Village of Hope

Hopebuilders International Village of Hope begun construction in January 2009 on the 4 acres of land that had been acquired by Hopebuilders International. This lovely block of land sits on the high side of the Jinja District with a view of Lake Victoria, in the Wairaka parish. The property is a corner block which is adjacent to the Uganda base for YWAM which is called Hopelands.

The Village of Hope includes 14 homes which are each designed to house up to 8 orphans and a house mother, who in most cases would be a widow. These homes will provide the opportunity for these children to grow up in as close to a family environment as is possible. The village also includes an administration centre which provides offices for the running of the village, as well as vocational and other life-skill type training programs for the mothers and children as well. There is also a vegetable garden and a farm, with chickens, cows, goats and even some turkeys.

The homes are constructed out of earth bricks which were produced by widows that were trained and equipped by Hopebuilders International to undertake this as a business enterprise.

Groups are welcome to sponsor a home as well as participate in its construction and possibly even play a part in the on-going support of the children and mother that live in that home. If you would like to explore the activities over time at the village involving our teams and the children there, please visit the Village of Hope blog – hb-villageofhope.blogspot.com.au

Youth Support Uganda

Youth Support Uganda is a Uganda HopeBuilders International community based program supporting youth in Uganda in the daily challenges that they face. Young people in communities around Uganda are faced with issues like poverty, drug and alcohol abuse, broken homes, sexual violence, H.I.V, lack of education and more. Often young people find themselves in situations where it is very hard to break out of this cycle of poverty. Currently YSU is working alongside vulnerable young women to help address the issues of abuse and young single mothers. This is done through teaching them tailoring skills, helping them creating their own businesses, providing emergency shelter and also running trauma rehabilitation programs.YSU also mentors and disciples young men by empowering them with agriculture skills to start their own small businesses as well as providing counseling, drug education and teachings on gender equality issues. YSU educates, supports and empowers young people with micro finance training, small business loans, sponsorship, social justice programs, mentor programs and recreational empowerment programs. YSU is all about working alongside local communities and youth to help tackle some of the serious issues facing young people. YSU also aims to build a youth center on a block of land that HopeBuilders International has purchased that will give support to youth in the area. You can check out more updates from Youth Support Uganda by visiting www.facebook.com/YouthSupportUganda

Home of Hope

Established in 2007, Home of Hope is a community based organization that takes care of children with multiple disabilities housed in a home. It also reaches out to such children in the community through its Occupational therapists and Physio-therapists who give them physical exercises and social workers as well who help teach the parents how to parent such children. Its outreach plans include counseling, small income generating projects for the parents and doing physical exercises with children. The main objectives of the Home of Hope are to:

Prevent the occurrence of secondary disabilities of children with multiple disabilities.
Create and increase the awareness to the parents and communities on the cause, prevention and management of multiple disabilities
Equip parents and communities with necessary skills on how to care for children with multiple disabilities.

Vision: A socially accepted, included, well cared for and involved community of children with multiple disabilities to acquire self help skills in order to live independently in Jinja and Uganda at large.

Mission: To enhance the health social and economic welfare of the children with multiple disabilities through the provision of their basic needs, mental development and psycho-social support to both the children and their care givers.

Find out more information at http://www.homeofhopeuganda.org

Schoolies Rev

Schoolies Rev is a 3-week trip to a developing country or region that is all about celebrating well and making a difference. It is a short-term mission trip that looks to impact the world and be exposed to the issues of poverty, while having a distinct schoolies flavour that emphasises fun, making friends and new experiences. On the trips, we get alongside local organisations that are making a difference. We seek to impact and influence the communities we visit, encourage the people working there and invest in their projects with our time and resources. Whoever comes on the trip to use their gifts and talents to serve the people we meet and to discover how they can impact the world when they return home. You won’t change the world in 3 weeks, but by partnering with local organisations we definitely have the opportunity to have a big impact. You could paint someone’s home, help set up an environmental project or even build a house! No matter what you can be sure that you will work in some practical ways and leave behind a visible impact! Mission: “To turn around a generation” – We seek to start a revolution – In our country and in 3rd-world countries. An alternative “schoolies” and a stand for something greater

Find out more information at http://schooliesrev.com.au

Jinja Christian School

Jinja Christian School was built in late 2012 / early 2013 and opened for the first day of Term 1 on 4th February, 2013.

It has been established to provide quality Christian education to children in the Jinja District. It is located in the village of Wairaka, just 10 minutes from central Jinja. It currently draws students from both the local area and from the wider Jinja District.

The teaching staff are all Ugandans who are working closely with the founders of the school, Anne and Ron Matheson, Australian teachers with over 50 years experience between them in Australian and International schools. Their aim is to provide the teachers with skills and resources to teach with a wider variety of teaching strategies to accommodate the different learning styles of the children in each class.

Find out more information at http://www.jinjachristianschool.ug