CSB Update

 Thank you everyone who jumped in to help our football teams make it to the National Tournaments.  As this is a long needed update, I am happy to say both teams made it to their tourneys and performed amazingly.

The girls played in Fort Portal and won the hearts of the crowd.  We watched them run to victory in rain and mud with a cheering crowd against girls twice their size.  They ended up with one win, two draws and three losses.  We are so proud of them and they returned with a noticeable increase in self–confidence.  

Bundibugyo remains a place looked down upon as backwards by the rest of Uganda.  When we talk with Ugandan friends in Kampala, they look at us with surprise when we say we live in Bundibugyo. We are often asked if we are “not fearing being eaten by those people.”  Great rumors of evil, witchcraft, poverty and stereotyping plague the perception of the people here.  Some of this may be true, however, we find that most of the people here are like us- struggling to survive with a family by putting food on the table and a roof over their heads.

While Bundibugyo in general is looked down upon, the women remain the most displaced and are seen as below the men.  There remains a huge illiteracy rate, low female school attendance, polygamy is common and wives are seen by many as property.

Yet, for our girls, they got a glimpse that they are something special.  They are equal on the playground with women from around the country.  They can accomplish what they set their minds to.  They can win.

The boys continued their impressive performance.  They travelled to the Eastern Ugandan city of Tororo, where they won 3 games and lost 3 games.  According to the coach, they feared no one.  These boys are leaders.  They are teammates.  They are something.  Before they headed back to celebrate their victories in their home here in the far west, the bus took a detour.  They stopped at the border of Kenya and jumped out to set foot on the foreign soil.  They are now international travellers.  They beamed upon their return.

We pray that these experiences will lead to continued leadership and character development in our students. Even those not on the team lift up their heads a little higher around town expecting people to notice they are from Christ School, and they stand equal with their counterparts across the nation.

So, your investment is crucial as we take small steps toward redemption, renewal and celebration of who God made this community to be.  Thank you for taking the time and spending your money to help!

Outside of sports, we are continually encouraged by the academic success.   We found out this year we are ranked 115 our of 1000 Secondary schools in the country- almost in the top ten percent!  We also found out that 7 of our students have received a Government Scholarship (District Quota) for University studies.   Twenty-seven of Thirty-four of our graduates qualified for University by their National exam performance.  Additionally, this week we found out that my friend Isaiah was accepted into medical school.

It is my hope that these outstanding students will become leaders of renewal and redemption in this district and even across Uganda.

Please continue to pray for us and for Christ School.  We will keep you updated on any exciting news that happens.  Currently the students are starting new Volleyball and Music, Dance and Drama Clubs.  The debate team and math clubs are travelling to competitions.  The students are also starting to buckle down and prepare for the national exams held in November.

As always, we appreciate you help.  We know that you can help in different ways and at different times but not all the time.  If you missed the opportunity to support the football teams but want to help in other ways, there are on going opportunities.  See the links on the right.

•  As a mission we supplement every students tuition so local families can send their children to a high quality educational institution.  To do this, we raise $50,000 a year.  Any gift to the CSB operational cost is welcomed.
•  We also give special full tuition scholarships to qualified orphans that have proven themselves to excel academically and have a heart for service and leadership.  We give 10 Scholarships per academic for a total of 60 scholarships.  Currently we are in need of 20 sponsors. It takes just $50 per month ($600/year) to sponsor a student at CSB.
•  We also are in need of new latrines.  Two latrines caved in this past month leading to unrest with the students and partial closing of the school.  We are hoping to partner with an NGO called GreenHeat that harvests the methane from latrines and uses it for cooking.  This will save us thousands of dollars a year in firewood we use to cook.  And of course, this will help save the rainforest around us.  The set up costs will be around $10,000. 

   Thanks!  God's blessings and peace.