New Hope Uganda has a definite, focused mission--bring the Fatherhood of God to the fatherless. We take this vision from Psalm 68:5-6 which reads, “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.” We have more than 110 staff members of various positions within the ministry —the majority of which are from Uganda. We love this aspect of the ministry, a true partnership between the Ugandan and foreign staff (of whom the latter are less than 30% of the staff make-up.) If we as foreign staff had to leave the country for any reason en masse, the work with the fatherless would be able to continue, and we love that reality! In our short 4 ½ years here we have seen both victory and disappointment as we seek to bring God’s fatherhood to His children here in central Uganda. The work is altogether challenging and rewarding to be sure.
We have come to know and love those with whom we serve. So many of the staff serve tirelessly beyond a “job-description”. One of those I want to highlight here is Kate Tolhurst. She works with our “special needs” children. Because of her passion for their well-being we have taken in more children with special needs in this past year than we have in all of our 23 years of existence as a ministry. She has gathered a staff to help her as she ministers, yet, she seems to keep extremely occupied with all the doings, coming and goings related to caring for the kids—hospital visits, village visits, classes, feeding, bathing, organizing, etc. When does she get a day off??? Well, they are scheduled, but rarely materialize!!!!
Today I went over to see her before the Christmas morning church service. There she was at Hassan’s house (our boy with cerebral palsy who lives on site with us in his own house) taking care of Hassan, Kakande (our developmentally delayed adult), Brian (a boy from the village with spina bifida who is in with us for wound care at the moment), and Kakulu, who has mild cp and is currently battling hepatitis. Church was due to start soon and I asked if I could help her with anything. She said, “No, I’m fine, I just have to feed Hassan, get Brian out of his wheelchair, change Kakulu and get ready.” THAT’S FINE???? It was at that point I decided to highlight her dedication in this humble blog space! Two hours previous I had made a visit to her and learned that her night had been spent cleaning up Kakulu who had a bout with explosive diarrhea. While she was relating that story to me, Hassan’s feeding tube spontaneously disconnected and Kakande was making a mess on the floor as he attempted to get all his breakfast in his mouth. She seems to take it all in stride, but I know there are days that stretch her to her maximum (today might have been one of them!) She does all of this with a smile on her face and is so very pleasant. I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to tell you about her and her unwavering passion for these kids. And as you are praying, tell God THANK YOU for Kate! She is a sincere blessing to many of the fatherless in central Uganda and a joy to the rest of the New Hope staff!
Kate bathes Kakulu before the church service this a.m.
Resetting the feeding tube for Hassan as Kakande eats breakfast (most, but not all of it gets in his mouth!)
Smiling as she flushes Hassan's gastric tube.
Adjusting Hassan in his wheelchair.
Kevin, Anya and Stella are seen here at the supper table tonight.
