TESS v2

Returning to Teso – March 2009
by Helen Newman

Having first visited Teso three years ago with Margaret Stevens and Mary Jones, I was excited about the opportunity of returning for a week en route to Tanzania, where my husband David and I had been invited to lead a parish week-end.
It was a joy to stay with Bishop Charles and Margaret Obaikol in their home in Soroti; to spend time with Rev Sam Ediau, his wife Olivia and their two delightful girls – Blessing and Margaret, and to meet Harriet Amoding (Sam’s assistant.)
Although there is still enormous suffering in this impoverished area of Uganda, I was really encouraged by re-visiting a number of the sponsored girls who had just been taken on by sponsors when I last visited. They were clearly growing in confidence and could speak of the benefits they had received through the opportunities they have been given. The annual retreats which Margaret and others have led have clearly been of great benefit. The girl we sponsor – Anumo Immaculate – spoke of the help she had found through the talks on living as a Christian, peace building and conflict resolution. She was also enthusiastic about the small business (selling packed simsim – sesame seeds) she was planning in her village, with the help of the small loan she had been given on the retreat. We visited a lovely girl, who is sponsored by a member of our Church in Loughborough, who is now at Kumi University on a social work course and another in her first months of nursing training at Ngora Hospital. They were both so positive about the opportunities they had been given.
Visiting Obalanga camp in Amuria was both harrowing and heartening: harrowing to visit the mass graves of some of the thousands of people killed by the LRA rebels in June 2003; yet heartening to see the new Church built during a time when people were living on hand outs and yet still giving from that. The local priest told us about an elderly lady who had given her portion of millet to the Church. Such love and faith is quite extraordinary. We met Betty – a girl who had been abducted by the LRA, raped and shot in the leg – and yet was now re-building her life. With the help of a sewing machine given to her last year after training on a project run by Sam and funded by TDT, she was using her newly acquired tailoring skills and had just bought her first goat from the proceeds. Although 41,000 people had been living in the camp at the height of the troubles, there were now few remaining, many people having returned to their villages.
At Bethany School, we met with the 8 girls sponsored by some of our Church members. I was delighted to see Amajo Agnes who had appeared at the guest house where I was staying 3 years ago, then aged 13. She had walked 18km and arrived wearing torn clothes, rubber sandals and carrying a small case with a sheet and a Bible in it. She was delighted to see me again; although she still carries much heartache, she said she was so glad to have the opportunity of being at school and wants to make the most of the opportunity she has been given.
On Sunday we were asked to preach at Soroti Cathedral and were amazed to find 1200 people at the 6.30am service (many of them young people too) The English speaking service at 11.30am was much smaller (only 250!) I think it was the first time many of them had come across a pair of married clergy and preaching a joint sermon!
We were treated to sodas in the vestry after the service and I was delighted to meet David, a member of the Cathedral staff, who had been training for the ministry at Buwalasi College when Margaret Stevens and I had led a week's teaching on pastoral care 3 years ago. He spoke very appreciatively of our input and how helpful he had found it.
On our remaining days, we visited Teso College, Ngora Girls, Ngora High, Jeressar and Halcyon Schools and met with 20 of the students sponsored by members of the Loughborough churches. We were driven around by Sam Ocen, the delightful driver of the new TESS minibus. He clearly enjoys his new job and takes great pride in keeping the vehicle clean and tidy and well maintained.
While in Soroti, we were asked to open and commission the newly built Bishop's Guest House, known locally as ‘the White House’. This was a building which had foundations but nothing else when I visited 3 years ago. It provides a lovely facility for visitors to stay and we hope will encourage many other sponsors and TDT supporters to visit Teso.

We left with bags laden with Teso honey, Ugandan tea and coffee and jars of sesame seed – symbols of the love and generosity shown to us in many ways.
Being part of TESS is an enormous privilege and enables us to keep our lives here in a more healthy perspective. Although our visit was brief, we are so grateful for the opportunity to meet some of the sponsored children, spend time with those who work and minister in Teso and to recognize our inter-dependency in the work of the Kingdom of God.