Preparing our Angels

Have you ever heard the phrase "Prepare the child for the road, not the road for the child?"  Instead of trying to remove all obstacles and prepare the way for the children in our Home of Angels, we are in the process now of preparing and equipping them to deal with the difficulties they will encounter on the road ahead.  No matter what those difficulties are throughout their lives, we want them to be prepared to face them in the strength of our Lord.  To know He protects and fights for all of us as a loving parent.  We are currently in the process of doing just that and when the time comes for the older children to leave and spread their wings, they will be prepared.

Thanks to technology, even I get to watch the construction of the primary school on the same compound as the existing nursery school.  It will be a 2-story structure accommodating 240 kids.  The local school will be closed within the next few weeks due to internal problems which means our children will all have school in February when their holidays are over.  It's also sad to know that 250+ kids in our area will not,  but over time, when we can work out the kinks, we can bring many in.

We have also decided to use the empty apartment on our home compound to train the children for a trade that will help them when they leave.  Education is important, but for our kids and what has happened to them in the past, they really struggle.  When we go back in January, it will be discussed in a meeting how this will all look. We already have some very good ideas and will share them soon.

It's been difficult for Edwin to take many pictures because of the torrential rains but he did manage to get some important ones.

The nurses from the main hospital in Jinja came to our nursery school to administer measles shots.  The other children had theirs earlier in the year.

Our aunty Hadeja is finally healed enough where she is able to come back and help the other aunties with light jobs only.  When her baby died she was in the hospital for two months and every 12 hours, either aunty Joy or Edwin's wife Precious would take shifts to be with her.  She was never alone.

There are currently 15 crew working on building the school.  It was perfect timing because the nursery school children are on holiday and the noise won't affect their education.  A hoe, large hammer, shovel, LOTS of muscle and a 10-year-old wheelbarrow is all they have to work with.

Edwin and the Uganda board decided to move the location to face the nursery school so that the open area at the end will be large enough for the playground donated by the Tsawwassen Rotary.  We will still have six banana trees and our mango tree.  That was one tree we all dreaded losing.

The entrance gate will now be moved to the middle of the wall giving easier access from the road into both schools.

The rocks are delivered in large piles everywhere.

The men take large hammers and smash them one by one until they look like gravel.

You can imagine the hard work this all entails but you will never hear a complaint because of the gratitude they have for the work.  7 days a week from 7am to 7pm.

Our nursery school teachers are amazing.  They really care about the children's education and will provide a party at the end of the year to celebrate their enthusiasm and good grades.  We will also be hiring the same quality teachers for the children in primary school.

I honestly don't know how Edwin does this.  He can go to the market and choose exactly the right size of clothes and shoes for every child.  He can look at a foot and can tell the size or length of the dress or skirt and honestly, they're really lovely.



I really want to express how much we believe God is in full control of this project both in Canada and in Uganda. The CRA processed our charity application in only 2 months which allows us to accept donations in other ways than the cheque.  We are blessed to have a place for testing malaria and to help burn victims.  (lots of pictures in the next blog) and also the perfect location to train children for a trade.  It's all about "Preparing our Angels"

Without all of you helping, we could not have done any of this.  Thank you so very much for helping us to change these children's lives.

Mending Hearts

It's been almost 10 years since Edwin asked me to help him build a small and very humble home for children.  I did and as the children arrived over those years, we grew and we found many creative and practical ways of showing them unexpected love, patience, and kindness.  God pours His love into our hearts to flow out to others' lives.

The children that live at Home of Angels ask so many questions.  Where did I come from? How old am I?  When is my birthday?  This is the reason that a huge birthday party for all of them together means so much.  I notice sometimes that the name of the child I tell the sponsor is not the same as a report card name.  This is because of culture and sometimes they may have up to three names.

We've been in existence since 2009.  Some of these kids have been with us ever since then.  When we started the construction , we let some of these same kids come on our property to eat weeds before it was cleared. That was their staple as they grew up but of course we always added rice and vegetables to spice it up.  Now, thanks too many of you, these same kids have a home, go to school, and they are loved.  Maybe they don't have the same brain as you and I because of eating weeds every day, but they work their hardest to be the best.  Edwin and I are so proud of EVERY one of them.

I've always tried to send monthly blogs on both the changes in the children as they grow and different situations that happen at our Home of Angels.  Oh my goodness, when I received the children's pictures today, I almost fell over in disbelief.  Not only had they grown, they are so happy and healthy.  No wonder every child wants to be an angel in our community.  They all want to have their hearts mended too, but we can only love and help them when needed.  And we do!

