “Add”.
  5. When you see the address you entered in the Safe List box, click on the “OK” button.

If you receive your emails through Yahoo! Mail:

  1. Login and click on Mail Options (on the right of your screen) > Filters (on the left of your screen) > Add.
  2. Assign a name for this filter: “ROWAN Emails”, for example.
  3. Go to the top row labeled “FROM header” (it’s underneath the heading “if all of the following rules are true…”).
  4. Click the dropdown menu. Select Contains, then type “info@loverowan.com” and “kelsey@loverowan.com” in the box.
  5. At the bottom, where it says “Move the message to:”, select “Inbox” from the dropdown menu
  6. Click Add Filter to confirm.

Need more help?

Click here for in-depth directions to help make sure your email settings are correct based on your email provider. If you’re still having trouble, please email kelsey@loverowan.com.

Please note: Regardless of your email provider, if you see an email from ROWAN in your Junk Mail folder, click “This Is Not Junk Mail” to avoid having ROWAN e-mails sent to the Junk Mail folder in the future!

Uganda COVID-19 Update

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COVID-19

Africa numbers*

  • 54 countries in Africa affected
  • 99,433 cumulative cases in Africa
  • 3,078 reported deaths
  • 39,103 reported recoveries
  • South Africa most affected with 19,137 cases

*Data from World Health Organization, 5/20/22

Uganda numbers**

  • 260 reported cases (up from 126 on 5/13/20)
  • 0 deaths

**Data from World Health Organization, 5/19/20

While the number of Covid-19 cases in Uganda remain low, the number jumped 106% this last week. The country continues its response by asking people to follow guidelines and distance from others which will also keep the healthcare workforce safe.  Another example of Uganda’s response is this: The Minister of Health and State Minister for Health in charge of General Duties have established the first border health laboratory at Mutukula border entry point shared by Uganda and Tanzania. The border is crossed easily, daily, and now, given the rise of Covid-19 among truck drivers, those drivers accessing this entry point will be tested by the new health lab and receive results in 45 minutes. The lab can process 64 samples per hour.

An ongoing concern in Uganda and all of Africa is food shortages.  According to the World Health Organization on March 14, 2020:

  • “COVID-19 is unfolding in Africa against a backdrop of worrying levels of hunger and undernourishment, which could worsen as the virus threatens livelihoods and household economies,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “Hunger and malnutrition heighten vulnerability to diseases, the consequences of which could be far reaching if not properly addressed.”
  • In Africa, it is estimated that one in five people is undernourished, and that 30% of children under five – approximately 59 million children – have stunted growth, greater than the global average of 21.9%. Wasting occurs in approximately 7.1% of children in Africa. The continent has the highest burden of malnutrition compared with other parts of the world, in terms of percentage of the population. While there has been little research so far into malnutrition as a co-morbidity for COVID-19, people with weakened immune systems as a result of undernourishment are at greater risk of a range of serious illnesses and so are likely to be more severely affected by the virus.
  • Recent estimates of food insecurity have suggested that as many as 73 million people in Africa were acutely food insecure. COVID-19 is exacerbating food shortages, as food imports, transportation and agricultural production have all been hampered by a combination of lockdowns, travel restrictions and physical distancing measures.
  • The burden of movement restrictions and lockdowns is being felt particularly strongly by low-income households and those working in the informal economy due to their loss of livelihoods and inability to access markets.

ROWAN continues to deliver food to the widows and orphans in the ROWAN villages.  But the need is great and we need your help.  Any gift will go directly to food for our sisters and brothers who are locked down but need to eat.  Thank you for praying for these dear ones and giving as you’re able.

“Oh God, our help in ages past
Our hope for years to come
Our shelter from the stormy blast
And our eternal home…”
Isaac Watts, 1708

A Double Whammy: COVID-19 and Record Floods

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As of today, May 14th, 2020 at 8 pm EST, 160 Ugandans have tested positive for the coronavirus, of which none has died and 63 have recovered. 

