Bonny and Philip traveled to our Kenya program to see it and learn since it has served children for over 16 years. Specifically, they wanted to learn how to open and operate a community center like Kenya’s. They want to create a centralized location for their program serving hundreds of children in the slums of Kampala.
Jane showed Bonny and Philip the Mama Beth’s Children’s center, which includes a kitchen, preschool, offices, and sewing program all on-site, as well as space for special events like VBS and bible studies. They learned about the feeding program serving hundreds of children at three local schools and toured the project site where homes are being built for families in most need.
Jane was excited to have Bonny visit since he has experience running a financial literacy and savings program with women in Uganda. She wanted to learn how to provide this for the women in Kenya. While in Kenya, Bonny and Philip met with women in the community, helping equip them with skills in financial management, entrepreneurship, banking and loans.
Afterward, Bonny shared, “It was an honor listening to their touching stories and getting to hear their aspirations. Many of the ladies are single mothers who depend on petty income from washing clothes and helping out on people’s farms, many times they lack what they need to feed their children, and it’s upon this that they desire to start up a savings group through which they can borrow money and start their own businesses. We shared success stories of the women in Uganda who started this up and now own businesses; some have their own houses.”
This trip had a tremendous impact on both programs in Uganda and Kenya, inspiring and equipping the leaders with the tools they needed to take the next steps in their community development plans. Jane has started a women’s savings group in Kijabe, Kenya, and Bonny has purchased four acres of land to build a community center. Bonny shared, “By building a community center, we’d have a safe, consistent place to offer holistic care to these children, including meals, health checkups and medical care, spiritual discipleship, gardens for training and food, a transitional home for helping street kids get reunited with families, and an office space for our program staff.”
Please join us in praying for wisdom over the planning of this new community center in Uganda. Go here to contribute or learn more about this project.
Bonny and Jane walked away with a great appreciation for one another. They taught each other how to enhance their holistic community development programs. Jane remarked, “This visit was of paramount importance to both organizations.”
In the work we do, relationships are everything. Engaging with and learning from each other, encouraging and dreaming together…that’s how we build holistically as the Global Body of Christ.
“Every Saturday, my heart was filled with joy,” says Elvin, reflecting on the love and care he found at Cornerstone Kosova. Growing up in the harsh realities of Kosova, Elvin once faced a life full of hardship. But through the community’s love and the teachings of Jesus, his life was transformed. Now 15, Elvin’s journey of hope continues, and he’s sharing that same love with others.
By Melanie Kruse Off On a Mission Trip I’ve never been on a mission trip like this. This was the first time we served with Forward Edge and the first time our two daughters had joined us, but that’s not what made it different. On this trip I didn’t cry.
Viola lives in the slums of Kampala, Uganda with her parents and five siblings. Living conditions in this area are cramped and unsanitary. Viola’s family lives in a small, brick, two-bedroom house. The whole family shares one room and the other one is used to house chickens and a goat that
Someone Thought of Me? Did you know that a simple note can change the trajectory of a child’s life? It’s true! For children living in poverty, life is challenging and filled with hardships. They may feel overlooked, forgotten, and alone. But when they receive a note, it shows that they
9 yrs. old
Entered the program: March 2025
Nicholas lives with his parents and 3 siblings in a three-room bungalow-style house with no electricity. For lighting, they have a two-bulb solar panel which also charges cell phones. Nicholas shares a bed with his older brother. The family cooks with wood in a semi-constructed outdoor kitchen which is covered with an iron sheet. Water is fetched from a communal borehole and boiled for drinking. They use an outdoor latrine.
The family raises a few hens and pigs to help with food. Nicholas’s parents both used to work to provide for the family but his mother is now critically ill and his father is the primary provider and caretaker.
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