For this trip we had 3 guests with us – Jo and her 2 nieces, Flora and Ruby. We all had an amazing trip and I thought you might like to hear their thoughts:
The trip was particularly special for me, as 10 years ago I visited Metro Kids in South Africa and absolutely loved the experience. As in South Africa, I felt so welcomed by David, Viola, Florence and the whole team in Uganda, not to mention the children at each school we visited. I have never seen so many avocados, nor received so many as gifts! The generosity, hospitality and kindness of everyone we met, from school teachers to the families of sponsored children really embodied one of the Metro Kids lessons we saw: “It is better to give than to receive,” and has challenged me to do the same. Meeting and hearing from the families of sponsored children really demonstrated the importance of the support the sponsored children programme provided. Almost every family we visited mentioned how the programme allowed them to better support their family as a whole, having the security of knowing that one child is consistently supported by their sponsor.
A highlight of the trip was teaching children in each school new games using the parachute! Enabling hundreds of children to have a go with the parachute each day was intense- and I had the blisters to prove it!! It’s great to see that children still go as wild for the parachute as I used to when James would get it out in Kids Church 20 years ago! I was extremely grateful to have David and Simon as our co-hosts of the parachute games, as there were a few cultural differences to overcome. ‘Cat and mouse’ was quickly changed to ‘Cat and rat’ .
The joy and learning that the Metro Kids programme brings to Uganda, in areas where few organisations are providing support to schools, is evident. It was such a privilege to be able to visit just for a short period of time, and see the widespread impact that Metro Kids brings.
Over all I came home with an understanding of the great work Metro Kids are doing in Uganda and what additional support they need.
In 2 weeks I merely scratched the surface of schooling in Uganda. Everywhere we drove there were hundreds and hundreds of children and lots and lots of schools. But still not enough schools. Getting these often tiny children into full time education takes an army of dedicated teachers and staff and people like James and Janet.
I was able to visit 2 of the children I sponsor. Faith and Edrick, both very different. And with different needs. I was upset to see Edrick had no shoes – yet he still walked miles to school and back each day. The first thing I did was buy him 2 pairs of shoes and ask him to promise to tell me when they became too small. Faith is a border at her school and we visited her family and she got to meet her 5 day old baby sister – she had not seen her before – nor did she know if she had a brother or sister. Life is so very different for these children.
Metro Kids can’t buy all the kids shoes, they can’t feed all the families and they can’t provide mosquito nets for all. What they can do is encourage us to donate, to hold events and even if you’re doing a 10k run – do it for Metro Kids. Such a small gesture as shoes makes such a different to these children’s lives.
We would listen to the MKA staff run through the programme with singing, dancing, drumming, a Bible verse and a life lesson before introducing ourselves and playing games with the children. The kids went absolutely wild when we got the parachute out and really showed us up with their skipping skills.
After wrapping up the parachute chaos of the morning, we would spend the afternoon visiting the sponsored children’s homes; an experience I found simultaneously humbling and inspiring. I was immediately struck by the generosity of the families we visited, and have never in my life been made to feel so incredibly welcome. Although monetarily, most of them had very little, every single parent we spoke to was overflowing with gratitude for the support their children have received through MKA. We received innumerable thank you gifts; from huge sacks of avocados and bananas to hand weaved baskets and brooms. It was so evident from this response just how vital the child sponsorship programme MKA runs is. Without it, many of these families would not be able to cover the school fees, and their children could not complete the education that they value so highly.
I’m so grateful for the short time I spent with Janet and James in Masaka- to have seen firsthand the impact that their years of dedication and trust in God is having on the lives of thousands of children in Uganda, and I’m really excited to see their ministry continue to thrive and grow!
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We love having people visit our work! If anyone wants to visit South Africa or Uganda please just email me
Thank you as always for the support that you give which enables MKA to continue to serve and care for children.
Janet, James and all at MKA
