General News

CHIPS' June 2011 Newsletter is now available to read online.

See inside for exciting news of developments in Ghana and Uganda, and also about the proposed training course for Christian Peace-Makers, due to commence in October 2011.

CHIPS' Summer 2010 Newsletter is now available to read online here.

See inside for updates from our Uganda project, a report from Ghana, plus a thank you message from our Founder Trustee, Roy Calvocoressi, regarding the fantastic response to our recent appeal.

You will also find prayer points, pictures from the field, and much more...

From Mini-Massacre to Minor Miracle

The CHIPS Border Resettlement Project was our response to the massacre at Lomaratoit in 2001. It comprised settling a mixed population of 25,000 Karamojong and Iteso along a 55km stretch of road between Olilim and Iriri in the south east and Apeitolim and Okoboi in the north west. We gave ourselves ten years to complete the project. Planning began in 2005.

Early in 2007 there was nobody living in Apeitolim or Okoboi until we moved there. Safety and security were poor and the people were afraid to move back. When it was known that CHIPS were moving in, villagers started to trickle back. We provided seed and tools to assist them to get started.

The crucial issue was expressed by the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) at Amuria, who said that CHIPS didn't just talk peace but they lived peace and were willing not only to live at grassroots level but even to settle in places not considered safe. Within two and half years the population has risen to 14,000.

Our Annual Report for 2008-9 is now available. Please click here to download a copy.

The CHIPS Uganda team have been making great progress in the ongoing resettlement programme, with the population in Apeitolim alone now exceeding 15,000 and new bases Obulin and Okolonyo nearing completion. All this is despite continued insecurity in the region and unreliable rainfall creating another impending food crisis. CHIPS continues to work with the Iteso and Karamojong to support them through practical projects and ministry to contribute to peace, following the example of Christ.

For a full update of our recent work, please download our Spring newsletter here.

Our Annual Report for 2007-08 is now available - please click here to download a copy.

We currently have the following job opportunities:

Project Leaders - Ghana

Water Development Worker - Uganda

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs "the food crisis in northeastern Uganda's Karamoja region has reached such a dire level that more than one million people are in need of emergency food aid" - read the full article here.

CHIPS is working with thousands of such affected Karimojong people by providing seeds and tools for cultivation and food for work until the next harvest comes.

Aerial view of Karimojong manyattas

Last September, long-time CHIPS supporter William Wilson made the long journey from Scotland to NE Uganda to visit the CHIPS team and find out all about CHIPS work there. William writes...

William with CHIPS Project Manager Simon-Peter

"This was my first visit to Uganda - it was a huge culture shock, and the more so as you travelled further from Kampala to Soroti, Iriri, and finally Apeitolim. Arriving at Apeitolim, the first impression is that it is basic, but orderly. The CHIPS project consists of a few traditional huts surrounded by neat plantations. It became clear that a lot of thought had gone in using what were mostly local resources. People had been resettling Apeitolim for about a year – it had been the site of a CHIPS project a few years ago, until an attack caused the inhabitants to flee.

A group of friends from Croxley Green, near Watford in Hertfordshire, recently completed a walk across the top of England, and helped raise funds for CHIPS in the process.

Made It!

Brian Thomson and Phil Brading, both members of St. Oswald’s Parish Church in Croxley Green, undertook the famous Coast to Coast walk with their friends Ges and Jane Carey. The walk, from St Bees on the Cumbrian west coast, to Robin Hood’s Bay on the east coast, covers a distance of 190 miles (305km) and passes through three of England’s spectacular National Parks, the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors.