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REPORT ON WELCOMING HOUSE AND SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

YEAR 2017

Contents MEETING POINT INTERNATIONAL (MPI) .......................................................................... 2

Introduction. ............................................................................................................................... 2

REPORT ON WELCOMING HOUSE (WH) ............................................................................. 2

Activities of MPI during the year ................................................................................................. 4

Education. ................................................................................................................................... 4

Home visits .................................................................................................................................. 5

Health care .................................................................................................................................. 6

Psychosocial support .................................................................................................................. 7

Agricultural practices ................................................................................................................ 8

Nutrition and Balanced diet ...................................................................................................... 9

SCHOOL ACTIVITY REPORT ................................................................................................ 12

Speech day at Luigi Giussani pre-primary and primary school. ........................................ 13

Sports at Luigi Giussani High School .................................................................................... 14

Music, Dance and Drama at Luigi Giussani High School. ................................................... 16

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MEETING POINT INTERNATIONAL (MPI)

Introduction.

Meeting Point International is a non-government organization that helps the children as well as the

adults understand who they are. 1100 are the children and Youths and 1056 the adults supported

through different activities that are done at MPI. 56 of the children are now in Welcoming House

because they are orphans or if their families are not able to support them either emotionally,

financially or health wise. They are also given an education through sponsorships made possible

by MPI. They are taken to different schools among these are Luigi Giussani pre-primary and

primary school, Luigi Giussani high school and Mivule Primary School. The children in

Welcoming House are mainly sponsored by Support International and AVSI Foundation. They are

given a loving home as well as quality education.

REPORT ON WELCOMING HOUSE (WH)

Figure 1: A photography showing some of the children at Welcoming House

In order to understand what Meeting Point International and Welcoming House are, we have to

start by a quotation from Rose Busingye, Executive Director: “We belong to a Design that is not

ours; by knowing who I am, I discover that I belong to someone; the link with God makes me free.

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I can face everything without fear because I know to whom I belong”. In Kampala’s bad

surroundings, it is common to find children who are victims of abuse, violence or HIV/AIDS. For

these children, Meeting Point International has set up a home called “Welcoming House” with the

scope to rescue orphans and other vulnerable children who are homeless. 56 children live in the

Welcoming House, while more than 84 have been welcomed during these years.

Rose Busingye explains that she does not put an age limit to leave the Welcoming House because

the Welcoming House is a family. The grown-ups can stay until they find their own way or until

they start their own family, but the bond will remain forever. These children are taken to the

Welcoming House by the police, others are found alone in the streets of Kampala and some of them

Rose knew the parents who died of HIV/AIDS. Apofia and Rose take good care of these children

with a loving gaze that allows them to overcome their traumas, live a normal life, and consider

them real family.

The children are taken to WH where they play, sing, dance and eat and study together with other

children. As Rose stays with the children she is also able to notice whether there is anything wrong

in the life of that child in order to address the problem accordingly.

Like Apofia there are other adults who live in Welcoming House with the children. There is Francis

who ensures the safety of the premises and the children, Jacklord who is in charge of preparation

of all meals, Gladys a volunteer and Ali who is in charge of their transport to School. Despite the

efforts in taking good care of the children, MPI is also trying to trace where possible the children’s

relatives. In case the search ends with a negative response, children can either be reintegrated in

foster families within the community or remain at the Welcoming House. Most of the foster

families are represented by the clients of MPI, usually women accept to host some of the children

during the holidays to live with them and love them like their own children.

Support International and AVSI’s contributions are able to cover quite all the needs of our children

like food, clothes, hygiene and sanitation, drugs for the HIV/AIDS positive children and their fees

and scholastic material for formal education.

The approach is interested in engaging and developing the whole person. You can think of this as

different levels, physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. It's the concept that the human being is

multi-dimensional. This approach that MPI is implementing puts the person at the center in order

to develop his/her identity. We desire that our children will become men and women aware of their

value and dignity.

