Celebrating Success

Cruish grew up in our schools

Cruish started schooling with HEED when we were still teaching from the borrowed church that has since fallen down. He continued with us through high school, excelling on the national exams.

Below, Cruish shares his journey and the encouraging impact HEED's Ebenezer Schools had on his whole family.

"Hello everyone. I thank God for the glorious work He has done and is still doing [with the] building and development of Ebenezer schools in Kyakitanga Village through all the donors. I am among the students who successfully went through the gates of Ebenezer schools. Here I write my experience for all the years I was there.

Before Ebenezer Junior School was built, there were few, very poor primary schools in the whole sub county. When Ebenezer Junior started, I didn't join immediately because it was built on a Christian foundation and my family and I were Muslims so the religions were contradicting. In primary three (P.3), I had to travel about seven miles for a good school. Later on, my father was convinced by someone and so I joined Ebenezer Junior in primary four (p.4) in 2011.

The school was still in Myaliiro where we were studying from the borrowed church and another wooden structure. Though we had such structures and a poor environment, we were getting much care from HEED as an organization through MUMMY JULIE which couldn't happen in any other school. The organization also used to spread the Gospel to us through fellowships and we were introduced to Christ slowly by slowly even though people like me were Muslims.

The school later shifted to Kyakitanga in permanent structures with a beautiful environment. I continued with my studies and completed primary seven (P.7) and scored highly on the national exams. I finalized at Ebenezer Junior and joined Ebenezer High School that had temporary wooden structures again. I was advised and encouraged to change to another school which had better buildings for secondary, but I decided to keep pushing with my school and not to give up.

In secondary I was granted a half scholarship due to my academic performance and this helped my parents send my siblings to school.

Fortunately, when I reached senior three (S.3), I also turned to Christ, and I got saved together with my family due to the Gospel that was ever present at school.

Unfortunately, Ebenezer High grew up after I had graduated and so I never entered in the clean, permanent classrooms of Ebenezer High. Now have a government scholarship to study for my bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering at Kabale University in Uganda.

All in all, I thank and glorify God for everything He has done for me and more so for the development of Ebenezer schools which I passed through

MAY GOD BLESS YOU ABUNDANTLY WITH YOUR FAMILIES.

I remain as CRUISH Gumisiriza."

-The Ebenezer Pioneer

Photo history of Cruish and the development of the primary and high school through the years:

Second chances

37 members of the community have registered for our new Adult Literacy Program. Some have had a little bit of school, and some never had the opportunity to go to school at all. Today, about 40% of the members in the group can write only their name, but their tomorrows will now be different!

A Wholistic Approach

Below are updates for each of our five pathways.

Education. The new school year began in February. This year, we have the privilege of educating and equipping over 700 kids in our primary, high, and vocational schools.

Water and sanitation. We continue to work toward an adequate supply of water for our schools, clinic, farm, and the community. Two wells drilled have had disappointing yields. Through a grant from Cross International, we are adding water harvesting to every building so we can capture every drop of rain fall. Another generous gift is funding the creation of a 1-acre retention pond to gather surface water run-off from the surrounding hills.

Community Development. Three Community Leadership groups are working together to save and initiate income generating projects. New groups have started in two more villages and have begun the 16-module training.

Spiritual Growth. We continue to utilize the Scripture Union discipleship materials which focus on developing godly character traits to help our kids grow roots to their faith. This year's focus is obedience.

Health. We are excited that we have been equipped to improve 1 mile of roads leading to our project base and to purchase a "Tuk Tuk" tricycle ambulance to help our patients, especially moms in labor, reach our clinic safely. We have delivered 11 healthy babies so far with our new maternity services.

Spring 2025 Mission Trip Openings

Have you wondered about visiting Uganda and seeing HEED's work in person? We have a comfortable new mission house with indoor plumbing and electricity ready to welcome bigger mission teams. Intrigued? Click Here to send an email to Julie to request more information.

