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Watoto Church sets up agri-biz Institute in Northern Uganda, gets applause from local leaders
Leaders from Northern Uganda have welcomed the establishment of Bobi Agribusiness institute, a subsidiary of Watoto Childcare Ministries in Omoro District.
Speaking at the launch of the Bobi Agribusiness Institute as part of the activities to celebrate the 40 years of Watoto Church, Ambassador Olara Otunnu an opinion leader in the region said the Agribusiness institute and other Watoto Church ministries are to accelerate the efforts of rebuilding the radically broken society of Northern Uganda.
According to Otunnu, this move by Watoto Church comes at the right time when the council of elders in Northern Uganda headed by the Chief Justice of Uganda Justice Alfonse Owinyi Dolo is deliberately working towards reawakening the people of Northern Uganda to their original position socially and economically.
Otunnu said that after the 20-year war insurgency, the value system of the people of Northern Uganda was radically broken and the launch of Bobi Agribusiness institute is a welcome move through which Watoto Church can help to revive the ethics and morals to cause the much-needed transformation.
“I have never seen the level of alcoholism anywhere like here because that is what they were doing in the camps , you wake up drunk, again you go to bed drunk, so it is carried over outside the camp so I thank you for what you are doing, whatever Watoto church finds within its scope of ambition or within its scope of program, proclaim without fear the gospel of salvation our people are now Saul on the road to Damascus , lost, we need to become Paul, this society,” Otunnu said
Peter Douglas Okello, the Omoro District Chairperson noted that this institute will empower the young people in the region and therefore become job creators curbing the worrying unemployment rates.
Okello is optimistic that the demonstration farm at the institute will inspire the communities to engage in modern agricultural practices that will result in increased food production and hence addressing the rampant malnutrition cases.
“At this Bobi Agribusiness Institute, our young people will be trained on modern Agronomy practices and this means the training they are going to get either in planting horticulture they will be doing it in a modern way, that will give them a lot of revenue and we shall be addressing the poverty index within Omoro District, Acholi subregion but also in the country and apart from poverty we will be addressing malnutrition,” Okello said
On his part, Pastor Gary Skinner, the founder of the Watoto Church said it is not what Gary and Marilyn did, explaining that it is what God did through them, adding that it is not only what God did through Gary and Marilyn, but it is what God did through everybody who has been part of this dream/school.
Pastor Gary Skinner reassured the people of northern Uganda that God who owns the entire earth has started restoring this part of the country and is ready to do much more if the people avail themselves to serve Him in Obedience, integrity, and humility.
“you want to known something it is just the beginning, if we will love HIM, if we will honour Him, if we will maintain an attitude of humility and integrity look out Gid is about t o do something that is incredible so that we can give Him all the glory, HE will do it”-Pastor Gary Skinner
Norbert Mao-Gulu
Earlier on in the week of the 30 years celebrations of Watoto Childcare Ministries, the minister for justice and constitution Affairs Norbert Mao, applauded the church for pouting a smile back on Gulu.
Mao said among the many things Watoto did was bringing healing to the women and the people of Gulu District. He recalled that Pastor Marilyn came in with Living Hope Ministries for the women and the people were not bystanders, stressing that as local leaders they had to double their efforts and work long with Watoto.
He said that as Gulu District Chairman then I decided that we free up one of the local government buildings, forgoing the rent revenue because what the church was offering to our people was more than revenue.
“Living hope started ministering to these women, teaching them how to make sanitary pads out of papyrus, they started doing reconstructive surgery, artificial limbs, reconstructing lips and ears that had been cut off, and they put the smile back on the face of Gulu”-Mao recalls.
Mao also attributed the current beauty of Gulu City to the contribution of Watoto Church through Pastor Gary.
“One day I talked to Pastor Gary and said that our town is so unkept, do you have some city planners you could bring, and he responded in affirmative as always, so he brought 11 city planners from Australia and the cost of the work they did would have been 400,000 US Dollars”-Mao said.
He says they planned complete neighbourhoods. so, when people come to Gulu and see the beautiful, well planned areas, particularly Pece which was one of the worst planned places, they should attribute that to Watoto.
“So Watoto unleashed the Power (of God) telling us that its not only available in Kampala ,but it is also available in Gulu and it is like Electricity you can use to run a factory or charge a phone the Choice is yours, so Watoto came and said you can have abundant life in this very place, you can build on the ashes , you have served us well”-Mao testified.
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