It’s easy for me to imagine that many of the children of Uganda believe God has forgotten them.
46% of the population is 14 years and younger. Many of these children live in rural communities without the luxury of running water and electricity. The development of the infrastructure of Uganda is still a long-range goal. Poverty is the norm. Malaria, HIV, and respiratory illnesses have produced a high death rate. Survival is the order of the day for most.
But here is the truth—the reality. God has NOT forgotten a single person. Every person matters. Circumstances may shout otherwise … but God is aware and cares about every person.
It’s so hard for so many suffering communities in Uganda to believe it … but, when God comes to their village it’s hard to deny. When development comes it’s easier to believe that God is remembering them.
Let’s take the remote area in the Kiryandongo District where Rebecca and her team came upon this nursery and primary school. They observed a dilapidated building with no walls and a disappearing roof, classrooms with no desks, undesirable drinking water, or usable toilet. Rebecca had no option but to seek God for His plan. The result, as you have read in a previous blog, is the existence of a new school building with five classrooms complete with doors and chalkboards … which will soon be filled with new desks!
The vision for change and development arrived when there were no financial resources for change. But that has changed too! Finances are now available to pay for the desk and to build separate toilets for girls, boys, and staff. Plans are being laid for the drilling of a well to provide pure drinking water.
The current toilet has been filled to capacity and appears to be ready to fall down at any moment. Children are not allowed to enter the structure you see here. They wander away from the other students and dig a hole in the grown and squat or stand over it. Hardly considered sanitary.
There is physical evidence that God is doing something in this obscure community. He has come to this area in the form of human beings. He loves to partner with His sons and daughters in expressing His presence and care through the hands and hearts of you and me.
I can’t say for sure, but I believe no one in this community had imagined what God had in store for them. But now … HOPE is alive and well in this community. It’s our prayer that many will see beyond the physical change to discover it was God who cared and to know that He is the One who accomplished the change.
Thank you for joining Team SOZO. If you would like to participate and express the love and care of God in this and future projects you can donate online by clicking the donate button at the top of this page. Or, you can send a check to NGM, 29940 South Dhooghe Road, Colton, OR 97017, and write SOZO in the memo line.