A little bit of me and whole lot of God

As many of you know, the Acholi community in Kampala is one that is very close to my heart, and part of my ongoing visits to Uganda are to explore how God is calling me to get further involved in equipping and empowering that community.

Over the years of visiting, not surprisingly one gets to know certain individuals more than others, and there has always been one little lad, Innocent, who caught my attention. He has a very endearing smile, always tries hard, always looks out for others younger than himself, and at the same time has a vulnerability about him that he is trying to rise above

Late last year I was able to find out more about him and his situation, including family set up – he is the youngest of 3 boys, and then there are 2 girls above them, so 5 children altogether. Dad is not on the scene – a common occurrence in this community; and the children don’t all share the same dad – another common occurrence.

To try to make ends meet, mum had resorted to prostitution, and the boys often were found wandering the streets as they waited for mum to finish her ‘work’ in the house. They would often go with only one small meal a day. None of them went to school as mum couldn’t afford the cost of the educational extra’s – uniform, pencils, books, shoes etc

Innocent had various health issues as well, including TB and a problem with his liver – treatment was more than they could afford.

When I found out about Innocent’s situation, I discussed with the community leaders whether it would be appropriate for me to provide any financial support so that the health issues at least could be treated, and the boys education covered. The leaders wisely advised that this would be appropriate, so long as Innocent’s mum was given the task of finding a better job, and sticking to it. As far as she knew, if she lost the job due to reasons of her making, then the support for the boys would stop. NB reality is I wouldn’t have stopped, but the leaders wanted that stipulation in place to give her the motivation to stick with it, and I was happy to follow their lead as the people who understand the cultural context best.

Now I’m not trying to make myself out to be a Holy Joe here, or big up what I did, but yesterday I had the delight of seeing the fruits of that little bit of input on my part and a whole big load of healing on God’s part.

We visited the Acholi community yesterday, and I was thrilled to bump into Innocent’s mum, who is still working as a school cook, and has held down the job now for 9 months – this is longer than she has ever had a job before. The boys are in school, and as a result are getting not just an education, but porridge at morning break, and food at lunch time.

Innocent goes for check ups every 3 months and on the last visit the doctors said his TB had completely gone, and they were very impressed with his liver function which was pretty much back to normal. I didn’t get to see him, as he was in school, but I’m guessing that his smile is back, and broader than ever!

I came away from the Acholi community yesterday with a clear reminder that God can take the little that we give and turn it into great things. We are after all just stewards of God’s provision, and it is so wonderful to be part of His work in blessing the innocent ones in this world.