Archives for September 2013

Two days ago i visited a family deep in one of the villages outside of Soroti Town. There i met Esther and Alice who have just arrived from a place called Amuria the day before. Esther and Alice were brought here by someone who needed help with his garden. The garden has been growing a lot of weeds and he needs workers to weed and harvest when the time comes.

Esther is 15 years old and Alice is 14 years old. Esther has never been to school and she has four brothers living at home. Initially there were 11 siblings in her family but six of them have since passed because of hunger. She will love to go school despite her age as long as she gets the support to pay for it. Alice is in primary six but have to suspend school to travel to this village to make some money to support herself. She has nine other siblings and hope she can continue her education because that is the only hope for her family.

Esther and Alice live in a make-shift grass thatch house currently occupied by a herdsman and his family of six. They spend their day weeding and digging in the garden or traveling a long distance multiple times to fetch water for the herdsman’s family. They told me they are lucky if they get a meal for the day. They were dressed in clothes held together by threads and some not fitting at all. They told me the clothes they have on are the only one they have and that they will have to wash and wear it wet each time because there is nothing else to cover themselves with.

Shelter, clothes, and hunger are not the only dangers facing Esther and Alice. These girls, as young as they are susceptible to sexual predators in this region. Where they currently live offers them no protection at all. The person who brought to work in his garden lives many miles away in Soroti town and will seldom come to check on them. Because of the degree of financial needs facing them, they are also vulnerable to becoming prostitutes. With very little money, girls like them are taken advantage of and eventually will end up with a pregnancy or HIV.

It is because of people like Esther and Alice that MADI works in Africa. Hundreds and thousands of girls are currently in the same situation. If you are reading this blog and feel compelled to change the fate of these two girls, please i beg you to not hesitate to do so. They are desperately in need of your help and for $45 a month for each girl, they can enroll into a boarding school where they can be offered shelter, food, and clothing and most importantly, protection from a destructive life style and a chance for a good education and the means to end the cycle of poverty.

During our conversation they begged me not to forget them when i go back. They asked me to help them and get them out of that village which i was not able to at the time. I prayed with them and as i was leaving, i could see them crying and i felt so helpless that all i could do was also cry. I am hopeful that someone will read this and have compassion in their heart to help Esther and Alice. Please make a difference in someone’s life today!

MADI is anticipating to launch the start of an Annual Youth Camp initiative as part of its Moral and Spiritual Growth program. The program is intended to guide and lead young men and women to become followers of Christ and to help them lead a life that reflects the love and light of Christ. Last Sunday, we began forming junior and senior youth groups in Life Renewal Ministry, Soroti.

Life Renewal Ministry , Soroti, has agreed to partner with MADI to act as the host church for MADI’s Youth Camps. The youths will start to prepare themselves to be God’s vessels ready to be used to reach out to the youths who don;t know Christ. Youth camps will target young people who have not heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and even those who are struggling with their walk with Christ. Youth camps will run for one week at a time during which attendees will be introduce to the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ and as the spirit of God leads them, will be invited to give their lives to Christ and be born again.

MADI is highly depending on support from churches back in the United States to make this program possible. We are inviting churches to join us or support us in any ways possible (short term youth mission trips, camp counselors, material supplies for the camp, Bibles, financial help, or helping to construct our campsite), and we will accept all and any help that directly support this initiative.

The field is ripe for God’s word in this region but there are very few of those who are called to serve Him here. I invite you to join MADI to make sustainable spiritual investments for the kingdom of God in this region. The younger generations are thirsty for God’s words. Their souls are searching and their minds have burning questions for guidance and direction. This makes them vulnerable to the world around them which is readily available to offer them the convenient choice. HIV AIDS among the youth in Teso sub region is growing. Drunkenness has become the order of the day to the extend that even as young as 12 years old are already consuming alcohol.

The youths need urgent rescue and MADI is willing to lead the charge but can really use some support from the christian community. Join us and let’s take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost souls and bring them home to Christ.

To God be the glory!

Last week i had the chance to meet with the enthusiastic students of the MADI Club at Wiggins Secondary School Kumi, to listen to their plan for a sanitation outreach initiative in Kumi. The students will commit themselves to an all-day cleaning exercise including the local health center, streets, and their school grounds. The exercise is meant to sensitize the public about the importance of a clean environment and a healthy life style.

During this campaign, the students will seek to talk to the locals, pass out fliers,  and present a skit about the different options and the need to keep homes and surrounding areas clean. The Kumi City Council will be partnering with MADI to support this activity by providing a truck to haul and dispose the garbage collected.

It is time for Africa to wake up from its slumber and start thinking about community building and investing for the future. These students are an example of such calls and it is our hope and prayers that it will mark the beginning of a new era at least in the city of Kumi where communities invest in clean and healthy environment. Please show your support for the youths. They are the vehicle for sustainable change that Africa, and in this case Uganda, is so desperate for.

For many years people have imprisoned themselves in their mindset. Circumstances have caused millions in this continent to simply accept the status-quo acknowledging that poverty is the way of life. Instead of utilizing the scarce resources to make life better, they fail to do so because their ability to think outside the box have been chained in a prison cell of which they have the keys to unlock.

Little gestures like cleaning up the community’s environment by young people is meant to indicate to the public in these region that yes, we can do better if we put aside our egos and selfish ambitions, looking ahead for better tomorrows not only for thier generation but for those generations to come. Then Africa will begin to have the hope that someday they will break free from the chains of dependency and start creating resources and wealth to self sustain. These young men and women at Wiggins understand this concept and will like to prove it. They are the hope for Africa’s future and we can never go wrong to nurture and support them.

SUPPORT THEM!!!!!!!