Check out the St. Monica’s Beads page for details.“Love my anklets!!!”

Afoyo to all as I return from a most inspiring month in Uganda!  I spent July traveling around Northern Uganda with Sister Rosemary bearing witness to the amazing growth of the Tree of Wisdom.  Everywhere we went we were met with smiling faces of children.  They were singing, healthy and happy–thrilled to have the chance to go to school. The guardians were full of gratitude to all the sponsors in America, asking that I thank all of you for lifting some of their burden.

The many women making beads and bags are so grateful for the opportunity to earn a living and support their children.

After landing in Kampala we travelled to Gulu, the major town in Northern Uganda.  We were warmly welcomed by the Sisters and students at St. Monica’s Girls Tailoring Centre, a school run by the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus that provides vocational training for young women in Northern Uganda.  St. Monica’s targets disadvantaged young women, many of whom were previously abducted in the war. This is the headquarters of the St. Monica’s Bead project.  Many women are participating in creating beautiful paper jewelry and cloth bags to help support themselves and their children.  Your purchases of these items are helping to sustain this income generating activity for these women.

Our first Tree of Wisdom event took place in the Village of Atiak, situated 2 hours north of Gulu.  The people of Atiak are struggling with starvation as they are in their third year of drought.  There are 60 TOW orphans in this area.  Our first Sunday gathering was spent with them.  The children were well dressed and clean and healthy.  Many were wearing their school uniforms.   They sang for us and waited patiently as the meeting began.  The guardians have formed a co-op and are banding together to help support each other.  This was very much an unexpected fruit of the project.

The children were excused from the meeting and were so excited to play with the great balls, jumpropes, frisbees and other toys purchased by many of you! We had a beautiful meal and then they wrote letters and drew pictures for all of you back home who are sending them love.  Thank you from all!

In Moyo we have 4 children who are living in an orphanage run by the same sisters.  I suppose most of you, as I, think that an orphanage would be a depressing place, a la “Annie” .  I must say, although parents and home life can never be replaced, this is a happy place.  The children are singing and happy and well fed.  The nuns love them very much.  We all need to keep praying for them though, because there are many of them, and not many nuns, so send them as much love as you can in your prayers!  They are really beautiful children.

Moving on to Paidha, we were in the true African village where Sr. Rosemary grew up, with no water or electricity.  What a  wonderful place!  The people are poor but not starving. Life is very simple–mud huts and grass roofs.  There is a tangible sense of connectedness and community here that I have never felt anyplace else before.

They realize how much they need each other, and they take care of one another.  We can all learn something from this way of life.  Our celebration with the 40 Tree of Wisdom children in Paidha was equally wonderful with much singing and joy.

On return to Gulu, our last gathering was with our few 6 students who are in secondary school.  At the inception of Tree of Wisdom we intended to support primary students only.  After learning about these students and reflecting further, we decided it was important to continue to support these children through secondary school if they continued to do well.  I must admit that our time with these young people was the most inspiring.

While I was in Gulu, we received report cards from 3 of the TOW teenagers who had been brought from the village and started in boarding school.  They are 1st, 3rd, and 5th in their class of 85 children.  These are teenagers, who were destitute in the village, and really didn’t have a chance to continue on in their education.  Janet wants to be a lawyer, Edmon wants to be a doctor &  Diana wants to be a teacher. ( I told  Janet she could only be a lawyer if she promised not to sue doctors!)  It is amazing to see the hope and ambition that these young people exude.  Please pray for their continued success.

Tree of Wisdom is growing strong and tall!  Great thanks to all of you for your support!

For more stories, the travel blog from my trip can be found at docsgogulu.blogspot.com.

God bless you,

Monique

As nature is springing to life across Northeastern Ohio, I can’t help but think of the Tree of Wisdom children who have just finished their first term in school.  Many of these children had never been in school before this February.  The children in Gulu arrived at St. Monica’s to look for Sr. Rosemary so they could show her their reports.  They all worked very hard and got very good marks.  How proud and happy they were to have a chance to learn and show their abilities.  Sr Rosemary also received reports from Atiak and Paidha about the excellent performance of the Tree of Wisdom children.

The stories of the individual children have been amazing.  Some of them we know more about than others.  As we get more information we will add it to the website.

Let me share with you the Story of James R.

James is a 12 year old boy from Atiak, a very poor village about 2 hours north of Gulu which was devastated by the war about ten years ago.  Several years ago James was orphaned as a result of his father killing his mother.  He was living with an uncle who is very poor and unable to send him to school.  In November James was invited to be a part of  the Tree of Wisdom family.