The first message I ever received from Edwin was, "Jaaja, can you help me feed some kids in the garbage dump?"  I didn't believe a word of it, but me being me did it anyway.  After feeding them, he sent a picture of the party on the street with the women that helped him.  The children even had Christmas stickers on their foreheads.  From there, we decided to build ONE home for children who wanted to be called "angels" instead of "orphans".

10 years later, here is Sula spraying the maize that we use to feed the children.  I know...that word spray but since we keep losing the crops to a disease called "wilt", this is necessary.  The land was lent to us by a friend and it looks like this time we might have a good crop.  Global warming has hit Uganda also with very harsh rains.

Look at these beauties....Zakia and Eva.  These two girls came from such dire circumstances and I remember so well how frightened they were when they arrived.  I was there when Zakia came and I arrived the day after Eva came.  I had a card or letter from each sponsor and I remember Eva sitting in the corner, tears streaming down her face.  I will never forget.  The other kids had someone to care for them but she didn't yet.  This is how the kids feel when you sponsor them.  They honestly feel love for the first time.

Meet Yasin, Davis, Elijah and Jimmy.  It's so good to see Jimmy smile.  He arrived with his twin brother Derek in 2014 but Derek soon died and was laid to rest in his village.  Jimmy attended his funeral but the tribe he belonged to had to mourn in the bush for one month and Jimmy came back to us very different.  It has taken a few years for him to return to the real Jimmy.  We believe witchcraft was involved. Jimmy now prays to God at praise and worship every night before bed and we believe the evil ones have been eliminated.  Jimmy is back.

These little guys have really grown.  Meet Frank, Alan, Silas and Eric

Tracy, Ratisha, Bridget and Chloe

Here we have Joanne, Barbra, Lovisa, Joweli, Betty and Precious

Meet Eddy, Sam, Yahigha, and Paul.  I remember last time there when little Sam was alone so much and Eddy (with his arm around him) said he was going to be his friend.  He still is and I'm so proud of him.  Sam has had a very rough life and is not strong.  Because of Eddy, everyone helps him.

Oh my goodness, look at Junior.  He is one of our original kids and was so little at that time.  He's a giant now and I only come up to his armpit.  We are so proud of how he turned out.  He's a good role model for all the little people there and we'd love for him to continue working for us in the future.

OK, so we have an idea for the FUTURE.  Only an IDEA.  We don't want these children, at age 18, to just have to leave with nothing.  They will never survive on their own and no matter how much schooling they get, usually they won't find a job.  We've seen this so much in our area.  When I go there, we bake and everyone gets a turn.  We bake mostly banana bread.  This picture is Precious with her cupcakes   The girls approached Uncle Edwin and I about starting their own bakery where they could make and sell different baked goods.  They love to bake and they feel this would help them in their future.  Everything begins with a thought, so we'll really think this one over very carefully.

Mariam and Zakia made 8 loaves while I was working on the computer and forgot about them.
It honestly was better than what I make.  They want so much to keep going with this.

So, with this thought in mind, what would it look like if we made these cinnamon buns also?  We'll be leaving in January and it's holiday time for the kids to be able to teach them.  Just an idea but without ideas, how can you ever make miracles happen in the future?


Thank you everyone for helping us and thank you for having patience as we learn the ropes to be our own charity.  We are so excited for the future to help others who cannot help themselves.  Without  God and all of you, we could never accomplish any of this.

A Time for Everything

This is another exciting time for Home of Angels.  We have received our own CRA charity status and are now registered as a Canadian Charity under the name of Jaaja's Home of Angels Society.
Charitable Registration Number 84713 3907 RR0001.

Since 2015, God has blessed our ministry by granting us the privilege of partnering with Kuwasha International Development Society.  Without the benevolence of the board of directors, their lawyer and accountant this could not have been accomplished with such precision.

The official transition date is October 1, 2019.  We ask for your patience while we transition from one set of operations to another.

We have set up several avenues for you to continue your support.

• Preauthorized withdrawals.  We can arrange this with you.  Request a PAD form to complete and return with a void cheque.  We will start the month following your request.
• Online electronic fund transfers or EFT.  You can arrange that with your bank.
• Canada Helps. This is a credit card only method.  A simple online step-by-step process.  Once you are on the Canada Helps website, go to Jaaja's Home of Angels Society and it will be self-explanatory.
• And yes, we still accept cheques.  Please make it out to Jaaja's Home of Angels or JHOA if that is easier for you and mail it to:

         JHOA

         c/o Barb Giraud

         #96-32691 Garibaldi Drive

         Abbotsford, B.C.  V2T 5T7

We care deeply about you and thanks for being such a big part of our "Team".

