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A Christmas Message from Father Hilary
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Dear Board members,
Dear COVE friends,
It is right and just as the year 2012 comes to an end to give Praise and thanks to God Almighty Father for his protection and providence. Despite the biting poverty, the year 2012 has ended with lots of blessing, which I would like to attribute to our Loving God.
This year 2012 we have had very exciting moments with both COVE Alliance sponsored children, all the children being educated at St. Jerome COVE Primary School, the staff both at the Primary School and the Health Center as well as the two groups of visitors hosted in May and in September through November. The group that was led by Carol Armstrong and the other led by Darlene Frantonius were great groups. These visits are of great help to ensure proper monitoring and good stewardship of the funds we get from our donors.
Over the year what I have enjoyed most is watching the children we have helped nurture grow in maturity. This was most evident during the Children's Camp which started on December 5th and ended on December 9th with a Christmas party.
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The children receive sweaters for gifts. |
During the Children's camp we had over 170 children attending, and all of them were very active, enthusiastic, supportive and ready to learn from one another. I was touched when children composed their own songs, poems and plays to perform on their Christmas party on December 9th, 2012. Those children who are in high school/secondary schools and vocational institutes manifested special love for the younger ones when they started sharing with them the importance of education and encouraging them to be resilient and not to drop out of school before completion. The two graduates by the names of Nansamba Carolyn (Certificate in Cosmetology) and Benedict Mukwaba (Certificate in Construction) moved the whole congregation into tears when during their speeches at the Christmas party, which was also their graduation party, knelt in tears to thank COVE Alliance for the education they have acquired. They said that for them this was a miracle, since they were both total orphans at the time when they were selected into the program. They vowed to work hand in hand with COVE Alliance to support other children now since they are going to start earning some money.
 | | Fr. Hilary poses with the graduates: Benedict (right of Fr. Hilary) with construction skills, and Carolyn (far left) with Cosmetology skills.. |
This year God has blessed COVE Alliance with generous people who have continued to donate to COVE Alliance and adopt children. I am so pleased that COVE Alliance was able to send over 23,000 books through their collaboration with bookfriends. The beneficiary schools have set up very good libraries which they have never had before, and now the problem is no longer lack of books, but the initiative of both the pupils and teachers to make the best use of these books for their building of knowledge.
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Fr. Hilary blesses the ground for the new Dormitory. |
I am very happy about the Dormitory Construction, a project, which officially started on December 1st, 2012 targeting the beginning of the next academic year. I am so grateful to the Mary Alphonse Bradley Fund (MABF) together with an anonymous donor who raised enough founds to build a dormitory which will accommodate 80 children in the next academic year.
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Dormitory construction begins. |
Although all seems to be going well,we cannot not forget that we are still a growing institution and COVE Alliance still needs all the support we can get to build up our capacity to sustain our services as we build the capacity of the children to support themselves and their families in the future. We can only keep our knees on the ground praying for economic sustainability and praying for all those who have sacrificed all they have to make a difference in the lives of the children and
the communities we are committed to serve for the betterment of their lives.
We are all praying for all our donors, sponsors of the children, friends and well-wishers. We are praying for the  | |
Dormitory progress continues. |
Board members both in USA and in Uganda, as well as all who support COVE Alliance in one way or another.We wish to welcome in advance all our prospective visitors next year 2013. I already understand there are about three groups that would wish to visit and work with us next year.
We wish you all the best as you prepare to come, and may the almighty God bless you all for your generosity and support.
I wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year 2013.
Fr. Hilary Muheezangango
Executive Director, COVE Alliance.
The COVE Board is blessed to be a part of this vision. Help us to welcome Fr. Hilary to the USA in January 2013, just in time for 'Trivia Night'. |
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COVE Recruits a New Fifth Grade Teacher
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 Mr. Moses, our newest fifth grade teacher, graduated from Nakasake Primary Teachers College in Dec. of 2011. He grew up just down the road in the village of Lowanda. His mother still lives there so he has ties to the area and is familiar with Kapeeka. Teaching academics and sports as well as being the patron in the boy's dorm will be his primary duties. In the evening after all of the boys are in the dorm, he gathers them into one room and they have discussions. They discuss religion, behavior, knowledge, skills and whatever topics the children offer. The boys told me they look forward to their evening meetings.
Because of his love of sport he hopes to return to college and get a degree in Sports Science. He would then be able to officiate at games. Shortly after his arrival Cove had a field day as part of the 50th Independence Day celebration. Moses supervised woodball, soccer, basketball, netball and volley ball games. The children and staff alike had a great time.
COVE is happy to welcome Moses to our family and we look forward to working together in the coming years. |
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SPONSOR A CHILD
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MAKE A DONATION
To make a donation via PayPal, please click the
Donate button:
or mail your donation to:
COVE Alliance
P.O. Box 1051
Libertyville, IL 60048
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VOLUNTEER
We are always looking for volunteers. Special skills are not required - just a willingness to help the children of Uganda!
For more information or to volunteer, please e-mail Len Smith. |
Our vision is of a world of hopeful, responsible human beings who respect human dignity and are in a position to sustain themselves and their families in the future.
For more information about
COVE Alliance,
please visit our website at:
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Sending Material to Uganda | | |
Please note that all letters and gifts for the children should be sent directly to Uganda at the following address - please do NOT send registered mail as this requires significant travel to retrieve from the post office:
St. Jerome COVE Center Kapeeka
P.O. Box 72717
Kampala, Uganda
Please include the child's name and sponsorship number on the inside of the package. For further information, please refer to your "Guidelines for Sponsors". |
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Want to hear more
about COVE Alliance?
We give presentations to groups, schools, churches, and Religious Education classes.
If you know of any schools, organizations, or churches that may want to hear more about COVE Alliance, please contact
Darlene Frantonius at
847-438-4780. |
Executive Director
Father Hilary Muheezangango
Officers
Chairman, Bill Armstrong
Vice-Chair, Darlene Frantonius
Secretary, Sue Binetti
Treasurer, Kim Clark
Directors
Tom Gaubatz Daniel Herdmann
Tom Jacobs Frank Ruder
Leonard Smith Valeri Werpetinski |
Board Meeting
All Are Welcome!
January 14, 2013 at 7 pm
Fr. Finnegan Parish Center
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February 2, 2013 at 6:30 pm
Fr. Finnegan Parish Center
Bring your "smarty-pants" friends & family
(teams of 2-8) and enjoy several fun rounds of trivia.
Earn "Bragging Rights" as the winning team!
Win half of the money raised in the 50/50 raffle.
Visit www.covealliance.org for details and a registration form.
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Seeds of Hope Fundraiser
"Believe"
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Double Tree Hotel
Mundelein, IL
Details coming soon! |
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