Introduction It has been a busy month with a number of activities taking place. The most important has been to assess the new children for the school and to settle them down.   We do thank God that although things have been challenging His grace has been sufficient and has seen us all through.   Health The new children came with chicken pox and it has gone through all my children and for the whole of the month under review, we have been shuttling between the home and the hospital in Mbale. As I send this the magnitude of the problem is still high but manageable and currently we are nursing; Esther, Wycliffe, Joel, Jackline. The rest have recovered and seems to have overcome the illnesses.   In the course of the month, we took about 13 children to the dentist and their dental problems addressed. Betty Namutosi was also taken to an orthopedic surgeon who told us that her problem could not be addressed but advised that we need to encourage her and do some physiotherapy regularly. There are also some isolated cases of malaria and cough as we move from dry season to a wet weather condition.

The district health educator visited the home and carried out instruction on malaria prevention. The Sub county health inspector and the sub county chief made some inspection visit of the facility to ensure that the children are in a good and health environment.   Meals We continue to offer all the mandatory four meals a day for the children. We also ensure that a balanced diet is offered as much as possible so that we may keep our children healthy.    TGN The last Saturday of the month we could not hold the Good Neighbor fellowship because of the chicken pox. However, we believe it could be done at the end of the month of March 2008. Despite the out break of chicken pox the children who are not down continued to go for fellowship at the local church.   We are grateful to the members who offered to help the good neighbor child Paul Mutenyo through Pastor Morris’s church to undergo an ENT surgery in the month of March. Thank you brethren for your kind gesture.   The School The school was opened for the New Year in the first week of February. Furniture and all the necessary resources and text books to start off the school were purchased and provided. Effort is also being done to ensure that the standard of the children is uplifted to recover the lost time and opportunities and that they can be able to cope with the requirement for the curriculum. We are working with the teachers to ensure that we avail more time of teaching to the children particularly those in the upper primary classes.

We are working towards registering and licensing the school with the local government and the ministry of Health. This will further help us to prepare for the opening up of the school to the local community in January of 2009   Study Tour The children of Primary five visited an apiary farm some 15 Km away from the home. It was the first of its kind and the children who participated in the tour were greatly enriched by what they saw. We do hope that in the next few months before the summer season, our children may go for a study tour in some places around Kampala and Entebbe.   School Toilet The pour flush toilet for the school is in the final stages of completion. We are also working on the feasibility of harvesting the rain water at the school for the purposes of supporting this kind of toilet. We appeal for your generosity to make this come to pass.   Garden Work We are preparing the gardens for the first season of planting. We are also looking around for arable land for purchase. As soon as we get it, the GICF Board has already assured us of some funding for its purchase so that we can effectively contribute to the food needs of the children.    We are also working towards establishing a poultry house for chicken. The cows are growing and we are optimistic that in the course of this year we may start having our own milk at the house. The goats are also increasing in number.

Notable Visitors In February, the home hosted a delegation from Gulu District Local Government, who had visited their counterpart in Mbale. The delegation was led to the home by the district chairperson Hon Bernard Mujjasi accompanied by Hon Norbert Mao the chairperson Gulu district.   A number of guardians/relatives came to visit the children and we encouraged them to regularly visit as a means of servicing the link between the children and their relatives.   Children visit to their former homes At the beginning of the month, six children were taken back to their homes to visit and be updated on what was going on in their families. This was a one day activity and it was tiring but fulfilling for the relatives, the children and the staff who accompanied the children.   Summer visit Summer is around the corner and we appeal to you all our supporters if God wills that you may come and see what God is doing in Uganda. We pray for His continued providence so that you continue to be such a great source of great transformation that is currently taking place in Uganda   Improvement of the facilities We have made some improvement in the kitchen using some improved technology that saves charcoal and firewood. We look forward to starting the construction of the health unit, the school administration and the library. We are also praying for solar energy installation to help us further improve the facility. We are praying for water harvesting that could enable us to cut the costs in relation to the operations   We are also inviting you to come this summer to see what God is doing in Uganda.   Thank you all for your continued support that is transforming lives of many in Uganda. Glory and honor to our God.