Poverty Relief
Uganda
Chris, one of our trustees, recently visited Namayingo at the North-East corner of Lake Victoria in Uganda to visit “Abundant Favour Christian Ministries International”. This organisation works with 700 orphans. The founder, Agnes Auma was abandoned by her own parents when she was only two years old. Agnes grew up living on the streets, not wearing any clothes until she was five years old. Despite her bad start in life, she succeeded in education, obtaining a university diploma. Today she is married to Pastor Robert with whom she has four children. In addition, they have adopted 35 orphans who live with them in their rented five roomed home.
One of the great problems in Uganda is alcohol addiction. A very strong gin called Waragi is distilled from molasses in almost every home; often being triple distilled to reach 96% proof. This is transported locally by children who are given a small bottle of the gin to sip on their journey, causing them to become addicted at an early age. This, along with drugs and widespread gambling frequently leads to extreme poverty.
Additionally, there is widespread polygamy. It is common for men to partner with several women and father many children; sometimes when they have lost all their money gambling, they use their women as bets. Infectious diseases, such as diarrhoea, malaria, syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases are a common cause of death. Children suffer and die from common childhood illnesses because of lack of simple remedies, and those with complicated disease are neglected and abandoned due to lack of money, being seen as a burden on the family. This is
particularly the case if they are HIV/AIDS positive.
In this context, Abundant Favour provides support for over 700 children who are orphaned, abused, abandoned, neglected and handicapped, especially those suffering from HIV/AIDS and other diseases and also those who are being used for the worst forms of child labour. The
ministry has built 5 schools and churches in different zones of the community to provide education, care and support for these children, most of whom currently just live feral on the streets, caring for each other, sleeping outside 5 to a single mat with no family. The immediate vision of Abundant Favour Ministries is to build a dormitory to house 122 male and female teenagers in separate wings, thus providing a home as well as reducing the risk of childhood pregnancies and early marriages. Land for this has already been purchased.
Jacob’s Well Appeal has agreed to finance the building of these dormitories. We would like to raise more money to build a kitchen (£3550), toilets (£2650) and to drill a borehole (£7600). Currently the water comes from a local pond. If you would like to donate to this project please use the reference Uganda.
During this visit the issue of addiction was addressed with over 500 people attending sessions on a recovery program based on the widely used “Twelve Steps Program”. This program is relevant for alcohol, drugs and gambling addictions. Attendees included addicts, spouses, teachers and pastors as well as a large number of children and young people. Supporting literature was provided and nine recovery groups were established.
Sierra Leone
For over 40 years, Hope Farm lay hidden in the jungle, its ownership unknown. Now, Spark2Action has secured a 99-year lease on this historic property, aiming to transform it into a drug rehabilitation center for the youth of Sierra Leone. With the help of Jacobs Well Appeal, the restoration is progressing rapidly.
The country faces a national emergency due to a drug epidemic known as KUSH, a locally produced substance which is a derivative of cannabis mixed with other chemicals. Kush is highly addictive but also affordable even for the poorest people who can buy it for a few cents. Kush addiction is devastating communities, especially the young people, with hundreds falling prey to the addiction but then quickly becoming unable to function in their normal lives and unable to escape their addiction. Each morning, the tragic toll is visible as lives are lost to this substance.
At Hope Farm, we aim to offer a path to recovery and a renewed, fulfilling life in God’s embrace. Youth from our 12-step recovery program in Freetown are now continuing their recovery by helping with the construction process.
Burkina Faso
The ABC school in Bobo recently held a special seminar for the girls in the school, teaching them about issues such as female hygiene, the risk of unprotected sex and how to keep themselves safe in
relationships. Out of a couple hundred girls, 41 were facing serious domestic or social problems. For example, one girl doesn’t know her father. Her mother recently married a man who doesn’t want the girl,
so she is living with another family far away who took her in, but she needs to walk 2 hours to get to school. Another girl at the school had a baby last year, but the baby died. Her father is also dead, and the
mother has no income and is unable to cope. They have resorted to eating rubbish off the street as they have no other way to manage. Another girl’s father died when the girl was very young. A friend of the father took over the care of the girl and her mother went back to her village. After a while this friend died and his son took over the care of the girl. He is a very harsh man and won’t allow the girl out of the house, apart from going to school, even to meet her mother. Sadly, this is how life is for many girls in Africa. Fortunately, however, some of these girls are now being cared for in the home for abandoned girls that we built in 2019.
