Jen and Nathan's News

2008-06-02T17:05:00.003+02:00

The visitors continued with Nathan’s Mum travelling back with him from his trip to

. She bravely went White Water Rafting down the Nile (an unusual Mothers Day present but it’s what she wanted!). Nathan went with her, his second time, and loved it.

We also travelled, with Nathan’s Mum, down to South West Uganda. We stayed with friends in Kisiizi, where Nathan has done a few Christ Church summer missions. It was one of the potential places we looked at to move to in Uganda. We took a scenic route back through Queen Elizabeth National Park where we saw more lions including some that climb trees.

Life working at the Tigers Club is never dull. This month has seen lots of exciting events…

The Tudabujja boys went on a day trip and of course we went with them. They began by visiting the international airport followed by the zoo, both at Entebbe. Just when they thought the day was over we took them for a swim at a new hotel on the way home. They loved it- especially swimming!

RETRAK put on a 3 City Concert tour in Addis Ababa, Nairobi and Kampala. The audience raved about the quality of the pianist (from UK) and choir (from Nairobi) and the concerts raised lots of money and awareness for the work of RETRAK. An International School also donated 1,000,000 Ugandan Shillings to the project so lots of thanks to God for his provision.

Another high light was watching the boys’ faces light up as they opened the shoe boxes of gifts that are sent over by Samaritan’s Purse (Operation Christmas Child). If you’ve ever sent one be encouraged that it is a hugely worthwhile thing to do.

Nathan has spent the football season organising a fantasy football league with the hostel boys. They loved it and the top 4 went with us to see the Uganda Cranes play in a world cup qualifier against Niger. It was a great atmosphere, especially after winning 1-0. He’s hoping they qualify!

Nathan’s favourite moment was being greeted by one our new farm apprentices just as one of the cows (that the apprentice had been put in charge of) wandered past our house having escaped. His look of surprise when Nathan pointed at the cow said it all!

A Day in The Life

2008-05-08T17:41:00.003+02:00

I’m sat on our veranda looking out over Lake Victoria. About 30 meters to my left is an eagle perched on our goal posts its 2 friends are soaring around the eucalyptus trees which act as a wind break from the occasional storm that comes in off the lake. This morning though is peaceful and beautiful, it is 8.30am and the mist over the lake is lifting from the night’s rain and the temperature is about 22⁰c. The air is filled with the singing of birds, there must be at least 20 different species out there but I’ve given up counting and just enjoy them as they glide between our mango, papaya and avocado trees, smaller birds are darting in and out of the long elephant grass just below our veranda which we use to feed the cows on the farm. From behind me I can hear the boys practicing their African drumming as they wait for the teacher to call them to class, the drumming pauses as in the distance there is the gentle engine noise from the Mission Aviation Fellowship small propeller plane as it takes off from the run way just across the swamp as it flies over head and boys watch with excitement as it flies by, most of the boys dream of being a pilot one day, as it disappears the drums continue.

In this amazing moment of awe and wonder of God’s amazing creation I am interrupted by several knocks on the door. First by one of our boys, Kawesa, who has been sent by Jen to get some more paper. Jen is teaching catch up education for those boys who need an extra boost; she is doing phonics so I know that soon I’ll hear the sound of “mmmmmm” or “t-t-t-t-t-t” coming from the classroom. I give the paper to Kawesa who is about 10 years old and give him an encouraging smile, he is had a rough ride recently. He was desperate to go home to his family who we had managed to trace but on returning home he discovered his family had become deeply involved with witchcraft and they wanted to put him through an ‘initiation ceremony’ not surprisingly this scared him so he ran away. Thankfully this time he knew that RETRAK would help him so he came back to us rather than going straight to the streets. The social workers attempted to trace other family members for him to live with, Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents but it has not been possible so he is now back at Tudabujja with us preparing to be placed into a new foster family. After two years I can still only imagine what he is feeling inside, I will never know. That makes me incredibly grateful for the life and childhood I had but also makes me sad that a 10 year old has to go through what he has had too.

As I return back to my laptop another plane takes off and I notice the fishermen are coming in off the lake in their dugout canoes with the mornings catch. Just as I settle there is another knock at the door, it is the pastor of the local church where most of the boys like to go on Sundays. This time he is here to see my mum, she has been here for the last two weeks and is flying home tomorrow so he has come to say goodbye and pray for her as she travels. As he is not here to see me this time, I greet him with the usual greetings and excuse myself and get back to ‘work’ as they chat inside but there is the third knock at the door! It’s Nsimbi who is the gateman and helps on the farm, he has given me some of the farm workers mobile phones for charging. We often have a collection of phones that need charging from the workers or local neighbours. Nsimbi also wanted some money so he could buy some soap to clean out the pigs feeding basins.

While I’m already up I wander over to one of the cottages who have been having some trouble with their solar electricity. I put a new fuse in this morning and needed to check that the batteries were charging properly now there had been a few hours of sunlight otherwise they would have another night in darkness. On the way over I greet some of the locals who have come onto the compound to use our bore hole to collect water.

Some how the time is now 10.30am and I’ve only managed to write a couple of paragraphs, typically a 20 min task will probably take a whole morning but I’ve done a few smaller jobs in between which are a bit too dull to go into details. It is now far too warm to be sitting on the veranda and working so I prepare to move inside but I spot my favourite bird that I’ve not seen for some weeks. It is a brilliant blue kingfisher who I have named Mr Bojangles, to be honest I have no idea why I gave him that name but his presence makes me bear with the heat and stay outside. He often comes and sits on the railings around our veranda, he even flew inside our house once.

