Category Archives: Student Updates

Updates on the Students in Kenya

91 Kids are learning for the very first time in Bwase, Uganda!

The Child Redeemed Mission Primary School (CRMPS) is in the middle of its very first term with 91 eager first time learners.

MSM envisioned and established this school in partnership with the Bwase community to provide a Nursery and early Primary school for kids in the community. Existing schools are too far for young ones to walk. Of the 91 kids, 11 are orphans and vulnerable kids from the Child Redeemed Mission Home and 34 are children from poverty that have been selected by the Community Elders to receive partial or full assistance to attend CRMPS. This Community Assistance Program (CAP) is to be funded by those led to sponsor education to the very poor and not leave any behind. The parents of CAP kids sign contracts to prepare their kids to receive an education and perform well.

The school is non profit, Christian based, fees are very modest (about $20 per term), is staffed by professional teachers, and provides breakfast and lunch for the students.

Launching Phase I of CRMPS was very successful and encouraging. We are planning to begin executing Phase II this month with the construction of a Teachers Compound, 2nd Classroom Block Building allowing the addition of Grade 2, and a Playground.

Thank you for your support and prayers toward helping make sure these kids do not miss the foundation of early education.

Pastor Training, Teaching, and Fixing in Kenya, Trip 45

Tony, Eldon, and Ray are home now after completing a 10 day trip to Kenya including Nairobi and the Lord’s Servants Home (LSH) that is supported by Mission Servants Ministry (MSM) since 2007. Those three guys are a team with Christ-like hearts for teaching, serving, and loving others. Among other goals, they partnered with Pastors Henry and Moses, Kenyan Missionaries from Nairobi for a week of local Pastor training and teaching at LSH.

20 area Pastors were trained as a follow-up program to a week long session last year.

Ray spent the week teaching a bible course at the Compel High School in nearby Webuye.

Tony met with the older children from LSH that have completed High School and are planning a future either with further education or training, or business starting. We stay in touch and advise and help where we can. Kenya is a bleak place economically for young adults. A news source reports that 3.9 million Kenyans under 35 years old with college degrees are out of work or underemployed. Depending who you ask, the general unemployment of trained people is over 1/3. Tragic. We hope to focus the kids towards job creation and careers in demand.

Eldon taught a daily Adult Discipleship Class. Always a favorite of the Church Members.

Last year there was considerable effort to train local ladies in sewing. A room with good sewing machines was set up and several ladies trained. Tony found a thriving sewing group that calls itself the LSH sewing club. Plans were discussed to expand this initiative to a larger place to allow more to participate.

One area needing repair attention was the playground of the school. New parts were brought from the US and work organized to fix the playground. This was a popular effort!

A second main area of repair need was the battery backup system for the power for lights. Grid power has outages several times a week. The storage batteries that supplies power during outages were well beyond their lifespan. New batteries and other electrical system repairs were made.

Several Community Water Supply Projects that have been supported by MSM were visited. 11 new projects were completed since the visit last year providing safe clean water for over 2000 families. The latest one is on the left. This initiative continues in 2025.

Thank you all for your prayers and support of the hands on efforts of MSM to improve the futures of the LSH kids, the health of the community, and spreading the Gospel in the Bwase region of Kenya. Praise God for that work since 2007.

Blessings,

Bob

BIG NEWS….MSM Birthing a new school in Uganda

Private school educated children in general perform at twice the level in reading and math. English is the national language of education and business. Most kids fail any subject because they simply can’t read the teacher notes, books, or even test questions.

After dreaming for several years and more than a year of discussions with community leaders, government officials, and parents…..Mission Servants Ministry (MSM) is submitting to serve and fill this need for a viable private Christian based school to educate the youngest of the children in the community of Bwase, home of the Child Redeemed Mission Home (CRM). Welcome the Bwase Redeemed Junior School (BRJS).

The Vision is to provide excellent early education for Preschool, Kindergarten, and up to Grade 4. These are crucial foundational years. Once the children get a good foundational education, they will either be old enough to walk the 2 miles to another Primary School, or can qualify for a boarding school for Grade 5 and above.

