Many Mansions of Christ International-Uganda: Update on Poultry Project progress October 2017-Ug...

Many Mansions of Christ International-Uganda: Update on Poultry Project progress October 2017-Ug...: From the last time we went to Soroti in February 2017 to see to the finishing of the roof after saving for a whole...

Update on Poultry Project progress October 2017-Uganda

From the last time we went to Soroti in February 2017 to see to the finishing of the roof after saving for a whole year,  we also saved again for 7 months so we could go back and see if we could actually start this project. We've used some of the money over the 7 months to plaster the store room and the largest room. We found it looking very nice and got our worker to thoroughly clean and disinfect to prepare for bringing chicks. 

We spent our first day there shopping for items we knew we would need like feeder trays and water cones and other supplies. In the village there is no piped water so we bought a water drum and some 5 gal cans so they can bring water from a near by water borehole at the school. Like this:  

Also, we repaired 2 bicycles that were around so they can carry the cans full of water. We hope yet to add gutters to the building and buy another water drum and collect rainwater so they can use it for cleaning. The chicks water is pure and fresh. Even people can drink water from a borehole without boiling it. It's quite delicious in fact! I've drank it and am  fine. 

The next day we hired a car and brought all the items we bought to the village. ​We bought gloves, gum boots, and jumpers for the workers, basins for cleaning and for stepping in disinfectant before entering the chick room, Papyrus mats and so much more.

The water drum was full of supplies

Then we held our Vet training:

​

Our Vet is a young man named Peter who just graduated from University with a full Veterinary degree. He has not found work yet so he decided to stay on daily and help us with the chicks. He has been invaluable to us and is only asking the same wage as the farm worker. 

​Peter the Vet

After the training, the next day,we went back to town and shopped for all the things we had no idea we needed but found out from Peter. LOTS of things. 

We had to have two brooding rings made from wire and thin wood to accommodate chicks up to 3 weeks old. We bought a LOT of charcoal and charcoal pots to keep them warm. We had purchased the biggest Solar we could afford but it isn't big enough to keep 60 watt lightbulbs over the chicks for warmth.It can only light reg, 7 w bulbs and we had to add two per room so the chicks could see at night to eat. .

Brooder ring in the making

We purchased a 50 watt panel. We bought a battery and a breaker box but still need an Inverter which will allow the staff to charge their phones at least. 

Solar panel on roof-50 watts

 ​We planted Maize behind the poultry house to hopefully use to mix with chicken feed when the chicks get bigger. The first two times we bought seeds and planted the drought dried all of it up. This crop is short but there is some corn there. We will see.....it can help save money on the feed costs. 

This area next to the biggest room where chicks are is where we will put up an outdoor enclosure. We don't have enough money for a wire fence so we are using Papyrus mats and poles to make it for now. Soon they will be able to peck around outside. We have a small enclosure there now even to get them out for a bit during the day and allow the farm worker to clean inside and put down new litter. We really want a permanent fenced in area coming from each room eventually. God willing.

Area next to house that will be fenced soon

We had to hang heavy curtains in the room to keep it so hot for the one day old chicks and even up til now. We hope to have wood shutters made in the future so that they can open and close as needed. They tell us that when it rains they have to move the chicks brooding rings to the side of the room so they don't get wet. We still need to plaster the outside of the building someday and even build some rooms off the backside and double the amount of chicks. 

First chicks are in the far right room now

Back side of poultry house which we want to make more rooms.

On the last day, October 5th we had to go back to Mityana. Later in the day the chicks arrived and the farm workers were ready. Sadly the company that transfers the one day chicks from far (about a 6 hour drive) made a mistake and they were loaded under the boot of the bus in their boxes and 90 died. (They should have been carried in the passenger area).Of the 310 we ordered we got 224 live one-day-old chicks. They gave us some for free they had at the store which is located about 2 hours from Soroti in Mbale Uganda. The company is reimbursing us the 90 chicks when we re-order again next time.

Of the 224, that night 2 died. Then a week later 2 more but they tell us they just weren't right from the start. Since then up til now, 220 chicks are there and have done VERY WELL! We thank our vet and farm workers for such a great job done!

 They are 3 weeks old now this Wed. They tell us they are jumping outside of their brooder and eating five cups of feed each day.

