... and Joel ...

who is in training for the  ..umm.. running off a high board at top speed event?

Silas - having been inspired by the velodrome ...

...he is still working on his streamlined stance!...

How to carry a lot of things in one go ...

red, yellow, black - Ugandas answer to the Union Jack

We have recently celebrated 50 years Independence and a big football match against Zambia - so the city of Kampala came out all colours.  People decorated the roundabouts, their lorries, the lamp-posts and themselves ... it was all very colourful!

Julies birthday..

..a local take away and plenty of little gifts ... Julie is now 20.

Jaffa Cakes.

The legacy left by our friendly 14yr old, Jack Norridge - how to peel and stick jaffa cakes to your head!

Summer fun - Emma is here ..

Our friend Emma Sly came to spend time here and do normal life with the Browns - what a brave lady!  We all loved having her around ... she ate ugandan food, had cold showers, slept with the IY girls in the dormitory, and was generally great...

Summer fun ..Jack is here..

Jack Norridge comes to stay ... and now Joel is happy about the summer :

 friends make all the difference!

working at the New Hope fishery ...

supervising building at Aunty Judiths new house ...

..planting seedlings at the Enterprise Farm - New Hope

...and of course compulsory machete wielding practice!

Summer fun ... Silas' birthday

collecting Silas' birthday present - a bike on a bike..!

Using his new basketball and hoop - getting some basketball coaching from Emma who came to stay with us for 3+ weeks...

...and practicing some mean moves in his new Tai Kwondo suit!

A day in the life.....

A DAY IN THE LIFE

I am doing my internship at Ntinda School for the deaf in Nakawa Division. 

My first time of going there I was challenged by the sign language but as time went on I learnt some and I was able to communicate with teachers plus the students. 

I have also managed to help in teaching, marking books and any other activity that is around. I have also acquired the skill of transplanting because the Kabira pupils used to come and work in the school garden with us. Also moving to and fro has helped me to know different places which I didn’t before. It has also enabled me to know how to use a computer.  In addition, I have known how to handle a deaf child and it has helped me realise that I want to pursue teaching as a career.

Interviews

WHAT REALLY AN INTERVIEW IS TO ME

An interview is a time of great panic, fear and a time of losing one’s confidence and words. The first time I had an interview was during the beginning of my first internship in investment year at Bugolobi in Kampala with the GOOD AFRICAN COFFEE.   

This time I was tested how confident I was and I did fail the Interview.  After failing I believed I was a failure and thought that was the end of me since we had learned everything about interviews and some of the questions that can be asked and how to answer them. After two days I was surprised to hear that I was still  allowed to  do the internship from that company. 

After the end of the internship, I believe I gained confidence better than I had before. I gained it from talking  to people whom I worked with ,who sometimes teased me yet they where were teaching me how to be confident .I also gained it from uncle Steve who encouraged me on that day when I felt like I was a failure after the interview.

the forge

As Investment continues to develop we are always looking for new opportunities for the students to gain new skills. As an IY team we encourage self sufficiency in our students as well as for the programme and so we look for new business opportunities. Steve/IY is partnering with the farm at the site out there and the guy who manages it.... they have set up an outlet where produce from the farm can be sold to the community/teams/visitors.... we also sell the IY coffee, craft items that Steve sources from local places around Uganda,and chapattis that  made on site.    It is giving good opportunities for the IYs who work there on placement to manage the shop, keep accounts, order and source the right produce, market the business etc.. We are on average taking about £100 -£150 per week, the business is gradually growing and we have been really encouraged how this opportunity has brought out entrepreneurial skills in the young people who have worked there so far.  They have really taken up the challenge of setting up a new business from scratch...the building we are using was an old garage/mechanic area so they have had to re design and tidy it up a lot to make it suitable for our use.  The longer term plan is that we can have a cafe area where we can sell cups of coffee that we brew on site.

..good day good day...

...good day for Rose (one of our IYs) who has touched the keys of a computer for the first time in her life - she is now following a programme that will help her learn to type...

...good day for Anya and Silas who have now finished school and are enjoying friends being around. (The little girl is Ava, who shared a bed with Silas during their firs 6 months or so at Hope Family baby home ... ahh).

...good day, bad day...

Bad day for our young lettuce seedlings which got covered in concrete from the improvements going on on top of the wall that surrounds the house! ...we have just a little bit of hope that they will recover ...

Good day for Silas who lost another tooth and is now waiting for the tooth fairy....