Precarious times

Dear friends,

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year.

I am writing because we are facing a very difficult financial situation at Cornerstone Children’s Home.  Cornerstone was founded through the work of Pastor Samuel Juma, a South Sudanese refugee now living in the US.  His vision was, and still is, to provide a home for orphans which will allow them to develop into educated, Christian leaders who can move South Sudan to a better situation.  To this end he founded a US based charity called Fulaa LifelineInternational.  Fulaa is the main support for the orphanage, although we have other much smaller sources of funding. 

Impromptu recorder class

In April 2014 there was a government inspection of all South Sudanese orphanages.  They rated Cornerstone as the best orphanage in the country.  This was with good reason.  Although conditions by western standards are very basic (no running water, reliable electricity, very basic diet, poor clothing and shoes etc.), they are very much better than the conditions of any other orphanage in the country.  The inspectors pointed out that our children all go to school with the realistic hope of going on to further education in Uganda.  They get medical care if they are ill.  Most other homes lack even these basics.  From my own point of view, I see happy children who have a chance in life for the first time ever.  Last week two new children arrived in a starving state.  They could not stop smiling.

For some time now Fulaa has been facing great difficulties fundraising for the home.   This is in all probability for three reasons:

Firstly, the civil war situation in the country.  We are very fortunate in Nimule to be in a peaceful part of the country.  We have children who have fled from further north, where the fighting is catastrophic.  The results of the civil war financially have been that South Sudanese inflation is very high causing food prices to escalate.  Financial needs are therefore higher than they would otherwise be.  Should the war put us in direct danger at some point, we would take the children across the nearby border to Uganda for safety.  This in itself will be costly.

Secondly, the issue of corruption.  As a westerner living at the home, I see the day-to-day running of it and can say that the money does go where it is intended.  South Sudan is a desperately poor country.  As stated in Proverbs 30: 8b – 9 “Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that I need, or I shall be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or I shall be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.”  There are certainly thieves and extreme greed in the town, as a direct result of abject poverty, but this is less of an issue at the home.  I know that most people cannot afford to see their hard-earned money squandered by some Fat Cat.  I can assure you that I watch carefully. 

Thirdly, a difficult economic situation in the west.  There is not much I can say about that, other than to remind you that even with that situation, citizens are rarely reduced to a state of destitution and starvation as happens here when things get bad.

Before Christmas we were warned by Fulaa that there was no extra money for a Christmas celebration at the home.  A very kind person contacted me from the US offering help.  Single-handedly she made it possible for the children to have a wonderful feast and a day to remember.  I was in the UK at the time, but I called on Christmas Day and spoke to several children.  They sounded so happy.  When I returned in January the children were still talking about it.

The lead pastor at Cornerstone has received an email detailing spending cuts from Fulaa for 2015.  Staff salaries will be cut, which is likely to cause some staff to leave.  Most serious though is that Fulaa is unable to provide fees for education past Senior 4, the equivalent of GCSE stage in the UK.  To go to university in Uganda, students must reach Senior 6.  The food allowance will also be reduced, which will be another major problem.  This is terrible news as these cuts will go to the heart of the mission of this home.  We need our children to be healthy, well looked after and have further education so they can become useful citizens who will reform and help their country rise from the ashes of civil war.  On a practical note, they need the skills to be able to earn a living once they leave Cornerstone.

Some of the older children whose education is in jeopardy.

We have ten students who are currently either continuing their Further Education studies or about to commence them for the first time in Uganda.  One young man is about to start his final semester on a Telecom Engineering Degree.  It would be tragic to get so far and be unable to complete his degree.

The average cost per student including accommodation and living expenses is $950 or £633 per term, with costs ranging from $572 (£380) per term for a construction course to $1083 (£722) per term for a nursing course.  Help is desperately needed as the new academic year is just beginning.  In an ideal world it would be wonderful if donors could sponsor an individual student, although I know that this is a hefty sum to provide three times a year.  If you are able to help in this way, I am happy to write individually giving further details and to put you in touch with the student you would sponsor.  If not possible, any smaller amount would be most welcome. 

Another way to help is to go to the Fulaa website to sponsor a child at the orphanage.  Some of the pictures are a bit out of date as children grow fast, but these are real children, born in unfortunate circumstances, not of their making.  I can assure you they are not some marketing gimmick.  Please do your best to help them.