Programs & Special Projects

Girls' Dorm + Emergency Shelter Donate

CONSTRUCTION ON THE UGANDA GIRLS' DORM + EMERGENCY SHELTER IS MAKING GOOD PROGRESS!

Read about an inspiring story of community and hope.

Our newest project, the girls' emergency shelter in Uganda, provides a refuge for young girls displaced due to loss and abuse as a result of Covid-19. Uganda has seen an exponential increase of trafficking, sexual abuse and other forms of exploitation of children since March 2020. With the closure of institutions, boarding schools and loss of relatives to illness and starvation, girls are particularly vulnerable to such abuse.

When some of the members of the local community found out from Dove School leaders about the severity of the situation for many of the girls and young women in their own community who were suffering, they took action. They knew there needed to be a separate shelter for the girls, as they were simply not safe in the emergency foster homes and even their own extended family homes.  Some of the local men started volunteering making bricks and digging the foundation.  Eventually, half a dozen came to help however they could, even if they had no money to contribute.  Some men and women brought firewood to help with cooking, some brought water from the stream to quench the workers' thirst, and some brought beans and helped feed the workers. We were brought to tears by this story of a community rising up together, and truly acting as the hands and feet of Jesus to serve children. It takes a community to take care of each other.

Perhaps the greatest ministry is that they (and we) all see what God is doing, and it encourages them to draw closer to God when they see His work and blessings first hand. We are humbled to be a part of what God is doing in Mukono, Uganda.

• Since the Covid-19 lockdown, more than 21,000 cases of abuse were reported by young girls in Uganda. And that's just the REPORTED cases. We all know the truth is that many, perhaps even most cases of abuse are never reported due to fear of safety, stigmatization and hopelessness that nothing will be done anyway to obtain safety and justice for those abused.
• The Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion in Uganda asked our partners, Daniel and Erica Kaggwa, who run the Dove School in Mukono to stand in the gap for as many of these children as possible. The Dove School's reputation precedes it as one of the most impactful and influential community-building Christian projects in the greater Kampala-Mukono area, which is why the Ugandan government came directly to them for support.
• The emergency shelter will house 28 girls to start, complying with social distancing measures. It will be fully equipped to house 100 girls at full capacity.

Eventually, when Covid-19 restrictions have lifted, the emergency shelter will become a girls-only dorm for the Dove School!

Once the dorm is ready for the girls to move in we will need to supply beds, bedsheets, blankets, mosquito nets and hygienic supplies. We will also need to hire "house moms" to care for the girls 24/7.

Additionally, we will need to hire a social worker to check in on all of the girls monthly. The budget for the social worker's salary is $300/month.

RENEWABLE ENERGY - SOLAR POWER - (UPDATE: Solar power has been fully funded!)

Do you know any companies or individuals passionate about Clean, Renewable energy who might be willing to support solar power for the entire Dove school for orphans and vulnerable children, as well as the Girls' Emergency Shelter in Uganda? Please let us know! This is the next step toward completing the project, once the 2nd floor is complete.

We have received an initial estimate from a local Ugandan company of $1500 per building for solar panels, with 3 buildings needing solar power, totaling $4500. Please join us in prayer for provision of this invaluable resource.

The reason solar power is so important is because the Mukono village where this is located is rural and there are not yet power lines from the city to the village. While electrical wiring is being installed, and until the city runs power lines to the village, they would need a generator to have power. Fuel for the generator is cost prohibitive: the cost of generators and fuel for a year is more than the total cost of solar power for all 3 buildings indefinitely!

Thank you for supporting and praying for this project!

Sustainable Farming Project Donate

Uganda

Modeled after our successful Sierra Leone sustainable farming project, which reunited 51 children with extended family or placed them in loving community foster homes, we launched another Farming God's Way project for the children of Mukono, Uganda. We purchased 2 acres of farmland to help supplement the children's food needs, as they are currently facing a food crisis.