In the afternoon we are going to do some games with the boys so I have to tear myself away and prepare for them, then we are going to visit one of the boys who was here and now is in a vocational training school learning metal work skills. Before I do that and while Jen is teaching I might just go a sneak some chocolate, we’ve got a bit of a supply at the moment as we have had a few visitors from the UK so she’ll never know!

Enjoying the African sun!

2008-03-31T14:51:00.003+02:00

We hope you all had a good Easter. Our Easter was very different this year. While news reports came in of snow in the UK over the Easter weekend we were enjoying the beautiful African climate on the Island of Zanzibar, just off the coast of Tanzania! Well with just a few months until we return back to the UK we thought it’d be such a shame to be so close to this beautiful paradise and not go!

We have confirmed our leaving date as 2^nd July and the realisation has hit us that this isn’t all that far away. It hardly seems a few months ago since we arrived wondering what we were doing leaving UK to live in a village in Uganda. We have made some amazing friends, been inspired by an incredible team and loads of fun with the boys, so we have mixed feelings about returning back, sad to be leaving all these people who’s lives we have shared but at the same time we can’t wait to be amongst family and friends back home again.

When we get back we will be nomads for a few weeks as the Gregory tour gets into full swing. Our tour will take us to Winchester, Walsall, Derby, Yorkshire with other locations to be announced! In the mean time we have plenty to be getting on with and much we want to achieve to ensure we use our remaining time well.

So we are in a bit of a funny place at the moment with so much still to do here but having one eye on our return. My place at Wycliffe is all sorted and Jen has been looking for work in Oxford. She will be doing 2 days a week working for RETRAK on fundraising and support, this will be based in Warwick just 40mins away from where we will be living, she needs to raise her own salary. We have got a house sorted but are trying to organise furniture to use, so if you know anyone who is getting rid of any old stuff then we’d love to hear from you.

The boys continue to make us giggle and laugh, a high number have moved on recently back to their families or placed in foster families which is really exciting as that is why the project exists, to help street boys have the opportunity to belong to a family again. The job still continues to be very rewarding as it doesn’t take much to put a smile on the face of a child who has so little. In reality they have so much to give and we continue to be humbled by their attitudes to life when life hasn’t given them the best start, when they have been treated so badly in the past they turn round and treat you with the greatest respect, sometimes it can really blow you away!

Thanks for all the support you give to us which enables us to support them.

N&J

Home Street Home

2008-02-27T17:45:00.002+02:00

February has been one of the most hectic months we’ve had out in Uganda. And unfortunately Nathan had malaria for part of it. He’s now fully recovered but not nice at the time. We knew something wasn’t right when he started wrapping himself in as many clothes as he could get his hands on; he was freezing despite the temperature being close to 30°C. Thanks to everyone who called, left messages or sent out chocolate for him- always the best medicine, I don’t care what the doctors say!

Last weekend was a big celebration of The Tigers Club Project being a registered charity in Uganda for 10 years. The boys at Tudabujja worked with a cultural organisation to create a play. They began by telling their individual stories to the team who then created one story which was creatively told by the boys using drama, dance and music. The result, Home Street Home, was amazing. The current boys are an incredibly talented bunch and were able to portray funny moments and dreadful times in a really moving but entertaining way. We were so proud! The boys absolutely loved doing it and the response was excellent. Two international schools have asked us to take it to them next week and many more people have renewed or begun supporting Retrak in Uganda. Another memory for the boys was the excitement of being able to drink as many fizzy drinks as they liked for the days of the show as Coca Cola had sponsored the event! Not so healthy but lots of fun! To top it all off, the show received a dazzling review in the local rag, The New Vision.

This last week has been really interesting. 3 candidates for the post of Retrak CEO visited the Tigers Club. Nathan and I were part of the assessment activities lined up for them. Everyone will really miss Andy, our current CEO who was key in the development of Tigers then Retrak, but the candidates were great so we know there’ll be a great new person to lead Retrak into the next exciting stage.

We also had 2 visitors staying with us who are interested in taking over from us when we leave. It really made me realise just how little time we have left here. Only 4 months to go!! How time flies. It’s going to be incredibly hard to leave, especially for me as I don’t have anything lined up job-wise yet. Nathan is really excited about starting his course though, and we have a house sorted out in Oxford. It’ll be great to see all our friends and family again, especially our nephew Ben.

Lots of people have suddenly realised that this means there’s not much time left for free accommodation in Uganda (!) so between now and the time we leave we’re almost fully booked. It means the rest of our time in Uganda is busy and fun, so not much time for getting depressed about leaving behind the fab people and glorious sunshine of Uganda.

Happy New Year

2008-01-05T15:20:00.003+02:00

Happy New Year! Hope you had a great Christmas.

We’ve done loads of different things this month (December) with a good work/rest balance.

The panto went really well with the exception of one awful night full of power cuts (pretty normal in Kampala but still very frustrating) and the CHOGM theme went down a treat with a very sympathetic audience. In the same week, Nathan stood in for the director of Tigers who was attending training in Nairobi. This proved to be a great training time for Nathan who faced some huge challenges inc. lack of money at the end of the year, many staff on leave or training and a few cases of Meningitis to top it all off. He handled every situation brilliantly in his usual calm way.

