It’s a Bright New Year at The Home of the Holy Angels!
Dear Friends in Christ
Greetings from Uganda! I bring you good news from The Home of the Holy Angels and wish you all abundant blessings. Please know that each day we are together in our daily prayers, as our children lift you up before the Lord for your generous and faithful support of our work.
In this first newsletter of 2019, I would like to update you on the recent events on our campus and the exciting things that Lord has planned for our children.
Good News from the Classroom
Thanks to your support we finished in the top 2% of ALL schools, and the top 9% of the BEST schools.
It is indeed a bright new year at The Home of the Holy Angels! Our students have just completed another academic year, with all students advancing to their next grade level. All students did very well on their exams and continue to work hard on their studies.
However, the extraordinary success of our Primary 7 (P7) graduates must be shared. In Uganda, all P7 students must take a national test in order to move on to secondary school.
We have had two classes take this test and both classes have excelled, with several students finishing near the very top of all students tested.
We are thrilled to share, that once again our graduates finished FIRST in testing across the entire district of Kibale, which includes approximately 400 schools. Pictured here are three of our top graduates from the P7 class, Rose Mary, Rona and Brian.
In addition Home of the Holy Angels ranked 197 out of the 2,220 best schools in the country. Considering that there are approximately 13,000 schools in Uganda, we finished in the top 2% of ALL schools, and the top 9% of the BEST schools.
Primary 7 Class Graduation
On January 20, 2019 we celebrated a thanksgiving Mass for our new graduates from Primary Level 7 (P7). It was a wonderful celebration with many members of the community joining us to honor our students outstanding academic achievements. Our guest of honor was a member of our Ugandan Parliament, the Honorable Noeline Basemera Akiiki, who helped to distribute the graduation gifts to our children.
Other dignitaries were also in attendance, helping to celebrate the accomplishments of our children. We offer our sincerest gratitude to all of you, for it is your support that makes all of this possible for our children.
Guest of honor, Honorable Noeline Basemera Akiiki, a member of our Ugandan Parliament joined in congratulating our students
Please join us in celebrating the ground breaking for our new secondary school,the Saints William and Helen Catholic Academy.
We are very excited about this new opportunity for our students to continue their education on our campus. We have broken ground for the building that will house our new secondary school classroom. If construction stays on course, we will be ready to welcome our 2019 P7 graduates.
Please pray for the weather to cooperate with us this year, so that we can complete the first building by that time.
As you can see from this photo, we are very close to completion of our Convent! Thank you for your generous support of this project. We are very excited about its near completion. With some good weather ahead, we should be finished in the next few months.
We look forward to welcoming our Sisters for the 2020 School Year!
We continue to finalize the arrangements for bringing sisters to to the Home of the Holy Angels. It is important that the Sisters who join us have skills in teaching and counseling. As I talk with the heads of the congregations, we are working towards this end. I have met with the Superior Generals of the Sisters of St. Teresa and the Sisters of Good Samaritan. Because of weather related constriction delays of our convent, we look forward to welcome the sisters in time to start the 2020 school year! Please pray that God brings us several sisters well suited to our ministry.
A Note from the Sponsorship Desk
I am always grateful for God’s provision. Last year it was my pleasure to welcome David and Desiree Eastman to our KUDU team. Like you, they are child sponsors and they have agreed to assist me in providing you with a higher level of sponsor communications. Our desire is to ensure that you are kept updated on the lives of our students and, if you choose to, build a more personal relationship with your student(s).
To begin the process, some of you received letters from your child, accompanied by instructions for writing your student(s). Not all sponsors received a letter this year, but we will be working to ensure all of you hear from your student(s) annually. I am grateful several of you have already written your student. The mailing process is slow, but bonds are being established and hearts are being touched as we strive to build a stronger sense of community for these little ones.
In addition, you should have received introductory emails, letters, and/or thank you notes from the Eastmans. These communiqués will continue as we work to improve communications and bring our students and sponsors closer together.
We have grown from a handful of children in need of our love and support to a family of over 200 children, and we are always in need of additional sponsors. Much has been accomplished, but there is still much to do. If you, a family member or friend would like to inquire about sponsorship opportunities for our children still in need of a sponsor, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Eastmans.
My Closing Thoughts
I feel incredibly blessed with all that is happening for our children. God’s light is shining on them through your generosity. They enter as orphans, and we give them a new family. They enter hungry, and we are able to feed them, clothe them and put a roof over their heads. They enter with no hope for the future, and we educate them, love and guide them, and help them to recover that hope. I wish you could see how grateful our children are for the blessings you make possible. You have shown them the love of Jesus Christ. How can I do any better than repeat the words of Jesus: “Well done my good and faithful servant!”
May God bless you and your families immensely, and reward you for the good works that you do in His name.
God bless you,
Fr. Charles Nabwana