The Birth of Hope Alive!, Part 2: Kampala Site is Established

As I shared my vision to come alongside families in deep poverty, encouragement was overwhelming from both Ugandans and Americans. In September, the Uganda country leader for my mission organization accompanied me as I talked with the leadership of Lugogo Baptist Church, the local church I was involved with in Kampala, Uganda’s capital. Church leadership was enthusiastic.



By the beginning of October, church leaders had identified three young adults who were very active in the church to be the project’s first mentors. We were still thinking small at that time, and the word “organization” had never entered our minds; we talked about the “project”. When asked its name, I responded with what had been continually coming to my mind, Children of Hope (the name would later be changed to Hope Alive!).


Then, the truly exciting part began. Each mentor identified families in the communities around the church who desperately needed help. I visited homes with the mentors, meeting families and learning about their struggles. Many of the children had been in school but were unable to continue because their families couldn’t afford the school fees. A few children were old enough to have started school but never had, due to lack of finances. Hearing that some children had been sent home from school in the middle of a term because their families owed money broke my heart. On October 19, 2002, we enrolled the first 12 children. Children of Hope had become a reality!

Through email updates and snail mail prayer letters, I shared the vision God had given me with friends and supporters in the United States. The response was amazing! Sponsors stepped up, offering to help one or two students – or six or seven! So many people were interested in sponsoring that we began enrolling more students and identifying additional mentors. By early December, Children of Hope had 51 children enrolled. I traveled to the United States for almost a month, sharing the stories of the children, their families, the huge needs and the amazing opportunity God was giving us to make a difference. By early January, all 51 children had sponsors! The new school year was only a month away, and every child would attend!



One of my most vivid memories from the early days of Kampala Site (then called Lugogo Site) is that many of the children, especially the youngest ones, shied away from me. They were so unused to Westerners that they were too self-conscious (or afraid) to even look at me. Since then, Hope Alive! has developed a culture of hugging. Whenever we gather, whether for Saturday Club or a special event, there are hugs all around, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, tribe, gender, age, status and length of time in Hope Alive!. We have become a family, and it’s one of the things I love most about Hope Alive!.