“Back at Kitega! I arrived at the beginning of June, after being delayed for three weeks because I needed
a replacement passport. It is difficult to believe that I am now over halfway through my time here!

As I look out from Shalom, the early morning mists drift around the eucalyptus trees. They are quite still
most of the time, but before a storm they bend with the strong winds and the shimmering leaves dance,
bringing beauty to the scene. There has been a lot of heavy rain and thunderstorms, for which the
people have been praying, hoping to get a good harvest from their gardens. The Staff VICOBA group has
a. project to bring an income by growing vegetables on an adjacent piece of land. Staff can be seen
working there in the early morning before beginning their day’s work.
There are many more trees now at the Centre; there are new buildings -the small craft shop has been
given an upper storey, which will become a coffee shop, the thatched roof recently finished. There is a
new kitchen offering more space for cooking and catering. The toilet block has been upgraded and a
small pavilion built on the field. There have been changes in the student population at the Centre. Some
students had to move to other places during the pandemic and they have not yet returned. There are a
few new faces and there are students waiting to join the Centre School
Teacher Joyce is having good results with many of the children. Recently the Team was invited to Joyce’s
niece’s Introduction ceremony. This is a bigger event than the wedding and on Saturday we shared that
celebration with her. Katungulu is a small village – but it is an amazing place. It has strong links with the
Kitega Community Centre. It has been a place I have loved ever since my first visit. It was here that the
first VICOBA group was formed and the story of the lady who took God at His Word and inspired others
is well-known. Matilda is a very small lady, but she has the most amazing heart. We have a special bond
and though we cannot speak each other’s language, there is a magnetic attraction. We enjoy big hugs
and to me she is the inspiration for working here. The group have built five houses and a shop, because
they thought to ask themselves ‘What are we going to do when we are too old to dig?’ The welcome I
receive every time I visit is overwhelming. There is great excitement in the village just now as the new
hospital building, supported by KCC, is taking shape, the roof is on, the shuttering is finished and the
walls have been plastered. Last week the soil in front of the building was scooped out to create a road
and to make the level lower than the building. Praise God! The soil removed is ideal for making bricks, so
the brick machine will be transported to Katungulu.
We thought we had resourced a water supply from the national pipeline, but as yet the pipes have not
been available. This is a priority for prayer.
The village school was put into the hands of the local community and it is anticipated that the
responsibility for the running of the school will be transferred from the Centre to the local Church. There
has been a high turnover of staff recently which has been unsettling. The Kitega Centre has. Provided
food for the children for the past five years, but that too will now be the responsibility of the local
church. It is anticipated that the Kitega link with education will take a new format, beginning with a
nursery and growing steadily year by year with the children hopefully, in the long term, including
secondary education.”
I can often be seen in an orange T-shirt and across the back is written ‘I LOVE KATUNGULU’

Linda Hopper – October 2022