St. Joseph's, Norton

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St. Vincent de Paul School, Woriyanga

A letter of thanks from Father Vincent, dated 26 November, from Father Vincent;-

"Thanks for all you are doing for the people here; we cannot express our joy & appreciation for all you do for us.

I wish to acknowledge the receipt of £600.00 received on the 10th Oct. 2007; we have already converted it into food (corn, millet & dried fish) you are all making Christmas for the people here. Your efforts indeed have made a difference to our life here.

Next Sunday before the final blessing at Mass, to thank the Lord for his goodness to all the sick people, we pray for the sick people of St. Joseph’s, & when we hear of good results to tests, we all start praying & dancing whether hungry or not. Can you imagine the blind & lame dance better than others? The deaf drummer has only one hand & his assistant is blind!!! But they know what to do! So can you imagine what will happen on the 1st. Sunday in Advent in my Church?

I appreciate all the news from St. Joseph’s, it is news for all the Church here. I look forward to the new donation of £1200.00, which you have informed me of by e-mail; though it is difficult to get access to e-mail I will let you know when the money arrives.

Wishing you all God’s blessings,

God bless, Vincent Lubega"

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The following letter, dated 6 November 2007, was received from Fr. Vincent. Below the letter are some recent photographs, which illustrate the devastation caused by the recent severe weather.

"Greetings !
Thanks indeed for all the love and support for me and all the people here.
With the support I got recently, I have bought food for the people. I have taken some statistics and over 400 homes were destroyed by the floods, 218 families lost almost all their livelihood, house and farms.

Practically, this year there is no crop harvest so this makes indeed the food problem quite serious. With the help you sent me and the money which was meant to paint the school, I have bought food for the people. They are all really happy but still need is so great for food now. Many families, old people and children take only one meal a day of maize flour and dried fish. There is still need for food aid. The food is available in the town, but people especially in my parish can't afford to buy it. Normally they sell their fowls and goats or sheep to buy food. But all were swept away in the floods.

I told them about your support. They were so overjoyed. They felt like a new tunnel of hope had opened in their lives. They always tell me that normally they are used to poverty, but poverty mixed with hunger is too much to bear.

Surprisingly, they still come to church and sing and dance with joy despite the misery. When I ask them how they keep smiling amidst this tough situation, their reply is they trust and hope that God will see them through. What a deep faith!

When all happened, the first question to me was whether I had informed St Joseph's and SS Peter & Paul's about the disaster. I said 'Yes'. Now when the food came in, they even believed more.

I have enclosed some pictures of some houses in my parish just to show you what really happened here. It's indeed sad.

Thanks indeed for all the support, love and care.
God bless
Vincent Lubega "

To view an image, simply select one of the thumbnail size pictures below. A larger version of the image will open in a new window, which can be closed by clicking anywhere within the window.
"The house and crops are all lost. The farm stands empty."		"John seated in front of his collapsed house. His cry is, 'What can I do?'"		"A widow stands in front of her collapsed house."

"They lost everything."		"Their only song is, 'Help us with food.'"

"A mother with her children."		Another couple outside their collapsed house.