They are thriving and growing. The first 70 kg bag of starters mash chick feed is just about over. We bought 3 bags and it looks like we will use 1.5 bags which leaves 1.5 for the next batch of chicks. Today we bought their next feed which is called growers mash and is mixed with maize. 

We will hire a photographer and get more clear photos. 

Vaccinations have been costly too but necessary. They are refrigerated and there is no fridge around in the village so the exact day they need vaccinated someone rides a bike 9 km to town with a thermos and fills it with ice, buys the vaccine and brings it right back so they can inject the chicks. We hope one day to buy a motorcycle and have a large enough solar to buy a small fridge and run it. 

We had a donation from someone in U.S. so we decided to plaster the room to the left of the big room so we will get a photo of that too when we send a photographer to the village. 

In mid-November we would love to re-order those 90 chicks and add 110 to make 200 and start again. These birds take 3-4 months to grow to full weight for sales.  It could be 420 chickens x approx. 30,000 UGX each. 

The Many Mansions of Christ Intl. Poultry project is not fully self-sustainable yet but after 4 years of sacrificing and building and it is nice to see chicks there! Our donors have helped us immensely. 

We didn't come this far to just come this far. If anyone wishes to help us in these next few months until the sale of these chicks and even after we would be so thankful! We want to build another poultry house in Bugiri, Uganda.

 In Jesus' name! Amen!

Quarterly Report for April-June 2017

MANY MANSIONS OF CHRIST INTERNATIONAL

P.O BOX 294 MITYANA UGANDA

TELEPHONE: +256776551180

EMAIL: manymansions11@gmail.com

Quarterly Report for April-June 2017

Greetings once again to all our members, supporters and board members of MMOCI. Here are the activities, challenges, and way forward for the 3 months of April, May and June of 2017.

ACTIVITIES

EVANGELISM:

 In the month of April we were given an opportunity to minister during Easter to the congregation of Kitodha Pentecostal church in Bugiri, Uganda. 

Kitodha Pentecostal Church Bugiri, Uganda

In the same period of time we also ministered to orphans in Jinja, Uganda. They were happy to receive the message of God. Laundry soap was donated to the women caring for orphans at their community home.

Bridge of Hope Child Care Ministries Jinja, Uganda

A bit later we also ministered in Mityana Pentecostal Church. The message was well-received by the members in attendance.

In the month of May 2107, we were able to distribute some gospel tracts to students at Future Day and Boarding School in Bulenga, Uganda.  They were excited to read the message. We prayed and shared the Word of God with them at their school.

Future Day and Boarding School Bulenga, Uganda

       

  

                                     

 EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE:

Through our supporters from the UK and US we have been able to continue paying fees for the children both in Mityana and Soroti District respectively.

POULTRY PROJECT:

Through our continued support from Mick in the UK, we have managed to plaster a storage room and one large room of the poultry house. We hope to begin this long awaited project in the month of October2017 with as many chickens as we can and have saved for this far.  We are excited to be close to starting and would like to thank Mick Tulk for his continued prayers and support over these past years.

                                           Two rooms were plastered inside the poultry house

                                           

                                   The largest room of four finished and the Store Room (bottom)

AGRICULTURE:

We were informed by many poultry farmers that buying chicken feed was one of the major challenges in successfully managing a chicken project.  In response to this information we decided to commission families within Asuret Sub-county Soroti to grow maize for the project. 

Maize planted in June

        

VOLUNTEERS:

We have continued receiving gifts for kids from our UK volunteer Jill. Three children received scholastic materials and other gifts in the last quarter.

Opio John's uncle James receiving gift as Opio was away at school

  

 CHALLENGES

Lack of enough funds

In that quarter there was drought affecting agriculture in the areas where maize was planted for the project. 

WAY FORWARD

Continue reaching out to more children

Keep networking

Continue fund-raising for the poultry project

Keep praying for each other

CONCLUSION

We thank everyone who continues to support our ministry. May the Almighty God bless you!

