Ark Ministries U.S.A. is a non-profit organization (501 C3) registered with the U.S. Government.  It was originally founded in 2014 as Ark Orphanage U. S. by Sandra and George Leyh of Mount Joy, PA.  They founded the organization in response to needs in a remote village in Bukoyo District, Uganda.  This rural community was ravaged by HIV/AIDS and many of the children suffered from disease and malnutrition.  Most of the children did not attend school because they could not afford the fees or supplies.

 

Two members of our Board, George Leyh and James Tumwesiigye (a native Ugandan) visited the area in September 2015 and met Pastor Jonah, who is responsible for Faith Primary School (FPS). At that time it was a school of 125 students in grades K-7.  As a private, Christian school, FPS follows the national curriculum but also has daily Bible classes.  Jonah is also the pastor of a local church.  While there, James and George oversaw projects in the school which included pouring cement floors in 5 of the classrooms and general repairs to blackboards, toilets, etc.

 

It was after this visit that the Ark Orphanage Board of directors realized our organization must have a broader scope.  We wanted to be able to help this local school and perhaps others, become self- sustaining.  We wanted the children to be able to afford schooling and school supplies.  We wanted them to be able to attain higher educational levels and get out of the hopelessness of their poverty.

 

At that time, we changed our name to Ark Ministries U.S.A. and received the support of the Elizabethtown Alliance Church in Pennsylvania.

 

In the summer of 2016, another team went to Uganda.  This time it included the  pastor of the Alliance Church of Elizabethtown, Jim Moynihan.  Jim met Pastor Jonah, did some pastoral training and had meaningful and sometimes difficult conversations with the church and school leaders while Board Member James Tumwesiigye organized the building of a new classroom.  The local people and older students had made enough bricks for construction but they did not have the money to plaster the walls.  Pastor Jim and James also took suitcases full of shoes for the children which seemed like a small thing, but for children whose feet were imbedded with jiggers, it wasn’t small, at all.

 

After this visit, we started to work closely with Pastor Jonah and made improvements to the facility of FPS by building two new classrooms, a kitchen, latrines, a security fence and front gate. All of this was necessary for the school to obtain certification from the government, which was achieved in 2019.

 

Certification and improved facilities attracted more qualified teachers, which,  in turn, resulted in students passing the necessary government test to enter high school. Secondary  schools in Uganda are expensive. Books, school supplies and uniforms are required. Again, Ark stepped in and found sponsors for the first 21 students who qualified. We enrolled them in a Christian boarding school near Kampala.

 

Now that Faith Primary School is self-sufficient, with over 300 students, our focus is finding sponsors for qualified graduates. Our hope and prayer is that by attending secondary school, these children will escape the cycle of poverty in their village.

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Sandy Leyh – President

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PROCLAIM

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The most important goal of Ark Ministries USA is to proclaim the gospel of Christ. We want our kids to be able to know Jesus personally and serve Him. We continue to assist Pastor Jonah at Faith Primary School (FPS). One year we organized and ran a  Bible Camp for the children in Bulamagi Village. FPS is a strong witness for Jesus. Pastor Jonah recently started a Bible School to train pastors and others who want to learn more about the Bible. He is also building a branch church nearby. We are pleased and honored to be part of God’s plan for Bulamagi Village.

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PROMOTE

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It has been our joy and privilege to be able to enroll over 30 young people in Hope Christian School, a secondary boarding school in Lugazi, Uganda. The school is aptly named. It gives hope to these children, who, without our support, had no hope. Most come from families with many siblings and often, no father. Some are orphans or have been sent to live with elderly relatives.  Some are from a Muslim background where there are several wives. Often, the fate of an uneducated, young girl in this community, is to become the third or fourth wife of a Muslim man.

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We promote education, leadership development &  living according to Biblical principles.  A sign in the office of Faith Primary School reads: “To awaken the joy of the hopeless children, and those with hope, to enable them to view live opportunities for the best future: to change the present generation into Godly and self reliant citizens.”

 

PROVIDE

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The primary goal of Ark Ministries USA is to provide educational opportunities for the top students who graduate from Faith Primary School in Bulamagi Village, Iganga, Uganda. When needed, we also provide medical care for our students, whether it be treatment for malaria, typhoid fever, a broken bone or a more serious operation.   Hospitals in Uganda will only see patients who can prepay for their services. We are pleased to be able to step in so our students can obtain this type of medical care without delay.

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While meals are provided when our students are in school, a holiday break, in their village, can have a serious impact on the student’s family. One more mouth to feed during times of drought and famine can be devastating. During the recent holiday break, we were able to provide food for the families of our 32 students.

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As you can only imagine, children in a remote village such as Bulamagi are subject to many social problems. Men (and women, too) often just “walk away” from their families, leaving children with no parents or with a mother who has no job skills.  We try to provide counseling for students in these situations.

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Our students are given the opportunity to escape poverty through education. Not all who are sponsored will be able to continue on to an academic or trade school after their four years of high school but education is never wasted. These children will have received both educational and spiritual training. They will have seen a different way of life and they will have been mentored by Christian men and women. It is our prayer that those who return to their village will shine brightly for Jesus in their world which is dominated by satanic forces.

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