Friday and Saturday were another blur punctuated by mourning and a celebration of life. Some of the team participated in feeding the GEMs, while others worked on re-screening the sun room of Joy House. Saturday morning, we received the sad news that one of the GEMs had passed.
Haura Tebugulwa was born November 26th, 2009 and passed into the Saviors arms June 12th, 2026. She was born with cerebral palsy into a Muslim family. Her father wasn’t in the picture much, but instead was raised by a loving mother until her mother died. Her grandfather stepped in at that point to care for her. He would feed her breakfast, go off to work, come home and prepare their lunches, then work in the afternoon, come home and prepare dinner. About 11 years ago, he realized he couldn’t care for her adequately, so he brought her to The GEM Foundation. Even after that, he loved her and visited her often at GEM until his passing. About a month ago, Haura’s health took a downward turn. She developed pneumonia and was being treated in Hope House, where the medically fragile GEMs receive care. She passed quietly Saturday evening.
The staff, some GEMs and the team from San Diego met for a memorial service where we remembered Haura, her vibrant smile and pleasant personality. Many tears were shed from the directors and staff who loved her dearly. Someone in her family requested her body for an Islamic burial next to her other relatives.
Here is the program that was assembled for the memorial service.
Saturday’s Photos
The first picture is a poorly taken selfie of me feeding James from the Hope House.The next photo depicts the team having lunch.The next two pictures show the hallway and a classroom of the new learning center. Next, we have a chair and some sort of work bench. I don’t know how that is used. We have some cows, and finally, a contractor’s power tool connection to the AC mains. As an electronic engineer, it makes me cringe a little. Good thing the outlets come with switches, so one can wire this up and step back before flipping the switch!