watoto news - au

WHAT WE DO ORPHANED CHILDREN | VULNERABLE WOMEN | COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION

WWW.WATOTO.COM | ISSUE NO.1

WELCOME HOMEWe were thrilled to graduate 10 toddlers

from Baby Watoto to our Watoto Suubi

Village this February. The bubbly infants

were welcomed into their new families by

excited mums and siblings and it was a

momentous occasion for all. “I am excited

for my new bundles of joy. I’m going to love

and care for these two boys with all my

heart. My other children are in school, so I

have quite a bit of time to dedicate to the

babies during the day,” said Mama Rose

Nabulime.

“The toddlers’ graduation to the homes

is an opportunity for them to be in a new

environment, with siblings to grow up

with,” said Baby Watoto Team Leader, Fred

Katoogo. Babies rescued by Watoto find a

permanent home in a Watoto village when

they are old enough and well enough. A

month before they move to the village,

their new mothers spent time with them at

Baby Watoto. This helps with the bonding

process, which is key to their security and

development. “This practice is encouraged

to help the mother and child get to know

each other and build a relationship. At

the time of graduation the mother is no

longer a stranger to the child but rather a

person who loves and cares for them,” said

Katoogo.

Since 2007, over 1,000 vulnerable babies

have been rescued through Baby Watoto.

They now have a chance at a real future.

Partner with us to rescue babies. Log onto

www.watoto.com/sponsorship to sponsor

Baby Watoto now.

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Lucy Anyanyo is one of 191

women who joined Living

Hope Gulu last year and

experienced the power of

community. When Lucy was

bedridden and hopeless, she

received a visit from Florence

Acaa, a HIV+ woman who has

been empowered through

Living Hope. Florence is

now a community leader for

Living Hope in Gulu and is

actively involved in finding

women like Lucy who are

struggling because of their

HIV status. When Lucy’s

husband died, she lost all

hope. “I was certain that the

next thing for me was death

and that my children would

ACHIEVERS2014 was an incredible year

at Watoto and the academic

excellence achieved by our

students added to the jubilation.

The release of the 2014

Primary Leaving Examinations

and Uganda Certificate

Examinations brought much joy,

with the students of our schools.

The students of our schools,

Hope Junior School and Hope

Senior School, performing

extremely well. Jeremiah

Mutyaba, the best performing

student at Hope Senior School,

even ranked among the highest

scoring students in the country.

Our primary school finished

as the top school in the district

and our high school finished as

one of the top 10 schools in the

district.

Your faithful giving

has contributed to these

accomplishments. Jeremiah

now dreams of studying Food

Science and Technology. “I want

to solve the problem of wide

spread hunger in Africa. That’s

why I thought it would be good

to become a food scientist,” says

Jeremiah.

If you already sponsor a child,

why not encourage your friends

and family to do the same and

help us raise up more leaders

who will rebuild the nations of

Africa.

www.watoto.com/sponsorship.

The Australian office was thrilled to welcome Watoto Child Care Ministries E.D. Arora Majugo last month, as he made the trip from Uganda to spend invaluable time with the Australian team. Arora has been a part of Watoto Church since its inception 30 years ago, and has been on staff for the past 8 years. He does

Last month, eight passionate Watoto supporters took up the challenge of cycling 300 kilometres to raise funds for Watoto. This incredible team cycled for three days along the Great Ocean Road in partnership with 25000 Spins, an organisation dedicated to helping reduce global poverty.

Have you ever dreamt of meeting your sponsor child, mother or teacher? Cuddling the little ones at Baby Watoto or hearing firsthand stories from the ladies at Living Hope? Well now you can! Consider this your

Watoto is currently changing the lives of nearly 3,000 children in Uganda, East Africa. Amongst them are these 18 gorgeous and excited children who are about to commence their 2015 tour with the Watoto Children’s Choir.

This team of children,

COME WITH US TO BEAUTIFUL AFRICA

INTRODUCING CHOIR 72!

WATOTO’S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR VISITS AUSTRALIA

GREAT OCEAN ROAD CHALLENGE

Their fundraising efforts were outstanding and between them, they have raised over $20,000 to help vulnerable women and children in Uganda. If you would like to join the team on next year’s ride, let us know by emailing [email protected].

along with the 10 adults who accompany them, will travel extensively throughout Australia during their 6 month tour, bringing their brand new production Oh, What Love to QLD, NSW, ACT, VIC, SA and WA.

You won’t want to miss out

on the opportunity to, not only experience Choir 72 in concert, but also meet these beautiful children and hear their stories. Visit our website to find out when they will be in your area. www.watoto.com

personal invitation for our annual Watoto sponsor trip to Uganda. You will have the opportunity to spend time with your sponsored individual and their family, and experience all the Watoto projects including our villages,

Baby Watoto, Living Hope and sustainability projects. For more information, or to express interest visit www.watoto.com/watototrip or give us a call (07) 3208 3500.

A NEW START lose their mother. I thought the

stress alone would kill me,” she

said. Florence had met Lucy at

the clinic and recognised her as

a neighbour. When she noticed

that Lucy was becoming very

sick, Florence knocked on her

door and shared her own story.

“I couldn’t tell that Florence was

also HIV+ until she disclosed it.

She convinced me that I could

live,” she said. With Florence’s

support, Lucy took her first steps

toward recovery. Florence was

there to pray with her as Lucy

overcame the strong effects of

the ARV treatment. Last year,

Florence helped Lucy sign up for

Living Hope. “Through trauma

counselling I was able to release

the stress and pain from my past.

I learned that God loves me no

matter what,” she said.

The ladies from our 2014 intake

have experienced our embrace,

but this year they will also be

empowered through one of our

many skills departments. We

are excited to see them thrive

as they continue to grow in

different areas. Lucy is learning

how to sew Living Hope’s new

Amito doll, which is on sale

with the Watoto Children’s

Choir this year. The allowance

she makes as a trainee at our

centre helps her support her

three children and pay her

rent. Email us at [email protected] if you would like to

help us empower women like

Lucy so that they also become

leaders who engage with their

community and bring hope to

others.

an incredible job overseeing the ministry worldwide and our team was honoured to spend time learning from him and being inspired by the ongoing vision of Watoto. We also made sure he had the full Aussie experience by trying vegemite, having fish and chips on the beach and meeting some of our local wildlife.

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