Here are some pictures that we'd like to share with you of our home and the children.  The rainy season is there again and it's been difficult for Edwin to take many pictures.

Edwin was given a piece of land by a friend in our community to grow maize and vegetables on.   We recently lost a crop due to heavy rains but we decided to try once again with only maize.

This was the last crop of maize we had and it lasted us for a good period of time.

Thanks to our friend Thomas, the Aide House is now in operation and many are being helped.  This house is only used for testing for malaria and for treating burn victims.  Most people can't affort the 5,000 shillings for a test.  We can at least do that and they will know 100% if they have it.  It will be up to them to get the medicine but once they know it's positive, they always seem to find the money for treatment.

The "rainy season" is the same as our winter here, but not as cold.  These uniforms keep the children warm in the classroom as 70 degrees is cool for them.

I have to show you a picture of one of our exciting fundraisers.  This is Rob, the manager of the Save on Foods in North Vancouver.  Rob takes great pride dancing around in his blow up banana costume.  This Scottish group of men ended up playing in the store and danced up and down the aisles with the banana.  No wonder this store is so busy with entertainment like this.  We sold out of banana bread very quickly.

Another repair for Mutesi's house once the rains hit again.  Our very special workers ran to her rescue to seal it up with mud before evening came.  We've watched out for this lovely lady and her son for many years now.

For four years we've partnered with the Chilliwack Secondary school.  The students have a kiosk in the main hall and we help them provide food to sell at lunch and break times.  Steve, their teacher and his family have an organization in Nigeria and with us in Uganda, it's called the African Cafe (AfCaf).  They continue to share the profits with us annually.  

  

Thanks again for following our story and for your continued prayers and support.  We have many exciting things to come in the future and hope you will be with us to hear about them.

Unfailing Love

Life has its challenges and heartaches but in the middle of our troubles, God encourages us with His amazing love and truth that brings us through our immediate circumstances.

Uganda is certainly a country that faces many challenges.  One that is currently touching our hearts at Home of Angels is our Aunty Hadeja who was due to have a baby at the beginning of June.  She had an appointment yesterday and they discovered the baby had been dead for some time.  Because of lack of education with female issues, she just kept waiting as this is another issue not talked about.  Edwin and Precious took her to the hospital for a C-section and between Precious and Aunty Joy, they are taking shifts to be with her making sure she doesn't need anything and isn't alone.  This is another example why we call ourselves a big family and not an orphanage.

On a happier note, we found out on Thursday that we've been accepted by the CRA to become a charity. It was quite a shock because it was a very short time since they received our application. There were no concerns or questions at all.  We have been truly blessed once again.

For the time being, please don't send any sponsor or pad postdated cheques.  As soon as we determine the cutoff time from KIDS to HOA, I'll let you all know the details.  We thank you ahead of time for  your patience.

Aunty Jennifer, Aunty Hadeja, our beautiful bride Precious and Aunty Joy

This is a picture of our inside compound wall.  The land owner on the other side stripped the trees off his property, causing our concrete to seep over time.

The men dug a trench around 3 sides of the compound and John, our contractor cemented stone slates into the wall to prevent it from happening again.  It's actually worked very well Edwin says.

We want to show you all the little boys so you can see how they're growing.  Uncle Edwin might be tough when he needs to be, but he also shows so much love to these kids that when they are in pain or trouble, they run to no one else for help.  This is one of the reasons they are so well behaved and happy.

This is Sam, one of the children from the abandoned orphanage.  He was so shy and quiet at the beginning but now, thanks to Deanna, his sponsor, he's come out of his shell and is such a little goof.

You might see these little ones always in yellow shirts and most of the time, black shorts.  They love them because they're cool and most of the time, you never know who's got who's on.   Thanks Doreen for making them along with the black shorts.  To get them to change is a challenge.

Aunty Deanna brought many books that she thought the big girls would be able to read and she was right.  They were able to read every one of them and already asking for more when I go back.

The grass is cut every 2 weeks now because of the rain and mosquitos causing malaria.  It gives the kids a full day of working together outside preparing the yard for their favouite game which is soccer.
They will play for hours and believe me, when you see them kick that ball without shoes, it hurts to watch.

