The orphaned
children of the Makindye Community
of Kampala, capital of Uganda,
may not know Greek, but they do
understand the miracle of a hot
meal and someone who cares - which
is what they receive at Charis Center.
The Center provides
a daily hot meal,
clothing,
health care and education to some
400 abandoned children, most of whose
parents have died from HIV/AIDS.
Children's Hunger
Relief Fund has been supporting Charis
Center since the early days of its
founding by the Reverend John Obokech,
whose heart was moved to action over
the plight of the hundreds of AIDS
orphans he saw wandering the streets
of his city. However, Charis Center
has remained a dream in process since,
until recently, there has been
no facility to house the children
at night. Most have been forced to
return to the streets to sleep, where
they are highly vulnerable to disease
and exploitation.
In 2004 we moved
one step closer to fulfilling the
dream of providing a permanent "home
of grace" to these
precious children. A building was
made available in Namataba, about
22 km outside of Kampala, and
54 of Makindye's children are now
housed there fulltime. Another
16 orphans from the local community
come to the Center during the day.
We are
still dreaming, though.
The next project
is a school for the Namataba community.
Revered John has been asked to spearhead
the effort, and a property has
been identified. However, the needs
remain great: for building and school
supplies, teachers' salaries, other
basic hygiene and medical supplies,
and housing for the other 266 orphaned
children still at the Makindye
Center in Kampala.
|
Children's
Hunger Relief Fund also sponsors
other children's homes and programs
in Uganda, including New Hope
Academy. |