A perfectly timed break followed this hectic time and we headed to Rwanda for 4 nights. This is an impressive country, both in terms of its natural beauty, the smooth roads (amazing what you appreciate) and the gentle strength of the people. We visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre which depicted the terrible events of 1994, the catalysts and the effects. It is impossible to fully understand the devastating effect on the people of Rwanda but it’s undoubtedly important to learn from the simple mistakes which lead to such atrocities. The way that the country has recovered is incredible and the Rwandan people are a shining example of how it is possible to re-build a country after disaster without falling into the trap of corruption. We had a great time of relaxation on the beautiful shores of Lake Kivu followed by a dip at the pool at Hotel Des Milles Colline (AKA Hotel Rwanda).

We spent Christmas at Tudabujja with the boys and 5 of our friends who came to stay. We had a BBQ and played water games, not very traditional but a lot of fun. We then took some time off, house sitting at a place with internet and a washing machine- our idea of heaven these days!

We celebrated New Year with a big group of friends at the stunning location on Sipi Falls, near the Kenyan border. There are 5 water falls in the area, we visited 2 and swam at the bottom of one. We have a new respect for the girl in the Timotei adverts- it was freezing!

There’s always something going on around here. After surviving CHOGM, Ebola hit the headlines. Now, as you’ve no doubt heard, the disputed validity of the elections in Kenya has been an excuse for tribal violence and pointless killings with parts of the country living in terror. In Eldoret, where we have a RETRAK project, hundreds of people sought safety in a church, only for it to be burned down killing over 30 people. Our colleagues, friends and the street children we work with in Eldoret, Nairobi and the rest of Kenya desperately need our prayers of protection. Please pray for the 2 leaders battling over power to look beyond themselves and do what is best for the people.

The rest of East Africa depends on goods such as fuel coming through Kenya but this isn’t possible right now. Of course, this is a minor disruption compared to what’s happening there but it makes life and work tricky when you can’t travel. With scarce resources come high prices; the cost of transport has doubled and food prices will rise too. This can have a crippling effect on families, especially after the expensive festive season and just before school fees are due. So please also pray for Uganda, Rwanda and DRC.

Finally, thank you to everyone who sent cards, texts and gifts for us and the boys. We really appreciate your thoughtfulness and it’s so lovely to know that out of sight doesn’t mean out of mind.

Nice outfit!

2007-12-02T14:58:00.000+02:00

It might be pretty chilly back home but it makes me appreciate even more our life here in gorgeously sunny

Uganda

(and no, I’m not missing scraping the ice of my car window one bit!). It’s been really hot and dry recently, though when it rains it POURS, so you might hear the odd bit of news about flooding still. However, we’re fortunate enough not to be affected out at Tudabujja.

You’ll be pleased to hear that we survived CHOGM- Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Actually, to avoid the frustrations of our route into town being closed on and off (it’s the road from the airport into Kampala) Nathan and I relocated to the city for a few days, making the most of the 2 extra public holidays generously awarded to keep us commoners out of the way. We didn’t go and see the Queen as we were having far too much fun with our friends at siege parties!

As predicted the event did affect the street boys who were not only rounded up and sent to a detention centre (which is ‘normal’ practice) but were thrown into adult prison cells to ensure that they didn’t escape and make the streets look bad. Not a pleasant experience as you can imagine. So, Tigers put on lots of extra things at our clubhouse so the boys didn’t need to go onto the streets even in the day which seemed to have a great impact.

Down on the farm we’ve had lots of piglets born recently. We’ve also started side lining in school trips. Some classes from various international schools in Kampala have been/booked to spend time on the farm. It’s been great fun for them; collecting eggs, holding chicks, feeding the pigs, watching the cows being milked and planting crops. It’s also been great for me to get back into practice teaching the age I love and a great fundraiser for the project.

In other news a new building is under construction at Tudabujja with 2 school rooms, an office and a medical room. At the moment the boys are being taught under a thatched roof with open sides so you can imagine how problematic teaching can be when a tropical storm heads our way off Lake Victoria!

The community around us continue to be incredibly welcoming and like to make sure we’re fully immersed in the culture. Our LC1 (local chairman) invited us to his daughters introduction ceremony. The Baganda tribe have a tradition that a man hoping to get engaged must go to the bride’s family with his own family and friends and persuade them (through many hours of rituals) that he is a suitable husband…oh, and it helps that he brings them all masses of food, gifts and a couple of cows! We tried to look the part (as you can see in the photo – sexy!) but it mostly made people laugh (as you can tell by the reaction of the security guards behind us). The whole ordeal made Nathan’s nerve wracking phone call to my Dad look like a piece of cake!

I’m performing in the panto next week which must mean that Christmas is just around the corner…oh yes it is!... so hope you’ve checked out RETRAK Wrapped Up. Discover great gifts that make a huge difference in the lives of some of the worlds most vulnerable children. Go on, you know it makes sense, it’s far too cold to go out to shops...just follow the link above.

P.S. Are you proud of me for not mentioning chocolate in this entry?...Doh, just did!! Oh well, now I’ve done it I might as well reopen the competition for sending the most chocolate to PO Box 7737, Kampala, Uganda ;-)

RETRAK Wrapped Up

2007-11-01T15:40:00.000+02:00

One of the greatest frustrations about life in

Uganda

is that everything is all very last minute. Christmas is very different here, instead of fighting your way through crowded shopping centres listening to Slade’s ‘I wish could be Christmas Every Day’ for the 5^th time that hour you can be much more relaxed and casual. Christmas only really starts on Christmas Eve when out of no where the streets are filled with people selling decorations and gifts that you can buy for your loved ones.