The Need is because the distance to elementary schools from Bwase is too far for small children to walk and low economic resources of families cannot provide transportation. This prevents the youngest children from attending schools altogether or rely on very poorly performing basic ones. Too many children can be found about, instead of in school, and they will get hopelessly behind.

The Idea is a partnership between MSM, the CRM Home and Bwase Redeemed Church (BRC), Community leaders, a Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), and Parents thru reasonable fees. MSM will provide the facilities, land, desks, and means to start a school. CRM will share facilities in the early phase and house teachers, BRC to pray and provide support, The parents and PTO to provide tuition fees and assistance to pay teachers salaries and feeding for the children.

The Plan is to start with Phase 1 and construct a class building, latrine, and fence incorporated on the new land recently purchased by MSM adjacent to the CRM property, and open Pre-school, Kindergarten, and Grade 1 in January of 2025. The next phases will allow adding at least one grade each year until we serve Grade 4.

The Promise is to hire good qualified teachers, limit class sizes to 45 kids (Government schools have as many as 160), and feed all kids (not so in government schools), and promote kids only if they qualify (not so with government schools who are required to pass students).

May God continue to bless our efforts with this, protect us, and provide. We are funded for construction of Phase 1 buildings but are praying for funds for desks, equipment, and materials. Thank you for your prayers and support for MSM and our missions.

Trip 36 to Uganda…Entrepreneurship Training CRM Young Adults.

The endgame for Mission Servants Ministry’s (MSM) support of Children’s Homes and Schools is to raise up healthy, loving, God Loving, educated, motivated, and productive people to improve their society and communities. Helping some to start small businesses is a great leg up to someone. Greg and I will spend much of this trip teaching Christian Entrepreneurship principles and practical business methods. We have been working with a number of kids from the Child Redeemed Mission (CRM) Home system that are ready for this training and ready to start businesses such as Hair Dressing Salon, Clothing repair and sewing, Barbering, and Food Wholesaling. We hope to launch some of these ventures on this trip.

We have launched projects in Kenya over the last year with kids from the Lord’s Servants Home system to start a Piggery, Graphics Design and Printing Shop, and other small operations. Greg and I have 70 + years combined in business, most of them for ourselves and love to teach “people how to fish!” Praise God for this opportunity. Your financial support and prayers make this happen. More updates to follow….our trip is August 3-13th.

Here is Sarah and Godsend Graphics.

Update 2 about Kenyan and Ugandan Child Missions under Covid19.

Thank you for your continued support and prayers for the Children’s ministries in Kenya and Uganda supported by MSM.

Earlier this week the President of Uganda updated the Covid19 plan in effect.  The widespread shutdown of transportation, borders, churches, schools, and other gatherings is still in place.  The major change is for schools to open on a limited basis on June 2nd.  The limitation is lifted only for the last year of Primary (Elementary) and the last year of High School.  This affects some of the kids at Child Redeemed Mission Home.  The plan is to bring these kids back to residence at CRM and leave the balance yet with extended family.

The welfare of the kids that are staying outside of CRM is a matter of focus and concern for the staff.  In several cases, food supplies are given to the families hosting the kids.  All children are contacted regularly by the CRM social workers.  This period is a real struggle for the community.  Food is scarcer and more costly and the ability to obtain other goods and services are difficult.  The good news is that the number of confirmed Covid19 cases in Uganda are very low.

The kids at CRM are doing great.  They are able to study, read, make music, and garden. Many have learned and practiced crafts such as knitting and sewing…..

…and have helped in a recent project to build a new firewood storage shelter.

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Promise Primary School in Kamuli, Uganda, sponsored by MSM, has been taking advantage of the shutdown to work on the school grounds and buildings.  Repairing storm and termite damage for instance.   A major project to build a new kitchen has been moving forward and nearing completion to be available when school resumes.  I will have a separate post about this soon.

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