health care

Food is Life!

Shelly Casale on July 20, 2021

While the pandemic has brought hardship and struggle to the world, some of us have fared better than others. Many of us have been able to shop online for food and other things, with front door deliveries. We have made use of curbside pickup and Instacart shoppers. And most of us have been able to shop inside grocery and other stores as needed. I am grateful to God for the relative ease of feeding my family during such a hard time.

Our friends in Uganda are facing something wholly different. Due to rising cases of Covid-19 in country, Uganda began a 42 day lockdown on June 19. People may not leave their homes unless for medical emergencies. This has put people in the ROWAN villages in a dangerous situation as they have no way to get food to sustain themselves for this long period. ROWAN asked for your help and you came through! Last week, Paster Paul and our ROWAN team (under the watchful eye of Security officers) were able to distribute food to our widows and orphans.

Maize and beans made ready for distribution outside at Mwanga Hall of Hope.

Pastor Paul and Isaac Malinga, ROWAN Board Chair, witness the food distribution process along with police officers.

Without the generosity of donors this would not have been possible. And we’re not done yet! To sustain each person through the lockdown we need to purchase and deliver more food. Please consider giving, anything you can, to our Food to Families campaign, and help us be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ to our faithful widows and orphans in the villages who need to eat. All of the money raised from this campaign is going toward the purchase of food supplies during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Their faces! Happy beneficiaries of food send thanks and God’s blessing to donors and sponsors.

Pastor Paul just sent this message:

“Good evening to you all,

Thank you for your prayers, we made it. Everyone was excited with the food given to them—God Bless you all abundantly.

You may wonder why we didn’t use the Bus. The first point was that the Kilos were too many for the Bus, secondly the roads are too bad for the Bus when packed with food, thirdly the police we had didn’t allow us because when you carry people in a Bus it can easily spread the virus, so that is why we had to use the truck.

But the most important thing we thank God is that we were allowed to buy food and we were able to distribute it to them.

Thank you so much for your help.

Talk to you soon.”

Pastor Paul Nyende

Being hungry and not being fed takes a toll on the mind, body, and spirit. Thank you for continuing to help us alleviate this most basic need for our Ugandan brothers and sisters in Christ. He is the bread of life and we give Him thanks!

Planning for the Future

Shelly Casale on June 9, 2021

Board and staff learning together

While Uganda fights Covid-19 with a second lockdown, God’s people don’t stop caring for one another. Just two months ago in April, 2021, the ROWAN board and staff gathered for a two-day leadership workshop in Iganga Town. Pastor Paul and others led the team in activities based on the theme, “Fulfilling our Role and Calling”. Pastor encouraged the close-to-20 team members there to see their work as a divine calling which should be honored and observed.

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” 1 Peter 4:10

The board and staff created and took ownership of the following FIVE goals:

To work in love harmony and unity with colleagues.
To ensure ethical conduct while at place of work
To ensure workplan development and integrity while at work
To ensure timely report development and submission
To ensure team work and time management in work processes

Pastor Paul welcomed four new board members and four new staff members. Their names and roles are as follows:

NEW BOARD MEMBERS:

Malinga Isaac…Board Chair & in charge of Health Affairs

Sam Davis Kuloba…Organizing Secretary & in charge of Sponsor Affairs

Tom Musira…..Secretary &in charge of Human Resource Affairs Edith Edith Nyende…………Board member & in charge of Entrepreneurship & Farm Management

NEW STAFF MEMBERS:

Onyango Valiriano…..Farm Manager

Nkonoka Scovia………Sponsor relation staff-1

Rachael Babirye………Sponsor Relation staff-2)

Joy Namuganza………Project Officer

Pastor Paul with three new board members who will use their experiences, talents, and skills for transforming the ROWAN organization in even better ways.

New ROWAN staff: From left, Onyango Valiriano (Farm Manager), Nkonoka Scovia (Sponsor relation staff-1), Rachael Babirye (Sponsor Relation staff-2), and Joy Namuganza (Project Officer)

All those who participate in ROWAN programs appreciate and are blessed by the hard working board and staff. May God give strength to each of the 20 team members who follow HIM and work together as a team to care for so many widows and orphans.

The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has hit Uganda.

