Wednesday, August 10, 2011
“Ninety percent of life is just showing up”
“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa
Not many can boast of an address in the leafy, lush, serene and quiet suburb of Nakasero just a stone throw away from the presidential state lodge and Garden City. A swimming pool, fully equipped laundry room and by that I mean washing machines and dryers that run all day just for your clothes to be clean and warm . The occupants don’t need anything, at least not materially. But don’t let the très magnifique and rosy picture fool you, at Bulrushes Watoto babies’ home, the kids who call this place home have had lives so heart wrecking that the almost brought Isaac, the one with a stance of a buffalo, to tears. Their short live have been more turbulent than many an adult will ever know.
Their stories are written in blood, rot and dejection. Take for example John a Mukiga whose parents wanted to rid themselves of him so badly that they had to travel to Gulu to dump him. But his story pales in comparison to Sarah’s who may never know how beautiful sunrises are because half her face and indeed her eyes were eaten by maggots while dumped in a pit latrine. Her story, I considered to be the embodiment of human resilience.
Or even Sari who won’t use her right hand to write not because she is naturally left-handed but because her right hand was broken and almost eaten by dogs which were attracted to her putrid, almost lifeless body as she lay beneath heaps of rubbish where she had been dumped so early into life on earth that her umbilical cord was still attached.
Sam the triplet will have no father figure to teach him cope with heart breaks and girls but will have to do with his sisters’ advice.
Every heartbeat at bulrushes is a reminder and pays tribute to the many that did not make it. Most drowned in human waste or suffocated by the polythene bags they were tied into or starved to death while everyone else was too busy to notice the anomaly at the rubbish heap. And that is not the worst, u will shudder at the thought of those who were not allowed to see the light of day because they were shredded into pieces within the womb. Well like I mentioned they don’t need anything material but could use all the love they can get, they crave to be held and smiled at. For them all u can do is show up and be there even for a while after all “ninety percent of life is just showing up”.
The IJM community outreach team showed up and not only held babies but did work around the home including general cleaning, bottle-feeding which Phillip still refers to as breastfeeding when narrating his story. Grace would not let go of Arafat when the time came for to say bye. Truly these babies had etched themselves onto our hearts in the short time we were there.
Thanks to all who “showed up”
“And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink.”
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
IJM VIdeo Contest
Hey friends!
Have you been looking for the opportunity to raise your voice on behalf of millions who are trapped in modern-day slavery? IJM is launching a video contest so you can do just that! Help us move our advocacy efforts to pass the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2011 forward!
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) is the most comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation we have in United States and it’s up for reauthorization this year.
The TVPRA is expected to reach Congress in the near future, so we need you to act now. Videos are due by April 20 (submit on the IJM Chapters Facebook page), and the winning group or individual will receive a $1,000 grant to use on their campus for future educational and fundraising campaigns.
The winning video will highlight the importance of human trafficking legislation, explain the purpose of the TVPRA, and equip others with the know-how and motivation to call their Congressmen in support of the TVPRA.
Be creative and have fun! We encourage you to show how you became interested in human rights, or past experiences lobbying and advocating for these issues. (For inspiration, listen to an Ohio State University student share her own journey. Your video doesn’t need to be a professional interview like this one—we encourage you to create anything that emphasizes the significance of advocating for TVPRA.)
Videos will be available to the public for viewing and initial voting on the IJM Chapters Facebook page through April 27. Encourage your friends, family, classmates and others to watch and vote for your video! Once you select the finalists, IJM senior staff will announce the winner on May 2! Everything you need to know about the contest is on the IJM Chapters Facebook page. If you have questions, email us at chapters@ijm.org.
We can’t wait to see your creativity and passion in action! Thank you so much for your vital support of our efforts.
Best of luck!
The IJM Student Ministries and Government Relations Teams
P.S. Can’t make the Global Prayer Gathering this year? Join us for GPG Online April 8-10th: http://gpgonline.ijm.org. Watch live streaming video of all 4 plenary sessions, participate in exclusive, online-only prayer sessions with IJM field staff, join the GPG Online chat room and connect with IJM field staff, use seamless social media integration to spread the word, and download prayer resources to help you pray for this work year-round. You don’t want to miss out on this!
Have you been looking for the opportunity to raise your voice on behalf of millions who are trapped in modern-day slavery? IJM is launching a video contest so you can do just that! Help us move our advocacy efforts to pass the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2011 forward!
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) is the most comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation we have in United States and it’s up for reauthorization this year.
The TVPRA is expected to reach Congress in the near future, so we need you to act now. Videos are due by April 20 (submit on the IJM Chapters Facebook page), and the winning group or individual will receive a $1,000 grant to use on their campus for future educational and fundraising campaigns.
