Meet the Ladies of Sonrise

Meet the ladies of Sonrise Baby and Children’s Home (along with Betty and Damali). From left to right: (Top) Peace, Betty and Nora, (Bottom) Loyce, Afuwah, Julie, Kisakye, Sophia, Damali and Cathy.

These ladies are the backbone of Sonrise. They are the hands that change all the poopy diapers, wipe all the runny noses, bathe all the screaming babies, cook the food, wash the laundrey, mop the floors. They help teach abc’s and numbers, lead the kids in song time, pull out toys, put up toys, referee arguments, make bottles, dispense medicine, apply appropriate bandages and in the not so bad cases give a hug and a ‘you’ll be ok’…the list goes on haha. These ladies also have recently started making necklaces for Sonrise to sell (pictures below).

These ladies are the paid staff at Sonrise, but it was such a blessing to be around them as they worked because they gave off the impression that they weren’t just coworkers but also a family. They work SO hard-20 babies under the age of four. – even if you don’t have kids, you can imagine. I think my favorite thing about these ladies was their light-heartedness and sense of humor. They were always joking around, making jokes about each other, laughing and carrying on. It was great. I think they really love their work. Yes, it is a job, but I’ve seen people who take care of kids when its only a job. They take care of the kids but its obvious they don’t love it. When you see these ladies interact with the kids at Sonrise you can tell that they really care. It’s like they are their own. They know that this one wont use a bottle and has to have a cup, that that one likes to sleep on her stomach, that so and so isn’t feeling good if they cry a certain way. They really care about the kids.

While we were there we had the privilege of getting to have a bible study class with the ladies on a couple different days. They also have devotions several night a week. It was a little strange at first because we had to get Betty to interpret for us and it was a challenge to make sure we were putting things in terms that they understood. It was also a learning experience (for me at least) because there are so many terms we use here to describe and explain our beliefs and we just assume that everyone knows what we mean when we say those things.  It’s rare that we have to actually stop and explain the details of what we believe and what the Word says about a certain topic. We would read a passage in English and then we would get one of them to read it out of a Lugandan Bible.

Anyway, we had so much we wanted to teach, but we started out the first day asking the ladies what they wanted to learn more about or what kinds of questions they might have. We explained that we weren’t experts on the bible, but we wanted to help explain anything we could, and also we wanted them to share if they had something they wanted to share with us. We discussed several things over the couple weeks we were there. One of the things the ladies mentioned they wanted to learn more about was how to pray, how to confess their sins, how to read the bible, and what all the different books were about. We got them all little note books and pens so they could take notes if they wanted. Caroline taught a couple days on prayer, they really loved it, they had a ton of questions. She also ended up making them this cool little graph that showed all the books of the bible according to type (law, prophets, wisdom, etc). They studied that thing for about an hour before they had to go back to work haha.

Some of the other things we covered were the importance of God’s Word, Christ’s sacrifice and how we no longer had to make our own sacrifices to get to God, and working as unto the Lord- how they’re hard work may go unseen by everyone else (they are only around babies all day long), but God sees it and he knows their hearts and he doesn’t let that go unrewarded. One of the most memorable things for me was one day when we shared what the bible says in James about true religion being taking care of widows and orphans. These ladies knew they were doing a good thing, but they didn’t know that the bible specifically talks about those that care for orphans and promises a special blessing for them. It was really neat just to be able to share that and see them encouraged because of it.

We were able to use some of the money people donated to buy them all Lugandan bibles. They were so happy about getting them. One of the ladies came to me and said ‘out of all the gifts you could have gotten me, you got the best one!’ It was truly inspiring to see these ladies hunger for the word. They really want to learn and study and understand more about what the bible has to say. I think a great idea for any one who is planning to go volunteer at Sonrise is to have a bible study time with the ladies everyday, or at least a couple days a week. Maybe even have someone help with cooking and cleaning and someone else leading the study so the ladies can take a break and have some time to study. Just a thought.

