I'm so encouraged and inspired by the Church in Uganda! Each Compassion Project has to have a local church lead the project. They have to take ownership of the policies and processes. We have now visited several and each one is unique but they have one thing in common. That one thing is the people leading are men and women of integrity that want to invest in the live of kids. These Projects and the people running them have got it together!
I literally held kids (note the finger puppets and candy she is clinging to that you donated) that would not be running and jumping if it wasn't for Compassion and their partnership with the local churches of Uganda. The $38 it takes to sponsor a child per month goes a long way. Remember that the village we visited today has an average income of $5 a month. It cost a parent $3 dollars a semester to send each kid to school and most families and extended families that have 3 or more kids. In context, $38 dollars in the US is a dinner and a movie. My group, Cheryl is in another group, made a home visit to a Compassion kid's family. Again, it was the grandmother that was the primary care giver. There is no way this video can describe how encouraged I was but...
Compassion also does Complementary Interventions in the communities to aid holistic child development. Again, I hope this video will illustrate.
Compassion has been around for decades and the results are obvious in Uganda. We had dinner with several Compassion Child Sponsorship Program graduates. They are now in Compassions Leadership Development Program and attending Universities. I heard testimonies of young people majoring in, health care, social work, law and business administration and all casting vision of going back into their communities to work and serve as a way to give back. My mind went back to the little kids playing in open sewers in the slums of Kampala Wednesday morning. That was this group of visionary college students' just years ago! The next three videos are two celebrations where the Ugandan college students sing and dance to show their gratitude and the third is Mitch, a US college student, praying over this group. (sorry the vids are dark but turn your speakers up and enjoy)
I've know been physically shown Compassion's purpose and the process. From prenatal to college there are projects and programs giving help and hope to the children of Uganda! I so looking forward to showing you what Cheryl and I plan to do personally tomorrow. Good night, got a 4hr bus ride starting at 7am…