Uganda (MNN) — Raising children is no easy task on its own, but Compassion International knows eight Ugandan families who have to do it while fending off life-shaking diseases. Most of these parents are single mothers, and if they have homes, they are extremely unsafe and unfit for children.
“They all needed new homes for the physical development of these children, because they were all living in small huts with thatched roofs, and there was leaking and poor hygiene.”
Compassion’s Eryn Carman says these caregivers face cancer, disability, and HIV, so they really can’t get new homes for themselves. One of these families includes a mother who Compassion’s on-the-ground partners reached in the past when she had triplets. All eight families are from the Ugandan village of Businywa.
“Our local church partner there identified the need and we chose to raise money to build new, safer homes for these 8 families,” Carman says.
They campaigned together with Compassion Australia and Compassion Canada. It was a global campaign that spanned every platform Compassion had available for all three offices.
They raised the $38,000 they needed to build the houses. In fact, they raised more than they needed.
“Construction has begun immediately, and our project completion date for these homes will be April of next year. That’s the goal,” Carman says. “Obviously those things take time, and this will be done all at the local level.”
If everything goes according to plan, those triplets will get to celebrate their birthday in a new home.
They’re going to use local contractors and labor to build the homes, extended their reach in meeting both spiritual and physical needs in the community. After all, they’re already touching the lives of these families in all kinds of ways.
“Children in these households attend the Compassion program at their local church, where they receive holistic development training in meeting their physical needs, their emotional needs, their financial needs, and their spiritual needs.”
Photo and header photo courtesy of Compassion International
The training includes courses on scripture and God, and families often begin attending the church and integrating into the community via their children’s experiences.
“Our goal is to be the hands and feet of Jesus to these families. Whether or not they believe in Christ, we are showing them his love by helping to provide even basic needs.”
But if the funds are raised, what more is there to do? Carman says you can still pray for basic needs and wisdom for the parents for the families and for the church and its outreach in the Ugandan area.
There are also always more houses to build.
“This money came in during a campaign, and we over-met the need, which is sometimes what happens with this [kind of thing],” Carman says. “All the excess funds are going to our infrastructure development fund.” You can contribute to that development fund right here.
Follow the story of these families right here.
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