One of the ways you can be a part of helping Sonrise, is by sponsoring one of these ladies. They all have their own children and families in the villages they come from so their job at Sonrise goes a long way in helping to provide and care for them. A month’s salary for one of them is $100. You can donate online here:
http://sonriseministriesinc.com/babyhomedonation.html

We have a lot of the magazine paper necklaces here in the states, if you’d like to buy some or get some on hand to sell at your church, etc, leave a comment here or get in touch with me or any one of the other volunteers that have been to Sonrise. We have a suggested donation of $15-$20 per necklace.

Also, the first picture at the very top was taken by a team that came to Sonrise the last week I was in Uganda. They brought a ton of supplies, including the t-shirts and scrubs the ladies are wearing. They have these t-shirts printed and they are for sale with all proceeds going to Sonrise:
http://sonriseministriesinc.com/babyhomedonation.html

Two of the ladies from the team also have blogs where they’ve been writing about their trip, how God has burdened their hearts for orphans, etc. Check out Mandi’s blog here: http://www.johnsonfamily-outoftheboat.blogspot.com/ and Kim’s blog here: http://moodygirls3.blogspot.com/

‘You Returned Our Hope’: Helping Betty And Rebecca

Many of you have heard this story, but I’m going to tell it again because personally, it was one of the most touching-challenging-convicting things I encountered on this trip.

Meet Betty (in the middle) and Rebecca (to the right):

These precious ladies are the two caretakers at Fresh Fire orphanage. Maybe you’ve heard this story, but either way, don’t let this fact pass you by: these ladies haven’t received a paycheck in seven years. Seven years. They aren’t volunteers, they didn’t sign up to work for free, they were hired on as employees and promised a salary. However, they are yet to see that promised salary. The Ugandan man that is in charge of Fresh Fire tells them that there just isn’t money for them to get paid, maybe next month, maybe next year, maybe after this or that. Now as Americans our initial reaction is to find this guy and set him straight. How could he do that? How can we stop him? But I don’t want to spend a lot of time talking about this guy because in all honesty, Betty and Rebecca don’t spend a lot of time talking about him. They don’t talk about how unfair their situation is, they don’t talk about how hard they work, how tired they are…all of these things that they have every right to talk about. What DO Betty and Rebecca talk about? The fact that God is faithful and they continually pray for Him to provide.

This was one of the most difficult things I had to deal with, something that shut me up and made me think very hard about my faith and trust in God. After several days of talking with them and investigating how we could help with the girls room project, it struck me how they never talk about the injustice of it all, they didn’t complain, there was no bitterness in their words. I finally just asked them ‘Why don’t you leave? Why do you stay working here if they don’t pay you?’ They both explained that they knew if they left no one would take care of the kids. No one else would come in and work without getting paid. They couldn’t just leave the kids. So they continue to work faithfully, knowing that they are working for the Lord, knowing that they are doing the right thing, and joyfully, faithfully, trusting in him to provide.

When we initially asked how we could help them out and what needs they had they shared with us about the girls room, how they were so cramped up and tight on space and didn’t have enough beds. They shared with us about the kids needing school uniforms and supplies. They shared with us about their farming projects and the need for land so they could have a bigger garden to grow food. They shared about all these things but they never mentioned themselves. They never mentioned that they worked for free, that they had families that were going without things because they didn’t have any income. It really blew me away. They don’t see themselves ‘suffering for Christ’. They are simply living life day to day, doing what is right and enjoying what they’ve been given.

We wanted to raise enough money to give Betty and Rebecca each about six months salary, a total of $150 each. We ended being able to give each of them about $175. I’ll try hard to put into words how much this blessed them.

