Thank You

What a life changing experience this has been for the three of us, the Arise Africa organization, students and children. This would not have been possible without the generous contributions from numerous people and organizations. The donations have impacted far beyond what we anticipated. Not only did we build lasting relationships with many, but were also able to provide a sports complex. With this addition, we hope to have an annual sports tournament at the Secondary School for schools across Uganda. Arise Africa has a clear vision of where they want to take this organization. Their success has provided and will continue to provide more opportunities for affordable education and jobs for the people of Uganda, which is exactly what this country needs. Whenever the funds are available, they plan to build more dormitories at the Secondary School, a larger guesthouse in Bukeleba and a medical clinic that will service the community surrounding Bukeleba. Pastor Godfrey, the director of Arise Africa, stressed to us the importance of finishing this project that we started ( the sports complex). Although we are leaving Uganda, our work is not finished. We are continuing to raise money for the completion of the sports complex as well as sport equipment (shoes, baseball gloves and bats, goals and uniforms) and the organization of the annual tournament. We are excited to continue this journey and we hope that you will unite with us to see this event thrive for many years to come.

We will always cherish our time spent in Uganda. We grew personally and spiritually from our encounters with the joyful people of Uganda. We cannot thank you enough for turning this possibility into a reality and want you to know that you helped change the lives of many deserving individuals.

If you have any questions, are interested in contributing to Arise Africa by serving in Uganda or financially, please contact Layne, Kaitlyn or Thomas.

May God bless you all,
Layne, Kaitlyn and Thomas

Laynereeves12@gmail.com
Kaitlynburke05@hotmail.com
Tgrove41@gmail.com

Thomas the Protector

As many of you know, Kaitlyn and Layne are two very independent people. After being away from home for so many years, we have learned to look after and take care of ourselves. Thomas, who is on his way to becoming a black belt, is very protective. He began the trip teaching us self-defense tactics and tips for "worst case scenarios." Initially we chuckled at the fact that Thomas felt the need to protect us, but in all actuality, we appreciated and loved his concern. Thomas wouldn't allow us to wander off or even go to the bathroom alone. Layne once found herself asking Thomas for permission to cross the street, she quickly responded to her own question with "why am I asking you?!? I can cross the street if I want!" We laughed about it with him but we truly appreciated the extra stress he added upon himself to look after us and we are fortunate enough to tell you that we never felt unsafe. So thank you, Thomas and Mr. And Mrs. Grove for raising a true gentlemen.

Layne and Kaitlyn

Paint Yourself Silly

Our last day in Jinja was spent painting the Arise Africa Guesthouse. As you can imagine, things became messy once we opened the white paint. The painting tools were not what we were used to and were very hard to use. The tall ceilings and our handmade, wooden, shaky ladder posed challenges for Layne and Thomas (Kaitlyn couldn't quite reach the ceiling). After several hours of hard work, the room was completed and the staff was very impressed with our painting skills. After painting the room, we used the leftover paint to bring our youth to the forefront. Thomas begged for tribal paint while Kaitlyn was going for a more fierce look-a lion, and Layne wanted an even bigger smile. Looking back, the girls should have handled the face painting but Thomas tried to bring out his artistic ability.

Thomas is very talented

Our last night in Jinja ended with dinner and a dance party in the dining room of the guest house. Dacia has been looking after a three year-old orphan, Chloe, who is in the process of being adopted by an American family. She entertained us with her signature dance move now called, "The Chloe." Not only did the laughter give our abs a much needed workout, it was the perfect way to end our last night in Jinja. Our last two days will be spent in Murchison Falls for a safari.

Dinner at a local restaurant in Jinja

This is Chloe!

Elijah

Since we last updated you, Elijah contracted pneumonia and was hospitalized for another week. He continued to lose weight despite the medical attention he was receiving. Dacia's good friend Renee runs an home for severely malnourished babies called Feeding His Children, who took Elijah in last week. He was taken to the Kampala hospital yesterday because they found fluid around his lungs which needs to be drained. We hope to see dramatic improvements over the next few months. Please continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Personal Account- Love

Blog written by Kaitlyn

Love. I always thought that in order to love someone deeply you had to know them for an extended period of time. Know where they came from, their struggles, successes and what they wanted out of life. Since my arrival in Africa I have realized that none of that is true. I have fallen in love with complete strangers, people I have known for minutes and who speak a very different language. I have fallen in love with children whom I want to take care of and take home with me. When Hilda and Hope (two children from the Babies Home) run to me with big smiles on their faces and jump in my arms, followed by the other children, the most incredible joy fills my heart and I find it hard to believe that I have only known them for a few weeks. I look back and recall the moment that I fell in love with them and I know it was the moment I met their smiling faces at the gates of the Babies Home. The truth is that I have fallen in love with all of the children and it doesn't matter that they are covered in red dust from the roads, that some of the children have HIV and various other diseases; I love them all.



