What an amazing day ...!

I am sorry if you missed out on the craft sale - it was a brilliant day. Thank you so much to everyone who contributed in anyway to the craft sale to raise money for An African Dream - so many people made lovely and unusual crafts and cards, baked delicous cakes and biscuits, served refreshments, washed up and of course came and bought and also prayed! The whole house was beautifully laid out and a great deal of care had gone into the presentation of every item. There was a wonderful peaceful atmosphere throughout the day with around 150 -200 people coming to enjoy.

It was a great success and around £4000 was raised - an extraordinary amount - thank you to all who came and generously bought. :-)

Your support is hugely appreciated - two trustees are presently in Uganda and will no doubt return with fresh ideas as to how the money can be spent.

Exam season has arrived!

Today Primary 7 pupils at St Mark's will begin exams - we are hopeful that the good education that they have been receiving throughout the year will give them all a great opportunity for success.

The government school inspector will be visiting St Mark's School on Wed 11th November - we will keep you posted on the outcome of his visit

Two trustees of An African Dream will be visiting the work this month and following up developments and progress.

Come to the Craft Sale!

Following the success of last year's craft sale another one is being held on Thursday 12th Novemeber 9am - 7pm at Pipers Cottage, Pipers Lane, Great Kingshill - please do come and support the work of An African Dream. There will be Ugandan crafts and handmade UK crafts too - plus plenty of delicious refreshments.

What's been happening ...

What a lot has happened in the last few months - the team had a great visit in July - please see their full reports on the website www.aaduganda.org. A brief summary is below.


St Mark's has begun the last term of the school year. I was thrilled to see the new water tank in place and connected to the guttering. The new administration block which will include a staffroom is making great progress with the roof on already which is amazing as only the foundations had been dug when we visited in July.


The pastors' graduation was a day of great celebration with speeches and ceremony abounding!




We visited several widows who had received piglets last summer through An African Dream and we were thrilled to see the first batches of piglets. The widows were delighted and had varied plans for the money which selling their piglets would raise, such as paying school fees and buying another plot of land.

London Marathon Triumph!

A massive thank you to Mark Olsen who ran the London Marathon in aid of An African Dream and raised an incredible £509 - thank you to everyone who supported him - what a fantastic achievement.

Garage Sale Success even in the pouring rain!!

Are the Brits ever worried by rain? - despite it pouring persistently throughout the morning the garage sale went ahead regardless last saturday - troops rallied with gazebos and tarpaulin and string abounding!! It seemed that nearly every punter brought donations to swap with their purchases and willing parted with their money for our friends in Uganda.
So far £795 has been raised with a few pennies (and maybe pounds!?) to come - thank you so everyone who supported the event.

Team preparations are progressing .................

As you will have seen a team of 8 are preparing to go to Uganda on July 1st - last week they met up for final planning. Vaccinations are being updated and visas are being processed this week. Here are some comments from two members of the team who are going for the first time:

It is a huge privilige and a thrill to be a part of the team. I'm looking forward to meeting people who's experience of God and of life is so very different to my own. I hope our trip and the activities we have planned will be of value to those we encounter, and that it will begin to shape my understanding of Gods plan for my future.
Helen

From the moment God touched my heart to care for those less fortunate than myself, I wanted to do something tangible to help. In my daily life I deal with people who have so much material wealth, but it seems, are not as happy as those with so much less. Under God's guidance, I cannot wait to make a small difference where I can to the lives of those in Uganda, and in particular the school children.
Trevor