The day we presented the money to them, they had asked us to please come and eat lunch with them. They were so thankful for the work we were doing and humbled that we would take time to come and visit them and Fresh Fire, they treated us as honored guests everyday we were there. They cooked this huge meal for us, it was so tasty! They bought us soda’s and set up the table and chairs for us to eat at. It was a really fun time. Afterwards they pulled out their photo albums and showed us pictures of all their kids, their village, different church groups they worked with, etc. It was great to see different parts of their life and hear their stories. After that we told them that we had something to give them. We explained that we had shared their story with our friends in the states and all around the world through our blog and people had been so touched by their hard work and their faithfulness in caring for these kids. They already knew how many people had donated towards the construction project for building the room for the girls but we told them that people also wanted to give to them personally. They’re eyes got big and you could see them tearing up a little, they’re faces showed a mixture of shock and excitement. It was like they didn’t really know what to say. They even said they didn’t have words. They said it was a direct answer to prayer. That it was perfect timing. That they were so blessed. That God had proven himself faithful.

Rebecca went on to share that her daughter was in university and at the beginning of the semester they paid half the fees because that is all they had. She was hoping and praying that she could come up with the rest of the money before the end of the semester so her daughter could graduate. If she couldn’t finish paying the fees, her daughter would have to take the whole year over again. On that Monday, the school had sent her daughter home and told her she couldn’t come back unless she finished paying. They prayed all week. We gave them the money on a Thursday.

It sounds cheesy. It sounds like just a little bit of money and not that big of a deal. But this is our American mindset. To these ladies, it wasn’t just a little money, it wasn’t even just a lot of money, it was God proving himself faithful. It was a direct answer to prayer.

When we give money to these types of projects, its not just us throwing funding at some people in need. Our money serves a much bigger purpose than that. It brings encouragement, it spreads hope, it points people to the God we serve, it glorifies His name.

The last day I was in Uganda, I got to meet with Betty and Rebecca one more time. They gave me cards with a message to read on the plane. If you contributed to any of these projects, to mine and Caroline’s trip this summer, with prayers or any other kind of support, this message also goes out to you:

“You have blessed our hearts with joy and happiness. You have been of great help to us. You woke us from sleep, you returned our hope.” “We are in great happiness, especially the girls. Something we have been praying for so long has been answered. You have encouraged us and we know that God is yet to answer other prayers for we had lost hope.”

On behalf of Betty and Rebecca, and the kids of Fresh Fire, thanks for spreading hope in Uganda.

Helping The Fresh Fire Girls

I think the last thing we let you know was that construction was in progress on the girls room at Fresh Fire. If you didn’t read the original blog listing all the needs, let me catch you up really quick. Fresh Fire has eight girls in high school and they had been sharing one very small room with only five beds. Here is a picture of the room they were staying in: They had what they called a ‘chicken coop’. It was kind of a tool shed type room attached to the house where they had been keeping the chickens. They had plans to close this room in and make it into a bedroom for the girls but they didn’t have the money. Thanks to you guys, we were able to provide the funding and oversee the construction of this new room.

Thanks to your generosity, we were also able to purchase 3 extra beds and new mattresses for all the girls. This means that each girl now has her own bed. For some of these girls, even though they are in highschool, this is the first time in their lives to have their own bed. We told them we needed some pictures to show our friends back home that sent the money, they wanted to pose on their new beds to show you guys how thankful they are.

I really can’t put into words the smiles on these girls faces. I can’t put into words how excited they were, how thankful they are. This project ended up costing about $800. It was something that most of us take for granted- personal space, room unstack our bunkbeds so we can have a place to sit and do our homework, our own bed, a new 6-inch thick foam mattress. But to these girls it was an answer to their prayers for the last several years, it was a huge encouragement, a reason to smile, a simple reason to know that God cares, and he listens and he loves them. On behalf of the Fresh Fire girls ‘Thank You!’