The children at the Babies Home have had hard lives and been though unimaginable events at such a young age. They have seen and experienced things that no one should ever go through in a lifetime. Some have HIV that was passed down to them at birth. One child witnessed his father murder his mother with an axe, then kill himself. Some children have had parents abandon them; yet keep their brother or sister. Others have had parents die from various diseases and one child was left in a maze (corn) field to die. Each child's story is different, tragic and hard to hear, but it's their reality.  It could be easy for them to lose hope, be defiant and hate life. However, they choose to be happy for what they do have in life. These children never complain about their situation, rather give thanks to the Lord for life. Prior to every meal and snack the children close their eyes and say this prayer, " Thank you father, thank you father for our food, for our food, and our many blessings and our many blessings- amen."  



What I find incredible about these children is that they have all reason in the world to be bitter about life, but you will never hear them complain about their situation. They don't have a play ground, they have rips in their clothes, they don't have underwear on half of the time, they don't have parents who embrace them every single day who tell them that they are loved. They eat similar meals daily, they don't go out for dinner, they don't have dolls, toys or puzzles. And yet they are happy. They are grateful for life, for the love of God, and for the things they do have. 



I miss these children already. The way they smile, laugh, cry and most of all their huge hearts. I feel privileged to have had the chance to meet them, to spend time with them and have them allow me to love and embrace them. I will always remember the time I spent with them, and forever cherish the relationships I have built. People from home have told me how lucky these children are for what we (Thomas, Layne and I) are doing, but we know that in fact, it's the exact opposite- we are the lucky ones. We have learned and grown so much as individuals, feel fortunate and will be forever grateful for the people we have met in this great country of Uganda. 



So may God bless every single child in the Arise Africa Babies Home, and all the children in the world who were and are abandoned; and may He continue to take care of them, show them His love and provide for them. May he bless the aunties and caregivers who look after the children. May He give them the strength to care for all the children and continue to shine the light and love upon them every single day.

These kids are amazing!!

Kaitlyn with Hilda. 

Love

Kaitlyn with Hope

We Survived!

Our Saturday was filled with adventure and excitement.  Jinja's Nile is recognized as one of the top and most advanced whitewater rafting locations in the world.  Although we had heard many horror stories, we all felt the need to share this experience with one another. We decided not tell our parents just how dangerous the rafting was, they were worried enough about us...but we survived!!  Now our pictures will show just how dangerous it was.

Thomas is front right, Kaitlyn and Layne are yellow helmets

Now you see us...

... Now you don't!

Poor Lucy (the woman in front of Kaitlyn) was a 65 years old and she was not enjoying the ride....

Leaning tower of MEzaaa

The ol pinneapple in the teeth

Layne farted, time to exit the raft...

Oh gosh! We are rolling right into the gas cloud

It smells like Indian food and burnt hair 

Two people just died of gas inhalation

Captions by Thomas Grove.

Bad call ref!

After a week of teaching the secondary students various north American sports, we had them compete in the inaugural year of the Arise Africa International Sports Tournament. We arranged the tournament so that each house competed with one another. The four houses, which consist of both boys and girls, were called Love, Joy, Peace and Patience. Each house was extremely passionate, and their competitive spirits were displayed in the games. There were often outbursts and disputes dealing with rules or calls in each match (be them in Lugandan and not English). Watching the students compete took us back to our younger days playing sports with our friends and having a great time. After a long day under the warm Ugandan sun, we awarded house winners in various sports, male and female sports MVPs, and the overall house winner. The winners were awarded with trophies and medals. This was the first awards ceremony that all of the children have ever been to and they were excited to receive their medals. The kids leave for home today for holiday and they will return to school with newly planted grass fields and cemented courts. They all said how excited they were to perfect their favorite sport skills and that they couldn't wait to show us how much they improved the next time we return to Africa. We saw tremendous growth since we introduced the sports to the students and we know that they all will have improved that much more as time passes.