Kirsten Formea on June 4, 2021

Uganda is currently being hit hard by the second wave of COVID-19 infections. In speaking with a BBC news correspondent, Henry Mwebesa, the Director-General of Health Services at the Health Ministry, said that it took less than 10 days for the second wave of infections to reach levels seen in a full-scale pandemic. The steep rise in cases is believed to be due in part to the arrival in Uganda of the new variants of the virus that have been seen in India and South Africa. These new variants are more infectious and have been shown to have a higher hospitalization rate. In her article for VOA News, Halima Athumani shared statistics that highlight the exponential growth of COVID-19 infections in Uganda; Ms. Athumani reported that for the week of April 25, there were 256 new COVID-19 cases reported but by the week of May 16th, new COVID-19 cases in Uganda had risen to 1060. In addition to the arrival of the new, more infectious, variants of the virus, Uganda is facing a vaccine shortage emergency. According to news reports in Uganda, the existing supply of COVID-19 vaccines has run out, and it is unknown when future shipments of the vaccine may arrive. The president of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, is expected to address the country on Sunday with an update on the COVID-19 crisis and the actions the government is going to take to try to slow the spread of the virus.

The second wave has seen the COVID-19 virus reach the communities ROWAN serves. Even though our communities have not had any COVID-19 cases over the past year, ROWAN has been working hard to help people in our communities be as knowledgeable and as prepared as possible for the arrival of the COVID-19 virus. While our ROWAN team in Uganda is doing all they physically can to help our community members weather this storm, we also know there is tremendous power in prayer. There is a quote by Angus Buchan that says, “There is power in prayer. When men work, they work. But when men pray, God works.” We have seen firsthand the power of prayer in action and we are standing with our community members, our Ugandan team, and the Ugandan people in prayer. Please, join us in praying for our ROWAN communities and for the people of Uganda as they face this new threat.

All photos in this post are by Bob Ditty

Moms to Mamas

Shelly Casale on May 8, 2021

There’s no better way to honor the moms in your life than to bless a mom in need.

This Mother’s Day, we want to bridge the gap between the moms in your life and the mothers (who are widows) in ROWAN who are in real need of a sponsor more than ever before.

This year ROWAN has launched our Legacy Program: A four year comprehensive plan for our widows to learn business practices, grow in their faith, practice life skills, increase their passion for their families, all while meeting their physical needs each week.

So what is Mothers to Mother’s Campaign?

We have 18 mamas who need a sponsor to help them through this 4 year program. That could look like:

$38 a month, $228 every 6 months, or $456 a year. They will graduate at the end of 2025!

What will your mother receive?

Your mother will receive a sponsorship card with their photo and details
Access to write her letters online *Anytime! She will respond within three weeks of your message!
Updates on her progress in Legacy Program through ROWAN quarterly.
An opportunity to visit her mama at her graduation party in Uganda!

Will you consider sponsoring one of these mamas? For your mom, your mother-in-law, your sister, your aunt, your grandmother, your friend, or any special woman in your life who has loved and taught you. Visit the 18 mamas here and consider giving your mom or mentor the gift of loving one of these precious women who are in need of love from someone who has loved you. If you can’t sponsor a mama monthly, a one-time gift goes a long way to sponsor our 18 mamas! Thank you for reading about our mamas and considering changing their lives through the Legacy program. mother’s

We understand if you can’t give right now. This virus affects us all differently, and we sympathize with those of you who wish you could give but aren’t able to. If you are looking for other ways to help, please share about ROWAN with your family and close friends. Our hearts are with each of you this holiday weekend.

ROMANS 5:5

honor!

New Spring Merch For Sale!

Shelly Casale on March 18, 2021

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!

The THINK ABOUT SUCH THINGS t-shirt. So cool!

FIVE color choices!

The GOOD THINGS ARE ON THE HORIZON t-shirt . A feel-good-make-someone’s-day kind of shirt.

FOUR color choices!

The FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT t-shirt. Read it and Rejoice!

FIVE color choices!

~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)

Learn more here: https://loverowan.org/a-new-legacy-for-rowan

A Tale of Two Houses

Shelly Casale on March 5, 2021

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.

The loss of Baby Bruno affected and inspired many to bring the gift of nourishment and hope to expecting and new mothers and their babies. Please read about those who are providing lactation education, formula, and care to Mawanga mothers and babies.

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!

Bruno’s true siblings and their new home.

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 God

that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:38-39