Sr. Rosemary conducted the first Tree of Wisdom meeting in Atiak in November with about 40 orphans and their guardians.  She explained that we would be providing school fees, uniforms, and other basic necessities to the children in the program.  When she was finished, she asked if there were any questions.  Young James stood up and said to her, “Sister, I know that I have worms living in my belly.  What good is an education going to do for me if I die?  I need healthcare.”  He was right–what a wise young man.

On that day James and two other children who were identified to be at health risk were taken to the hospital in Gulu for testing and medical care.   The doctors confirmed James’ suspicions.  He did indeed have worms in his belly. He has since been treated, is healthy and thriving.

Through this experience, Sr Rosemary discovered that James had an amazing aptitude for learning.  Despite his limited education, he spoke English very well.  The decision was made to keep James in Gulu so he could attend a higher quality school.  A few weeks later, an American Jesuit priest arrived at St Monica’s asking Sister if she knew of any children who might benefit from a Jesuit education.  She immediately thought of James.  He met with the priest and explained that he would someday like to be a teacher.  James will be attending the Jesuit school being built in Gulu once they are able to receive students.

Some months later, Sister Rosemary met with James again.  She found him to be excelling in school and adapting very well to his new environment.  He said to her, ” Sister, I think I want to be a priest.  The word of God is sweet to me and I want to share it with other people.”  Needless to say, James is an inspiring young man.  I am humbled to think of the blessings he will share with the people in his future as a result of the opportunity he has been given by Tree of Wisdom.

The generosity of our sponsors will continue to have far reaching benefits for many.  Because of James’ statement about the need for healthcare, TOW has created a contingency fund for children like James who have additional needs that cannot be paid for with the basic sponsorship funds.   The fund is being supported by individual donors and some of the proceeds from the St Monica’s Bead project.  It will allow us to meet the special needs of some of the orphans including healthcare, hospitalization, secondary school tuition, special formulas for malnourished babies, etc.  This allows Tree of Wisdom to  continue to support the children even if they go beyond the funds provided by basic sponsorship.  Thanks to all of you, once again, for your generosity and support.

We can change the world, one child at a time.

God bless you all!

I would like to share  a story of a few days ago…

Tree of Wisdom is eventually not only for sponsorship for kids but is becoming life saving as well.  We have gone well beyond the education only, but more in welfare of kids and their growth.

A woman named Grace who is HIV+ and a widow, was sent by God yesterday evening to our house as two us missed to go in for prayer because we did not hear the bell ring. To me she had the face of Jesus, hungry and sick.  She was carrying her baby  and they walked in the the first heavy rain after the dry spell we experienced for long, looking for something to eat after staying hungry for three days with her children.  She arrived all washed by rain and was shivering with a hungry baby.  She  looked for some employment like washing people’s clothes the whole day, and did not find anybody who could give her work for even less than ten dollars to buy food for her 3 kids.  No one wanted to hire her because she was HIV+.

I thought the kid was very small, but when Sr. Pauline and I came to the mother with some left over food from our house, the kid stretched out his little hands to receive the food.  This action put me off and I realized the kid is one year old but looks like only six months because he is under fed.  This was a sight impossible to ignore.  I thank God because we had some food left in the house enough to feed this woman and her 3 kids.

I told the woman to return the next day.  She is going to join other women making necklaces in order to get some money with dignity to look after her children, while the baby can be fed in our Day Care Centre.

The Tree of Wisdom is making us go an extra mile to develop the dignity of the most vulnerable people as well.  I am impressed at the how my sisters from time to time come back from their different places of work to tell me the needs of children and poor mothers they meet.  Without the gift of the Tree of Wisdom,  we would have closed our eyes and ignored some of these urgent needs, or we would respond in a way which might make people recall  some negative things nuns did to them while they were in schools.  I am now realizing that, in the past, some negative situations could have been created when the nuns felt there was no way to respond to such situations as these ones.  I am trying to read the past in the present and, “At Such A Time As This”,  thank you for making us understand that our vocation is clearly seen in the faces of the poor, hungry, and malnourished Jesus.

We did not know this project would lead us as far as this.  Thanks to those who have managed to decorate the Tree of Wisdom with the beautiful necklaces made by the guardians, poor women and grand parents of TOW children.

I am always wondering about what God is doing to this Tree but with time the leaves are growing and the branches are expanding in God’s direction.  Maybe it is too early to clearly say, these are our objectives as well.  God seems to be spelling out the objectives and mission statement too.  God is writing the Strategic Plan for the Tree of Wisdom.  Let us be quiet and thank him.

God bless our Tree and its fruits.