Although the virus infects a mere fraction of Uganda’s 43M citizens, the pandemic’s impact on the economy and government resonates nationally. Measures to slow the spread often clash against the normalcy of daily life and the vitality of essential trade. As information about the virus emerges daily, Ugandan policymakers must propose national recommendations that adaptively balance the physical and economic well-being of their people. 

Second-hand clothing markets annually reap $200M for the Ugandan economy.

Illustrating this volatility, bans that were placed on the second-hand clothing market were reversed on May 8th – just 24 hours after their institution. Although they may remain open, clothing sellers must abide by heightened hygiene mandates such as fumigation before they can make any sales. While the government did not release any comments concerning this policy reversal, its desire to maintain the $200M industry and to prevent backlash from the U.S. – the main source of imported clothing – may have motivated the decision.

Ugandan truck drivers have been mandated to carry digital tracking devices.

On May 12th, Ugandan officials ordered all truck drivers to carry digital tracking devices. This strategy came in response to a disproportionate rate of infection that was reported among these workers last month. Although preventing the spread of the disease remains paramount, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni emphasizes, “We need the cargo. We need the goods.” … And they certainly do. Stifling the dispersion of COVID-19 has necessitated significant economic sacrifices. Already, the International Monetary Fund, a multinational organization working towards global financial security, has loaned $491M in relief to Uganda’s COVID-19-related economic downturn. 

President Museveni’s final campaign rally from 2015.

Beyond the economic strain, the country expects a postponement of polling for its 2020 general elections. Should the pandemic remain out of control through July, President Museveni predicts a delay of the elections until early 2021. 

The Nalubaale Hydroelectric Power Station, where the blackout-causing blockage occurred.

It gets worse. As if COVID-19 did not pose great enough hardships, the Ugandan people now face extreme flooding – the likes of which they have not seen since 1976. This month alone, the floods have killed 4 people, trapped 200 patients inside of a hospital, and displaced 5,000 others for the sake of emergency relocation. Recently, the record 44-ft rise in Lake Victoria dislodged an island of vegetation – measuring 2 acres –from a riverbank. Ultimately, this floating island clogged one of Uganda’s four main hydroelectric power stations, which precipitated a brief, yet nationwide power outage. 

Quarantine Update: Uganda

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Greetings from a quarantined world! Due to the Coronavirus, Uganda has been under one of the strictest lockdowns on the continent of Africa. On May 5, 2020*, according to Reuters, Uganda began to loosen their restrictions.

Reuters continued to report:

  • The country of 42 million reported 97 confirmed cases* and no deaths in 45 days of restrictions, and President Museveni said it was now better equipped to trace and detect new infections faster.
  • “We have somehow tamed the virus,” Museveni said in a televised address late on Monday.
  • “It is high time we … start slowly and carefully to open up, but without undoing our achievements.”
  • However, Africa also has extremely low levels of testing, with rates of only around 500 per million people. 
  • Uganda, alongside neighboring Rwanda, had some of Africa’s strictest lockdown measures, including the shutting of all but absolutely essential businesses, dusk-to-dawn curfews, and bans on both private and public transport vehicles.
  •  Businesses including hardware shops, restaurants, wholesale stores and others will now be allowed to reopen.
  • Public transport and most private vehicles would still remain prohibited, however – meaning that workers for reopened businesses will have to commute either by bicycle or on foot.
  • Schools and international borders were to remain shut, Museveni said.
  • After a 14-day period, he said, authorities will announce the next level of reopening.

While this is good news for people who can work again, there are still several restrictions in place. Challenges remain for the people ROWAN serves. Widows, who are the sole providers for their children (and who were already up against incredible odds before the virus hit), are dealing with severe food shortages. Additionally, there has been no word as to when children can go back to school. If you are able, please consider donating. We are thankful to have a good relationship with local law enforcement, which means we are able to continue to use our bus to deliver food directly to orphans and widows in their homes.