Sadly, if you are like me you don’t have the option of being casual and waiting to see what is available on Christmas Eve. I’m not sure Jen would be too impressed with a bottle of perfume bought from a street vendor which is probably 99% water and 1% perfume or a model of baby Jesus with a flashing halo! If you think Christmas would be so much better if you didn’t have to go hunting in shops for the unique gift for the person who has everything they need, then stay right where you are and follow the link to RETRAK Wrapped Up and in a few clicks you could have found that gift for the person who has everything by getting them something for a person who has nothing without having to fight for a parking space and you don’t have to listen to Slade, unless you want to!

We also have a range of RETRAK branded clothing if you want to show your support towards the work amongst street children in Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia.

If you missed our October Newsletter and would like to hear more about our work and what we’ve been up to then you can get one from Christ Church, Winchester, either of our parents in Walsall and Derby or you can e-mail us at n.j.gregory@talk21.com and we will send one to you.

Thank you all for your support, interest and prays,

Nathan.

Floods, Frustrations and Families

2007-09-27T11:03:00.001+02:00

Things here are going well. Since returning back from the UK we have had new energy and drive to step our work and area of the project up to the next level. So things have been exciting as we look towards the potential that this amazing place can still get to. In other areas we have been feeling the frustrations of life in Kampala. The roads here can send the most placid of drivers into fits of road rage. We are about to go away for a long weekend with friends, to Lake Mburo, where we hope to see zebras and other wild animals, for a welcome break and chance to rejuvenate. Can’t wait! That’s a great thing about living in Uganda- there’s always somewhere amazing to go!

Our struggles and challenges are minimal compared to so many peoples’ lives in Uganda, particularly at the moment. We have been inundated with text messages from many of you asking whether we were ok with the floods in Uganda and across Africa. Thank you for your concern, we are fine. The floods started about 2 weeks before the news reached international audience affecting many countries all the way across from Kenya to Nigeria. Many people’s homes and livelihoods have been ruined, which many people around the world, including the UK are all too familiar with at the moment. The difference here is that families depend on their land for food, it could be well into next year before they are able to produce food for themselves and to sell. What is most sad is that a few days before the floods arrived the Ugandan Government announced that that they were able to start closing the many IDP camps as people were beginning to return home as the fighting had died down. They now have to re open some of them to house and feed families from the floods.

Uganda is really getting geared up for CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting) which is being held in Kampala in November, the Queen and heads of state along with 4000 other visitors are expected to arrive for a week of chaos. A Ugandan colleague was amused that the UK we are hosting the Olympic Games in 2012 and preparations are well on the way, in Uganda we are hosting the biggest meeting there has been here in about 8 weeks time and preparation has only really just got going. Roads are being torn up and re-laid left right and centre. We just wish the Queen or Gordon Brown were visiting our project so our road (which people back home would pay good money to drive on for an ‘off road experience’) would become nice and flat and maybe even tarmaced!

I’m sure we will tell you lots more about this as the time gets nearer. With the great opportunities this event will hold for Ugandans it also will cause many problems for others. Life for the street children will be very hard, owners of property that is not up to standard along the main routes around Kampala will have them removed and the extra funds going to improve the infrastructure in Kampala, although much needed, will mean that other areas, education, health, social welfare will receive less. I’m sure the same will happen in and around London for the Olympics but probably a lot more subtly and hopefully more sensitively!

On a more positive note we have had a mass exodus of resettlements this month. 15 boys have left Tudabujja to rejoin their families and go to school. It always calls for celebration and total joy to see the boys heading back to families where they belong, to see the life as street child left behind them as they look forward to a new start which we all need from time to time. This transition is almost always very difficult and requires great bravery from the boys and skill and wisdom from the social workers. If you pray, please pray for the boys as they make the shift into family life.

P.S. Please leave a comment as we're trying to find out how many people have access to this blog- cheers!

Good to be back...

2007-08-31T14:53:00.000+02:00

We’ve had complaints that we didn’t post a blog in July but we saw most of you back in the UK so figured you knew our news- sorry! It was great to be back in England and to see everyone again. It’s amazing how much there is to catch up on after a year and we had a really hectic but fantastic time zooming round the country trying to see as many people as possible and attending 2 weddings of close friends.

Since we’ve been back we’ve had a whole host of challenges, but thankfully being away gave us time to reflect and the energy to keep going. After just a few weeks we felt much happier that most of the problems had been sorted out. We also held a ‘graduation’ for the 3 farm apprentices who are about to move back home to set up their own farms after a years training at Tudabujja. The event went really well with the local community leaders, neighbours and a team from England attending. It’s so amazing to see the boys make so much of their life after they’ve been through so much and we find ourselves feeling like proud parents! The Tuda boys created a play which they performed at their church. Part of it showed the story of boys who ended up on street and went to Tigers. They did a great job- it was powerful to watch them as they showed what had been a reality for them. And also amusing watching ourselves being portrayed!

The team from England were at Tudabujja everyday for a week doing a whole host of different things like craft, games etc – holiday club style stuff. We joined in the fun and it was a great time for us to get to know the 13 new boys who’d arrived while we were away. The following week we had a family of 6 (friends from Christ Church) to stay and 3 others joining them at the end of the week having spent 7 weeks in Yei, Sudan, so we had a few fun weeks with all of them, not to mention lots of English chocolate!! It was also great to see Jen’s cousin Will, especially as he brought lots of Derby County things to boost the boys support!

