If you are reading this web-page because you are interested to learn more about these diocese, you are particularly welcome. Once you’ve read the links available, please click on the word ‘comment’ and tell us if you found them helpful, interesting, and also where you are from! We’d love to hear from you.

Information about project work (including our Family Holiday scheme), events and activities among Mothers’ Union members in the Diocese of Winchester can be viewed by clicking the other link pages and ‘tags’ on the top and left of your screen.

During the last few days we have posted information about three of the Diocese to whom Winchester is linked. Each can be found by scrolling down the postings on this ‘home-page’ or by clicking the ‘tag’ links. There is further background information on each via the ‘International’ heading at the top of your screen.

Muhabura, situated in Southern Uganda, is the last to be featured. In 2009 we became aware that, despite the drought conditions the region was experiencing, Mothers’ Union members were helping many refugees displaced from the Democratic Republic of Congo. This was supported by two donations from the Mothers’ Union Relief Fund, which operates to help members in the relief work they undertake in their local communities. Information from Mothers’ Union head office suggests that Muhabura members continue to care for refugees from D R Congo.

Whether you are a Mothers’ Union member, or just interested in who we are and what we do, may God bless you as you journey through life with him.

A map of Uganda showing the location of Kitgum and Muhabura

Every family is formed by a network of relationships where some members have particularly close relationships, and the same is true of the Mothers’ Union family; each diocese which has Mothers’ Union members is linked closely with a small group of other Mothers’ Union diocese around the globe, so that they get to know each other particularly well. They can they pray for each other, and if appropriate support each other in more practical ways, and occasionally with visits. Each small group of diocese are also at the centre of the daily prayers of all members for a few days each year, forming what we call our ‘Wave of Prayer’.

Mothers’ Union members in the Diocese of Winchester are linked in this way with fellow members in Kitgum (Northern Uganda), Muhabura (South Western Uganda), Masasi (Southern Tanzania) and Kajo-Keji (Southern Sudan). Together we are at the centre of the ‘Wave of Prayer’ from 21st – 25th January each year.

During that week Mothers’ Union groups in churches across the Diocese of Winchester will be meeting to pray for members in their partner Diocese. An order of service that can be used for these prayers can be downloaded by clicking on this link: MUWinchester_WaveOfPrayerService2010

There are several things to remember if you are arranging such a service this year:

• We are just entering a new triennial of leadership in the Mothers’ Union, but being early in January much updated information is not yet available to us especially regarding the names of leaders and workers. The most up to date information we have on countries is available by following the links attached to the place names above, and by looking at a copies of ‘Families Worldwide’ which will have featured them over the last few months.
• Historically we also have a link with Algoma in Canada which is why they are mentioned in the service sheet, but recently there has been no information as to whether there are any Mothers’ Union members active there.

On Monday 11th January, Archbishop Deng from the Episcopal Church of Sudan and Archbishop Rowan Williams will be meeting with PM Gordon Brown to discuss the ongoing necessity for a Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in Sudan. Kajo-Keji is in Southern Sudan and directly affected the peace agreement and the forthcoming elections this April and a crucial referendum in January 2011. There will be a statement later that day which will try and feature on this website and the situation and information should help inform our prayers for the Diocese of Kajo-Keji.

In the next couple of weeks we will also seek updated information about situations in our other link Diocese and feature them on this website, so please visit us regularly to keep up to date.

Crops have failed for the third time in 12 months, livestock are dead or dying and families are spending all their time foraging for whatever food they can find. People in the hardest hit areas are eating leaves and roots in the forest to survive.

Mothers’ Union members can distribute support to those who need it most, because they live in and understand the specific needs of their communities. They have identified at least 300,000 families who need our support to stay alive.

There is lots of information available by following the links here to help you raise the profile of this crisis that isn’t being talked about by the governments of the affected countries. Mothers’ Union is one of the few agencies promoting the plight of the region. Please use the downloads and links to highlight the crisis, and raise funds in your community and church.

Click the highlighted text to download your East Africa Famine Crisis – Situation Summary

The poster pictured here is available from our head office in London, but can also be downloaded as a full colour A3 poster by clicking this link: Harvest Has Failed – A3 Poster

There is more information on the central Mothers’ Union website including the facility to donate online here: East Africa Appeal

Mothers' Union relief distribution in Muhabura, Uganda to refugees from Democratic Republic of Congo in February 2009

Members of the Mothers’ Union in the Winchester region will be pleased to know that a new edition of ‘Archway’ is due out at the end of July. It will be distributed at our forthcoming Information Evening, to be held at St. Boniface Church, Chandlers Ford at 6.00pm on Wednesday 22nd July.

Features in the forthcoming issue include:

• news of Relief Fund grants to two of our link diocese, Masasi in Tanzania and Muhabura in southern Uganda, and a visit to the Diocese of Winchester by the Bishop of Muhabura and his wife, Right Revd Cranmer and Mrs Hope Mugisha;
• the announcement of our new Diocesan President for 2010-2012;
• information about this years AFIA Family Holiday on the Isle of Wight, including your prayer diary for the week;
• news from Shyogwe Diocese in Rwanda about Mothers’ Union work there which is supported by members in the Lyndhurst area of this diocese;
• more information about Street Pastors and prison chaplaincy, as previously featured on this website;
• photograph’s from our Mothers’ Union Festival Service in April, with a summary of the address given by Right Revd Michael Scott-Joynt, Bishop of Winchester;
• news of what has been happening among some of your local groups, including some fantastic picnic photographs from Ringwood and Odiham as they celebrated National Family Week in May.

If you live in the region covered by the Diocese of Winchester, and think all this sounds interesting, but you are not a member of Mothers’ Union, please take time to read more about us on this website, and then contact us if you would like to become a member.

Mothers' Union members in Muhabura working in their fields in 2006

Among the news they shared was that members in our link Diocese of Muhubura are receiving a large number of refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo. If you read the Muhabura link in our International pages above, you will know Mothers’ Union members there have very little to share, but they are trying hard to cater for the needs of this influx of refugees.

Staff at Mary Sumner House (Mothers’ Union head office in London) have now sent a second grant from the Mothers’ Union Relief Fund. This will enable members in Muhabura to provide for the needs of the refugees now being cared for in their communities.

Local Mothers’ Union groups are encouraged to raise funds to keep Relief Fund topped up with money that can be released instantly in response to emergency needs like these.

A Mothers' Union leader holds a malnourished baby among the Congolese refugees.

If you wish to make a donation direct to our Diocesan Office, please make cheques payable to ‘Mothers’ Union, Diocese of Winchester’ and send them to the address on our Contact page. If you are a UK taxpayer, please enclose a signed, dated note stating as much, and include your address and postcode. Thank you.