What would we ever do without Cheeza?  He sees that full truck of wood being dumped and immediately starts hours of chopping.  He never complains and so grateful for Edwin trusting him enough to give him a real job.

Sometimes you just never know who's watching

Our little Joweli cleaning the paving stones

We would like to thank you all ahead of time for having patience in our upcoming transition.  These are very exciting times ahead and we're happy you are part of our HOA team to witness it.  We will rest in God's amazing love as we get through all these new challenges in the near future.

Thanks again.

Mr. & Mrs. Edwin Lufafa

The day finally arrived when Edwin and Precious would say their vows.  Precious had waited patiently for 5 years while Edwin worked hard to build the Home of Angels into what it is today.

It couldn't have been more beautiful and celebrated by the ones who meant the most.  Edwin, with his brothers, Precious with her niece and nephew and myself with Joyce, Miranda, and Deanna from Canada.  It was a special time and even though they decided against having the original 1000's attend the traditional Introduction on the day prior to the wedding, this way was just as wonderful in the Magistrate's office.  How could they justify spending thousands of dollars on themselves when we have starvation all around us.  That's not who Edwin and Precious are.  They both have devoted their lives to serving God and decided that money would go to the needy instead.  I am one proud Jaaja.

After the wedding, we went back to our home so the children would have a chance to celebrate with the newlyweds too.  Closer to dinner we then headed to Lake Victoria to a beautiful hotel and had dinner on the lake.  Many others showed up to celebrate with us and wish them a happy life together.  Everything was perfect.

We'd love to share some pictures of their celebration day.

What a happy day for these two.  A long time waiting but they did it and look forward to a long life together.

A little story about this beautiful child called Rissling.  Precious's sister died when Rissling was a baby and Precious decided to raise her.  Precious is "Mommy" and Uncle Edwin is now "Daddy".
To watch her with Edwin was like watching a real father and their child.  It is beautiful and very touching.

I'd like you to meet my friends from Canada.  This is Deanna in the white and Joyce in the orange.
Rissling, of course, enjoying everyone's friendship.  Her English is very good and she made it a point to love everyone.

And Miranda, our photographer who was always taking the best pictures.  I had to introduce you to her because she is just amazing.  Miranda and Joyce are on our Board of Directors here in Canada.

Wish I had a picture of how this all turned out. 😇

As Edwin and Precious had their wedding in the Magistrate's office, we decided to have the wedding celebration in our "NEW" grass hut.  We had decorations, a cake was ordered and the kids decorated the grass hut with help and it was all ready for when we got home.  I say "NEW" because before we left Canada, I had a phone call from a very special person who has been with us since the beginning in 2009.  Her niece had passed away and she wanted to raise money for Home of Angels.  What did we need?  Oh my goodness, perfect timing because the grass hut roof was leaking, the floor was damaged and paint was falling off everywhere. It was 10 years old and to be expected.

She raised enough money to fix the entire house, plus purchase 50 new chairs and 7 tables.  Thank you, Leanne, for all you've done for us now and in the past.  God bless you, my friend.

A beautiful new grass hut ready for a wedding celebration.

The head table was beautiful 

The Muzungu's took charge in waiting on all the people attending and made sure there was enough cake.  The kids had forks for the first time in their lives and would you believe when I left over a week later, they had saved their forks and were eating their rice and beans with them.  When I asked what I could bring back...the answer was "more forks".  By the way, Muzungu means "white".

When the celebration was over and everyone had gone home, Edwin and I bought a palm tree to be planted in honor of our little friend who had passed.  The kids planted it in her honor and prayed over it.  Her family will be able to watch it grow over the years to remember how the children in Uganda cared about her.

Well, it's birthday time again.  Somehow I'm thinking this isn't right.  I seem to already remember having a birthday party this year but when Jaaja comes to Uganda, I think it's an automatic.  Chocolate cake and soda.  Ummm, don't ever think these kids aren't really smart.

The family celebrating Uncle Edwin and Precious's wedding

Not sure if this is more important than the cake.  Popcorn on the last day I'm there.  Every time when I make a baggy of popcorn in the kitchen trying to make a surprise, there's always the tiptoeing around peeking in windows to see if I'm popping corn.  This is a huge treat and to see their smiles is so worth it.

There are so many wonderful things to tell you about this side of the world but this blog is only about Edwin and Precious's special day. 

Stay tuned for next month and thanks to all of you who help us monthly.

God bless you all