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 are being raised to sell.
When the lockdown measures hit the world this spring, each of our programs had to pivot from their normal services at schools, churches and community centers, and venture out with more home visits to care for our children. This cost a bit more, but we knew it was what we needed to do.
Viola is one of the children our team in Uganda visited. During one of the home visits, we realized that Viola and her siblings were sleeping almost on bare ground. They were sleeping on thin, dirty, browned pieces of pad that had to be put together for one to sleep on, along with torn-up blankets that can hardly bring warmth in the cold.
Our staff realized Viola was one of the children who, whenever they got the chance to meet up with her, either had a cough or flu, and if not, she was complaining of back and body pains. This could have been a result of the poor sleeping conditions.
Our Uganda team got together and decided to get two mattresses and three blankets for the family.
Our Uganda team reports, “The joy, gratitude, and tears in their eyes when receiving the beds and blankets was worth a memory in our hearts and they now sleep comfortably like they should.”
God used this pandemic to lead our staff to Viola’s home where they discovered this serious need for a real bed. God reached out to Viola with His tangible love not just in spite of this horrible season, but through it.
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12 yrs. old
Entered the program: September 2023
Ardian lives with his parents, and a sister in a small village. They recently moved from an old stone house they shared with their aunts, uncles and grandparents to a small two-room house that their relatives built for them. Their living conditions are poor and their furniture is all second-hand.
Ardian’s mother is the main provider for the family and is a hard worker, cultivating a garden and raising a couple of goats and chickens to provide food for them. Ardian’s father is disabled and cannot work. They live on 100 euros per month of governmental assistance, which covers the costs for water and electricity for 2 weeks. Affording to keep their children in school is very challenging.
Plus bonus group fundraising ideas!
