KAMWOKYA PARISH CHILDREN MINISTRY (KCM)

KAMWOKYA PARISH CHILDREN MINISTRY (KCM)

A REPORT ON THE CHILDREN’S SEMINAR HELD ON 7^TH SEPTEMBER, 2013

Introduction:

Kamwokya Parish Children Ministry is a Bright Doves of St. Francis (Youfra) initiative set up to meet the needs of children in the Parish from 4 to 15 years of age. The Ministry’s major aim is not only to reach out to the spiritual needs of the children but also to meet their physical and emotional needs. This not only brings them up as God fearing children but also helps them grow as good and responsible citizens.

The seminar was organized by the Franciscan Youth of Kamwokya (Youfra) in partnership with the Chaplain Fr. John Peter Lugobe.

Participation:

Over 400 children from different Sub-parishes participated in the seminar and these included;

1. St. Muggaga – Kyebando
2. Uganda Martyrs - Kamwokya
3. St. Andrea Kaggwa – Bukoto
4. St. Josephs – Mobile Sub-prish

Facilitation:

The seminar was facilitated by;

1. The Bright Doves
2. Fr. John Peter Lugobe
3. Mrs. Kiwewesi Evelyne

Activities:

The following were the activities of the day;

Praising and worship:

The seminar began with praising and worshiping which was led by the Bright doves.

Teachings:

There were two teachings one was given by Fr. John Peter Lugobe on the theme of the day which was “Listen to your father without him you would not exist.” and the other was given by Mrs. Kiwewesi Evelyn (Director Happy Days Nursery and Primary School – Najjera) as the guest speaker and Representative of Parents.

Talent search:

11 Children out of the 26 registered from three sub-parishes i.e St. Muggaga, St. Andrea Kaggwa and Uganda Martyrs competed in the final talent search in singing among which three were selected as the winners.

Mulera Pascal from St. Muggaga was the best followed by Ndagire Mary from Uganda Martyrs and the third was Namubiru Stella from St. Andrea Kaggwa - Bukoto.

A panel of three adjudicators judged the competition namely; Dusinguze Gloria (member of Kamwokya Praise and Worship Team), Entyang Herbert (Trooxy studioz) and Hamidu Naza (Storm Recordz).

Awarding best performers

Different gifts were awarded to the best performers in different activities mainly active participation in the Sunday school, children worship bulletin, and singing.

Children’s Worship Bulletin:

Every Sunday children are given bulletins during Sunday school which contain puzzles, painting pictures and other questions which are always extracted from the readings of the Sunday. Children go with these bulletins home answer them and return them back to their moderator/coordinator the following Sunday for marking. Results for all the Sundays since June 4^th to 25^th August were compiled. The best performer in this Bulletin was Natukunda Edith from St. Muggaga – Kyebando with a total of 545 out of 553. She was awarded with a children’s Bible, a rosary and a certificate.

Nangoga Sherina was the 12^th but the best in Bukoto with a total of 257 out of 553 and was also given a children’s Bible, a rosary and a certificate.

Others active participants were given certificates, rosaries, ‘God Speaks to His Children Texts from the Bible’  Booklets and many others.

Overall:

This award was based on the active participation in all ministry activities and the winner was Birungi Francis from St. Muggaga – Kyebando. He was given a rosary, a certificate, a ‘God Speaks to His Children Texts from the Bible Booklet’ and an Illustrated Children African Bible.

Talent search:

26 children participated in the talent search during the auditions which were held on Thursday 5^th September, 2013 at St. Muggaga – Kyebando.  According to the results 11 were selected to compete again on Saturday among which three finalists were selected as the winners. These winners were given free recording deals by three Studios i.e. Octave Recordz, storm recordz and Trooxy studioz.

The three finalists were also given a chance to participate in the Children speak out program at MAMA Fm with the Bright Doves the following day Sunday 8^th September, 2013.

Eating and drinking:

Every child was given two packets of biscuits, sweets and a bottle of safi.

Achievements:

• Children were helped to realize their potential in different fields
• Children were encouraged to participate more in the church activities e.g Sunday school.
• Talent search winners were given free recording deals whereby they will be helped to record their own songs thus promoting the talent of singing among the young.
• Each child was given a free copy of a children’s worship Bulletin.

Challenges:

• Some of the activities planned for the day were skipped due to limited time.
•  Fewer children turned up compared to last year’s recollection though evaluation showed that it was as a result of leaving out Uganda martyrs  sub- parish in effecting Sunday school.
• Less participation by children from St. Josephs and Uganda Martyrs Sub-parishes.
• Less cooperation from some of the ministry stakeholders more especially during preparations e.g the Catechist Uganda Martyrs Sub-Parish.

Recommendations:

• There is need for more support for the ministry activities more especially Sunday school.
• The ministry coordinator needs to create a data base for the parents’ contacts for easy communication in case there is any information to be passed on to them.
• The ministry needs to recruit more volunteers to ease implementation of its activities.
• The children’s mass needs to be resumed i.e every third Sunday of the month as a way of boosting up ministry activities.

Conclusion:

This has been the first get together of children in the ministry since its rejuvenation. We are proud of the performances exhibited and hope to move to greater heights. God willing, we wish to replicate our success in other parishes more especially those with Youfra fraternities.

Great thanks to our Chaplain Fr. John Peter Lugobe, the Parish Priest Fr. James Ssebayiga, JPICFA Office, Octave recordz, Storm Recordz, Trooxy Studioz, coordinators of Different Sub-parishes, and the Bright Doves for the generous support towards this seminar. May the good Lord bless and reward you abundantly.

……………………………………

NAKIYIMBA SANDRA

KCM COORDINATOR