Jen is especially proud of her garden which has produced loads of cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and herbs (Just don’t ask the Coulter family about the quality of the maize!) She has just planted some pineapples and can’t wait for them to grow! Thankfully she has lots of willing helpers when collecting water and doing all the hard work so most of the credit really belongs to the boys.

Visitors and visiting

2007-06-28T19:48:00.000+02:00

June seems to have come and gone far too quickly! The fourth and final house at Tudabujja is now open and 5 boys have just moved in. The new house parent has settled in really quickly but only now does his real challenge begin…

Tigers is receiving a lot of visitors from Europe over the ‘summer’. It’s been great to have visitors from Belgium and England, mostly because we get a chocolate fix (just kidding, they’re all lovely and very encouraging). At the moment we have some people from Nottingham Forest FC visiting and coaching the boys. Can you believe it, just as I get the boys supporting Derby County our rival team visit and win over their allegiance!?! Today a crew came to film the coaching and some other Tigers bits, we’ll advertise soon to let you know how you can see it.

We spent a few days in Kenya, doing a little work at the RETRAK office in Nairobi and taking some time to relax, eating great food and spending some time with the local wildlife (Nathan got a little too close- see pic). The RETRAK project in Ethiopia has begun ‘properly’ now. In the last few weeks it has opened its doors to the kids and one boy has already been reunited with family- you have to read the story on the RETRAK website, it’s amazing! (click on ‘RETRAK’ to the right of this text). Whilst on the website check out the trek in the awe-inspiring Simien mountains in Ethiopia- you can see breathtaking scenery and raise money to help even more children to find a permanent alternative to living on the streets. Challenge others you know to do it too/instead!

Back in Kampala, the musical ‘Hope’ went brilliantly well with a standing ovation on the first night. It got great feedback and we had a blast performing it. The boys from Tudabujja came to see it one night and came away singing the songs and pretending to be the characters- always a good sign!

We’re traveling to England on Monday for a few weeks. We’re really excited- great friends, great food; good car, good roads; and British CHOCOLATE!! Hope to see you soon!

2007-05-31T14:24:00.001+02:00

Recently we’ve had a few really good weeks and May has been a positive month for us. The boys have been brilliant, the farm is moving on, Jen’s group with literacy catch up is full of energy, we have managed to find the fourth and final Residential Care Worker and to top it all of Derby County got promoted to the Premiership. In the back of our mind we are wondering what is lying round the corner but maybe nothing is so we are going to enjoy the calm and progress and not think about what could be about to go wrong.

At the beginning of the month we went with the boys on an outing. We visited the airport in Entebbe, it doesn’t really take that long to look around, we went to the Zoo which was a lot better than I thought it was going to be and we finished the day off by going for a swim in potentially the skankiest swimming pool I have ever seen. If you put a paddling pool in your garden and left it out all winter you’d get what I mean. We are all fine and healthy so it can’t have been too bad, I just didn’t allow my feet to touch the bottom.

The new musical that Jen is performing in is about to have it’s first viewing any where in the world. It has been written by a guy who’s music is regularly on Broadway and has won a Tony Award, so it should be good.

I continue to run the Youth at our church. This last week two kids in the group lost their mother in a road accident. Obviously it has torn the family to pieces and it has shook all those connected with them as it brings home the reality of how dangerous the roads are in Uganda. (Highest accidents to the number of cars in the world).

With that aside everything is going really well. We interviewed a great bunch of men for the position of Residential Care Worker and we think we have found a gem! He is called Milton and he starts in the middle of June. It will be really exciting to have the fourth cottage finally open and Tudabujja at full capacity.

In June we have the start of a busy Summer schedule, lots and lots of visitors which will be really exciting (especially if they bring chocolate!) We also plan to go to Nairobi for a few days to look at our projects there and also to get a bit of a break. We are doing the journey by bus so that will be fun. I think we will try to get seats where we can’t see what is going on the road in front of us. Then before we know it, it will be July and we are back in the UK for two weeks.

So until next time it would be great if as you read this you could pray for the following situations:

For the family who lost their mother.

For Milton as he starts the challenging work on the Tigers Team.

For safety in travel.

And for the on going work of God through the staff in the boys lives.

Relatives, Rest and Riots

2007-04-30T13:40:00.000+02:00

April has been a good month for us. Both sets of parents and Jen’s sister Sarah have been to visit and we’ve been able to experience more of Ugandan culture.

The arrival of our family caused great celebration at Tudabujja, the boys and staff had been counting down the week until they visited. They all had a good time and we took time off work to explore some of Uganda with them. We went to Queen Elizabeth National Park to do a safari which was great fun. We saw hippos, loads of monkeys, elephants, buffalo an unbelievable amount of birds which made our parents very excited and much more. We also went down to relax on Bushara Island, which is located on Lake Bunyoni, potentially the most beautiful area of Uganda (Source: Nathan).

As well as the typical tourist stuff our families had chance to see the inner workings of Tigers club and spend loads of time playing with the boys at Tudabujja which was great. The boys really loved them being here and our families found it hard to leave.

