8) Bobi (Uganda) appeal - update March 2010
Our target of £5000 to help the people of Bobi in Northern Uganda complete their church building was reached in September 2007, and we also raised extra funds by early 2008 to supply them with Bibles in their local Acholi language. Finally in April 2009 we raised enough funds to help provide a water borehole in the village.
To keep the borehole working efficiently we are currently holding some small fundrasing events to raise enough funds to cover the cost of its yearly maintenance - just £175 per year.
Some articles describing these projects are given below in reverse chronological order.
To see pictures of Bobi church before and after the construction work on the roof click "view our picture gallery" near the top of our main web page. We will also shortly be posting pictures of the borehole on the picture gallery.
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[The following is an edited article by the Appeal organisers in the July 2009 edition of our parish magazine, the Parish News]
THE VILLAGE OF BOBI HAVE THEIR WATER BOREHOLE
The water borehole for the village of Bobi in Uganda has now been constructed and we have received a photo showing fresh water flowing for the first time and a service of thanksgiving and commissioning taking place. The photo was taken at the beginning of June, so in just a few weeks of receiving the funds to build it the people of Bobi have fresh water on their doorstep. We have been sent a wonderful set of pictures showing the process of the engineer finding the water source, the locals clearing the site, the construction of the borehole and finally the people queuing to fill their water cans. These pictures can now been seen on a display board in Kirdford Church and a selection will also be placed in our website picture gallery. We have received messages of great thanks from Bobi for all we have done for them. Our thanks again to everyone who has supported our fundraising events over the last three years through which we have been able to give the people of Bobi this water borehole, complete the building of their church and send them the 100 bibles in their local language. June Long, Sally Williams & Daphne Wooldridge
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[The following is an edited article by the Appeal organisers in the July 2008 edition of our parish magazine, the Parish News, giving information on the borehole project and feedback from Uganda on the completion of the church roof.]
UPDATE ON THE BOBI PROJECT, JULY 2008
As you all know, our next project to help the people of Bobi in Uganda is to raise enough money to establish a water borehole in the village near to the church and the school. Unlike us they cannot just turn on a tap for a drink or to do the cooking, they currently have to walk several kilometers each day to fetch fresh water. We did not feel we could give up our support for this village when they were still without such a basic need. So to this end our fundraising activities will begin again next month with a Garden Party. Later events will include an Auction of Promises in the Autumn and a Sponsored Walk in the Spring.
In connection with "Bobi" we have received the following message from Revd Stuart Kersley, who launched the Bobi Appeal whilst our Vicar ...
"I have received a letter from Bishop Gideon our friend from Uganda who, you may remember, provided the inspiration for the project. He writes: 'Thank you so much for what you and your former Parishioners have done to support Bobi Parish in putting up the roof on their church. Please do convey our thanks and appreciation to them all. May the Lord bless and keep you all.’
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[Below is an edited version of the first article by the Appeal organisers from our parish magazine in August 2006, which explains the initial project]
THE BACKGROUND TO THE APPEAL
Our Church of England Parish (which covers Kirdford, Plaistow and Ifold) held a series of weekly Lent Group meetings in 2006 in which we followed a course supplied by the USPG called 'Life in all its fullness' which was based on perspectives of life from Malawi. During the five weeks that we met, we looked at and compared the things that we consider as essential ingredients to living a full and satisfied life in our culture to those of people living in very different conditions in villages in Malawi. It was a reminder once again of how easily we take for granted all that we have in our own lives: easy access to education, health care, employment, water, food and all the other natural resources that surround us.
The course had given us much food for thought and we all felt that we should try to do something, however small, to make a difference. There are of course so many worthy causes and areas of need and so we gave our Vicar, the Revd Stuart Kersley, the task of finding a project in Africa that we could support, and through his friend Bishop Gideon Oboma (retired Bishop of Northern Uganda) he came up with the Bobi church roof project.
