For the past month, I have been working with a ministry called Suubi House. My team and I have been serving families and children with disabilities. We do therapy with these children, instruct on nutrition and education of disabilities, teach the mothers how to cook and make items that they can sell for income, and love these children who have been viewed as unlovable their entire lives. There is a huge lack of education in Uganda about different types of disabilities. Many of the parents don’t actually know what their child’s diagnosis is, making it extremely difficult for these children to get the proper care they need. God has given Sarah, the founder of Suubi House, a heart for this dire need in Uganda and dedicates all of her focus to these families. Her courage, her heart for others, her selflessness, and her discernment of the Lord’s will is admirable.
On average, there are about five families that we see each week. One of these families consists of 4 kids without any parental figures. Joviah is 16, Sandra is 13, Vanessa is 10, and Owen is 7. Vanessa has cerebral palsy who can’t move on her own or feed herself. She is cared for by her 3 other siblings. Their dad abandoned the family once Vanessa started showing signs of what he would consider “abnormalities”, and then passed away a little over a month ago. Four months ago, their mom abandoned them and all the responsibilities that came along with being a mother and provider for her family. These 4 kids have been fending for themselves in their 6×6 cement house for nearly five months now. They have no money for an education, for food, or for the proper care Vanessa desperately needs. Vanessa is in critical condition. She is 10 years old, weighs about 18 pounds, and is continuing to lose weight. Without any choice, Joviah took on the mother figure and is providing for her siblings and also trying to be as 16 as she can.
I see them on a weekly basis. We get to feed them, take care of Vanessa, and let the other kids just be free to be kids for once. I had the opportunity to spend some time where they live. I walked inside to find Owen sitting at the front steps and Vanessa, unclothed, covered in her own feces. I asked where Joviah and Sandra were, and Owen told me that they went back to school using some old books that were outdated. I asked why he didn’t go to school and he said he didn’t have any money for books. So here was a 7 year old, starving not only for food, but for a normal childhood, all while doing the best he could to care for his sister Vanessa.
I asked Owen about his parents. All he could say was that his dad was a bad man and he misses his mom. When we mentioned their mom in front of Vanessa, she immediately began to weep. Now this is incredibly abnormal for sweet Vanessa. She is passive, but so joyful and always smiling. She is aware of what is going on around her and responds with her beautiful facial reactions. In the month that I’ve been here, I’ve never seen her upset. This day was different. When she heard the mention of her mom, fear trembled in every ounce of her being. Owen proceeded to tell me that their mom would hurt Vanessa- that she was not good to her.
Being in that small space, experiencing these kids’ lives, tore my heart to pieces. On a daily basis, I get to see these kids at Suubi House, in a home with room to run around, food to nourish their bellies, and freedom to act their age. Taking them out of that environment and seeing their reality hit me like a ton of bricks.
I felt angry at God. Why have these kids been robbed of their childhood? Why don’t they have a loving parent to tuck them in at night and tell them they are loved? Why did they end up neglected with starving bellies? If God is so loving, why can’t I see his love here?
Then God spoke. He said what breaks my heart breaks his even more. He reminded me that he gave all of us the ability to choose. Some of us embrace in the freedom he has given us, and others decide to deny him again and again. Their mother that up and left on her own free will, will receive the judgment of the Lord, but it is my job to love. Psalm 10: 17-18 says, “Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them. You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed, so mere people can no longer terrify them.”
What’s amazing is the love these siblings have for each other despite the abuse they have endured their whole lives. They take care of each other, they love each other, they never complain, and they do the best they can with what they have. They don’t let their circumstances define them and allow the love of the Lord to flow through them so they can care for one another like family is supposed to do. These children may not have an earthly father, but they have an all loving, all powerful Father who hears their cries and gives them protection every night.
I think back to circumstances in my life, and although I have never experienced anywhere close to the life they live, I have developed a sense of strength and appreciation for what the Lord was doing to shape me into the person I am today.
Romans 5:3-5 says, “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”
Jesus never said following him was going to be easy, or would guarantee us a good life, but he sure as heck promised a perfect eternity.
^Joviah feeding her sister, Vanessa
^My buddy Owen
