Mission Outreach to Uganda

By Shalini David

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Suzie Solomon and I went with Global Evangelism to Kasese , Uganda to conduct evangelistic meetings. We met with the whole evangelistic group in Kampala , the capitol of Uganda , and after a day of orientation we were split up into our different sites. Our village was about 6 hours from Kampala . While driving there we actually drove thru the equator! We arrived there on Thursday night and on Friday we went to see our different sites. The town that Suzie and I were stationed at was called Hima. Our meetings were held in a cement factory, which were both good and bad. It was bad because we inhaled a lot of dust and factory fumes, but it was good because we were able to interact with the workers and many attended the meetings.

I conducted programs for children while Suzie held the nightly evangelistic meetings for adults. With the help of two young women from the town, we taught children Bible songs and stories that exemplified trusting God through adversity. We taught them to pray and helped them to realize the importance of following God. There were 100-200 children present each night. Usually the group started with 100, but by the time we passed out coloring pages for the children, we were overwhelmed with double that number of children wanting to participate in the activities. They were desperate for just one piece of paper, calling out with outstretched arms yelling "teacher, paper!" At times it seemed out of control with the children screaming and pushing and almost knocking me over.

However, their behavior was completely justified in my eyes. Many of these children were orphaned at a young age and had to rely on their wits to survive on the street, fighting for everything they had-even food. Uganda had been in a civil war for over a decade. As a result, many of these children lost their parents to bloodshed and violence. In addition, AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, have claimed the lives of many with some children having been found lying next to their dead parents, not knowing what had happened to them. There are also children classified as orphans who have living mothers. But women there are often uneducated with no means of supporting themselves and their families. In those situations, the death of a husband signals complete financial devastation for a family.

In Kasese, when a child is orphaned, the system there assigns are guardian to them. However, the families that serve as guardians often have 7-10 children already. With more mouths to feed and not enough resources to provide adequate care, these orphans are often left to their own devices on the streets. Many are not given the opportunity to attend school. Some children get by selling things at the local market, but it is not steady income, and it does not guarantee that they can be fed everyday.

We provided food for as many children as we could, and in the process I got the opportunity to hear their stories - all of them sad. For more information, please contact me at 301-879-7222. Most importantly, please keep the project in your prayers.