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Rose: “In first place we educators are at the center. Only if we take care of ourselves we shall also

be able to deliver a quality work to our children.”

There are many organizations in Kampala that serve the vulnerable people. Meeting Point

International is certainly one of them, but the approach is totally unique. The focus of MPI is the

total happiness of the person. With the guidance of Rose, we become gradually more aware of the

fact that we are not in this world to solve the problems of famine, illness or even death. We are in

this world to experience that God accompanies us through all the circumstances with the help of a

human face. We discover that life is worthy to be lived because there is someone who cares for us,

no matter who we are. Problems can be there, but the heart is alive and full of hope.

Activities of MPI during the year

Education. The fact that we want these children to be great men and women in the future, going

to school is one of things to be considered towards achieving this. As a matter of fact every child

has to go to school because it’s their right. With the help we get from our donors we are able to

take eligible children to school. At Luigi Giussani schools, the children are not taught only the

academic syllabus but also how to value their lives and that they are not defined by academic

performance. At school they not only study but do some activities such as Music Dance and Drama

(MDD) which is part of the school programe, this helps them to develop their personality and

relationships with others. There is also the sports day, on such a day children compete in various

kinds of games like football, bottle filling, and athletics. Through sport activities children are

helped to discover their talent.

Figure 2: Children coming back from school

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Home visits. Many people who visit the children of WH sometimes fail to believe that the children

were abandoned or are orphans because of the love they have for one another and their good

looking. The visits by different people other than the MPI staff are usually assisted by the Social

worker and Director who guides them thoroughly well in order to interact with the children. All

the children supported by MPI are visited at home by social workers in order for them to understand

their well-being, academic performance, advise them to face their duties at school and homework

and also play with them.

The story of Melisa Emmy Rose. She is a child to our client Adong Mary, who was abducted by

Kony at the age of 15 in the Northern Uganda. She managed to escape from the Lord’s Resistance

Army rebels and settled in Naguru - one of the big slums of Kampala, where she tested and

discovered that she was HIV positive. Adong Mary (not the real name) met Meeting Point

International in 2013 which has been catering for Medication and her family’s welfare. She has

four children and Melisa is her last born. When Melisa was born, she suffered from malnutrition

because it was unlikely that during child birth, Mary had no breast milk and also since this family’s

source of income is low, coming from making the beads and with large family. It was difficult to

meet all the needs of all the children. During the weekly meeting of Rose with the women, Mary

met Rose understanding the cause of malnutrition and in order to recover the health of the child,

she accepted Melisa in Welcoming House. However, she is always taken back home to visit the

mother such that she cannot forget her. Melisa is a nickname, her real name is Emmy Rose, and

just because the Director is also called Rose therefore the children of the Welcoming House

nicknamed her Melisa. This is also a sign of the freedom the children of WH live by belonging to

their mum and auntie (as they call Apofia and Rose)

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Figure 3: photo of Emmy Rose

Health care. Once more, it is through the personality of Rose that we can understand the meaning

of our work. She says: “Our work is not only for the poor and sick people but for everybody who

lacks a belonging; if this person does not find a solace in the love of someone, he may end up

having lasting consequences that shape his/her destiny.” Each new client who approaches MPI is

treated with love; MPI focuses on the value and dignity of every individual, and makes sure that

the any given step is made in order to care for the clients. Most of MPI clients are on anti-retro

viral drugs so they need a balance diet and some rest in order to reduce the side effects of the

medicines. They are also referred to other organization which provide ARV for free but produced

in China or India. As MPI we always try to follow up and know the source/distributor of the drugs

our clients are swallowing since some drugs that are less effective, not digested (capsules) and

some don’t work at all with the stage of sickness of our clients (children, men and women) that’s

MPI tries to get the best drugs (anti-retro viral) from Europe even if its costly because drugs are

digested partly by the liver, kidney and the intestines which is a hazard to someone’s health since

with time they will accumulate and cause serious damage that may lead to death faster than the

virus would have taken. Every new person of MPI spends time talking with MPI competent staff

and shares his experience with other patients. Establishing a true relationship with a person is