Christ’s Glory, Our Goal

Sooooo. I’m back in the States. Woo! Ok not really. I won’t lie. I hate it haha. It’s great to be around family and friends again but, honestly, I feel like there is soooo much work to be done in Uganda, and I only got a small fraction of the time I needed over there. It’s hard to explain unless you’ve gone, but, like Caroline said, this journey has just started. The cry of the needy in Uganda rings on louder than ever, and going to spend six weeks with them has only increased my passion for ministry and burden for these people. Not in a bad way, not in a ‘ah I really want to go back, this is so sad’ way, just a ‘there’s work to be done’ way.

There is work to be done. Whether there or here, the goal is the same- surrender all to the cause of Christ and glorify His name to the utmost through whatever the current task may be. The work takes a different shape from time to time, but the goal is the same and with that in mind- there is work to be done.

The total money that we raised for these projects was right around $5000. In ten days. We raised $5,000 in ten days for projects that we had no clue we would be working with beforehand.

It’s funny to me to look back at all our preparations before we left for Uganda. We fundraised and planned for a year before we took off and we knew we would be working with Sonrise, but for the most part we didn’t know what we would be doing. But I prayed, and I know so many of you did too, that the name of Christ would be glorified no matter what we would be doing. Whether it be changing diapers or preaching the gospel, we asked for the name of Christ to be at the front of everything we did. Little did we know we would end up working with 5 orphanages and touching the lives of so many people in a very real way. We don’t always know the details of what God has planned but if our priority in everything is to bring Christ glory, God is going to bless our efforts.

One thing that was very evident to me while we were over there is the need for what I’m going to call ‘Connectors’.

A lot of people see all the needs over there and want to go live there full time, start a ministry of there own, and help all these needy people. And I’m not dissing those people at all, God calls people into that kind of ministry all the time and those people are desperately needed. BUT. There are a ton of people in Uganda, that are from Uganda, that have hearts of servants and  are trying to help these same needy people. The thing I saw firsthand on this trip is that these people are very capable of running and maintaining these ministries on their own, they are passionate about God’s glory and about reaching out to those in need in the name of Jesus. They are passionate about spreading and teaching the Word, about discipling. They have it all together. They just need a little support. They need some financial backing, they mainly just need encouragement. They are working tirelessly (some refusing paychecks and personal recognition) to do the work that God is calling them to, and because they are from Uganda they have a much better idea of how to minister to Ugandans, what the cheapest and most efficient way of doing things is, etc. They just need a little help.

People are so ready to give when they see and really understand the need. Not just ‘hey there are starving kids in africa,’ but ‘hey, this kid named Peter is starving, his mom and brothers live in a 4×6 mud hut and beg on the streets for $.50 a day’. When people really understand the need, see the faces of the needy, and begin to build a connection, it changes things, and they want to help. But most people never hear about the needs, and those that do are left at a loss for how they can help. ‘Sure I’ll send money, but how, where, when, how much?’

Thus the need for Connectors. People that will take the info and spread it. Inform people, answer questions, share pictures. Personally this is something I’ve felt led to for a long time but this trip really confirmed it a lot. For me, being a connector means travelling over there, being on the ground, finding these places and talking with the people that start them, finding out the needs, sharing with churches stateside, fundraising, taking teams over, collecting the money, overseeing the projects, writing and publicizing. All the things Caroline and I did in Uganda this time. But the role of Connector can take many forms. Everyone can be a Connector in some way. Maybe you want to meet with me or Caroline and hear more details about the trip and about future plans to help these organizations. Maybe you want to talk to your church or small group and set up a time when we can come share. Maybe after hearing us share you want to head up a fundraiser for one of these groups- a yard sale, bake sale, spaghetti dinner, carwash etc. Maybe you want to get info from us and take it your school or workplace or family gathering, or even just home to your kids. Maybe you want to post a link on your facebook status, send a tweet, a text, a phone call….All these fall under the job duty of a Connector.

Who would have imagined that us taking a few pictures and typing up a blog could generate $5,000? But efforts in Christ’s name hold more potential then is recognizable at first glance. Christ will be glorified through His people, and when our aim and goal and focus is to passionately pursue the glorifying of his name- God moves. The smallest effort you can contribute could have an eternal impact.