Not only did they get to see the beauty of the Ugandan countryside and the people they also got to experience the crazy and frustrating side of life. Cruising down hills in neutral to save diesel because many of the petrol stations were empty, having to call out a mechanic twice in the same day because of problem with the car, spending hours in traffic jams (although this was entertaining for them as they got to laugh at all the ridiculous things that are transported on the back of a bike like, goats, king sized beds and other bikes). They also got to experience a good old Kampala riot. Thankfully we managed to avoid being caught up in this one as this time it was quite serious with several people being shot and killed which brought the Army out on the streets. There is usually a riot of some description every month or so but this was the biggest since we have been here.

Other than that it has been life as usual. Jen has begun rehearsals for a musical leaving Nathan with more time to watch football (hooray!). We had the privilege of attending our neighbours wedding introduction this weekend. An introduction is a very formal and traditional way of the couple’s families to meet each other. It is as grand as a wedding itself with the whole community, friends and family in attendance and it lasts all day. It is a bizarre yet interesting experience.

Please pray for…

Health and energy

The staff and boys at Tigers

That we will find better priced flights to come home for weddings over the summer.

Happy Easter

2007-03-31T16:20:00.000+02:00

March has been far calmer than the previous months- we’d almost forgotten what ‘normal life at Tudabujja’ was! A lot of older boys have moved on from Tudabujja and many of the boys who have come in are much younger which has changed the feeling of the place. They are never bored of playing games (thanks to those who sent games for Christmas!) and always want us to join in. We like to think it’s an important part of our work so we do of course join in. Nathan’s Mum sent out 30 red noses which the boys loved and posed more than the Beckhams!

Down on the farm… we have one new calf (one of the boys suggested she should be called ‘Jen’- not sure whether it’s a compliment or not!?!). We also have 5 new piglets and 700 new chicks so it feels like Spring, just like back home!

The farm manager is doing a great job (thanks for your prayers) and now the administrator is back we’re both able to fully do the job we initially came out to do, as centre managers. Jen has big plans for developing the Arts and education; Nathan for life skills and spiritual development.

Nathan’s parents have arrived and Jen’s parents and sister, Sarah arrive on 1^st so we’ll take some time off to spend with them. It’s great that they can visit and a good excuse to go on safari (very exciting!!). Two of Jen’s past pupils have convinced their parents to come out to Uganda so we’re looking forward to seeing the Hattons and catching up with life at Portswood Primary School.

Last weekend we went with some friends to stay for a night on an island called ‘The Hairy Lemon’ (don’t ask!). It was a gorgeous little place in the middle of the Nile. More to the point it was incredibly cheap!

Prayer points for March…

For the boys as they arrive and move on, that we can support them as much as is possible.

For a great time with our families- for fun, relaxation and safety.

For us as we delve deeper into our roles, that what we do makes a positive difference for the boys and staff.

Fox shoot Tigers

2007-02-17T16:40:00.000+02:00

We have just had one of those weeks that one day we will look back on when we have 2.4 children, a semi detached house with a Volvo on the drive and wonder did that happen to us?

Last Sunday morning we were awoken by the delivery of a new calf on the farm. Nathan, still being in charge of the farm was over joyed by her arrival, especially as the mum managed to push the little thing out herself without him having to reach for the James Herriot manual!
The calf is named Andrea Bryer after the producers of the film The Last King of Scotland.

The name of the calf may seem slightly random except that the following Friday a team from 20th Century Fox (who made the film The Last King of Scotland) came to Tudabujja to do some filming. Andy Williams had been involved with the film and also some of our boys were in the film. The producers, James McAvoy (who plays Nicholas Garrigan in LKOS and Mr Tumnus in Narnia) and a film crew for the BBC came to film them as they visited the project and interacted with the boys. Look out for us on the community channel (Channel 87). Also the documentary On the Tigers Trail is being shown again http://www.communitychannel.org/content/view/1189/75/.

So all has been very exciting and since then a new farm manager has started at Tuda and Nathan survived his stint without a single fatality!

Jen would also like to thank you for the Birthday texts and cards she received last week.

For those of you who want to pray for us here are a few pointers.

For Emmy, the new farm manager as he settles in.
For strength energy and wisdom as we face the many challenges this job holds.
For the boys - healing from their pasts, enjoyment through their transition and hope for the future.
For the team at Tudabujja as we try to constantly review and improve what we do.

Thank you,

Jen and Nathan

Tigers On TV

2007-01-24T18:26:00.000+02:00

Just a quick plug... if you have freeview tune into the community channel (87) where you can find a programme about The Tigers Club being shown at different times. It's called 'On the tigers trail- hope for the street children in uganda'. The film 'The Last King of Scotland' was shot in Uganda and some of our boys were used as extras. Actor James McAvoy, who was in the film, got to know the charity and has narrated the programme. Pass it on...!

Also, 'Retrak Wrapped Up' was a huge success. Thanks to all those who bought gifts to benefit the street children that RETRAK works with. Due to popular demand, this gift catalogue will continue for birthdays, anniversaries etc. Go to http://www.picasaweb.google.com/retrak and follow the instructions.

Happy New Year!

2007-01-09T16:56:00.000+02:00

Happy New Year. We have had an unusual Christmas but a good Christmas one. We spent Christmas working but having much fun with the boys at Tudabujja. To quote a well respected youth worker, it was a memory making experience for us and the boys. We played games, opened gifts that were sent from the friends in the UK and the boys are very appreciative to all of you who sent gifts and cards to them, they were overjoyed as they opened them. For almost all the boys it was the first Christmas card they had ever received. In the afternoon we had a massive Slip ‘n’ Slide, an advertising banner covered in soap and water, it was great fun!