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equally important to the medical care. A strong relationship is like a glue which stick clients and

workers together for a greater goal: the passion for the human being. Children of Welcoming House

are the first beneficiaries of these kinds of embrace and attention. MPI is in touch with many good

clinics and hospitals all over Kampala. Nsambya Hospital, the Joint Clinical Research Center,

Bethlehem Medical Care, SAS clinic, Benedict Hospital and Mild May can provide the right

treatment to respond to a particular situation. Additionally, a doctor and 4 nurses are available at

each center in Naguru and Kireka Acholi Quarter and can be called for a home visit too.

Psychosocial support. The children of Welcoming House take part in activities together such as

dancing, singing, educational tours and also play different games such as football. They share meals

together and create a bond among themselves. Rose visits them every now and talking to them is

able to discover the emotions of these children. Sometimes she takes them to the women groups

and they sing and dance together. Rose’s approach is very simple and does not require lots of efforts

but love. She says: “the reason for our work is not merely to alleviate suffering, but to create dignity

and lasting relationships that look at the fullness of the human person”. All the mothers and their

children supported by MPI have received psychosocial support through home visits and at office,

where Rose meets each one alone or together with their families.

Figure 4: The administrator shares a snack with the children

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The women clients of MPI take part in different activities such as football and netball competitions,

music dance and drama and educational trips which are the very enjoyable. Rose Busingye visits

them on a weekly basis and shares happy moments with them. She visits Naguru and Kireka twice

every week. The women have lots of fun and are able to express themselves freely and discover

the beauty of life through these activities. They share foods together and enjoy each other’s

company, reduce loneliness and make new friends. Whenever these women meet and take part in

these activities, they are able to forget their problems for a while and just enjoy life. This helps

them have a positive perception on life and hence are able to face the daily toils.

Figure 5: The women dancing in Kireka.

Agricultural practices. Another activity very interesting for the children, is Urban Horticultures.

This agriculture approach is very helpful for households living in urban areas who have little access

to land. This activity is useful both for gradually educate the children to work mentality, and at the

same time they can have a balance diet. At Ssonde, they are planting banana trees, cassava, beans,

and other type of vegetable. Some Children enjoy participating in this activity, and at the same time

they are learning a lot about the nature, its life, their environment; the harvest is for home

consumption (Ssonde lies in Misindye Parish, Goma Sub-county, Mukono District, approximately

17 kilometres northeast of Kampala.)

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Figure 6: the children harvesting cabbage in Ssonde

Nutrition and Balanced diet. These practices are well done at the Welcoming House. The clear

evidence is shown in the photos below of Christopher before he had stayed and after some time at

the Welcoming House. Christopher is one and half years old and reached WH in October. He is a

young brother of Ding Daniel who turned six on 8th/10/2017. Their single mother Rita is HIV

positive and she was a client of a certain NGO before MPI. She was exited in the NGO in an

unpleasant way. After this incidence, Rita gave up on everything including life itself. She didn’t

want further medication, this made her very weak and also paved way for other diseases like

Tuberculosis (TB) to affect her since her immunity was low. Due to such conditions she couldn’t

afford anything for herself and the children which resulted into hunger for the whole family. Daniel

started to look for food at his tender age because he couldn’t bare his situation and the brother. Our

social worker and the Director learnt about the situation and something had to done immediately.

When Rita was approached by the Director Rose, she offered her help but Rita stubbornly refused,

she tried to talk to Rita such that at least she goes to hospital for medication but still she refused.

Then being Rose a nurse offered to treat Rita at her home and she accepted. But Rita had to go to

hospital because she had TB (tuberculosis) and when she released her situation was getting worse,

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she eventually accepted Rose’s help completely. Since her sons had starved and feed poorly,

Christopher was malnourished and with Rita’s permission, he was brought to the Welcoming

House. After the Rose took him, the women of MPI also took in his big brother and he started

staying with one of the women. Christopher has been feed well and within a few weeks his health

improved, while his mother was admitted in the Hospital and she was taken there by the women of

MPI. The women also volunteered to take care of her in shifts and feeding during her

hospitalization. Daniel was enrolled in school at Luigi Giussani Pre Primary and Primary School

(LGPPS) and the women of MPI provided his uniform while MPI is covering the school fees and

scholastic material. Is was due to the close relationship with MPI that Daniel was accepted in school

at the midway of the final semester of the academic year.

first steps then finally to walking.

In May 2015 Daniela joined the family of Welcoming House. She was 3 weeks old from Naguru

slum. Her mother is HIV positive and because she had problem with her breasts, she couldn’t feed

her anymore in order to avoid the transmission of HIV virus. But because the powder milk is

expensive she could not afford the cost.

Our social worker from Naguru spoke with Rose about her situation, she visited the family and

Daniela was welcomed at the Welcoming House. The director and the mother of Daniela reached

an agreement which was to bring her to Welcoming House with the other children for the necessary

Figure 7 : The photos of Okello Christopher When first brought to the Welcoming House (malnourished) to his

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period for both the child and the mother to recover. Now Daniela is happy and healthy at WH,

sharing her time playing with the other children and going to LGPPS is also developing her

personality though the studies and the several activities that are organized in the school. Whereas

her mother is now a member of MPI and her life has improved for the better through the saving

groups which give her financial independence and also emotional support through counselling

provided by the personnel at MPI.

Figure 8: Apofia with Daniela on her back in 2015 at 3 weeks(left) and now in 2017 at 2

years.(right)

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SCHOOL ACTIVITY REPORT

The Luigi Giussani schools have a sentimental attachment to the women clients of MPI. These

women made 48000 necklaces and sold them, the money that was received from these necklaces

was used to set up part of these schools. The women decided that their children should receive an

education that will help them understand their value and be capable of promoting growth in the

society. At LGPPS and LGHS, the education system is based on a progressive and inclusive

curriculum and the teachings are innovative. Students achieve most when they enjoy their learning,

and this can be done through sports, music, dance and drama which help the students discover

themselves as they bring out the talent, desires and values that are already in them.

Figure 9: Pupils putting up a performance and they seemed to be happy

In Ugandan schools, a lot of co-curricular activities are carried out throughout the year, this is

intended to refresh their minds from the hectic academic activities and also to help the students

discover and develop their talents. It also helps to build a good relationship among themselves and

their teachers. In Luigi Giussani Pre-Primary and Primary School and Luigi Giussani High School

where most of our supported students and pupils attend school, it’s a culture to carry out sports,

music, and dance and drama activities. The students and pupils usually anticipate so much for such

activities, they spend a lot of time preparing to emerge as winners on the D-day of the competitions.

The students are usually divided into groups commonly known as houses. These houses are named

after saints, names of former directors, animals and colours. These houses are usually under the

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patron ship of teachers who do everything possible to provide maximum support for their activities.

The school administration usually provide financial support like in hiring trainers to train the

students in the various activities. For example, they can hire professional dancers and coaches to

teach the students and pupils.

Speech day at Luigi Giussani Pre-Primary and Primary School.

At Luigi Giussani Pre-Primary and Primary School, they had sports day and speech day on 8th

December 2017. The pupils usually don’t do these activities to compete amongst themselves but

rather for fun and to refresh their minds. At the end the year, the pupils had the speech day where

by all classes participated. They were engaged in different activities like dancing, singing, reciting

poems and many others. The pupils mainly performed cultural dances like bakisimba, amagunju

and mawogola from Central region, and from the Northern region, they performed the bwola, Lara

karaka, otole, dingi ding dances. This is because cultures are rich in traditional dances. The teachers

and pupils choose one that they can perform to the best of their ability. Besides the traditional

dances, other classes chose to do the creative dance where the teachers and pupils come up with

different organised dance strokes and they groove to a particular beat.