Volleyball

The medals and trophies

The boys playing football

The overall champions- Love House

NOda-Boda

Kaitlyn & Layne's first time on a Boda-Boda

We spent the day covering baseball and volleyball with the students of the secondary school. Once lunch time came, we had to make our way back to the guest house which was approximately 2 miles away. This time instead of taking a car we took what the locals call Boda-Bodas which are small motorbike taxis. We found out the name originated from drivers transporting passengers across the border to Kenya. Pronounced in English as border-borders, Ugandans pronounce them bo-duh bo-duhs. These small bikes are found all over the city quickly weaving and darting through traffic. The girls jumped right on and enjoyed every second of the ride waving to locals who were amused at the sight of 2 mazungo's (white people). Thomas had a slightly different experience. According to Thomas, it was his driver's first time driving any sort of motorized machinery. He feared for his life as the Boda-Boda turned blind corners and maneuvered through ditches and deep ruts in the winding village roads while eating the dust caused by Kaitlyn and Layne just ahead. After we safely arrived to the guesthouse, Thomas' driver demanded more payment because he was "too big". Shortly after Thomas demanded a discount for his shotty driving. Needless to say, Thomas won't be hopping on the back of a Boda-Boda anytime soon. The other hand, the girls having been begging to ride one ever since.

After the Boda-Bodas, the girls took it upon themselves to have a chapatti-eating contest. After Betty cooked piece after piece of the cooked flat bread, the girls downed the majority of it. They tied for first place with 9 chapatti pieces each, and Thomas handled a gentleman's 3 pieces because he was "trying to keep it tight".

Our empty plate of chapatti... YUMMM!!!

Thomas was not impressed

After a delicious lunch, and full stomachs, we headed back to the secondary school where Kaitlyn and Layne taught baseball and Thomas participated in a soccer game with the boys. Thomas was a little rusty when he began, but shortly after entering the game he was very competitive and even scored an impressive goal that had all his teammates cheering and celebrating.

Thomas has mad skill

Tomorrow is our final day at the secondary school and we couldn't think of a better way to end it then with the first ever sports day for Arise Africa International and the students.

Hips don't lie

The second day of our sports education program was filled with laughter.  We began the day with an instructional warmup which included jumping jacks, squats, lunges, pushups and sit ups. The students were confused by the warmup, so we assured them that if they did it everyday they would be big and strong like Thomas. Following our warmup we reviewed American football and volleyball for the students who were not there the first day.  After a quick recap and a few practice games we got into teaching kickball.  Everyone got the kicking part down but the rules were another story.  The students didn't realize that you could stop at a base and every kick was either a home run or an out.  After a few at bats we decided to step in and show Ugandans how Americans can play.  First up was Kaitlyn and her first attempt was a giant swing and a miss.  Thomas cracked up and all of the students joined in the laughter,including Kaitlyn. The rest of the day the children seemed to sporadically burst out with excessive laughter and put the current activity on hold for a good laugh! After a long game of kickball we decided to get a workout in.  Today's exercise would be a lesson in traditional Ugandan dance.  A few students brought out a number of bongos and traditional drums.  We each gave it a try and by far Thomas had the best hips. .. ( clearly the writer of this blog is Thomas)! After struggling with some of the moves we decided to show off some traditional American moves.  Kaitlyn chose the shopping cart, Layne showed of the Cupid shuffle, and Thomas brought out the Bernie.  Tis was most definitely a dance lesson that won't be forgotten.

Belly laughing

After the game

Traditional African Dance

Update On Elijah

Baby Elijah barely made it through the night.  Dacia rushed him to the hospital this morning after she was informed he had been up all night vomiting everything he ate.  We picked Auntie Florence and Elijah up on our way to church, and there was no life in that precious little face.  Kaitlyn and Layne feared that we had already lost him, as his eyes were rolled back in his head and no movement was seen.  It was truly a miracle that Dacia made it to the hospital in time for Elijah to receive the treatment that he needed.  He has been hooked up to an IV drip all day and is doing better.  This evening, he took a bottle and kept it down! Elijah will spend the next few days in the hospital. Please keep this little boy in your prayers, he needs them desperately!

Elijah in his hospital bed

Because of You

Today we started our sports education program with the secondary school. The first sport that we introduced was American touch football (simplified). All of the children picked up the game very quickly, but the girls seemed to learn the rules the fastest. We were fortunate enough to have four Nike footballs donated, thanks to Cardinals Sports Center in Lubbock, Texas. During our second session with the group of students, we covered volleyball. Prior to our arrival the children had learned the rules of volleyball so we focused more on skill development before we played a game.

Thomas teaching the rules and techniques to football

The students learning to throw a football for the first time

Kaitlyn teaching the students how to throw a football

Layne demonstrating bumping to the students

Thanks to your collective donations we were able to provide the secondary school with a sports complex consisting of a full size soccer/football field, basketball/volleyball court and a baseball/kickball field. Late last night the bulldozer arrived and today was the first day dozing the fields. The dozer crew works day and night as there are only two dozers in the entire city of Jinja so work must be done quickly.  Your generosity will allow the Arise Africa International Secondary School to host sports tournaments with other schools across the country of Uganda. We wish you could see first hand how excited and thankful the students and staff are for this addition!