The winning video will highlight the importance of human trafficking legislation, explain the purpose of the TVPRA, and equip others with the know-how and motivation to call their Congressmen in support of the TVPRA.
Be creative and have fun! We encourage you to show how you became interested in human rights, or past experiences lobbying and advocating for these issues. (For inspiration, listen to an Ohio State University student share her own journey. Your video doesn’t need to be a professional interview like this one—we encourage you to create anything that emphasizes the significance of advocating for TVPRA.)
Videos will be available to the public for viewing and initial voting on the IJM Chapters Facebook page through April 27. Encourage your friends, family, classmates and others to watch and vote for your video! Once you select the finalists, IJM senior staff will announce the winner on May 2! Everything you need to know about the contest is on the IJM Chapters Facebook page. If you have questions, email us at chapters@ijm.org.
We can’t wait to see your creativity and passion in action! Thank you so much for your vital support of our efforts.
Best of luck!
The IJM Student Ministries and Government Relations Teams
P.S. Can’t make the Global Prayer Gathering this year? Join us for GPG Online April 8-10th: http://gpgonline.ijm.org. Watch live streaming video of all 4 plenary sessions, participate in exclusive, online-only prayer sessions with IJM field staff, join the GPG Online chat room and connect with IJM field staff, use seamless social media integration to spread the word, and download prayer resources to help you pray for this work year-round. You don’t want to miss out on this!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
The new Executive Committee of UCU IJM
The new IJM executive members voted on the 17th March 2011.
Volunteer co ordinators are Kunihira Winfred LLB 2 Sept & Kyobutungi Julian LLB 3 Jan,
Education co ordinators are Ibyara Flavia Constance LLB 1 Sept & Natukunda Daphine LLB 2 Jan, Publicity co ordinators are Mawejje S Dennis LLB 2 Jan & Muwanga Robert LLB 1 Sept, Organisation Secretaries are Agwang Susan LLB 1 Sept & Mugume Phillip LLB 1 Jan, Prayer Co orinators are Zakaria Tiberindwa LLB 2 Sept & Awekonimungu Floridah LLB 2 Jan, Treasurers are Mugero Jesse LLB 2 Sept & Manoni Obed LLB3 Jan, Our Vice President is Ochan Julius LLB 2 Jan. Our President is Manyali Yovani LLB 2 Sept. .Congratulations to them. I pray that they will serve to the best of their ability in the pursuit of justice!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
UCU International Justice Mission news by Sseninde Kevin on 10th February 2011
Justice News
Police arrests man who cut off his wife's hands
The police in Mubende has arrested a man who cut off his wife's hands. Douglas Ssempijja aged 23 cut off Annet Nazziwa's hands claiming that he had been sent by evil spirits for Nazziwa's hands. After his malicious action, Ssempijja ran off to Kibaale and hid there for three months. However, he was later found and arrested by the Police in Mubende. Meanwhile, Nazziwa was discharged from Mulago hospital where she had been hospitalised for the past few months. "I want him hunged" is all helpless Nazziwa coud say when asked for the appropriate punishment for her husband's conduct. Ssempijja is to face charges of attempted murder among others soon.
Father kills son over land dispute
A father killed his biological son over a land dispute. John Wataka aged 65 years killed Julius Matsiko aged 30 because of a misunderstanding over a piece of land that Wataka had given to his son Matsiko . Wataka hit Matsiko with a panga on the head killing him instantly. The angry citizens responded by destroying Wataka's house and banana plantation in revenge of the murder of their colleague. Meanwhile police is on the hunt for Wataka who disappeared mysteriously shortly after killing his son's murder. Charges will be levied on Wataka if he is found.
Arua municipality mp Hussein Akbar Godi appears before High court for the last time
Arua municipality member of Parliament Hussein Akbar Godi appeared before Mukono high court for the last time on Friday 11th February 2011. Godi aged 28 years and a lawyer by profession faced charges of gruesome murder of his wife Rehema Caesar. The prosecution through principal attorney showed that the accused was responsible for the death of his wife. Mukono high court judge Gidudu Lawrence sentenced him to 25 years in prison.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Welcome back IJMers
Welcome back from the holidays. I hope you greatly benefited from the celebration of christmas and new year. We thank the lord for enabling us to sail through to 2011. I have included photos of justice night ( 2010, that happened in September) hope you enjoy. There are several videos regarding the activities of International Justice Mission that I have uploaded to youtube, check them out on mugerojayc's channel. I wish you all a blessed 2011. Let us not forget the core values on which IJM is based as we live. We shall continue having our weekly meetings aand the venue and date will be communicated soon.
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