Our long goal for the project is two-fold: To help the orphanage provide food for the children, thereby fighting malnutrition, and to teach sustainable farming to the community, which will help local families pull themselves out of poverty. This will reduce the number of future orphans and allow some of the Dove Orphan School children to return to extended family members who can now afford to care for them due to increased levels of self produced income.

Now, just 2 years later, the farm is currently supplementing meals for over 200 children and 20 teaching staff at the Dove School daily with fresh fruits and vegetables, including peanuts for protein, in order to provide better food security, a healthier more varied diet, and to reduce the need for sponsor funding to purchase food or seek medical care for issues related to malnutrition. Production of this quantity of food is only possible through the Farming God’s Way method.

The farm is managed fully by individual community members, showing it has achieved a truly impactful, sustainable project. There are also plans to increase the size of the farm to reach more community members, as the focus of production right now is the Dove School. Soon we will announce steps and goals for the farm’s expansion.

While the farm is producing enough food to feed the children 2-3 meals daily, there is still a need for sponsorship to support the children's schooling. Please consider sponsoring a child to give them access to quality education and shelter at the Dove School. Read more about sponsoring a child HERE.

Why Uganda?

Uganda has substantial natural resources, including fertile soils, regular rainfall, small deposits of copper, gold, and other minerals, and recently discovered oil. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing more than one-third of the work force.

The sad thing is that Uganda should be a bread basket to the world, but there are many starving Ugandans. Uganda has fertile ground, great amounts of sunlight, sufficient rainfall with two rainy seasons, and a large labor force. The main reason that Uganda is not a bread basket to the world is due to improper farming methods and management leading to soil erosion, soil nutrient depletion, and poor yields.

Despite all this natural wealth there are more orphans in Uganda than anywhere else in the world — over 2.90 million children out of the 3 — due to the AIDS epidemic, extreme poverty, and decades of civil conflict. Since achieving independence from Britain in 1962, Uganda has suffered almost uninterrupted brutality. Armed rebellions, mostly split along ethnic lines, have wracked the population, now estimated at 26.4 million.

Today, many Western governments regard Uganda as a qualified success from a development standpoint. It has made significant progress against AIDS, promoting condom use and other measures; since the mid-1990s, the prevalence of AIDS cases among Ugandans 15 to 49 years old has fallen, from 18 percent to 6 percent. Still, AIDS remains the leading cause of death of people in that age group.

Pastor Arif works closely with BLOOM on several projects in an area of the world that is difficult for Christians to serve. His most effective project is that of taking the Living Water in Jesus' name and hand-drilling clean water wells in small villages. This is done to serve many families, Christians, and non-Christians, where he always gives all glory to the Lord! They provide clean water in areas that previously had no local outlet for drinking water unless they walk several miles to get it from larger areas.

In this area of the world, there are slave labor brick kilns. Those who are Christian and who have borrowed money for emergency medical or other life-threatening needs, have to repay the debts 1000 fold through horrible working conditions in these brick kilns. Many times, parents are both required and work 7 days a week, with little sleep or food. A small debt can take years to repay, and many times, Christians are persecuted by being accused of something against Muslims, and are thrown into the kilns and burned alive. It's a situation that is hard to even conceive in our Americanized minds. In many cases, the children have no one to care for them, and Paster Arif steps up and takes them in with the help of us wife and other volunteers. One of the annual events BLOOM has helped with is providing funds for the children to have presents and a Christmas party celebrating the birthday of Jesus. They also provide them all with fun and a full dinner, a new outfit for the year, shoes and some toys.

At various times, crimes and hatred towards Christians become deadly. In 2023, many fires and homes were burned down and people were killed as a huge mob of Muslims swept across a nearby town from where Pastor Arif lives. He was able to hand out envelopes of money to the families who were left with absolutely nothing. The money helped them to have food, and repair some aspects of their shelter or money to move to a new location.