Principal Director

Okumu Stephen

_____________________________

FINANCIAL REPORT FOR APRIL-JUNE 2017

Education           1310000 (UGX)

Rent                     1050000

Poultry                 1010000

Electricity             430,000

Water                     27,000

Internet                450,000

Evangelism            40,000

Food                      115,000

Stationary              57,500

Scholastic               20,000

Volunteers           480,000

Television             210,000

Transport                20,000

Communication    130,000

Agriculture            241,000

Grand Total:  5,590,500 UGX   ($1575 US)

Local Donations    $935 US   

Foreign Donations $640 US   = ($1575 US)

Update on Poultry Project:

https://www.canva.com/design/DACbrs7ZuTU/1tJ4IFYaM9hra0IllrzXJw/view?utm_content=DACbrs7ZuTU&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=sharebutton

As of now we are are targeting buying chicks by the end of September or early October. We have about $500 saved and need about that much and more to be sure we can pay workers and feed the chicken until they are grown in December. Two rooms have been plastered; the store room and the largest room. If we could finish the other two rooms we could plan to save for another 200-300 chicks to be raised in them. We still need solar as there is no power in the village. This project has been 4 long years in the making and we are ready to get going and get to the business of helping so many impoverished Ugandans! Please help us to help others! In Jesus Name. For His Glory!

Poultry Project Brochure for Many Mansions of Christ Intl. / Uganda

Poultry Project Brochure for Many Mansions of Christ Intl. / Uganda

https://www.canva.com/design/DACNuWp2JOQ/XAOsHf21GytaV9K6XzAr6Q/view?utm_content=DACNuWp2JOQ&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=sharebutton

We are still awaiting funding for this project. To date we have received $175. The next phase of building completion is to plaster the walls inside. The estimate from the builder is $332 USD total for 4 rooms. We will plaster 1 room for chicks and 1 storage room next month with the donations raised so far.

If anyone is interested in helping us to help others, please contribute. Information is on the brochure how to help us. or

PAYPAL.ME/CHERYLDERBY

I have a question.....

I would consider myself a fairly positive person.  Open minded and able to speak my mind freely. Anyone who knows me well knows that I am very straightforward. I don’t believe in mixing my words with rainbow-colored unicorn nonsense.  A lot of words stay tucked away neatly in my head because my momma taught me that if I can’t say anything nice don’t say anything at all. Overall, I am a nice girl. I am not a sarcastic person but I have a wicked sense of humor. I later in life attributed that quality to being a nurse for so many years. When you’ve seen what I have coming out of a human body….. or going into….well let’s just say “it’s laugh or cry”. You develop coping skills. 

Actually, that’s another story. This one is about something on my mind lately that I can’t keep compartmentalized anymore in my brain. It’s leaking out daily into my everyday thoughts and I’m trying to understand it. I am confused. Maybe a bit depressed. I am for sure profoundly disappointed and extremely sad. It’s a question mark that fills the entire spectrum of my understanding these days.

When I was little, I mean even from 6 years old, when I attended Catholic school, we were infiltrated with reel-to reel tapes of Mother Teresa caring for the Lepers in Calcutta or Bangladesh. I am still not sure where all these years later but as a child it seemed a desperate lonely place with one smiling little woman hugging disfigured people. I felt compassion inside my chest. I would lay awake at night thinking about it. I attended Catechism classes on Monday nights at 7. All through the years they taught us charity. We helped others. We felt compassion. We wanted to make someone’s life a little better, even for a day. We did local mission work. Cleaning a house for an elderly person, sweeping a neighborhood. Just because it was the right thing to do.

I was a Girl Scout. We were taught to help others and be kind and considerate. We held fundraisers, visited animal shelters. Sold cookies…. yup THOSE cookies. We were involved in our communities. It was not about ourselves but what we could do for humanity. We were taught to think outside ourselves. To care. To love one another. Maybe I lived in a grand time in history when those things were still a priority. When as Mother Teresa said “if you can’t feed the masses, then feed just one”.

Fast forward to today. I live in a small landlocked, devastatingly poor country deep in the heart of Africa. I am 9,000 miles from anything comfortable. I chose to be here. I saw suffering and thought I could help. Even though I have an incurable autoimmune disease called Lupus. I figured before I died I could get in one last effort to “feed just one”.  It’s ingrained in me. No matter how discouraged I get I cannot shake the compassion I feel in my heart for people.