Visiting HEED

A First-Timer's Perspective

I yearned to go on a short term mission trip for decades, but was unable to because of work. My first mission trip was to HEED Uganda in October 2023. The decision to go was based on my newly retired status and an invitation from Julie Secrist while on a tour bus in Israel.

For a week we lived in a beautiful Mission House on the HEED campus with some of the local HEED staff. We ate with them, washed dishes with them, played games with them, worked with them, prayed with them, worshipped with them, danced with them, laughed with them, cried with them, loved them and were loved by them.

What did I learn from these Africans I lived with in Kyakitanga? I learned to eat a big breakfast because you are going to work hard and it might be a while before your next meal. I learned to laugh and love and pray and worship with exuberance and joy, without reservation.

Ugandans are not looking for perfect performance. That’s an American thing, I think. They are delighted with a heart that is willing to join them in their culture and in their joy. God will use you - your strengths and talents. But He is looking also to transform you as you trust in Him to do things that are outside your skill area, that feel uncomfortable, that require you to step out in faith.

What did I discover about God on this trip? He is a big God and He is at work and comfortable living in and working through people who live so far away from me, who speak a different language, live differently, look different, eat differently, worship differently, but love the same God, love His word, love his church, and love their community. Traveling for so many days and hours to reach Kyakitanga made it feel like the world was very big. But actually it is small. And fits perfectly in the hand of God.

What’s it like to go to Uganda with HEED? Joyous chaos. You will be engulfed in their love. Receive it, settle in, adopt the African pace.

It will expand your mind, your heart, your faith and your family.

-Kim Beach

Building Dreams: Completing the Master Plan

The Master Plan to complete the high school and build teacher housing was an audacious dream that came true!

What you have helped us construct is so massive, that it can't be captured with even a wide-angle lens. 28 teacher housing units, 3 huge dormitories, an administration block, an enormous guest house, a dining hall and kitchen, soccer pitch, and re-routed road have created a city on a hill!

Soon more than 45,000 sq. ft. in 20 buildings will soon be completed, each a stake in the ground declaring changed futures.

These structures, constructed at only $35 per sq. ft., welcomed 700 students this school year with capacity for 300 more at our high school. The buildings create space for us to lavish God's love and nurture, educate, and equip kids like Cruish (who shared above).

Education is the catalyst for change.

Thank you for investing in futures with HEED!

A note about processing fees

Thank you for financial supporting HEED!

When you give electronically, fees vary from 1%-4% depending on the options chosen. Bank transfer has the lowest fees, followed by Venmo, and PayPal. The highest fees are paid for personal credit card donations.

If you are going to make a large donation, we encourage you to mail a check eliminating the fees completely so HEED receives 100% of your gift!

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Prayers & Praises for HEED!

"...As you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many." (2 Corinthians 1:11)

Ebenezer Medical Center

Praise: We bless the Lord for the provision of malaria prevention medication from the Kassandra District.

Prayer request: Pray for the health of our students and staff.

Primary School

Praise: All 35 students from Primary 7 passed the national exam!

Prayer request: Pray for wisdom, grace, collaboration, health, strength and necessary resources for the teachers.

High School & Vocational

Praise: The high school performance on the national exam was excellent last year. We were second in the district in performance!

Prayer request: There is an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the cattle in Uganda, which affects the economy and ability of families to pay school fees. Please stand with us in prayer so that God heals our land of this disease, and cattle businesses resume soon.

Ebenezer Farm

Praise: We thank God for the grant through Cross International that funded fencing of the farmland that protects our crops from grazing animals and our livestock from encroachment of stray and diseased animals.

Prayer request: Pray for rain for our coffee and the pineapples.

Community Development

Praise: The World Concern Community Leadership Training from last year has been successful! The three Community Leadership Teams have started businesses in goats, bee keeping and coffee. The savings groups are also doing well and have entered the giving/repaying loans phase.

Prayer request: Pray for the success of the new Entrepreneurship Program recently implemented to train and enable the first HEED kids to start businesses and provide for their families.

Could you pray for HEED regularly?

We'd love to have you join our prayer team!

Email heeduganda@gmail.com with the subject line "prayer team".

We send out prayer needs several times per month.