After Boxing Day myself and Jen where enabled by some generous friends to go to Mombasa. It was fantastic; we relaxed, walked along the white sandy beaches, swam in the warm Indian Ocean and enjoyed not being woken up every morning by the noise of 27 teenage boys. We spent New Year on the beach at Mombasa as the crowds drew bigger and bigger as midnight approached and on the stroke of 12 (well about 5 past, it is Africa after all) fireworks were released, not a professional display but who ever happened to have a firework released it from their hands and launched them over the ocean as the crowds and the odd camel dodged the stray rockets.

Since the start of the year we have had the most challenging week since we arrived in Uganda, in fact ever! On our return from Mombasa we had to stop in Nairobi to change plan for Uganda but the airline had cancelled our flight but didn’t think to leave a representative to tell us or help us out. We were told to get a flight with another airline and they would refund us but all flights that night were full and the airline would not pay for accommodation and we had no money to sort ourselves out. Thankfully we were saved from spending the night on the streets by our Intentional boss who had just returned to Nairobi hours before from his own holiday and he sorted us out, praise God. We are still trying to get the refund they promised us.

Three nights later one of our boys fell very sick, he had been suffering with malaria and his situation became critical. His couldn’t walk and his breathing became very weak, so we had to get him to hospital which is 40 minutes away. Halfway there, he stopped breathing so we had to pull over on the road side in an area of town where it would be very unwise to do so unless it’s an emergency. Again praise God because as we lay him on the road side and opened his airway to deliver mouth to mouth he took a big breath for himself so we bundled him back in the car and continued towards hospital. There were a few times we managed to miraculously squeeze the car through ridiculous gaps at high speeds. It has now been discovered that he has epilepsy, which was triggered by the malaria. For those of you who pray, please pray for God’s healing and for the correct medical treatment to be given.

Nathan has relieved George, the teacher, of responsibility for the farm until we appoint a new farm manager, all the animals seem to have some kind of infection or sickness so it hasn’t been a great start. Jen continues to cover the administrator who is on maternity leave and we both continue a normal job as centre manager, so we hope that the next 51 weeks of 2007 will be calmer than the first.

Thank you to all of you who sent us Christmas cards and gifts, we really appreciate knowing that we are still remembered and supported by you all.

Email probems

2006-12-20T12:12:00.000+02:00

IMPORTANT: LYCOS HAS BANNED OUR E-MAIL ACCOUNT BECAUSE THEY THINK WE ARE SPAMMING PEOPLE WITH OUR MONTHLY NEWS LETTERS!! PLEASE USE THIS BLOGSPOT TO POST MESSAGES FOR NOW BY CLICKING ON 'COMMENTS' UNDER THIS MESSAGE.

HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The Dust Has Turned To Mud

2006-11-16T10:37:00.000+02:00

The dust has turned to mud and Jen is causing great amusement as she walks around the farm in her skirt and wellies. It’s the height of fashion, coming your way soon! Nathan has started to join the boys in their agricultural lessons. He’s getting quite into it. The rains have made a great difference- thanks to everyone who prayed. The crops are growing really well and we’re starting to see, or rather eat, the harvest.

Four more boys have been resettled which is fantastic. We’re missing them but they are in the best place for them, with their families. (picture above shows one boy reunited with his family and community).

We’re really enjoying our work out here and slowly developing our role. Other aspects of life out here continue to amuse us. The other day we were at a friends house in town and tried to order some food. On phoning ‘Dominoes pizza (a cheap imitation of the UK chain) our friend asked if he could order a pizza and was very surprised to hear the answer ‘No we don’t have any pizza’. They may need to rethink their business strategy!

Last weekend we went to see a fireworks display only to find out that they were cancelled because they hadn’t managed to get all the paper work through in time. Typical of the organisation here.

However we’ve also discovered that our culture isn’t particularly normal either. This has struck us on several occasions but non more so than when we have to explain to people what a pantomime is ‘Well it’s like a play but men dress up as women and women dress up as men…’ and when we are asked ‘Why do you celebrate bonfire night by burning a man on a fire?’

It’s strange to think that Christmas is coming up so quickly- sure you’re all feeling the same. It just doesn’t feel right here though- it’s still hot, Jen’s not rehearsing Christmas songs every spare minute of the school day and Nathan isn’t in the midst of hectic Christmas preparation at church. However there are some Christmas decorations up in shops the pantomime begins in a few weeks so there are a few home comforts!

We’ve come up with an idea for anyone who wants to support the work here and also needs a helping hand with their Christmas shopping. A bit of background: We are working with street boys in Uganda with the Tigers Club Project. The charity has expanded so that similar projects can benefit the children of Ethopia and Kenya. All of these projects come under the umbrella charity ‘RETRAK’, so expect to see that name crop up. You can be creative with your Christmas presents AND support different aspects of the work by buying a gift for a friend or relative that ultimately benefits street children in East Africa. See details below. This is a small scale idea this year but if we get enough interest we’ll make it bigger and better for Christmas 2007. Huge thanks go to David Gregory (Nathan’s Dad) for agreeing to coordinate this from the U.K.

What do you get for the person who has everything...

2006-11-16T10:23:00.000+02:00

What do you get for the person who has everything? How about the gift of knowing that they have helped someone who has far less.