Pastor Paul and Mama Edith remain in Colorado waiting for borders to open in June. ROWAN staff members are using this time to pray, work, and plan for ROWAN. God has been loving and guiding during this difficult time. He is always faithful and brings us Hope! 

Learning Center Update

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Part II

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. 

Locusts Invade Uganda

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Swarms of locusts have entered Uganda  by way of Kenya. This very serious desert locust invasion threatens East Africa, the United Nations has warned. Locusts threaten the food security of millions of people.  Swarms of this magnitude have not been seen in decades. In Kenya and Somalia, many crops have already been devastated.

The Eagle Online Uganda news source stated today, March 10, 2020:

The desert locusts have since been sighted in 24 districts in Teso, Lango, Acholi, Sebei and Bugisu sub- regions of Uganda.  Since the outbreak, government through its agencies has step up control measures which include rapid spraying in all affected areas with both manual and motorized pumps and sensitization of people. 

The Minister of Agriculture, Vincent Ssempijja, said:  “The existing swarms have not caused significant damage to the vegetation cover, however, there is an eminent threat to food security when the eggs hatch into hoppers in the next few weeks as has been the case with our neighbour, Kenya.”  He said the swarms however continue to spread to other districts and possibly laying of eggs is expected to continue while our efforts to control the adult locusts continue.

The Observer Uganda online stated on February 12, 2020:

“A typical desert locust swarm can contain up to 150 million locusts per square kilometre. UN reports indicate that locusts can reproduce rapidly and, if left unchecked, current numbers could grow 500 times by June. A swarm can destroy as much food crops in a day as is sufficient to feed 2,500.”

Forecast (March-June 2020) on the desert locust upsurge in the Greater Horn of Africa. Photo: observer.ug

Please pray for ROWAN villages and all of East Africa that resources will be allocated quickly to treat this invasion effectively and that crops and lives would be saved. It’s hard for many of us to imagine experiencing this type of natural disaster. Please join us as we prayerfully imagine ourselves in the place of our brothers and sisters in East Africa.

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way

you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2

ROWAN 2020 STAFF Retreat

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From the fruit stand in the neighborhood market to the vast empire of Microsoft or Disney, we all interact with businesses large and small.  Peter Drucker, father of the practical foundations and philosophies of modern business, said this:

“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”
The ROWAN staff, without possibly realizing it, teaches us this very truth.

ROWAN staff recently had their 2020 Staff Retreat in Iganga. The theme was: “Enhancing Teamwork for Effective Service Delivery”.  They spent time in sessions engaged with the following topics:

  • Discussion of Expectations, Fears, and Objectives
  • The role of Teamwork and Identifying One’s Role on the Team
  • Strategies for Team Effectiveness and Performance 
  • Issues and Challenges Affecting Teamwork 
  • Alignment of Teamwork with Christian Values

ROWAN leaders spend time in preparation, prayer, and planning to do the right things. This group of flawed people, saved by Jesus Christ, takes the time to discern, pray, wait on God—through some very difficult and painful daily struggles—to do the right things for the widows and orphans in their care.

If you’d like to sponsor a widow or orphan through this growing organization of leaders that Peter Drucker would be proud of, please choose someone to sponsor in Uganda today.  You will become part of our AMAKA (family) doing the right things for widows and orphans and you will be changed for the better.  It happens to each of us who follow God’s tug at our hearts and it will happen to you.

Photos from the ROWAN 2020 STAFF Retreat—PICTURES THAT SPEAK A THOUSAND WORDS:

Uganda Prepares for COVID-19

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In just 3 months, COVID-19 has spread to 74 countries.
Almost instantaneously, its scare has gone global. 

As of today, cases of the coronavirus have emerged in 7 African countries, including Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Senegal, Nigeria, Morocco, and most recently, South Africa. Uganda remains unaffected, but its Ministry of Health has taken measures to thwart the virus’s first breach. 

At all major points of entry, including Entebbe International Airport, the government has instituted a surveillance program, which isolates potentially-infected persons while they undergo testing. So far 722 travelers to Uganda have been isolated out of precaution, including some 499 Chinese citizens and 150 Ugandan citizens.

