GOD IS MOVING IN UGANDA - CHECK IT OUT!

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN UGANDA

COVID-19

The Ugandan Government continues its "phased reopening" of the country. Many stores have been allowed to do business again; schools, churches and restaurants remain closed."Boda Bodas", motorbikes that function similarly to taxis in the US, are now allowed to carry passengers so long as masks are worn. And the EU recently approved resuming tourist travel to Uganda. A nightly curfew is still in effect but was decreased by two hours just this week. According to the BBC, the political climate is becoming tense as security forces have been accused of killing twelve people in their attempts to enforce the curfew. Close to 1,200 people have tested positive, and four people have succumbed to the disease. Thankfully our COVID-19 fund of your donations in May will help provide food to those we serve for August.

LOCUSTS

Millie Ojera reports: "There is news of locust invasions into Karamoja (North of Uganda) from Kenya. These are pink in color and much more dangerous than the yellow ones in terms of devouring anything that comes their way. Interestingly they aren’t eating one grain called sorghum!!! The  Government is now putting efforts there to spray them. Pray that they are killed and that there are no others breeding somewhere, otherwise hunger and famine will kick in. In the Bible locusts often represent judgment! May the church rise and pray. The times are already vulnerable." According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, "There is a risk that a few swarms may cross the border into northeast Uganda. The scale of the migration of remaining swarms from Kenya is likely to be smaller than previously anticipated due to ongoing control operations." We'll continue to keep you updated.

ALIGN PARTNERS WITH DRESS A GIRL AROUND THE WORLD AND BAYCITIES COMMUNITY CHURCH

Dress A Girl Around the World is a campaign for United States seamstresses to sew dresses for girls throughout the world. Helen Loring and Jerana Nelms introduced Dress A Girl to the Women’s Bible study at Baycities Community Church in Lomita (BCCL) in 2015 as a unique way to serve others in Jesus’ name. Pastor Ben Meyers asked if Dress A Girl could be a project for BCCL’s "Lomita Labor of Love (L3)" outreach when the church closed for a weekend so that congregants could do projects to improve the local community. This enabled many who were unable to do the physical labor required during L3 to participate in the effort. Since then full-day sewing sessions occur about four times a year with 8-10 seamstresses. There is a handful of dedicated women sew dresses year-round at home. Dress A Girl advised BCCL it would be ideal if they had their own dress delivery outreach. Align International and our partner Bombo Pentecostal Church (BPC) were thrilled to team with BCCL and deliver these dresses to several
Ugandan communities! The first batch was taken to Uganda in late June 2015.

In 2017, BCCL congregant Diana Calhoun had the privilege to travel with Align International to Uganda and deliver dresses. She reports: "While there I saw a need for the local women to have a means of earning money to support their families, and at the same time provide affordable school uniforms to the Donela Schools. I contacted Hope4Women (Dress A Girl's parent organization) who then had a seamstress school in Tororo Uganda to see if we could offer scholarships for several Bombo women to attend. In-country representatives from BPC and Hope4Women were able to construct a program for the first seamstress training class to be held in Bombo during 2019. The scholarship funding is supported by several of our seamstresses."

Diana closed by saying: "The Dress-A-Girl Ministry at BCCL is very popular. Not only do these women have servants' hearts, but they also have lots of fellowship and laughter while sewing together. The photos that we receive showing the girls in their new dresses are not only prized possessions, but I know that the women are praying for these girls." Align International and BPC extend our sincere thanks to every person who has helped in this ministry! We will be sure to get you photos the next time your dresses are distributed in one of our communities.

Just some of Baycities Community Church Lomita seamstresses at one of their sewing days in June 2019.

CHILD SPONSORSHIP CAMPAIGN

As we reported last month, many of our children have lost Life with Hope sponsorship due to the economic burdens COVID-19 has placed on our supporters. We now have 23 children that need Life with Hope sponsorship and 42 children that need Ewange sponsorship. After much prayer and discussion, our Board has decided to run a sponsorship campaign for the last two weeks of August. We ask that you consider forwarding our Sponsorship Campaign emails on to any friends or family you feel may be interested in helping Align in our efforts. And if you have not already done so, please pray about sponsoring a child.

If you think your church congregation may be interested in helping with our sponsorship campaign, please contact our CEO Erica Estrella at erica@aligninternational.org.



Donela School student - Bombo, Uganda

BIG THANKS TO VENTOLATION FOOTWEAR!

We are always amazed and blessed by you, our faithful donors! Recently we received a donation of 509 pairs of Ventolation sandals to send to our BPC partners in Uganda to distribute throughout our target communities. Quality footwear is especially important due to the terrain in which they live and the amount of walking they do each day. A huge "WEEBALE" (thank you in Lugandan) to Ventolation Footwear (click here to learn more about their innovative footwear)



Thank you Ventolation Footwear!

SEND YOUR SPONSORED CHILD AN EMAIL

During this time of COVID-19, our sponsored children would be especially encouraged to hear from those in the United States who love them. You can send a note and photo to your sponsored child/ren at any time by logging into your account at: https://www.aligninternational.net/login. When sending a note to your child, we recommend you tell them something about your life, and keep it encouraging, short, and simple. If you choose to attach a photo, please be aware that the max file size is five MB. A response will be sent to the email address used to login to your Sponsor Profile page. You can also login to your Sponsor Profile page and view the response by clicking on the image of the individual you sponsor. Please note: responses may take up to six weeks due to the limited internet access in the communities we partner with. Thank you for loving those in need in Uganda!

ONE LAST THING...

Tax-deductible gifts can be made in two ways:

• Send a check by mail to the address at the bottom of the email.
• Visit aligninternational.net/donate.

Align International is a California non-profit corporation registered by the IRS under Internal Revenue Code 501c3. All gifts and donations are tax deductible as allowable by law.