- Olivia Foster
Happy New Year and we at The Angel Projects of America, wish you a healthy and happy 2021!
I am looking forward…. Forward to a new year, new projects and an overall new refreshing outlook. 2020 has been difficult for all of us to be able to look forward because each day was looking bleaker than the previous and hope was getting more elusive.
What is Really Important in Life?
It is important to keep up with the current news of the day, but a wonderful sermon on the first Sunday of 2021 reminded me that my purpose in life is what is really important… the purpose that God laid out for me over 10 years ago. That is my primary focus; elections come and go, politicians come and go, policies come and go and have for many years… the real stability is God. His purpose for me and the hope and love I can continue to spread throughout this world. I take my comfort from Psalm 121; I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. My strength and hope doesn’t come from man, who is fallible, but from God who is ever present. Each mission… each year … each step I’ve witnessed miracles that defy explanation and I have the faith to know where those miracles come from and I pray that I am able to witness more.
2020 brought COVID19 to our world and created a very unstable environment for many people. The people in the Philippines and in Uganda where my mission is located, were who I worry about because of their lack of water, medicines, food, opportunity to work, and most of all food insecurities.
God provided through the hearts and minds of so many supporters who made it happen that we were able to care for and provide food and hygiene products for over 240 households; educate 71 students while the schools have been closed; continue our bakery in Uganda with sales each Friday at the local market as well as sell produce from our farms; and most importantly, install 535 tippy taps (handwashing stations) to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, promote good health and hygiene through demonstration, education and training.
These are just of few of the projects that we were able to create and retain throughout 2020! God is good and so are YOU!!! Thank you for your support and we look forward to so much more in 2021!
Next time I will speak more on our new projects we look forward to starting in July 2021! Stay safe, strong and most importantly… hopeful!!
--Olivia
What's Happening in Uganda
Good morning! It has been a busy day working on The Angel Projects Uganda tippytaps (handwashing stations). Today we redistributed many tippytaps because some of them have dismantled and the soap was taken; believing that the people who took the soap will use it where it is needed.
We believe we must do more than just install them, but we must also maintain them so they are able to do their jobs properly; which is to help keep the community free from COVID19
--Gaud
Update From our Newest Project Manager
Hi everyone! Every time I meet with one of the elders, it is always a moment of joy that we all experience, I have been at Yudesi's home today to help with domestic work, she finds it difficult to clean around her home, so my team and I visit regularly to help! We also make sure she has what she needs to eat. She told us today that her stress and worry has lowered significantly since we have started regular visits to her. My team are so happy to be apart of this wonderful experience.
--Morenne
Moving Forward
Addressing Period Poverty
Along with the expansion and training happening with the Bakery in Uganda shown in our previous newsletter, I also have plans to expand on the reusable sanitary pads that I touched on in 2019. The reason that these products are so important in this region is that menstrual products are unaffordable for many families. Girls who are in school are particularly affected by this as they miss class or go home during class because they are not fully protected from the cloth that they use. Education is the most important tool that can be used to eradicate poverty, so it is important to not let girls miss out on class because their bodies are doing simply what they are supposed to.
In 2019 I did research and took bamboo fleece fabric and sewing patterns to Uganda to make a start at addressing this issue. We held a workshop with 50 young girls who were taught how to make their pads. The workshop was successful, but the quality was not the best because hand sewing was not able to create strong stitching needed.
Moving forward, I will look for absorbent fabrics that can be obtained locally ensuring sustainability and to also incorporate our tailoring group to this project. With their skills our tailoring women will be able to create stronger and more reliable sanitary pads for those who need them. This change opens the door for our tailors to sell these products in the market and generate an income for themselves and their families. This will also give all our wonderful sponsors and donors the opportunity to buy and donate products to the schoolgirls who need them. However, hand stitching workshops will still be held for girls who wish to know how to make their own at home.
-Danielle
Happy New Year
Well, this past year has been completely unexpected, to say the least! Amid all the craziness that came along with COVID in 2020, the biggest disappointment for me personally was having to cancel our trip to Uganda. We have so many friends there, not to mention all the projects that I love helping with, and it was sad to have to postpone our trip until 2021. Still, God was faithful to our organization, and 2020 proved to be a year of blessing for The Angel Projects. Because of the donations and government funding we received, all our projects were fully funded all year! We were even able to start some new projects and hire a new Ugandan staff member. It was a great reminder that yes, God uses us to serve His people when we are physically in Uganda, but He continues to move and to be with us no matter where we are!
Now that it is 2021, I am really looking forward to heading back to Uganda at the end of July, God willing. What I am most looking forward to is seeing the children and interacting with them. There is nothing as heartwarming as seeing their little fingers poking through the fence and their little eyes peeking at us when we first get up each morning. I am so looking forward to walking through the villages and picking up every baby I can find; they are just so sweet! I cannot wait to teach the Bible classes again; it makes me so happy when the children remember what they have learned in class and repeat it back to me when they see me later in the village. I feel blessed and humbled that God may use me, in some small way, to impact the lives of these children eternally.
The other event that I am really looking forward to is our women’s conference. We work with women from several different villages in the Rubuguri area, and it is such a pleasure for me when they all gather to sing and dance, share a meal, play games, and learn about God. How can I describe the joy I feel to see all their smiling faces together in one place? It is a huge blessing to be a part of it, and it gets better each year as we continue to get to know the women and develop our relationships. I cannot wait to see them all again!
I pray that, no matter what 2021 brings, we will guide our organization according to God’s will.I know that He will bless us in any circumstance, and it is a true privilege to work for Him in helping to make other people’s lives better.It makes my life so much better.Thank you to all our sponsors and prayer partners—you make our dreams come true!
--Susan