With today’s media outlets, the world is not so big anymore. We see everything.  Television news is our window to the world. We see children killed in Syria and families on the move, migrating around world looking for a place to sleep, often in a white tent on a donated thin mattress. We see senseless acts of violence in civilized places. People used to think Africa was the barbaric place on the planet. I see more nonsense on the world news from other places. People ‘over there’ seem to care only about themselves. It’s ‘me and mine’ only. When I was a kid if someone in the neighborhood had a family problem like a death or a medical problem we rushed in with casseroles and a hug.

I have chosen, in my 4 years in Africa, to shield my friends and family from the atrocities of poverty I see daily.  I could use social media to portray the harsh realities. Every day on the news there has been another child mutilated and killed in ritualistic sacrifices ordered by the witch doctors. The reason people went to the witch doctor to begin with? To keep their husband from cheating. Or to ‘get rich’. Or maybe they had a dispute with another clan and want to put a curse on them. ‘Witch doctoring’ is big business in Uganda. Even pastors frequent them. Poverty creates ingenuity. When you have to feed your kids you can even exploit mass ignorance to get money. Even if it means stealing and cutting up children.

Daily there are accidents on the pothole ridden and rain-washed-away roads. Government corruption is rampant. Public transportation is the main mode of getting around. Taxi vans stuff people in on top of one another to get more money. When they crash because the driver was speeding so he could get in enough trips in that day, bodies lay torn open and intestines and brains spilling out on the road. I see it on the news. There are no seat belts or air bags. There are very few ambulances and medical centers are horrible beyond description. In America we take our dogs to veterinary hospitals 100 times better than a human hospital in Uganda. I could share the photos and create a shock factor to ask for money but I just can’t. If  ask for help..... am I asking on a whim? To buy myself a Lexus? I could've stayed in my comfortable country but I am a human advocate. I would fight for you no matter where you lived. So I keep questioning in my mind how when I ask for help…. how am I ignored?

I came here to feed just one. I am on a very low fixed income. I try to feed who I can. When they come barefoot to my door, I give them my shoes. I am running out of shoes. I give them any extra money I have in a month. The requests vary from school fees to enough money to buy $5 Malaria medicine so their child can live. Malaria kills many little kids here. It may be even less than $5. Many are just hungry. Let me say that again. They are JUST HUNGRY.

Recently I put out a brochure to finish an on-going income-generating project to provide money to help MORE people. I appealed to my friends and family one time so as to not have to ask again. God bless the small few who responded. I will use every penny towards the project. I am not giving up. I will keep praying and believe in time I can finish the project on my own with my meager resources. Even if it takes 4 MORE years. If I live 4 more years. If there will be any people left to help. They are dying of hunger these days. Drought sucks. I won’t show photos of those ones on my social media but I may keep asking for help…. to help just one. And then hopefully…… maybe……...the masses. 

  In the meantime I will keep having this big question in my mind………….

Does anyone make and deliver casseroles anymore?

Chip in for a Chick- Many Mansions of Christ Intl. 2017 fundraiser

https://www.canva.com/design/DACNuWp2JOQ/XAOsHf21GytaV9K6XzAr6Q/view?utm_content=DACNuWp2JOQ&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=sharebutton

Greetings from Uganda!                                                  April 2, 2017

We hope you are well and 2017 has been good so far. We are okay here in Africa though drought has affected many of our friends and family. Most people here are subsistence farmers and with crops dried out before harvest time, words like ‘food insecurity’ and ‘starvation’ dominate the news.

We are here to help those we can and have been doing so since 2013. Even when someone comes to our door hungry, we give from our own stock; usually fresh produce, rice, beans, pasta, or some small money but these days the numbers are increasing. People were already poor.

We have posted a brochure about a fundraiser we are holding for the completion of our income-generating project. We began this ministry project in 2013 and are close to making it operational. We have saved and sacrificed to slowly get this far but now due to the severity of the situation we are doing something we’ve never done before……..asking for your assistance.

We know times are tough for most right now. We have not made it our practice to ask for anything and we are humbled completely when someone gives us a donation of any amount.  If you feel it on your heart to help us, know that our goal for the ministry is to be self-sufficient and quickly able to respond to the needs of as many as we can; here in Uganda and one day around the world.

Thank you for your time, interest and consideration. We offer an invitation to any of you to come visit us in Uganda and have a fascinating experience!

Love, Cheryl and Stephen