RETRAK is passionate about getting street children’s lives back on course. RETRAK aims to rebuild lives, restore dignity and release potential in the street children of Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia. Here is a way you can join us in making a difference. Just follow these simple steps…
Visit www.picasaweb.google.com/retrak, click on the RETRAK logo (with a Christmas hat on) and choose from the gifts available in our selection.
Write a cheque payable to ‘RETRAK’
Write a cover note to clearly state which gift/s you are purchasing, your name, address and contact number.
Next post the cheque and cover note to
Mr D. Gregory, 11 Lancaster Avenue, Aldridge, Walsall, West Midlands, WS9 8RE.

N.B. Requests must be received by 11th December 2006 to ensure that you receive the gift in time for Christmas.

You will then be sent a RETRAK Christmas card and an insert for each gift purchased for you to then send to the recipient. The insert explains what the gift is.

We are grateful to all who share our passion and support us in our mission.

Well, hope to hear from you soon,

Nathan and Jen

New Arrivals

2006-10-09T16:30:00.000+02:00

This month has contained some really exciting and unusual events but also with every day that passes by we are beginning to feel more and more at home and settling into semi-rural Ugandan life.

We are being made to slow down, which is probably a good thing but our western mind sets makes us feel guilty if we don’t get a million one things done in a day, with another million still to do. In fact if we manage to accomplish three things in a day then it has been a good day. Most of our time seems to be spent sitting around waiting for people. The good thing about this is that we are getting to know the boys at Tudabujja and also at the clubhouse in Kampala. The life stories and experiences of many of the boys are so awful yet they welcoming, friendly and polite (at least when they speak English, who knows what they say when they speak Luganda!).

Jen has been getting more involved with the learning centre using her skills and expertise and I have found myself getting involved with the farm using my childhood farming knowledge from TV’s James Herriot! We have two cows that are pregnant so I have my sleeves rolled up and the lubrication ready to help the new arrivals into the world!! and I found myself at the King of Buganda’s father in laws house to buy a new boar. (Buganda is the name of the central tribe in Uganda). I was asked to choose which one we wanted to buy, I had no idea they all looked the same, I just hope I chose a male!

This month has also been a month of new arrivals. We have had 4 piglets born (sadly two died) and 10 rabbits.

Eight new boys arrived a Tudabujja last week, the pure joy on their faces was overwhelming when I collected them. The knowledge that, they will sleep for the first time without fear, knowing that tomorrow and the day after that they will have food and the hope that they have left the streets behind them and they can once again be called ‘children’ not ‘street children’.

Also we have had a new arrival into our family Rachel, Jen’s sister, finally gave birth to a boy on Sunday 1st October, they have named him Benjamin. Jen made a surprise visit back to the UK to visit her first nephew and Rachel.

(P.S. We apologise to anyone with an 'ntlworld' e-mail address because our e-mails to you are bouncing back, I think it's our problem this end, sorry)

Hello From Uganda

2006-09-08T15:48:00.000+02:00

We've arrived and finally managed to get an internet connection for all you impatient people out there who have been demanding information.
We have been made to feel really welcome. We arrived at Entebbe airport to a small welcome party with a banner. We were then driven to our new home to meet the boys who had walked about 1 mile to greet us with singing, clapping and another banner!

Since then we have really enjoyed getting to know the boys who are taking great delight in teaching us Lugandan words and showing us around Tudabujja.

The staff have been brilliant. We have been taken to a football match by Alfred, the sports coach, Uganda Vs Lesotho in the African Cup qualifiers followed by a wedding reception (dressed to go to a football match!). It was George's birthday on Sunday- he is the teacher at Tudabujja- so he and his family took us to a fish restaurant on the lake shore to celebrate (Jen ate fish and has now also eaten beef when he invited us to his home earlier this week, bring on the bacon sandwiches!!)

In terms of work we are easing in gently. It is the time of year to prepare the budgets for next year and so it is a great time for us to see how the charity works. We are very excited about the project that we are now a part of. This week has already seen two boys leave us for resettlement with families, so next week we should be receiving two more.

Thank you to the people who have e-mailed and text us. Sorry if we can't reply personally to all the e-mails at the moment but we are hoping to work out a way of connecting to the internet more frequently.

We are feeling great, it is good to be here at last. Although we are of course missing friends and family. Our health is good so far and we are looking forward to the challenges which lie ahead of us.

Lots of love,
Nathan and Jen

For those who are praying for us, please pray...

that we will quickly pick up the language so we can build relationships with the boys.
for George who is also working very hard covering the farm manager's job.

'Out to Africa'

2006-07-02T23:57:00.000+02:00

On 29th August we'll leave Winchester to move to Uganda, to work for a charity called Tigers Club Project, part of Retrak. www.retrak.org. For those of you who don't know, here's a quick overview of what we'll be up to...

We'll be working with street boys at a halfway home called Tudabujja.

The half way home, agricultural training centre and sports area have been named Tudabujja by the boys. It means 'we are being made new'. Located on the shores of Lake Victoria, 16kms from Kampala (capital of Uganda), it provides a safe environment for up to 32 boys to spend 3-6 months preparing for life back in the community with their relatives or in a foster family. The programme includes formal and non-formal education, life skills and health education, sports and games, training in sustainable agriculture, counselling and group work. Through it the boys learn how to be part of a family again.

Our role in all of this is will be overseeing the operations at Tudabujja, staff team development, administration and financial management, property management and representation of the organisation locally. It is a new role so we hope it will develop in time as we are sure we will too. It's a big change but we are excited by the challenge and look forward to getting to know the boys and the Ugandan staff team.

We will try to use this site to keep you updated.

Jen and Nathan