Uganda (MNN) — John and Lorella Rouster, founders of Every Child
Ministries (ECM), have spent most of June in Uganda training and planting new seeds
for outreach.
While they are unified in vision, the couple split up to run the
projects in areas of their expertise. John headed North. ECM Spokeswoman
Monica Miles says, "He has a team
of seven people that went up to the North with him. They've drilled two wells,
and they've been able to bring clean water to communities that did not have
clean water."
Access to clean water is the foundation for other forms of
development. Without it, there's time
lost in water collection, money spent on buying it, or countering waterborne
illnesses. These factors contribute to
keeping people trapped in poverty.
In the area where John's team worked, the water supply had
been damaged by the civil war, and survivors were still struggling to rebuild
their lives. The local church partners
saw the project as a way to open doors to hope. Miles explains, "This has been a big blessing–being able to bring this
water to them, and they've also reported that they've led several people to the
Lord while they've been there."
Lorella, meanwhile,
headed South to work with their staff and to help train a couple of short-term
missionaries. "She's doing a
seminar on anti human-trafficking," says Miles. Lorella is mobilizing the believers to
awareness and action. "They've been
going out into the community to try to use the skills that they've learned to
spot possible human trafficking going on, and to be able to intercede and
minister to these people that they've encountered."
Among the children
in the region that Lorella and the ECM team are helping are those
from the Karimojong tribe. Their lives are
difficult. Many eked out an agricultural
existence in the northeast but fled hostile surroundings with rebel
advances. They wound up in Kampala–an
urban setting with unknown dangers. "A lot of these kids are beggars on
the streets right now–even their families. A lot of them are with their
mothers. A lot of their fathers are
deceased."
However, with the help of Every Child Ministries, their
futures are much brighter. "Through
sponsorship, the kids go to school. These kids that are sponsored and that are in
school have less of a chance of being trafficked," says Miles. "That's one of the ways that
we've started."
As the kids begin classes, they are exposed to the person of
Christ and the hope of the Gospel. In some areas, this is a totally new
concept. However, Miles says, "Lorella
asked them who they thought Jesus was; some of the kids said He's the One
who helped them to get sponsored and go to school. So, already the glory is
going to God for this."
Every Child Ministries is still working to develop more
programs to help. Just $32 a month
keeps a one of these children off the streets. A sponsored child is
almost never trafficked, sold, given into slavery, or prostituted. For
other children, sponsorship provides a means of building a new life after being
rescued from one of these horrific scenarios. There's more here.
