Monday, December 31, 2007

"Wow! That's a lot of beans"

As this year comes to close, for BundiNutrition, it ends with a wonderful gift to keep our quarterly distribution of food to our Kwejuna mothers - those who are living with HIV - going for another calendar year. Yes, through the very generous support of friends from my home church in New York City, Redeemer Presbyterian, we can continue to provide our mothers and their families with 20 kilos (about 50 pounds) of beans - grown locally in Bundibugyo and of course an excellent source of protein - along with a 5 litre jug of cooking oil and a 1/2 pound bag of salt, every three months. In 2007, with similar support, we were able to hold 5 such distributions and give out 725 servings of food. Good nutrition is important for all of us, but even more so for those living with HIV. It keeps their immune systems stronger and for those on HIV drugs (antiretrovirals), a stronger body helps these drugs to be more effective in slowing down the process of the virus replicating in their body. So we say a big 'THANK YOU (Webale, in Lubwisi) for this generous gift, to these women and their families, who are among the very poorest of the poor. And as our team leader, Dr. Scott Myhre put it, when he heard about this gift, he exclaimed. "Wow! That's a lot of beans."

PS. This is my last post on BundiNutrition... Sadly, my 2 year term in Uganda is over this month and I am returning to the U.S., but thankfully these food distributions will continue. Now that we have been given these funds, this aspect of BundiNutrition will be in the capable hands of my dear friend and teammate, Pat Abbott.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Full Truck!!


Yeah! From what I can tell, it looks like we have enough donations to fill a truck with over 50 goats! Thanks for all of your Christmas gifts of goats. Bundibugyo will be blessed through your giving this season. After I (Karen) get back to Uganda in January, the preparations can get underway for the goat distribution. It will involve chosing people to receive the goats. They will need to be trained in goat care and build a goat shed. Lamech will go to Masaka, Uganda, and meet with small scale goat breeders in their villages. He will then choose and buy females of a good age. Next he'll get the paperwork and vaccinations they need to travel. We'll keep you posted here on the progress.

Jesus came for the least of these. Thanks for your generosity toward these little ones as we celebrate His coming