According to the Minister of State for Primary Healthcare, Dr. Joyce Mariku Kaducu, 10 suspected samples of COVID-19 have undergone laboratory testing. All returned negative. Moving forward, the Ministry of Health is actively equipping hospitals with testing apparatus, establishing mobile testing units, and preparing ambulatory transportation for suspected cases. 

While the country has not banned all international entrants, 93 Ugandan students, who were in Wuhan at the time of the outbreak, are prohibited from coming home. Consequently, the government has issued financial assistance to these students while they remain abroad. 

 The Minister of State for Primary Healthcare, Dr. Joyce Mariku Kaducu, addresses Uganda’s current position with COVID-19 on NTV last Monday, March 2nd. 

Beyond the issue of personal travel, the COVID-19 outbreak could have massive implications for Ugandan trade. Many Ugandans travel to China to pick up plastic, mechanical, and electronic goods for resale, but are now limited in their ability to do so. Furthermore, the scare has prompted many ships – which routinely transport cargo from China to ports in Mombassa, Kenya – to cut back on delivery. So far, the preventative measure has not inflicted a major blow to the Ugandan economy, but its consequences will become more apparent when businesses run low on inventory. Recognizing this possibility for low supply, Ugandan banks are preparing for widespread deflation of national currency. 

Finally, the Ministry of Health seeks to educate the public on the best preventative measures. They recommend that all should wash their hands thoroughly and often, carry personal alcohol-containing hand sanitizers, and abstain from sharing drinks and utensils with others. If experiencing flu-like symptoms, one is advised to self-isolate and refrain from self-medicating. Antibiotics will not help against a virus; people must seek proper medical attention instead. To discourage large gatherings, which are more vulnerable to disease spread, Dr. Joyce Mariku Kaducu warns,

“Every gathering must get clearance from the ministry. If you are organizing a mass gathering without asking the Ministry of Health, we have powers to stop you.” 

Invisible and insidious, the COVID-19 virus continues to elude containment efforts across the globe. While many countries have failed to block the coronavirus from crossing their borders, Ugandan public health authorities are doing everything they can to intercept COVID-19 importation and minimize spread in the event of its arrival. 

…

Information and images presented above were compiled from these sources:

https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/east-africa/2020/03/03/how-uganda-is-preparing-for-coronavirus

https://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Coronavirus-scare-Government-restricts-public-meetings/688334-5478240-1422ncm/index.html

https://www.ntv.co.ug/news/national/Minister-gives-the-latest-update-on-Uganda-s-situation/4522324-5476094-haynxe/index.html

https://www.facebook.com/UgandaMediaCentre

Endangered Mountain Gorilla of Uganda

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As ROWAN is in Uganda, we thought it would be helpful for our readers if we shared a bit more about this amazing country. This is an amazingly diverse land with a huge variety of animal & plant life to learn about. Perhaps Uganda’s most famous resident is the critically endangered mountain gorilla.

Uganda’s mountain gorillas.

High Altitude

As the name states, mountain gorillas prefer to inhabit mountainside forests at around 8,000 to 13,000 feet. Critically endangered since 1996, a variety of regeneration programs are in place to raise their numbers in the wild. In fact, Uganda is one of the only places in the world mountain gorillas can be found in the wild.

Uganda’s mountain gorillas.

Mountain Gorilla Facts

Mountain gorillas are vegetarians & their diet is made up of roughly 10 different species of forest plants. Favoring items like thistle, wood & roots, they rarely need to drink water as their diet provides a great deal. This is a very social animal, living in small groups (less than 40) dominated by a male silverback, leader & protector. Generally potential conflicts are resolved through a show of strength or intimidation tactics, but silverbacks have been known to give their life for the safety of his group. Young males are driven away from the group at around 11 years & often travel in packs until they reach sexual maturity.

Learn More

To learn more about this lovely animal, get involved to help them or take a trip to Uganda visit the Uganda Wildlife Authority or the Uganda Wildlife Education Center.