We’re going to be working hard to get info together about how people can get involved and how we can help these ministries and hopefully more like these in the future. But for now, start thinking on how you can be a connector, how might you want to get involved, and even more important then working with us on any off our projects- are you passionately pursuing the glory of Christ above all else?

Just wanted to inform you…

When I get back to the states, there will be a ton of blogs complete with pictures and everything else that makes a great blog. However, right now I’m finding nearly impossible to blog. In fact, its nearly impossible to get online once a day and have 10 minutes to reply to messages. So, please forgive me, I want to keep yall updated, but, its just going to have to wait. All of the projects are coming along great but are taking a lot of time out of the day haha So, please bear with me, only a few more days and I’ll be back

A good friend of mine, Joyce Alum, passed away last night. She was at Good Shepherds Fold when my family lived here and her and her brother Morris were pretty good friends of mine. Everyone here is pretty sad but is finding peace in the fact that Joyce is with Christ now. If you could keep her family and friends in your prayers that would be great. It’s never easy to lose a loved one.

Thanks, Rebecca

Back in the States

(from Caroline)

I didn’t realize I’d miss everyone so much. It’s a lot harder than I thought it’d be. Whenever someone asks me about it, they expect a brief explanation of the beauty of Uganda and how much help we gave the babies. Well, that wouldn’t be a very truthful story. Yes, Uganda is gorgeous! Yes, God allowed us to work for Him. But that’s NOT the whole story. This story has no end. The cry of Uganda is louder to me than ever and I don’t know what to do about it! Pictures can touch the heart for an instant, but the need for volunteers and permanent help is something that must affect the heart for a lifetime!

The questions burning are ones like

How do we set these orphanages up with their own website to receive help?

How can we connect these children to people back home?

How can I get back there and WHEN??

Thankfully on the trip I was able to read A Chance to Die, The Legacy of Amy Carmichael (by Elisabeth Elliot). She made it SO incredibly clear to everyone back home that prayer, constant prayer was the biggest help they could give. Right now I’m asking whoever is reading this to PRAY. Pray earnestly for the poor of Africa. Get specific. Pray for the streetkids, the orphans, the dying children left unwanted because they have cerebral palsy, those affected with malaria, helpless grandmothers. Please pray. God is Provider. He is Healer. Turn your attention to Africa and give your time in prayer.

Thank you everyone who prayed for Rebecca and I and the children while we were in Jinja. The journey home was a safe one. Rebecca comes back in about a week so she’s going to need prayer as well, even moreso because she’s quite ill.

Pictures of the Construction Work for the Girls Room at Freshfire

Before picture, before they closed in the outside doorway.

Before picture from inside.

Some of the progress.

They closed in the outside doorway and put in a window. They broke the inside wall on the other side and put in a doorway.

Cementing the floor.

This is the room the 8 girls are currently staying in. Aunt Betty said that everytime they come home from school they stop by the new room and peek inside to see how its coming along. They are so excited.

Helping Home of Hope

This is going to be a bittersweet blog. Apologies. Here goes the sweet:

Many of you made very generous donations towards Home of Hope and we were able to help them out a lot.

Friday morning, although we were both sick and a little dehydrated, we decided to do battle with the central market in Jinja and buy the supplies for Home of Hope. Hopefully we can get a picture of the market for you sometime. Think flea market on crack with a million extra people times a thousand. You have to bargain and haggle all the prices. You even have to dig through piles of things to find what you want. All in all, it was an adventure. Thanks to whoever was praying for us because we really did not feel that great but we made it anyway.

We were able to buy them bedsheets, washclothes, a lot of soap for bathing and washing clothes, and enough food for at least a couple weeks. We also helped them pay rent for one month, and the staff salary for one month. This was a huge help. When we gave the money and supplies to Edith, the Ugandan lady who is running the home, you could see the relief come over her face. She was so thankful. She had the biggest smile. She wanted to put the new sheets on the beds so we could take pictures (pictures below). She said that God had really answered some of her prayers.