Figure 10: pupils were dancing the otole dance which is a war dance in the Acholi culture.

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The pupils also participated in singing different kinds of songs. For example, they sang folk songs

from the diverse cultures in Uganda and secular songs. Not only did the pupils sing and dance but

they also participated in different activities like modelling, poem reciting on different topics and

plays which were interesting.

The novices also carried out sports activities. They usually don’t compete but they tie ribbons of

different colours to indicate people from the same team. The ribbons are in green, pink, red and

white colours. The children partake in different sport activities like bottle filling, football, netball

and other sports. The outstanding participants both in the sports activities and the music, dance and

drama activities are usually given gifts and medals to merit their efforts.

Sports at Luigi Giussani High School

At Luigi Giussani High School, they had two activities namely; sports day and MDD (music, dance

and drama) day where the students show case there talents in the different activities carried out.

Sports day is one of the most awaited days at school and students make a lot of preparations for it.

The school has four houses which compete amongst each other, these include St Savio, St Theresa,

St Agnes and St Kizito which were named after saints.

Figure 11: students competing in the football game at Luigi Giussani High School

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31st March 2017, the long awaited day began with a speech from Mr Kawuki Michael, the head

teacher. Who recalled students to participate by saying, “The awaited day has reached for us to

bring out the talents God put in us. We are not here to compete, but don’t be fooled that we are

here to loose”. With these words and a word of prayer the day officially began with a football match

between St Kizito and St Theresa. The game ended in favour of St Kizito. Meanwhile in the netball

pitch, St Agnes and St Kizito battled it out and it ended in favour of St Kizito. The fixture of the

day was followed throughout the day. Later in the evening when all the games were done, all

students gathered around the pavilion to listen to the long awaited results. They were all on tension.

Mr Komaketch Freddy the sports official then stepped into the pitch to announce the analysis of

the performance and results. The whole pavilion went dead silence in anticipation for the results,

the moment then reached and the results were announced. St Savio turned out to be the best, St

Theresa came in second place, St Kizito and St Agnes then followed in order. The best and most

outstanding performers were given gifts. The victors of the tournament St Savio were then given

the trophy and they celebrated their win. Later other houses also joined in their celebration.

Figure 12: members of St Savio celebrating their win.

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Music, Dance and Drama at Luigi Giussani High School.

Another event the students enjoy so much is the music, dance and drama (MDD) competitions

which took place in the month of 1st July 2017. The same houses still competed in the MDD

struggles. . The theme for the MDD competitions was “unity in diversity”. The day begun with

prayers followed by different activities. There were many activities that were carried out i.e.

traditional dances namely lara karaka, bwola, dingi ding and maganda, the set piece which was the

East African anthem and traditional folk songs. The students also performed plays where some of

them are skilled in theatre, poems were also recited. The first item to be staged was the set piece

which was performed by the different houses. They all sung with melodious voices which were

perfected through daily practice after classes.

Figure 13: students performing a folk song.

After the set piece, other activities were all performed with each house making sure that they did

their best. At the end of the competitions, everyone gathered to hear the announcement of the

results. The winning house was St Theresa, followed by St Agnes. St Savio and St Kizito scored

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the same points. St Theresa had the best traditional dance which was dingi ding, which is a dance

for the youth. They performed the set piece best too. The students who performed in an outstanding

way were also given gifts and certificates.

Figure 14: one of students performing in a drama

In conclusion, all the activities that were carried out were immensely enjoyed by both the students

and teachers. However, the students did not only enjoy the activities that they got involved in, it

was also a platform for them to discover, showcase and develop their talents. It was a moment that

the students got to interact amongst themselves and with their teachers too. It also refreshed the

minds of the students which enabled them to concentrate more in class. For some students, it’s a

form of psychosocial support. It is therefore important for our students to perform in such activities

as they are beneficial for them.