The dozer hard a work clearing the fields!

This is one of the dorms that is home to the Arise
Africa female students

The school has experienced tremendous growth since its inception six short months ago. Currently, there are 135 students and next term they expect that number to double. As one can imagine this creates an urgent need for new dormitories and student sponsorships. Without new student housing, many of the children will be forced to sleep on the classroom floors. Arise Africa International is currently supporting all of its current students, but without new sponsorships, some will be forced to return home.

If you’re interested in sponsoring a child for $35 a month, wish to contribute to the dormitories or would like more information on how you can help, please contact Dacia Newton at dacia.newton@gmail.com.

Not Your Average Day at the Fair

Today we experienced our first African fair…with 56 kids and 4 Aunties.  We piled everyone into a 15-passenger van and headed for an hour and a half bumpy drive to Jinja.  As you can imagine, bodies were piled on top of each other and seat belts were not a concern.  What was a concern was the children needing to susu (go to the bathroom).  Dacia told the children that they must wait until we arrived in Jinja, but the Aunties informed us some of the children had already started to susu. Needless to say, we quickly pulled over.  Every child hopped out of the bus and began peeing on the side of the road.  Note: this is normal in Uganda and not seen as unsanitary or illegal.  What a way to start the day!

We arrived at the guesthouse in Jinja and dropped the older kids off for lunch and took 22 kids ages 5-8 to the fair.  The fair was massive and consisted of rides, games, shopping, vendors, wild animals and thousands of people.  While this might sound like a nightmare, the Arise Africa children continued to amaze us with their obedience and respect.  Not one child ever asked for anything, ran off, or strayed from our long line.  The children enjoyed swinging, the bouncing castle and the petting zoo, which consisted of a 20 ft. python, ostrich, crane, lion, jaguar, cheetah and a camel, which Kaitlyn and Layne rode (Thomas claimed to have no interest, but we know he was scared)! After a couple hours of fun, we dropped the younger kids off and picked up the older kids. 

 

The older children were just as obedient and well behaved.  We took them to the Kids Zone, which kept them entertained.  The smiles that the kids possessed brought so much joy to our hearts.  Many of them had never experience life in the city much less a fair.  Dacia funded the entire trip herself, including snacks for the kids and hats which can be seen in the pictures.  Dacia is truly a special person and we have seen her selflessness in so many ways and this is only one of them.  What we thought was going to be an average day at the fair, turned out to be much more.

African Sunday Morning

We are lost for words.  This morning we attended the Arise Africa Secondary School Church service.  As we approached the school, we saw two dormitories, two classroom block, a dining hall and 135 students.  We were surprised to find out that the Secondary School had only been open since January of this year and items such as desks and beds have only been added two months ago.  As you can see, there is a HUGE need for what North Americans think of as simple necessities.

Sunday service

The praise team

As we neared the classroom that housed the service, music filled our ears with the sounds of beautiful voices, clapping hands, bongo drums and praising of the Lord. The students and staff had set up a table for “the guests,” at the front of the room. The service was filled with singing, dancing, skits and a message from two visiting missionaries. The talent and joy that the kids possess filled our hearts with joy. It was a service that we will always remember.

Overlooking Bukeleba

We ended our afternoon with a beautiful hike, with the North Carolina team (from Journey Church) and 10 of the boys from the Primary School. The view was incredible as one side overlooked Lake Victoria and the other overlooked the village of Bukeleba. 

We had to bring Husker nation to Uganda!!

All four of us with Lake Victoria in the background

Introducing our crew in Uganda

Dacia Newton, our host! Dacia has been taking care of us since the moment we have arrived in Uganda. Dacia has been a member of the Arise Africa team for the past four years and is also a family friend of The Reeves Family (Layne).  She has done everything with us, and gone above and beyond to ensure we are enjoying our time here in Africa.

Meet Dacia! ... Note: Kaitlyn's tennis shoes got lost in the missing bag.. yes, our last bag is still missing.

Betty takes care of us. She cooks, cleans and always has a smile on her face when she sees us.

Nelson… aka Don Cheetle, is the operations manager for Arise Africa International. 

Oma is our guard who carries a rather large gun in order to protect us at all hours. Don’t worry, we would be safe without him… but it’s nice to know he is there if we need him.

The Aunties are the women who take care and look after the children at the babies home.