Let me tell you a little more about Edith. She is a precious Christian lady. She works at Home of Hope, but the kids that stay there are like her own. When she talks about these kids you can hear the love she has for them in her voice. One of her own kids has cerebral palsy, so she knows the special love, care, difficulties and needs that each kid needs. She shared with us how it gets hard sometimes because she knows that these kids will never get better and get a job and start supporting themselves. She shared that often times she gets discouraged but she reminds herself that God is there and she just keeps going. Such an inspiration and encouragement. Helps me to realize how small my passion and faith really is.

Here goes the bitter:

Last week one of the little girls from Home of Hope was in the hospital. Saturday morning we got word that she passed away. Her name was Fatilah and she was five. Edith asked us if we could help them with the burial expenses and I’m thankful that we had extra money to be able to. It’s hard to explain because us Americans don’t really have to think about these kinds of things, but in order for the body to be buried you have to hire someone to transport it to the village. This is ‘very expensive’ (about $150).

I want to leave you with a happy blog about how we “rallied together and raised so much money and really impacted and helped these people.” All of that is true. But I can’t leave you without sharing the haunting reality that there are still urgent, desperate needs. We’ve done a great job (we meaning Caroline and I and all of you who have been giving and praying and following the updates). We have really made an impact and will continue to do so. But we can’t stop now.

Home of Hope, just like all the other groups we’ve been working with, needs long term sponsors. People that will commit to give so much per month. They need to be able to count on a stable income every month instead of always having to worry about what they will eat, if they can pay rent, etc.

Edith shared that the kids often have seizures and there is a certain medicine that they need to be on. She can only afford to buy half the medicine that they need which means only half the kids get the medicine, or all the kids get half the dosage they need. How much does the medicine cost? About $40 a month. $40 a month can keep 16 precious kids from having seizures.

The staff at Home of Hope have not been paid in three months. Why? There is no money. Edith was so happy when we told her we were going to pay their salary for the month. She said they would be overjoyed to hear the news. Each staff member receives 100,000 shillings a month which is about $45. There are 6 staff members total.

Home of Hope needs a vehicle. They live about 20 minutes outside of town. Because the kids are all disabled, many of them get sick all of a sudden in the middle of the night with seizures and all sorts of things that demand medical attention. Edith explained to us that a lot of times there is no way to take them to the hospital. Taxi drivers refuse to take the kids in their taxis because the kids have no control of their bodily functions. This type of situation is unimaginable to any of us. Edith put it so plainly: When you are up in the middle of the night, carrying one of these sick kids, trying to find a way to the hospital but no one will take you, you can find yourself asking God ‘Are you trying to punish me? Haven’t I been faithful?’

If you had to look her in the eyes, what would you say? Hasn’t she been faithful?

I don’t want this to sound discouraging, or to make you feel guilty for being an American and being blessed with a house and a job and food to eat. That’s not the point. The point is that there is so much more that we can do here. For a very small amount, a very little sacrifice, we can help. That’s encouraging.

We’re already thinking of fundraisers we can do when we get home, places we share, people we can ask to get involved. Join us in brainstorming. Join us in praying. Spread the blog link, share the story with your friends and your churches. Ask God how you should get involved in supporting the work of Edith and helping these precious kids. Thanks friends.

Apologies for the Silence….

Things have been kinda crazy and busy haha. There’s no super spiritual moral of the story in this blog, I just wanted to update you on the last few days.

Basically, we’ve been waiting haha. Several of you have been making donations in response to the blogs we’ve been posting on Home of Hope, Rebecca and Betty, Fresh Fire, and Moses’ Place. I’ll be honest, I doubted if we could really get people’s attention, but God is good. He has stirred hearts and called people to action and it encourages me. Anyway, their is a few days’ delay from when the money gets into the account until we can access it, so we’ve been waiting on that to clear.

