|
Meet the Link Family here
|
|
|
2007 Projects |
| 2006 Teams and News | |
| Update April | |
| Gavin's Adventures | |
| Girls Team | |
| St David's College Team | |
| 2005 Teams and News | |
| St David's College Team | |
| Opening of the new classrooms at Katwe | |
| Vehicles for hire in Kampala more info | |
 |
|
|
|
| Cytûn Llandudno - Saint David's College
Uganda Link Visit 18th November to 2nd December 2005 Visiting Team: The Revd Tim Hall (St David's College), Revd Peter Marshall (Llangystenin Parish), Rachel Hall (St Thomas', Sheffield) and Robert Williams-Day (St David's College and St Giles, Wrexham)  Purpose:
 Tim declares the new classrooms well and truly open. Katwe United School This school is in a shanty town in Kampala. It is the community in which John was brought up and where he went to school until he was 14.  Pupils at Katwe United School enjoy their new classrooms. The visit was quite remarkable, with parents and friends filling the outside area and the children singing and dancing for hours on end. We arrived mid-way through at 12 noon and left before the end at 5 pm. The welcome as huge and the impact of the St David’s pupils last summer was extraordinary.  Amazing happiness on the faces of the children. 2005 Visit Clearly this had gone exceptionally well. John and I examined safety issues at the Centre – fire precautions, electricity, security – and put procedures in place as required. It was decided that all visitors should enjoy the local food and Annette and Sophie will provide all hospitality. Visitors will not be permitted to cook or provide their own food. 2006 VisitThe aim of this visit will be to work in Katwe School, doing games, dance, and creative activities with the children. The pupils will also be given opportunities to explore the area and experience African culture. The possibility of a period of time in Rwanda is also being explored. The headmistress also welcomed the possibility of 3rd year teacher training students from Leeds serving a two week placement in Katwe School – there are tentative plans for the placement to be in June 2006.  Artist’s impression of the new accommodation unit at the Link Centre (by Tobias Morris, St David’s College). Future
Plans  A ‘Toyota Taxi’ – the sort of vehicle needed for the Link Centre. We agreed to launch a minibus appeal – our main concern is the safe travel of visitors. Currently this happens by hired Taxis (see picture!). These Toyota 15 seaters are often in a dire state of repair with ‘mental’ drivers! I am concerned that we are able to provide a vehicle in good state of repair and use a regular driver employed by the Centre. The cost to purchase such a vehicle newly imported from Japan is £7000. This project would also be self-sustaining as the vehicle would be rented with our own driver to churches and other Christian visitors to Kampala. The vision has always been to extend the work into Rwanda and our dream is to have a Centre on the Kampala model in Kigali within 3 years. We were able to spend some time in Rwanda and share John’s grief with him over the loss of his brothers in the conflict leading to the genocide in 1994. this experience was deeply moving. A remarkable meeting took place whilst we were in Rwanda – a close advisor to the President’s came to meet us at our hotel and we were able to discuss John’s personal plans for his involvement in the rebuilding of his country as well as the work of the Link. The Trust John and I were able to begin work on a Trust document with a lawyer in Kampala – another of John’s faithful supporters. With superb legal advice we were able to finalise a signed and witnessed statement of intention for the Trust, which will be formed in the UK and registered in Uganda and then Rwanda. Given support and the necessary advice and expertise we are hoping to have the Trust established within the next 6 months.  Robert Williams-Day and Rachael Mukunde with Tim and John (Rachel and Robert have just dug the first turf for the new accommodation unit as a symbol of young people across the world uniting together to plan for the future of their world). Robert Williams-Day We were thrilled to have Robert with us and he demonstrated remarkable skills at integrating young people at the Centre (Robert and Rachel Mukunde cut the turf together for the new building – see photograph). He will be thrown fully into the new building project as well as helping in the Sunday School at St Luke’s Ntinda, and being fully part of their youth group. Robert is planning to stay for another 4 months.  Tim speaks to the youth at St Luke’s Church, Ntinda. The Local Church and the Centre I am very hopeful that Robert’s link with St Luke’s will generate a permanent link between the Centre and the Church and future visitors to the Centre. During our stay at the Centre we were privileged to speak at St Luke’s Church as well as to their young people’s group ( see photograph). It was also very exciting to spend a day with Pastor Sarah in another shanty town area of Kampala and spend the morning running a children’s programme and the afternoon with the adult church. On a wider sphere we were able to spend an overnight stay in a remote subsistence village of N’gara in the Kigezi Diocese. We visited the new Cathedral of Kigezi and spoke in the Church at N’gara and took the school assembly. This visit made a lasting impression and I am sure has set up opportunities for further visits.  Robert is welcomed into St Luke's Youth Group  Kigezi Cathedral  The Church at N'gara And finally - a very special moment One remarkable moment was our visit to John’s mum’s home in Kitintale. This is a typical shanty town, noisy, open sewers, deeply rutted unmade roads, and a mixture of the poorest shacks and some self-help improved homes. We drove through the noise and heat and dust of the shanty and turned a corner, in front of us was a steel gate.  The beautiful compound and buildings John built for his mother which he began to build as a 17 year old! We walked though into a haven of peace, cleanliness and order (see photograph). This was the compound John built for his mother in 1993 when he was just 17 years old and staying with us at St David’s College. He had been worried about his mother’s health and security while he studied here in the UK. We raised a little money and sent John home one holiday to find somewhere for his mum to live – he bought the land and built this amazing haven within her shanty town. The tiny thing we thought we were doing for John at that time had the most amazing impact – this small act gave this gracious lady (who is a refugee and does not read or write) not just a home but a life and dignity. And there is more!  John’s mother hosts the team on the porch outside her room. The compound has several buildings that John has built and John’s mother could live in a lovely little bungalow but she doesn’t. She shares one tiny room 8’x 8’ with a 15 year old boy, Abdul. Abdul is an aids orphan and with the money she has from renting the other accommodation in the compound she feeds them both and enables Abdul to go to school. Thank you all so much for your prayer and support, so much was achieved during this short visit to Africa and so many people were encouraged. The impact on us was massive, too! Blessings, Tim |