ST PETER’S CHURCH IN BOBI, UGANDA
Bobi is a small village in Gulu, Northern Uganda. Thirty years ago a project was started to build St. Peter’s Church in Bobi and the foundation stone was laid by the late Archbishop of Uganda, the Right Reverend Janani Luwum. It was a difficult time and the building project came to a halt because of the financial and political crisis that engulfed the country leading to the murder of Archbishop Janani Luwum in 1977. Devastated by the loss of their Christian and spiritual leader the local people determined to continue with the building of their church in his memory, and enough funds were raised to erect the walls. However things went from bad to worse and for the last 21 years the area has been seriously affected by conflict between various warring factions, and the local people have been unable to complete their church building.
Whilst the main purpose of St. Peter’s is still for Christian worship, following all the troubles the need has grown for a more multipurpose building, and the plan is now to establish it as a Social and Community Centre, with use for educational and training purposes and as an AIDS/HIV and Advocacy Centre. Just £5000 is needed to put the roof on the building so that they can move forward with their plans, and a registered charitable trust has been set up to oversee the project. With the backing of our PCC we have decided to try and help them achieve their goal.
There is currently a huge amount of fund raising going on in our parish, for example for our own church roof at Kirdford, and it is always rather daunting to start yet another campaign, but to do nothing just doesn't seem an option. So we are organising a series of small events in aid of the Bobi church project with the aim of helping to make a difference to the people of this small African village. All money raised will go through our PCC to the Janani Luwum Trust and will be then be used directly to purchase materials and labour.
THE BACKGROUND TO THE APPEAL
Our Church of England Parish (which covers Kirdford, Plaistow and Ifold) held a series of weekly Lent Group meetings in 2006 in which we followed a course supplied by the USPG called 'Life in all its fullness' which was based on perspectives of life from Malawi. During the five weeks that we met, we looked at and compared the things that we consider as essential ingredients to living a full and satisfied life in our culture to those of people living in very different conditions in villages in Malawi. It was a reminder once again of how easily we take for granted all that we have in our own lives: easy access to education, health care, employment, water, food and all the other natural resources that surround us.
The course had given us much food for thought and we all felt that we should try to do something, however small, to make a difference. There are of course so many worthy causes and areas of need and so we gave our Vicar, the Revd Stuart Kersley, the task of finding a project in Africa that we could support, and through his friend Bishop Gideon Oboma (retired Bishop of Northern Uganda) he came up with the Bobi church roof project.
ST PETER’S CHURCH IN BOBI, UGANDA
Bobi is a small village in Gulu, Northern Uganda. Thirty years ago a project was started to build St. Peter’s Church in Bobi and the foundation stone was laid by the late Archbishop of Uganda, the Right Reverend Janani Luwum. It was a difficult time and the building project came to a halt because of the financial and political crisis that engulfed the country leading to the murder of Archbishop Janani Luwum in 1977. Devastated by the loss of their Christian and spiritual leader the local people determined to continue with the building of their church in his memory, and enough funds were raised to erect the walls. However things went from bad to worse and for the last 21 years the area has been seriously affected by conflict between various warring factions, and the local people have been unable to complete their church building.
Whilst the main purpose of St. Peter’s is still for Christian worship, following all the troubles the need has grown for a more multipurpose building, and the plan is now to establish it as a Social and Community Centre, with use for educational and training purposes and as an AIDS/HIV and Advocacy Centre. Just £5000 is needed to put the roof on the building so that they can move forward with their plans, and a registered charitable trust has been set up to oversee the project. With the backing of our PCC we have decided to try and help them achieve their goal.
There is currently a huge amount of fund raising going on in our parish, for example for our own church roof at Kirdford, and it is always rather daunting to start yet another campaign, but to do nothing just doesn't seem an option. So we are organising a series of small events in aid of the Bobi church project with the aim of helping to make a difference to the people of this small African village. All money raised will go through our PCC to the Janani Luwum Trust and will be then be used directly to purchase materials and labour.