Monday I met with the builder we are hiring to construct the new room for the girls at Freshfire. It is going to cost a little more than we were thinking at first, but praise God, He has provided enough to cover it still. This morning we went and met with ‘aunt’ betty and talked over the supplies and everything. We asked her son Tony to take a truck and go to town to get everything because Ugandans can get a better price then Americans. Plus he knew exactly where to go, etc. So we sent him with the money and he is gathering all the supplies so the building can start tomorrow. Hopefully we will have pictures as the project progresses.

Tomorrow we are going back to Home of Hope to get detailed specifics about their immediate needs and what kinds of supplies we can get for them. We’ll keep you updated on that as well.

Last night Caroline, Aleto (one of my Ugandan friends), and I went into town to this place called Flavors. They have coffee. No, not just coffee, espresso drinks. Real coffee. Eh, I don’t have words. So refreshing

Everyone is feeling a little bleh today, there is some kind of cold/flu/stomach things going around I think. We’re taking it easy tonight and having a movie night.

I cooked spaghetti with Betty (Damali’s cousin, not Aunt Betty from Freshfire) tonight. We got to chat for about an hour and a half. It was super encouraging, one of those conversations you know God had to put together because it was just exactly what you needed to hear, even though you didnt know you needed to hear it haha.

It’s 930pm here and I’m not feeling so great. My head is killing me and like I told Aleto, my eyes feel like they may fall out hah. I’m hoping a good nights’ sleep will help.

Thank you thank you thank you for the prayers. I’ve said this 100 times, but we feel them. There have been a few bumps in the road but overall this trip has been going so smoothly, better then any that Ive taken or been on. God is blessing tremendously. It’s like things are putting themselves together before we even get there. And that’s the power of serious prayer.

I feel so priveleged to be here, on the ground, seeing these needs and being able to connect those who need with those who can give. I know everyone can’t ‘go’, but I find myself asking why God allowed me to. Such a priveledge. Thats all I can say.

ASCO (Moses’ Place)

Saturday we went and spent the whole afternoon at Moses’ place (African Street Children Organization). We wanted to get more details to share with everyone. The details we ended up with were more than enough to confirm our initial feelings that we need to spread word of their organization and help them out with some donations.

Moses is one of the kids that grew up at GSF where my (Rebecca) family worked for three years. Sarah is a 22-year-old volunteer from England who is working with ASCO. After leaving GSF, Moses supported himself by the art he makes (his artwork is amazing by the way). He felt burdened to help the street boys of Jinja and started taking in boys and supporting them off of the money he made from selling his artwork. He now has 25 boys. We asked Moses and Sarah to explain a little about where these boys come from, why they are on the street, etc.

Many of the boys are from the Karamajong tribe of North Eastern Uganda. You’ve probably heard about the wars, famine, and other problems up North. These people are displaced and relocate in southern Uganda. Sometimes the government even relocates them down here where hundreds of people share a few acres of land. These areas become slums. (Think of the ghettos in Nazi time, with an African twist). Because these people are immigrants, they are looked down on and many people refuse to hire them. If they do get hired they are paid an extremely low wage because they are ‘Karamajong’. Because of the desperation and hopelessness of their situation, many of  the people are known for their drinking habits. Many of the boys at Moses’ place come from abusive homes where they have been beaten by their moms, or their moms have remarried and their alcoholic stepdads beat them.

Moses and Sarah took us to one of the local slums called Masese. The area was absolutely full of children. One little boy of Moses’ has 9 siblings from one mother living in Masese.

