change the truth update

After our successful fundraiser in June I asked Rosemary to send me a wish list of things the orphanage needs. At the top of the list was a vehicle. As it is, they have no means of transportation.

That is about to change. When Carol, a Change the Truth board representative and member of our Team One mission trip visits St. Mary Kevin’s next week, she will take Rosemary shopping for a motorcycle! This will enable the staff to do the food/clothing shopping more effectively. It will also make it easier to transport sick children to the clinic and will provide a means of income for the orphanage, as they will charge a fee to take passengers back and forth to Kampala. Carol suggested that she present Rosemary not only with the motorcycle, but also with a something that says Change the Truth that could be attached to the bike. This is what I got – a small license plate to hang on the back of the seat.


We have enough people who signed up for the next mission trip that we’ll have two groups going two different weeks! Teams Two is in the process of making air and hotel reservations for December. We have a great group of people going, including some returnees from last year. Our focus on play and art therapy will continue, and we will add music this time around. We are thrilled that we’ll have a doctor in our midst, as most of these children have never even had a basic checkup. We’ll also be repairing, painting and putting in a garden. It’s going to be a busy couple of weeks! Much more to follow…

The team will be at the orphanage for Christmas. I’ll end this post with the description from Joseph and Rosemary as to what we should expect to be doing. It’s definitely going to be a holiday none of us will ever forget.

“It is traditional for the orphans to expect something special at Christmas time:

• Stage a nativity play [Baby Jesus, Mary, the cows, and the rest of the cast]
• Gifts from Santa Claus (with the cart pulled by cows or donkeys rather than reindeers)
• Enjoy great eating particularly of meat & drinking of soft drinks and have fun on Dec 25 & 26 in the company of orphanage management and staff.

Please be prepared to participate in preparations for the play, donations of gifts for the orphans, and have fun on Christmas Day and the day after [sports, indoor games & competitions, music/dance, food feast, drinking spree, etc]”