February
11, 2006
The
new Amazing Grace Orphanage Children's Choir Music
Video is up and ready
to view at Lahash! It was shot at the orphanage and at a fishing lodge
in Adjumani with the Nile in the background! You can read more about
the creation of the video at the Lahash
weblog.
February
2, 2006
Welcome
back to the late breaking news from Amazing Grace Orphanage and the Lahash staff! The Lahash team returned from their trip to the Amazing Grace
Orphanage, where we brought clothes, toys, and other gifts - and stayed
in Adjumani and Kajo Keji for two weeks. You can view a gallery of
our trip over at Lahash.net. You can also listen to one of the new Amazing
Grace Orphanage Choir songs over at Lahash.
Susan reports that most of the team will be headed to Juba for a conference with a Canadian group. She says to thank all of you for the support.
Ezbon reports that the St. Bartholomew Orphanage now has three new tukuls (huts) so they can now just about double the occupancy there! Pretty exciting.
I'll be uploading some new artwork, video, and photos in the upcoming weeks...
October
8, 2005
I
just spent the afternoon with Erik Wecks and Brian Stiger watching 5 hours
of footage from their trip to Uganda. I snagged a couple of videos and MP3s
for the website - the real songs and videos will be coming soon - but this'll
whet your appetite. The kids have been working so hard on these!
 |
Thank You God For Your Mercies (12.8 MB mov) |
|
War and HIV (13.6 mov) |
 |
Thank You God For Your Mercies (4.9 MB mp3) |
|
War and HIV (5 MB mp3) |
October
7, 2005
The
International Criminal Court has issued its
first arrest warrants for Joseph Kony and four other leaders of the
LRA (the rebel movement in
Uganda).
Susan, Emmanuel Lasu, and Timothy Bata are all making their way up north now. The recording project is back on track.
October 1, 2005
Nick just sent me an image of Dr. Oronje with the kids from the St. Bartholomew Orphanage in Kajo Keji.
Susan reports that the music recording has been on hold as Emmanuel has been sick. Also one of the children at Amazing Grace has been sick.
September
20, 2005
Ezbon
reports that the orphanage enjoyed the overnight visit on Saturday by Eric
and Brian from Oregon. The children were delighted by the gifts of clothing,
balls, and books. The medical team has returned to Kenya, "Dr. Oronje and
Nicholas worked tirelessly to examine and treat the orphans in both the Adjumani
and
Kajo
Keji orphanages."
The children's music project is now ready to begin the recording phase. Emmanuel Lasu, a Sudanese, and Tim Bata, a Ugandan, will meet together in Adjumani to capture the songs.
Ezbon also reports that the widows and orphans association has just been given a large tract of land in Sudan to begin a large scale agriculture project.
Finally, Sudan has formed its first post-war unity government sharing power between the former rebels and the Northern forces.
September
16, 2005
I've uploaded a couple of very short pieces of writing from Sarah Night and Piting Annet - you can read them in the Kid's Corner section.
Dr. Oronje reported this morning via email that the medical team has returned from the orphanage in Southern Sudan. The LRA had attacked just north of them in Yei - it was a tough trip. The doctor brought back a few of the children for treatment in Uganda.
September
14, 2005
The
United Nations estimates 75% of kids in Southern Sudan are without
education.Only 500 girls complete primary school each year. IRIN
News
BBC reports that the Ugandan based rebels - the LRA - have actually attacked a Sudanese village west of the town of Juba.
September
13, 2005
A
lot is going on - I'm just trying to keep up with all the news. Erik
and Brian from Imago Dei have made a visit to the the Orphanage
today. They caught Nick who was just on his way up to the St. Bartholomew
Orphanage
in Kajo Keji.
Susan Tabia also emailed - she asked me to thank everyone who has contributed recently. The orphanage is in high spirits at the moment!
And Jo French, who visited the orphanage a couple of months ago, has a detailed description of her past journey to Amazing Grace, with pictures and a poem.
September
11, 2005
Uganda's
19 year old rebellion by Joseph Kony is nearing the end of it's life.
The LRA seem to be melting for
a variety of reasons - reports Sudan.net. This is great news for
the Ugandans and Sudanese living in the area!
September
10, 2005
Nick
from Ukimwi.net emailed
me this morning. The children at the orphanage are doing well.
Emmanuel is at the site coaching the children with songs.
I received an email from Ben Schumaker the other day. He runs The Memory Project - it's an awesome project that joins high school artists in the United States with orphanages around the world. So I'll take some photos of the kids in November, then high school kids in the U.S. will convert the photos into paintings and drawings, then we'll ship them to the kids at Amazing Grace and St. Bartholomew orphanages. Sounds like a beautiful concept - I'm excited to see where it heads!
Erik Wecks and Brian Stiger, both from Portland Oregon, are visiting the Amazing Grace Orphanage this next week. They've arrived in Kampala, and will be driving up north. They will be bringing some clothes, school supplies, books for a library, candy, and some footballs. More information on their trip is over at Lahash.