Sr. Rosemary Nyirumbe

Some of the things we in America don’t think about when returning to school are also included.  A new plate and cup will be provided so that the children can take part in the food provided at the school.  We are also providing bars of soap for the children–one for bathing and one for laundry.  Good hygiene is the first step toward good health.  Finally, mosquito nets will be provided to each of the children to reduce their exposure to the mosquitoes that cause malaria–a disease that takes more lives every year in Africa than HIV.

Allow me to take this opportunity to share with you the story of Rosemary, a lovely young woman we had the pleasure of meeting on our last trip to Uganda.  When Rosemary was born, she was abandoned by her father,  and her mother was unable to care for her. The mother asked the Sisters at St Monica to care for her child.  They willingly accepted, along with Catherine, the biological sister of Sister Rosemary.  Young Rosemary grew up beautifully and last weekend graduated with high honors from the University.  She is now volunteering a lot of her time helping with the Tree of Wisdom project.  She says, ” I am one of them.  Without the help of the Sisters, I never could have come to this place in my life. This is my opportunity to share my gifts with them.”  She has provided tremendous inspiration to these children, as she travels from place to place telling them her story.  Her example shows us all the difference that love and support can make in the life of a child.  Congratulations to Rosemary for her hard work and dedication, and for being a beacon of light!!  Our hope is that the Tree of Wisdom children will follow in her footsteps.

The first day of school is February 1.  Please say a special prayer for the children on this day.

With gratitude,

Monique

TOW children dressed in Christmas clothes for school

UNICEF – The Convention on the Rights of the Child – People and Partners – Sister Rosemary.

When Sister met with the children they had many interesting questions.  One young boy, 12 years old, said we could send him to school and feed him but he was concerned about his health.  He said, “my abdomen is distended and I know there is something living in there, what good is school if I die from this disease?” A very wise young man.  Many of these children have distended abdomens either from malnutrition or from schistosomiasis–a parasite contracted through the skin from not wearing shoes.  With this we decided to ask the Physician Assistant and Nurse from St Monica’s to go to the villages to provide some basic healthcare for these children.

Sister asked a group of  children how we could make Christmas special for them this year.  A young child stood up and said they would love to get to eat meat on Christmas day.  All the rest enthusiastically agreed.  When our children are asked what they want for Christmas, do they ask for food?   So, in honor of Christmas, the first fruits of the Tree of Wisdom included a bag of rice, a small amount of money to buy meat for Christmas day, and a small toy for each of the children.  Sister said it was amazing the smiles that it brought to the childrens’ faces.  Now this is the true meaning of Christmas.  All of our sponsors are bringing hope to the hopeless–THANK YOU!!

Gob bless you and your families at this beautiful Christmas Season.  Let’s remember to be thankful for all the little things we all take for granted in this land of plenty.

Merry Christmas!

Monique

Little Daisy enjoying a Banana

Dear friends

As winter draws near for you, we have just entered the hottest time of the year where the   sun shines bright by 8.OO a.m. The wind blows gently bringing joy and happiness but at the same time it  makes people see the importance of Trees which provide cool shades and act as  air conditioner.

This morning as I walked in the compound looking for some fresh air , I saw a little boy called Moses Ochan 5 years old, lying helpless under a mango tree in the compound.   His mother Joyce Aloyo , a woman living with disability, sat helpless near her son with a 2 year old daughter Daisy Aber.   They all looked unhappy indicating something was not right.

The trio  caught my attention and  as I moved closer to them, I found the boy was feverish and the mother was helpessly sitting near him.  One of the sisters took the boy to the nearby hospital for a blood test for malaria.  It turned out that he was not only having malaria but  was very anaemic too.

As the mother moves with her son to hospital, I asked her to leave the little Daisy under our care because she could not manage to carry the two kids on her wheelchair.    Daisy touched my heart when she heard me requesting  the mother to leave her behind, she quickly got up and ran to hold my hands.  We walked together  to the house and I found out she was hungry and needed something to fill her little stomach.  As I gave her two bananas, she walked out immediately to take the second banana to her brother.  I wonder how this young kid reasoned about sharing wih her brother who was also hungry, but it touched me.

I recall Mother Teresa saying that the poor know how to share…………

The mother rides her wheel chair with the little Daisy in front every day coming to St. Monica to do some work for which she would be paid to sustain her family.  I started seeing clearly that this woman struggles a lot to ride on bad roads but has no choice.  She must move with her children every day because she cannot leave them alone behind with no food and care.  My temporary disability helped me  understand the struggles and sacrifices this woman and many people living permanently with disability go through in order to make ends meet.

An exciting thought came to my mind that we can now make the life of this woman a little better beacuse the Tree of Wisdom is growing and spreading its leaves and branches rapidly.  I am so excited that we are going to include the two  children on our adoption program.  They can find shelter, food and medical care especially provision of mosqitoe nets to fight malaria.   The mother has started working on necklaces as part of her job.  Thanks to all who make us go a long way to bring hope to children and their helpless mothers, and grandmothers.

After planting the Tree of Wisdom, a good number of friends took up the work of watering and adding manure to it with a lot of  committment.  Thank you so much for your good and dedicated work.  HAVE YOU VISITED THE TREE OF WISDOM SINCE A WEEK AGO?  IT IS A MIRACLE, A MIRACLE OF GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is growing more leaves and stronger branches daily to support the children.   THIS IS THE  POWER OF SHARING AND A DREAM COME TRUE!!!!!

Thank you friends for your great support which has made this dream come true in the lives of children who lack the basic necessities for a healthy growth.  Thanks for your generous sharing with these children in Northern Uganda.  We hope to send you pictures soon.

God bless you all

Sr. Rosemary

5 days later…..

Sharing can become  heavy when it causes pain in our hearts but however much we keep it, we have  to find a way of sharing it with those who care.    I have been wondering  how I could share this hard fact which became part of us for the last one week.  Sharing pain with those who suffer  makes us go a little further to question the reasons behind the pain and sufferings, it means we must not only stop at listening but  move on to do small things with love to remove some causes of suffering due to injustices.

Today we are sharing the painful story of 5 year old Moses who was admitted last week in Hospital.  Moses struggled with malaria, malnutrition and anemia.  The last time we visited him in his hospital bed he was more helpless.  Two days later the mother who is physically challenged carried her helpless son away from the hospital where he was less attended to and  sitting on a motobike (Boda Boda) they arrived  in St. Monica’s compound again looking for help.

We rushed Moses and the mother to Lacor missionary  hospital with better management but unfortunately, he passed away in less than an hour.

I will  not forget that sight which reminds me of the pain the Our Lady the sorrowful mother  might have gone through as she held her beloved son in the  arms,  portrayed by the famous artist Michaelangelo.

The mother of Moses is heart broken and like any other mother losing a child, she is still desperately mourning her son.  Daisy has remained with the sisters since then and the mother looks more worried about the little girl as well.  I ask you to remember this woman and her daughter Daisy in your prayers.

Ecclesiastes 3: 1 says there is appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens. I think this is the time to value the Tree of Wisdom which will give hope for the children.  It is not just to lose a child at 5 years to malaria and malnutrition, but there are so many children who do not reach even five years because  of this  preventable disease.   Join us to do something to fight this injustices in the society by giving children a hope for a longer life.  Give the injustices which reduces the life expectancy of children.

…….this means, we must not  stop at listening but move on to do small things with love to remove the causes of sufferings in the world.  Give a chance to  poor children to grow and live through  the TREE OF WISDOM.

Sr. Rosemary

I asked a five year old boy called Trevor about what he likes about tree climbing and I was amazed at his spontaneous response. “I like climbing Trees because I find birds hiding there from people who destroy their nests.” I had forgotten about birds nesting up there and trying to find safety.
This was a very wise response which I never expected from his age. I took it as advice to value and protect the weak and defenseless creatures of God. How do birds find protection in Trees?

Think about this reality of life which brings us very near to the Tree of Wisdom.
Trees provide this care and protection to delicate life in a unique way.

Hi friends, I want to share with you my insight about the “TREE OF WISDOM.” I want to invite you to join us in following the growth of this TREE.  Let us remember that every part of the Tree has a special role to play in its life and growth. As we are planting it, we shall need to water it as well, as it continues growing and spreading its branches, providing wisdom and shelter to many poor children in Northern Uganda.
Let’s join hands to tend the Tree of Wisdom in order for it to grow and provide Hope , Shelter, Wisdom, Knowledge, safety and above all protection to poor children who lack the basic necessities of life. Let the Tree of Wisdom grow to protect these children from situations which can destroy the “NESTS” of their future and give them a new opportunity to grow in Wisdom.

I thank all who want to join hands in planting this TREE of WISDOM. You are the Leaves, Trunk and Roots. The beautiful leaves sometimes mixed with flowers will tell how strong the Tree is and the Trunk will determine the direction the tree is taking while the Roots will tell how firmly the Tree is standing.

Anyone of us can choose to be part of our TREE of WISDOM. All parts are important, and the Tree cannot stand when some parts are not there.

I LOVE THE TREE OF WISDOM
Sr. Rosemary Nyirumbe