December 2010 Mission Trip
Another team plans to leave for Uganda in late December. The team will be led by Sue Waechter, our ACT Michigan Director, who has travelled to Uganda a number of times. Two students from Alma College’s SIFE group, Bill McHenry and Holly Oemke, will also be making the trip and will concentrate on the Muko Empowerment Program. Ashley Bair, a Senior at Michigan State and a member of our new church partner in Holt MI, will join the group and expand her social work background through our ACT Uganda Board Chairperson, Charles Tuhaise, whose career has been in that area. Dale Anderson will also be part of the team, bringing her sewing expertise. Dale is also a master gardener and will utilize those skills for the group as well, advising Tito on the wonderful vegetable garden beds he has begun.
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| Enjoying some of the nutritious vegetables from the garden | The women of Muko received some initial training for making sewn crafts on our trip last summer |
The objectives that the team hopes to accomplish are:
* Continue to build up the Muko Empowerment Program as a business with increasing villager participation and revenue. The SIFE Students will be meeting with and helping organize the business. They will return to the US with actions to complete to help our Ugandan partners in building the business. Some of the actions are likely to include: quality assurance of the products, product development, marketing, training of the women making the handcrafts, organization of the business itself in Muko, sustainable inventory both in Uganda and in the US for sales, additional sales venues here in the US.
* Dale will meet with the MEP women who are sewing projects. She will be helping them learn quilting techniques and design. She will also spend time with Tito Tugame, ACT Mobilization and Agricultural Officer, to discuss improvements and growth of ACT’s Agricultural program in Muko.
* Bill and Holly will meet with Alexander Gumoshabe, ACT MEP Manager to build the handcraft program and learn how SIFE can continue to support it.
* Ashley will work under the direction of Charles Tuhaise, Chair of the ACT-Muko Board and the President of the National Association of Social Workers in Uganda to work alongside Alex Twikirize who is the ACT Operations manager and oversees the other employees as well as the Muko HOPE orphan sponsorship program.
* The team will be involved in actions regarding the purchase of the ACT Office and/or land acquisition.
* The team will be checking in on the clinic solar power and water systems.
* Most importantly, the team will be there to fellowship with and worship with our Ugandan partners in ACT. As an outcome, we will all be re-energized to continue God’s work in Muko and the US.
(Posted 12 Nov 2010)
