Personal interview with Andrew from Faith Angels. Don’t miss it!

Thank you very much for keep supporting Faith Angels Ministry, from Uganda!

 

As a return to your valuable support, we would like to share with you this month’s Newsletter from the organization that we hope you’d enjoy!

 

 

This month, Anisia from Airfunding had an interview with Andrew, the founder of Faith Angels Ministry, and we’ve had the chance to know a little more about him, his motivations, dreams and experiences in Faith Angels Ministry. Please keep reading!

 

Interview with Andrew, the founder of Faith Angels Ministry

 

 

  • Hi Andrew! I’m very happy to see you. I would like to ask you some questions, so your supporters get a chance to know you and your work better. To start, can you please tell us a little about you?

 

Sure! I’m an Ugandan citizen aged 33 years. Am the 3rd born in our nuclear family of five children. I was born from a small village found in South Western Uganda with a
poor family background. Because of my parents striving from grass to grace, I grew up experiencing a hard life that I wouldn’t wish any other child to go through.

 

My parents worked so hard to make me complete a minimal education at the university. In 2013, I graduated at the university with a Bachelors Degree in Mass Communication. This was a supplement to my already acquired Certificates in Computer Application, Child Development and Growth, Diploma in project Planning and management.

 

During my youth stage, I developed empathy and love for helping the young children who were living under inhuman situations. Majority of these children hailed from broken extended families that have been affected by HIV/Aids scourge. I grew up from an environment that was
surrounded by these kinds of children. I believed that it was only through attaining complete education that my dream of giving a second hand of help to needy children would be fulfilled.
After completing my studies, I was compelled out of the volunteering experience with vulnerable communities to empower the marginalized groups of children with education.
It was out of this desire that in 2015 I founded Faith Angels Ministry Africa with a vision of creating a free from poverty and self reliant community of people in Africa.

 

 

  • Why did you decide to create Faith Angels Ministry?

 

Faith Angels Ministry was established in 2015. Through the little salary that I was earning while working at a local radio station, I decided to also establish Faith Angels Nursery and Primary School – as a charity school helping vulnerable children with education. I wanted to ensure that there was access to basic needs including good education by orphans and other vulnerable children that come from hard to reach communities. These communities have often been abandoned by both the government and other civil society organizations whose interventions often targets old people and thus living out the youth who are the future generation.

 

These children have therefore often times missed out on the government program of universal primary education. They have been abandoned by both their parents and care givers and thus resorted to gambling and alcohol drinking at a tender age. It’s therefore Faith Angels Nursery and Primary Schools’ desire to see that these children attain education despite of their family backgrounds, religion, and age.

 

Faith Angels School recognizes that each child is an individual; that all children are created equal and that all children need to succeed. Therefore, the school respects the individual needs of children; fosters a caring and creative environment; and emphasizes the social, emotional, physical, intellectual development of every child. Currently, the school supports more than 190 orphaned vulnerable children.

 

What are the biggest challenges that education faces in Uganda?

 

One of the many challenges the education system in my country experiences is the lack of enough funds to properly ran the day to day activities. As an organization, we requested volunteers to work at the charity organization. Many people turned up and after screening, we maintained on 10 volunteers. This has been so effective in the proper running of our activities.
Secondary, there is a big problem of kids lacking the necessary requirements for school like pens, pencils, school uniform and food. Faith Angels Ministry has been feeding the children. Every day, 195 children receive their meals from our orphanage school. The organization also gives them free writing pens, clothing’s, books and school uniform.

 

 

  • What are your goals for Faith Angels Ministry, short/long term?

 

The goals of Faith Angels Ministry includes:
the following set objectives:

1. To empower vulnerable groups of people with active and creative minds,
2. To give a sense of understanding, belonging and compassion for elderly, and the disabled groups of people.
3. To do, perform and promote all the causes, ideas, acts and deeds for and or in advancement of social and charitable aspiration of mankind.
4. To provide a joyful learning environment that empowers vulnerable children to reach their educational and personal full potential while nurturing their self-confidence and self-esteem.
5. To facilitate the members, plan and implement and share resources with an aim of achieving self –sufficiency and support the work of Faith Angels Ministry using locally and internationally identified resources through the welfare development Fund.
6. To support relief programes for Orphans, elderly, sick and widows, in Uganda and the surrounding countries.
7. To assist Schools, and all other educational Institutions with equipment, scholastic materials and books.
8. To support the programes of Primary Health Care and community water programes.

 

  • What have been the biggest achievements of the organization so far?

 

Our biggest achievement in the past five years are the following:

1. Provision of education to vulnerable children has been ongoing.
2. We held the first graduation ceremony for the kindergarten students. This was the first of its kind in the whole community.
3. We have been able to provide food relief to the marginalized Batwa groups of people.
4. During Covid-19 crisis, we donated many Soap detergents among the most communities.

I came to know Airfunding via Facebook. I have so far held two successful project campaigns via Airfunding that helped us to achieve those objectives.

Meet Adella, a girl that dreams on becoming a nurse to fight child abuse.

 

Please meet Gumoshabe Adella. She is a Level six 14 aged young girl. Adella hails from an extended family of 8 members. Her family is full of mis understandings and wrangles. The parents don’t see the importance of education. Adella was picked up by Faith Angels Ministry four years back after dropping out. In her family, she is the first member to study up to level 6. She is so happy to be in School. Her leadership skills have helped her to be voted as the Head girl in the just concluded May prefectural student leadership body. This makes it three years in a row as a student leader.
We are so hopeful that Adella will live to achieve her dream of being a nurse after completion of her education. She desires to treat her community counterparts that have been badly affected by family neglect and child abuse.

Here you can see a letter that Adella wrote for us, telling her story:

 

 

  • Some curiosities about Uganda. Did you know that?

 

1. About one-quarter of Uganda’s surface is made up of lakes and rivers.

2. The women of Uganda traditionally build the houses. They are responsible for constructing the walls of mud while men build the roofs of the houses.

3. It is impolite to simple say “hi”. When greeting an Ugandan it is customary to ask “How are you?”.

4. About half of Uganda’s population is under the age of 14.

5. Approximately, one million tourists come to Uganda every single year.

6. It is not uncommon for Ugandans to be late -punctuality is not very important. A person may arrive 30 minutes late, or sometimes even up to two hours after they were supposed to be there.

7. A Rolex isn’t a watch in Uganda -it’s a type of fast food. This dish is a chapatti filled with sausages and includes other ingredients like vegetables.

8. Uganda is the home of the 11% of the bird population.

9. If you have to pee, Ugandans call it “to make a short call”.

10. It is a policy in Uganda that for every 3 trees you cut, you plant 3 more.

 

 

Remember that you can directly communicate with Andrew in the Supporters Community in Facebook. Don’t forget to join the community if you haven’t done it yet, by clicking on the following link!