NEW YEAR NEWS

COMPUTER TRAINING



The computers and Internet have been the best and probably the cheapest means of communication tool to link the world together. People learn what is in the next world just by mere computer and Internet! There has been reading, writing, seeing and even hearing because of this Internet and computer technology, this every body needs though looks to be not affordable by all, we as a community are trying to make sure that the youths who are within us get at least the basics of this computer and internet knowledge.

We are glad to let you know that 2010 will be a very busy year than ever before as we shall contact many community activities, right from our core activities like: computer training, art and craft making and learning, tailoring, music dance and drama and story book readings for the children between 8 to 16 years.
So far we have begun computer training both for our member children and non members. They are learning how to use MS office documents, and internet such as emails, and other internet related search. Our main goal here is to help those children who can not access computers at their schools access here because most schools in Uganda don’t have computer labs and always tend to teach only theory or don’t teach at all and yet we are living in a changing world. Not only school children but also those school drop out or those who did not attend at all because we believe every body can learn.

Life in Africa Kireka is also still continuing with its craft making and learning, we hope to do this along side tailoring that is targeting the child mothers. At the Acholi IDP (Internally displaced persons) camp, young girls produce at tender ages and end up at the stone quarry. We want to restore their hope by giving them life skills. Thanks to Corry, (sp) where ever you are for the sewing machines.

Though we have had the idea of music dance and drama, we have also been inspired by Balley Dance school and the students of New York University who whenever they come have to invite some of our community children to practice and perform with them. Big thanks to Madam Jill of Maker ere university for always alerting us about such a big event! This has made our children to love music dance and drama and am glad that one of our children has been selected to attend Saturday’s lesson at Balley Dance School. And with their constant scholastic material gifts to our children, this time instead of distributing all among themselves, we are setting a library so that other children may borrow and also read.

YOU CAN PULL THEM OUT OF MUD!

You will realize that the primary reason for the birth of this blog is to mediate between the community masses like Kireka for that matter who would have not perhaps have an opportunity to express their ideas and thought about what is affecting their lives and how to pull them from the mud they are stuck in! As the saying goes … Better to surfer than to die, after all chances are never only to the dead!! Life in Africa Kireka community was wondering how to overcome the challenges of economic survival mush as they are so rich in their handcraftness. Basic needs of life has been the question of the day, Thanks to Evvy Bryning who saw that there is need for Community uplifting and had good talks with http://ugandabeads.com/ that came to their rescue and now working hand in hand to see that the community’s standard of living improves.

So far thirty women from Acholi quarters Kampala are involved in the making of the beads that Uganda beads markets and sends them money back. This is just five months since the commencement of their campaign and besides that, twenty orphan children have been enrolled in school. This is a very big development in a very short period of time. Many thanks to the Uganda beads team for bringing hope to the communities and to those shopping; you are making big impacts in our community.

Internet communication workshop

Its just three days since LiaK (life in Africa kireka) in conjuction with Liaf (life in africa foundation carried out internet training workshop to community leaders. Our primary aim of existance is to uplift the unfortunate grassroot communities through internet.

There has never been possible to linkup with the global communities until internet came into being, but still up now other communities are inaccesible online much as they would have alot to share both locally and internationaly and for that reason,Life in Africa is coming up to organzise internet workshops targeting community leaders or community members.
Check on the photos taken during the workshop

Back to my root

Hello every body, it has been a little longer since I Posted some thing on my blog, it has been more of offline activites, Am back to update you on all the new things about our kireka center. Thank you those who have been following

Another way foreward

As one of the steps Liak is taking to improve the life of community members, it has written a proposal for a grant that if succeeds would help employ small section of its members, check it out here.
http://www.ned.com/group/lia-global/ws/lia_kireka_small_grants_application/


and see how you can help.

Kireka and plans

Liak computer and technology;
One of our primary activities has been computer training and has remained the same because without it, communication becomes a barrier more so with the global communities. With advancement of technology, time has come that every house hold should have computer literate to ease computer related knowledge. As it has been the case, life in Africa Kireka members few of them have had chance to learn this new technology much as the door has ever been opened for but perhaps due to other commitments. Now that many liakireka members who missed the chance to get the basics has learned the fruits of computer knowledge, and regardless of age every member wants to take learning computer as priority. With this interest of the members to learn, there is an idea of opening it for even non members that eventually there is hope to open up community computer learning center. As we hope for this, it will require some body not only with experience in that field but also profession in related not only to give basics but computer knowledge. Our community is lacking this kind of a person who would like to volunteer in this field. If some body is equipped with computer knowledge, is another way of making some body self reliance.

Liak Craft for development;
Every other day every thing is becoming technical, even what some body has already known, new fashion comes and people get fed up of the old styles. Our members have been so much on paper beads and it seems the global market is flooded with the same fashion styles of products that may not only be selling for the cause but also value for money. We at liak (life in Africa Kireka strive to look for a way of coming with new products be it from the same materials or totally a different thing like shopping bag that its raw material shall be wax, dye and some clothing materials. This we hope should go alongside with tailoring targeting the most disadvantaged woman and the widows who shall be equipped with skills. Anybody out there with this kind of skill and would like to help in anyway s/he can to make our dreams alive shall be of great importance to this kind of community. Below is quilts made up of old T shirts, if you didnt know what to do with old T shirt, send them and we make something new.