September
6,
2005
The
aid team from Kenya will be traveling
back to the orphanage - leaving the city of Eldoret today. Within
a couple days time they will arrive
back at Amazing Grace to help out with health and hygiene, and give
some assistance to the music recording project that is taking place
right now.
August
29, 2005
Timothy
Bata, a Ugandan Musician, is currently at the Amazing Grace Orphanage
coaching the children in music and will be arranging some songs and
music videos of the kids and staff!
August
11, 2005
The new Vice President of Sudan, Salva Kiir, was sworn in today.
"It's not reconstruction, it is construction, we need lots of resources, experience and technology. It requires a lot of sacrifices and a lot of suffering in the initial stages. You really have to sweat before you harvest." - James Wani Igga - SPLM - speaking on the challenges facing the South
The plans for next month include a possible second trip from the Kenyan doctors, as well as a concert in collaboration with Kampala artist Timothy Bata and the Amazing Grace Children's Choir!
August
2,
2005
"This
was his day and I accept that God has come to collect him. It is just my husband
who has died. His vision is still alive." - Rebecca Garang
John Garang, former leader of the SPLA/M and the first Vice President of Sudan has died in a helicopter accident. The country is hoping to calm fears and transition to a new leader.
This is pretty stunning news. There have been riots in the capital Khartoum, and are are potential implications even into Uganda and the conflict there with the LRA.
Here are some pictures of Sudan mourning.
July 17,
2005
Susan
has sent a bunch of new proposals for projects that need some backing. You
can browse through them in the Projects section.
July 16,
2005
The
AIDS team returned from
the orphanage reporting a great deal of success. They were able to treat 60 adults
and 100 children. Dr. Oronje is recommending that
a second trip be planned in two months from now to ensure the health of the
children.
Sudan has been pushing forward with peace. John Garang (the former rebel leader of the South) has been installed as vice president, and the Government of Sudan has withdrawn troops from the town of Juba.
I recently received some really encouraging emails from people who've discovered this website. One of them was from a young lady named Joy Paul who grew up in the region of Northern Uganda, and currently lives in the United States. She would like to return for a summer to live in Adjumani and encourage the kids growing up there.
Joy
Paul performing as a child.
Joy
and her friend Becky.
June 22,
2005
Nick
Kemboi and Dr. Oronje have arrived at Adjumani and have been furiously treating
the staff, children, and dozens of other local visitors that heard about the
possibility of AIDS testing and
medical treatment. Dr. Oronje has also been instructing the children on hygiene
and sanitation. They also donated a small medical library
to the orphanage to help with minor treatments.
Today they headed up to Sudan to visit the Kajo Keji orphanage. They will be returning Saturday!
June 18,
2005
New Photos are up!
I've uploaded 17 of Jo French's photos from her recent visit to the orphanage.
The photo above is of Sarah reading from the Bible in her dorm one
evening. You can see the rest of the pictures in the new gallery.
I connected with Nick Kemboi and Dr. Oronje from Ukimwi.net yesterday morning. They have both arrived in Kampala, and are headed to Adjumani tomorrow. They are testing children and staff for HIV/AIDS, and providing some critical medical assistance as well.
June 15,
2005
Here
are a couple of songs that Jo recorded while at the Amazing Grace Orphanage:
June 11,
2005
The
G8 has announced debt
cancelation for 18 of the poorest nations of up to $55 billion! The ONE campaign
has been a major force in this decision. Recently Billy Graham, John Stott, and
Rick Warren signed the petition.
June 10,
2005
Jo French and her friend Leah just returned from Uganda and Palestine, and Jo has a whole bunch of CD's of Amazing Grace Orphanage photos! I'll be uploading some soon. The picture above is of the orphanage director Ezbon Wudu and "Girl Power" one of the new orphan girls.
May 31,
2005
Susan Tabia
just emailed, and gave me some updates. The team purchased a digital camera,
so that's going to be awesome to have digital pictures sent back and forth.
Susan also has some projects - if anyone would like to pick one - let me know!
- Ezbon (the Amazing Grace Orphanage director) has been having some chronic headaches. He needs to return to Kampala for some treatment.
- Kabang Cicilia (a widow that works at the orphanage) has developed high blood pressure and needs some medical attention.
- Susan needs some medical attention as well. Her blood pressure has been sporadic, and she is low on Verapamil tablets. Her hearing aids have also cracked in the hot weather, and she needs to see a doctor and get those replaced. Each earpiece costs $120 - plus doctors fees.
- The pit latrine at the Amazing Grace orphanage is full and a new one needs to be constructed. With the labor, cement, and other materials, this will cost $238.
So, those are some tangible needs that need attention. You can email me here if you'd like to tackle one.
May 29,
2005
"There
are people actually who have starved to death, and the U.N. food pipeline is
virtually empty. So we are asking the secretary-general to please do something
about it." - John Garang speaking to Kofi Annan. The Secretary General
of
the UN just visited Darfur
and Southern Sudan to speak with the local people on the crises that are upon
the nation.
May 25,
2005
The friends in Kenya who are working on HIV/AIDS awareness in Eldoret town have
offered to visit the orphanage to test children and staff for HIV. More information
can be read at www.ukimwi.net