Saturday 21st February

The start of another beautiful day in Jinja but one which is always different for us all, in that it is a day of relaxation after the physical work of the renovation project of the previous 3 days.

This is a day on which we can also arrange to meet Ugandan friends, our current or previously sponsored students and their families or prepare for the important events of tomorrow- the NileVocational Institute Sunday Service,followed by the Sports afternoon for all UgandAid (UGA) students by the Nile. The Olympics this most certainly is not!!! ( More of that in tomorrow’s blog).

Julie and I went into Jinja to spend time with another Isaac whom we started to sponsor in 2015 as a 15year old boy from a very poor area outside Jinja.

Isaac went to Nile Vocational Institute (NVI) to study Building and Construction on a 2year Craft Course, followed by a Covid interrupted Diploma Course at another local college. During Covid, he set up and registered his own charity to “ provide food for the poor”.

After Covid, Isaac completed his studies but wanted to pursue further education to train to be a Pastor and set up with a friend his own church outside Jinja, alongside earning a living using the skills learned at NVI.

Isaac is now in the 3rd and final year of a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology, based on a Seminary in Kampala. In addition to all that, he is planning to get married next year!!

Our meeting was full of excited chat about his journey so far and his hopes and plans for the future. He is also the co-ordinator of the Alumni Group of ex-students of NVI who live and work in and around Jinja whom we shall all be meeting next Sunday.

Whilst we are immensely proud of what he has achieved in the past 12 years, the wider point is he is one of the many NVI students who are a tribute to the education and training provided there and the values and ethos which it espouses.

Isaac has always said that without NVI and UgandAid, he would have spent his life digging vegetables!!

Is it any wonder that we are all so passionate about our long-standing relationship with Uganda, its people, and NVI and so full of hope for its future.

Geoff