Chloe’s Story and Northern Uganda
Over the last two years, the Made for This team and listeners have sponsored 700 kids through Compassion. This amazing organization works with local churches to equip and empower both the local church and surrounding communities. They try to be “saviors” to these local churches and communities.
They try to empower local leaders with the resources they need.
Compassion does great work with a plan of exit in mind. Their goal is to be in and out of a community in the right amount of time, leaving the communities they touch empowered to carry on the work they started. And so, they equip and empower a community to become self-sustainable.
They also disciple kiddos through their work.
This work goes beyond providing necessities to kids; they have a vision for introducing them to Jesus. Our own amazing Chloe will be working with Compassion in the Gulu region in northern Uganda. Their work also spans Rwandan refugee camps close to the Congo border.
Chloe told us all about her connection with Gulu and some of the work she’s doing with Compassion. This is her story:
Laurie at Compassion recently pointed out that 700 sponsored kids also means 700 mamas and families are impacted. These kiddos and their families can get food regularly, have somewhere to go every day, and get the education they need.
This past year, I started to have conversations about impacting more kids through the Made for This podcast. And so, I wondered if we could go into a certain region and make an impact in one community, mostly by giving support and standing behind Compassion as they work in that area.
About 10 years ago, I was really impacted by Katie Davis's writings and believed that God was calling me to this very specific region in Uganda. At the time, Uganda was on the tail end of a very devastating civil war among tribes.
I had the opportunity to move to Gulu in Northern Uganda and work with a small organization that was helping women that had been trafficked from the Congo.
These women had been brought into Uganda during the war, and the Ugandan police at the time just dropped them.
These women were left without resources, papers, or even a visa to be in the country. And so, they were marginalized. Many of them were forced into prostitution and other high-risk activities to support their kids. I got a chance to work with these women and their kids, and I thought I was going to be there forever.
I gave up everything I owned because I believed that was where God had me, and it felt so easy to me. I don't even know why. I just have a mission heart for the global church, but for some reason, I was drawn to this specific community. I lived there for about six months.
Then, an unexpected turn of events meant I could no longer work for the organization I moved there with. I ended up moving to a different organization that works in South Sudan. All the while, I started to fall in love with my now husband, James. We got married after we returned to the US.
I came back to the States very suddenly after thinking I’d spend my whole life in Uganda, and that was a difficult adjustment.
My dream and what I believed God had in store for me were very abruptly shut down. I grieved that for many years, but I think God pressed upon me that I would have another moment there.
Almost 11 years later, Compassion pulled me aside at an event one day and asked if I’d want to go to Uganda. I broke down in tears because I never thought I would see the day when I returned to Uganda. And James is getting to go with me.
I want our listeners and readers to know that our partnership with Compassion is deeply personal to us, and we believe in it. Molly from the team is also going. We’ll spend time in these communities, seeing the work they do. We’ll have a website where you can see our progress. We have a goal of getting 1000 Kids in this area sponsored this year. The team at Compassion identified communities in and around Gulu, and we'll get to visit them.
Richmond Wandera, an amazing Ugandan pastor, is on the ground training pastors in Uganda. He has witnessed first-hand how the cost-of-living crisis has impacted Uganda and how Compassion impacts people worldwide.
The current situation in Uganda, as told by Richmond Wandera:
The global food crisis is affecting millions of people, particularly in Uganda.
So many vulnerable people, especially children and mothers, are affected. Three perfect storms have come together, leading to the global food crisis. The first storm was the COVID-19 pandemic. When the pandemic began, our government overspent and did whatever it could to keep people alive. And so, the government has no funds to intervene in the current crisis.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has affected us, especially the vulnerable within our nation. This conflict has reduced the supply of fertilizer, food, wheat, and oil, amongst other essential products. And so, prices have gone up and people are struggling.
The people that are affected the most are children.
The other storm was the massive dry wave that came from Kenya and swept through Eastern Uganda across the center. And now it's also affecting Western Uganda. Families are starving as a result. A lady in Eastern Uganda was forced to sleep in her garden with machetes because she planted cassava, the only crop that has weathered this dry spell. When she needs to rest, her son has to take her place in the garden.
Within this, the most voiceless people are children. As a result of this massive famine, lots of families are considering marrying their children off to any family that can afford to pay any form of bride price. This is affecting these children's futures and destinies.
Some young girls marry themselves off because they are desperate. They want to survive and provide for themselves and their families. These children are giving in. And so, teenage pregnancy and child marriages are through the roof.
Our government is crumbling, and we don't know what to do. As the church, we are now praying for God to help us. What my eyes have seen during this cost-of-living crisis is beyond description. This is a God-sized problem. I don't know any individual or government who can solve this problem. This requires a collective. Hence, this call is extremely important for restoring hope and bringing a solution to the current food crisis.
The beautiful thing about having faith in Jesus is that you don't have to deny reality. When things get this critical, we can still keep our eyes on Christ without denying our reality. As we keep our eyes on Christ, worship Him, and lift Him, our eyes begin to see the world as He sees it. Our hearts begin to break for the things that break His heart. Then, our actions follow in the same way that He would if He were here today.
Jennie and I deeply respect Richmond and the work he does with the local church, pastors, and his connection with Compassion. Compassion’s way of holistically supporting people on the ground through the church is incredibly powerful. And we consider it a privilege to get to partner with them.
If you want to get on board, you can help us sponsor 1000 Kids in Uganda this year. Visit Compassion right here to sponsor a kiddo. Through your sponsorship, they get new opportunities to learn and grow mentally and spiritually. When you sponsor a child through our link to help us reach this huge goal, you also get a free copy of Jennie's latest book ‘Find Your People’ as a thank you.
