The Freedom to Attend School

Close your eyes then imagine living at the Equator in the midst of a tropical forest in East Africa! Not amazing enough, paste in the shores of Lake Victoria! Delighted by the quaint mud huts topped with grass roof? Note the neatly worked vegetable garden planted nearby to feed a family including ten children. Chickens scatter from the doorway amidst giggling children dashing out of reach of Mom's broom sweeping the dry ground. She pauses a moment to call to her oldest son sitting under a mango tree tending his goats, and maybe a cow or two.

Today is market day. The narrow walkways fill with families packing garden produce, handmade tools, woven baskets, rugs or brooms to be laid on colourful cloths. Women balance enormous stalks of bananas on their heads while babies dangle from brightly coloured Gomez' tied to bare backs. Men, pedaling well worn bicycles proudly laden with chickens, fish, or some handmade craft tied to handlebars, weave in and out seperating families.

We entered into this historic scene early in 1990, accepting God's call to rebuild children's lives. The infamous regime of Adi Amin had been erased leaving thousands orphaned. Since our work in Rwanda was finished, our mission would include building and managing a Ugandan orphanage for a charity in Germany. Dr. Kiseka, a 7th-day Adventist, was the new Prime Minister. His people's lives were shattered, roads bombed and buildings ransacked, he provided the land to house the orphanage. As the twenty year manditory curfew evolved into new hope for Ugandas future, we would embark upon a new adventure to assist thousands of orphaned children.

Realizing that when a parent dies, the village Chief assigns the orphaned children to live with a surviving family member, we had an awakening. Though these children were cared for, they would remain illiterate, there was no free education and government schools demanded fees. That orphan would be a labourer in his or her new family garden. What about all these children orphaned by decades of war, disease and poverty, whose numbers were reaching upwards of one-fourth of the Ugandan population? Orphanages were not the answer.

A new vision slowly emerged. Pen in hand I wrote letters to friends in Canada and the USA "...no free education ...89% illiteracy in Uganda ...orphans live with surviving relatives at home ...attend village Adventist Schools ...save children's homestead ...retain their native culture to preserve their individuality."

Our prayers were answered! Letters arrived from friends and FACE, Free African Children thru Education, was born. During our furlough we registered our charity with Revenue Canada then formed a treaty with the IRS in the USA. FACE volunteers resolved not to isolate children in orphanages; orphans would live happily at home with surviving relatives; “FACE Kids” would be given a sponsor to pay their school fees; orphans will attend local church schools near their village; and FACE would carefully monitor funds through the South Western Uganda Field (SWUF).

Today, 20 years later, we still connect sponsors with children. Praise God for the thousands of children who have been sponsored. The best part about FACE is that Christian Education affords the opportunity for these children to learn about their new friend Jesus! Praise God! “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Matthew 7:7