Maranatha Gateway, Kalangala –

The second accommodation block has been completed with all plastering and painting as well as  all bedrooms fully  equipped.  The pathways connecting the buildings have been laid with stone, making access much easier.

2 carpentry courses have been held with some wonderful furniture made – especially from the Module 2 course, which consisted of students from the previous module 1 courses over the last 12 months.

 

New Rock Foundation School, Kampala –

The school gates have been painted as well as other improvements to the kitchen which have been made possible by the support of St Paul’s Primary School in Hereford.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bridge of Hope school, Kalangala –

The nursery building is nearing completion with the walls mostly in place.  This is as a result of the support from St John’s Primary school in Sandbach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chosen Children Primary School, Nansana –

This school has recently been ‘twinned’ with All Saints Primary School, Gresford, Wrexham.  We look forward to the benefit that both schools can make of this connection.

Team visit –

A small team is coming out to Uganda in August 2016 to visit each of the above schools and work with the children, as well as see other aspects of African life.  This is an exciting event and we hope to accommodate many more such visits in the future.

 

The last couple of months have seen great progress on improving our living conditions. We now have a separate sitting room, office and bedroom – whereas before they were all in the one room!!

We have also had a large patch of land weeded and thoroughly turned over and cassava planted. We have recently bought some netting to put round the garden to deter the monkeys from damaging the crops.

 

The paving of the walkways between the buildings is completed, the water tank is connected to the new building, solar lighting is working and a security light has been installed.

 

 

The last two weeks have seen another carpentry course take place. This time we invited back previous students to do the next level of skills. We started with 6 students and they made an office desk with 2 drawers and a chair in the first week, and a sideboard/dresser in the second week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                 2016 CALENDAR                   2016 CALENDAR 

A beautiful new calendar is available for 2016 with views and descriptions of Maranatha Gateway and the surrounding countryside. We urge you to buy one or more of these – ideal Christmas presents. The cost is only £5 plus £2 postage. All you have to do is send a cheque for £7 made out to Equipe Uganda Ross to

MG Calendar, 1 Avon Close, Acton, Wrexham, LL12 7US. Please don’t forget to send us your address!!

All profits from these calendars will go directly to the Maranatha Gateway project.

Our time spent in Uganda since August has been very busy.  We held our first 2 week carpentry course in September, which produced some excellent stools and tables. We hope this skill will enable these young men to supplement their income.
We then started building the second accommodation block and we are pushing up to get the roof on before Christmas.
At the end of November we held a craft course for ladies – making paper beads and weaving baskets.  We then went down to the lakeside resorts and sold most of what they made to the tourists.  The ladies are continuing to meet together here at Sozi once a week, making craft souvenirs which can provide an income for them. It is exciting to empower local people for whom there are few opportunities. We are so grateful to supporters in the UK who sponsor these courses so we can provide them free – accommodation, food and training.
This month we have enlarged the family in Sozi by one piglet – called Cyclops, as he only has one good eye!  and 3 laying hens. We still have one big pig ( who we hope is pregnant) and 3 younger pigs – but we expect to slaughter 2 of these to provide meat for Christmas for us and our friends.
We can only continue to develop here through the generosity of our supporters, we thank you so much for believing in us, to help us make a difference here in the Ssese Islands.

John and Sue Gasston joined Mike Norbury in Kalangala on Wed 16th October. This is the latest report from them.

We have visited the Bridge of Hope  School and we plan to start on the roof of the nursery block in the next couple of weeks. The photo above shows one of the primary classes hard at work…….well except for certain distractions!
We have had the surveyor and the exploratory team of diggers on the land at Sozi today looking at the best position of the well. Work on final positioning of the well should begin next week. The plastering of the  classroom /dormitory should be underway this week.
One of our pigs has just had 9 piglets and we pray they will all survive.
We have spent a few days in Kampala collecting the brick making machine which will be shipped to Kalangala tomorrow.
We are moving forward and making progress already.
Many challenges still to overcome.
John and Sue