Because these people have almost no income and no land to grow their own food or raise livestock, they are left with no way to provide for themselves. The boys are sent into Jinja town to beg for money at ages as young as 8. The walk from Masese to Jinja is about 3 or 4 miles and the boys make this to and from Jinja every day. They spend the day begging for money, hoping to make around 1,000 Ugandan Shillings (50 cents) a day, only to come back the next day and do it all over again. When you’re young and cute, this is easier, but because the older teenage boys have a harder time getting sympathy, they turn to demanding money from the younger boys. This means the younger boys have to work twice as hard so they have some extra money to bribe the older boys and keep them from getting beat up for their money. Damali explained that the younger boys are also often victims of rape and other abuse and while on the streets they are introduced to alcohol and drugs. Sarah told us the most common habit the boys turn to is sniffing Parafin (motor oil) out of a coke bottle. The situations get worse as the boys get older because they lose the ability to beg for money and have to turn to more drastic measures like stealing, etc.

While we were in Masese Sarah asked one of the boys to show us where his mom and little brothers live. He took us to a rectangular mud hut with four doors. He opened one and invited us in, the four of us could barely fit. There was a bowl on the floor with food in it, a wire hanging across the ceiling with a few shirts drying, and a dirty wicker mat on the floor. Sarah asked him to show us where his mom sleeps, he pointed to the mat. She asked him to show us where his two brothers and him used to sleep. He pointed to the same mat.

She explained that many of the boys at ASCO are very worried about their brothers in the slums because they know as soon as they are old enough, they too will be sent to the streets. While touring the slum several ladies came up to Moses and said ‘take this one too’, holding up a child for him to take. Moses explained that there is no more room at ASCO, that he couldn’t take anymore. As a parent, if you can, put yourself in their place and ask yourself how desperate and hopeless of a situation would you have to be in before you would willingly offer someone else your child?

The strategy at ASCO is simple. Provide these boys with a safe, stable environment. Explain to them that they are not just worthless Karamajong street boys like they’ve been told all their lives, but that they too can have hope for a better life if they work hard. ASCO wants to get the boys through school and send them off with a good foundation where they can provide for themselves and take pride in what they do.

We sat down with Moses and Sarah in the office and asked them what their most urgent needs are. They were pretty basic: rent and food. They had a volunteer that paid their rent up to September but they have no idea how they will pay the rent after that. Rent is about $280 a month. Moses said they can only afford posho and beans for the boys and they are able to buy just enough to keep everyone fed at $320 a month. Sarah explained she would love to be able to buy more nutritious foods for the boys so they can stay healthy and cut down the cost on medical bills and dr visits.  Moses and Sarah want to put all the boys in school but even though some of them are 14 and 15, they don’t know how to read and write. Sarah told us they can count 1-10, but if you ask them to point out the number 6 they couldn’t do it. Moses wants to home school the boys and help them catch up so they can enter the proper grades when school starts. They are trying to save now to pay for school fees and uniforms in a couple of months. School fees, uniforms and school supplies are about $35 per boy.

We asked if they had a website. They told us their computer just crashed so they don’t even have internet access right now. A new computer here is about $400. Other than that their biggest need is a car. With 25 boys, paying transport by taxi or boda adds up fast. You can get a decent used car here for around $2500. We would love to get them a van, which would be closer to $5000.

The last thing they mentioned that would be very helpful is if someone would sponsor Moses and Sarah so that they can have a small salary. Sarah mentioned that she doesn’t have a ticket home and is running out of money for living expenses here. There are few people who can understand the joy of working for free. Of having something that is so close to your heart that you want to invest everything you have into it. Hearing Moses and Sarah talk about these boys at ASCO was a blessing. While talking about each one of the boys Sarah would start sharing little personality traits or funny habits of each of the boys. These aren’t just ’25 street boys’ to them, they each have a name, a personality, likes and dislikes, fears, strengths, weaknesses. These boys are in good hands, but the good hands can only do so much without proper financial support.

On the ride to Masese Sarah told us that while talking to one of the boys at ASCO he told her that his dream  was to be able to walk down Main Street in Jinja and have people not know that he was once a street boy. For 25 former street boys of Jinja, this dream can become reality. We can help.