Liak community children:
Life in Africa Kireka, s 100 children Saturdays nutrition club has been reviewed by the members that since getting the fund is not very easy, and yet there is a lot more essential needs, the community is on the view that whoever would want to help these kind of kids can make interms of tuition or scholastics/uniform and other necessary school requirements. And as they continue with their Saturday programs that include music dance and drama, art and crafts and here the kids do painting of peace tiles whereby it carries what they want to communicate to who feel concerned about their future. You may choose to sponsor a kid through making purchase of what they make by themselves like the peace tiles. The kids still lack the costumes for their drama and every drama is interesting when the presenters look uniform. Much as they try to do it well but still without costumes it makes it too local. Thanks to the ballet modern dance school who performed with them at national threat in conjunction with students from Stanford University. It was a nice evening show, thanks to them for the gift to the kids and also their support through shopping at our gallery. Below is the peace title workshop


Liak community startup loan
One other thing dragging communities into poverty is where to start from, much as you may have the idea that can lead you to success. A well established community would be the best area for those who have some money and want to give inform of loans to transform people’s way of life. They say experience is the best teacher, some liak members have had loans from kiva that just like any other business, some succeeded in their plans and some didn’t, and since we were in the transition that calumniated into life in Africa Kireka from life in Africa foundation, there was need for break to see what went wrong and how to make it work better and I think time is ripe for things to work better. There are some wonderful members with good loans plan but they can not access those loans, being one of the community’s programs, any body out there thinking the same way but had not seen which community to contact about it, there you go. is one of the best the then borrower who would want loan again.

ASSUMPTIONS OF BIRTH DATES

History tells that December 25 was popularized as the date for Christmas, not because Christ was born on that day, but because it was already popular in pagan religious celebrations as the birthday of the sun. But could December 25 be the date of Christ's birth? According to Christina religious education, they say that before the gospel, there was gospel; does it mean that before the birth of Jesus Christ, 25th December has been celebrated? Like moon for the Muslims, perhaps sun for the Christians but what makes the difference is that the sun is hot and the moon is cold but both seems to be shining 12 hours that geographers call it the rotation of the earth.

"Lacking any scriptural pointers to Jesus’ birthday, early Christian teachers suggested dates all over the calendar. Clement...picked November 18. Hippolytus...figured Christ must have been born on a Wednesday...An anonymous document[,] believed to have been written in North Africa around A.D. 243, placed Jesus’ birth on March 28" (Joseph L. Sheler, U.S. News & World Report, "In Search of Christmas," Dec. 23, 1996, p. 58).

A careful analysis of Scripture, however, clearly indicates that December 25 couldn't be the date for Christ's birth. Here are two primary reasons:
First, we know that shepherds were in the fields watching their flocks at the time of Jesus' birth (Luke 2:7-8). Shepherds were not in the fields during December. According to Celebrations: the Complete Book of American Holidays, Luke's account "suggests that Jesus may have been born in summer or early fall. Since December is cold and rainy in Judea, it is likely the shepherds would have sought shelter for their flocks at night" (p. 309).

Similarly, The Interpreter's One-Volume Commentary says this passage argues "against the birth [of Christ] occurring on Dec. 25 since the weather would not have permitted" shepherds watching over their flocks in the fields at night.

Second, Jesus' parents came to Bethlehem to register in a Roman census (Luke 2:1-4). Such censuses were not taken in winter, when temperatures often dropped below freezing and roads were in poor condition. Taking a census under such conditions would have been self-defeating. Its also true that most people don’t know their birth dates perhaps the parents did not keep track of the exact dates and months, in our culture, our forefathers used to match birth dates with events or seasons …. For example I gave birth when Obama was campaigning in Chicago :) you wonder how many times Obama campaigned in there to fix this new baby born birth date? Others say when the “mabira” give away was in high gear and the demand for sugar was very high for sugarcane to be planted.

Given the difficulties and the desire to bring pagans into Christianity, "the important fact then which I have asked you to get clearly into your head is that the fixing of the date as December 25th was a compromise with paganism" (William Walsh, The Story of Santa Klaus, 1970, p. 62).

If Jesus Christ weren't born on December 25, does the Bible indicate when He was born? The biblical accounts point to the fall of the year as the most likely time of Jesus' birth based on the conception and birth of John the Baptist.
Since Elizabeth (John's mother) was in her sixth month of pregnancy when Jesus was conceived (Luke 1:24-36), we can determine the approximate time of year Jesus was born if we know when John was born. John's father, Zacharias, was a priest serving in the Jerusalem temple during the course of Abijah (Luke 1:5). Historical calculations indicate this course of service corresponded to June 13-19 in that year (The Companion Bible, 1974, Appendix 179, p. 200).

It was during this time of temple service that Zacharias learned that he and his wife, Elizabeth, would have a child (Luke 1:8-13). After he completed his service and traveled home, Elizabeth conceived (verses 23-24). Assuming John's conception took place near the end of June, adding nine months brings us to the end of March as the most likely time for John's birth. Adding another six months (the difference in ages between John and Jesus) brings us to the end of September as the likely time of Jesus' birth.

Although it is difficult to determine the first time anyone celebrated December 25 as Christmas Day, historians are in general agreement that it was sometime during the fourth century. This is an amazingly late date. Christmas was not observed in Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire, until about 300 years after Christ's death. Its origins cannot be traced back to either the teachings or practices of the earliest Christians. As I speak now, Ethiopians perhaps must have celebrated Christmas. But the bible says.. Blessed are those who believe without seeing.

As we celebrate this world important date, let us not celebrate it like that of Herode that turned into cutting of John the Baptist’s head because of useless promises! This is the time most people tend to promise others uncountable things. If I were you, I would not promise any body any thing this festive season but I would use it as thanks giving and surprises to the ones we intend to.


MERRY CHRISTMASS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR