This year began very well for almost 150 households in Bbulamazzi-Nsaggu village, in Wakiso district-Uganda, because they now have a new water well. With about 10 individuals per household, the new water well (completed on January 10, 2023) is expected to provide clean flowing water to almost 1,500 individuals.

The EATBETA Summer 2022 Mission, which took place from July 16 through July 21, 2022, was very successful. It was the first time for training sessions to be conducted at EATBETA demo-center in Nakaseke, additional training sessions were conducted at Kamuli and Jinja districts in eastern Uganda, and a total of 180 rural farmers participated in the four training sessions conducted during the mission.

“In EATBETA’s Spring 2022 newsletter issue, we mentioned that “while the construction of the EATBETA’s demo-center building is in progress, the land next to the demo-center building was being prepared to set up a demo farm and the first crop to be planted at the farm, during the last planting season of 2021, was corn/maize.” We are excited to report that the crop performed very well: one tenth of a metric ton of corn was harvested—five sacks each weighing 100kgs (220lbs).

The construction of the demo-center building is progressing well; the roof is in place, windows and doors have been installed. When completed, the 4,393.83 sq ft building will serve as EATBETA’s headquarters (located in Nakaseke district, Uganda) and it will accommodate up to 18 trainers and volunteers during the summer training sessions. The training sessions are particularly designed to help rural farmers learn more efficient and profitable farming (crop and livestock) techniques, and also to enable rural farmers and youth to acquire practical and valuable skills such as farm-harvest processing, welding, beekeeping, carpentry, sewing, weaving, pottery, bricklaying, and other complementary skills.

The demo-center building construction is at the BEAM, despite the setbacks that have been mostly a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns. Our team, on the ground, is working tirelessly to have EATBETA’s Demo-Center fully operational by Summer 2022. While the construction is progressing, the land next to the demo-center building is being prepared to set up a demo farm and the first crop that is being planted is corn/maize. Corn is both a major food and cash crop in Uganda, and therefore, our demo farm will be used to showcase the best practices for effectively growing, harvesting, and processing corn among other traditional food crops such as beans, millet, bananas, cassava, potatoes, etc.

The recently completed EATBETA water well, located at Katikara village, Hoima district in Uganda, was dedicated in honor of Dr. David & Cindy Dykes. Dr. Dykes has been the pastor of Green Acres Church in Tyler, Texas since March of 1991. In the 66-year history of Green Acres, Dr. Dykes is the longest-serving pastor and the first to retire. Green Acres has over 17,000 members and is known for its mission involvement locally and around the world. The work and dedication of Dr. David & Cindy Dykes to serving the Lord’s people at Green Acres Church, in Texas and beyond, has been unwa-vering and we are greatly humbled to have the Katikara village water well dedicated in their honor. The water well was funded by Judge Sam Griffith (Tyler, Texas).

Despite the COVID-19 lockdown which hampered most of EATBETA’s activities, including the annual summer mission, five water wells were completed in 2020. The team at EATBETA and the water well beneficiaries are sincerely grateful to each of the donors for the generous financial contributions which enabled the construction of the water wells at the following villages in Uganda: Kyandangi, Kakinga, Kyetume, Lugono, and Kibasi. The water wells are now providing clean water to over 1,250 households in these five villages – a milestone in EATBETA’s journey to reach Uganda with the Gospel of Christ…

When EATBETA Summer 2020 Mission was canceled due the COVID-19 pandemic, the team in Uganda did not want to see a whole summer wasted without doing anything. So, after the Uganda government relaxed the lockdown, our team quickly embarked on a plan to conduct seminars among rural farmers. In August, a total of 50 rural farmers at Kibasi village—Kabarole district, participated in the seminar conducted there by our local team. In September 2020, a total of 60 rural farmers at Bendegere village—Nakaseke district, participated in the seminar conducted there by our local team…

In 2018, when EATBETA perceived the idea of facilitating the construction of water wells, the goal was to provide clean and disease-free water to Ugandan rural areas where water shortage is a serious problem. Little did we know that in 2020, with the outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, clean water would be even more urgently needed. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), keeping hands clean is especially important to help prevent the coronavirus from spreading. Hands should be thoroughly washed and rinsed with clean running water. Read to find more about what EATBETA is doing in response

This newsletter features exciting news and updates from EATBETA. We highlight the introduction of modern water wells to Ugandan rural areas and how an EATBETA seed donation has gotten cucumbers in a rural village. There are other articles such as EATBETA being featured at MissionBox, a coop being launched in a rural village, an update about EATBETA’s Summer 2020 Mission, and a campaign about EATBETA’s demo-center project.