Below is an article from the October 9, 2017, edition of the Grand Haven Tribune about the ministry of our church.
Eight boxes of clothing, 50 pairs of shoes and 75 pairs of flip flops, along with school supplies have been sent to Call to Care Uganda in Connecticut to support a primary school and the surrounding neighborhoods.
Call to Care Midwest Regional Director Sue Morriss said the clothes were donated by Debra Rouiller, owner of Trendy Tots of Spring Lake. The shoes and school supplies were collected by members of St. John’s Episcopal Church.
The Unity School, which began operation in February with 40 early elementary children, is located in an impoverished bush area of Uganda called Kaberamaido.
It was designed to provide access to education to smaller children who cannot walk the great distance to other schools.
In 2016, the Call to Care Uganda organization partnered with the CHICA Foundation of The Netherlands to begin construction of this nursery and primary school. The school is now functioning with two individual classrooms, a kitchen building, a teacher meeting/conference building, latrines, a school office, and a supply storage area. Additional classrooms will be constructed yearly as money is raised.
Ugandan Chairman the Rev. Chris Ochaloi, originally from Kaberamaido, works very closely with Call to Care to support the ongoing needs of the children and to plan for the school's development overall, Morriss said.
Donations collected by Call to Care Uganda are kept in storage until shipment in November. Then it takes a couple months for the items to arrive. The proceeds of craft sales at the church are used to pay for shipment.
St. John’s Episcopal Church will continue to collect items for Call to Care Uganda. Hygiene items are being collected in March, while first aid supplies will be requested in November. On schedule for December is children’s books.
Morriss said volunteers have to remove plastic wrap, ties or tags, because the Ugandans have no way to dispose of them. They put rubber bands around items to hold them together, because that is something that can be reused.
“It’s really exciting, because a little bit of effort on our part goes a long way,” Morriss said.
For more information, visit www.calltocareuganda.org, or contact Morriss at susanmorr@aol.com