We had spent the morning walking around Kyampisi, the village that we are doing ministry in this month in Uganda, getting an orientation and meeting some of the villagers. We are working for Kyampisi Childcare Ministries, which facilitates sponsorship of children in the village, and fights to end child sacrifice.
We went to go visit the house of Allan, and his father Hudson, some friends of KCM. When we walked in, there was a baby swaddled up on the couch, and someone asked me if I wanted to hold it. "Sure," I said. I sat down, and the baby was placed in my arms.
Then, Allan came in. He is ten years old, and has an adorable husky voice. As he walked around the room, shaking our hands, I shifted the baby a bit so I could shake hands with him.
"Is this your sister, Allan?" I asked.
"No, my brother." Oops.
As he turned to shake hands with the next person, I came face to face with the remnants left by evil in one of its purest forms: Allan had a scar almost a foot long across the side of his head, and another on his shoulder.
These scars were given to him three and a half years ago.
After returning home from school on day in October of 2009, he went with his grandmother and siblings to pick coffee beans. When they were finished, he told his siblings to head home while he went back to get some jackfruit.
When he went to get the jackfruit, he found two men eating it.
"Why are you eating my jackfruit?" Allan asked.
He received a slap on the face as a reply. One of the men raised a machete, and struck Allan on the skull, as an attempt to behead him. He also tried to cut him from the shoulder. Allan remembers getting struck on the head, but he was unconscious for the rest. The men also attempted to cut off his genitals, as a prize to take back to the witch doctor.
Child sacrifice is an epidemic in rural Uganda, fueled by poverty, desperation, greed, and superstition. It is the traditional cultural belief that children are pure, and therefore are acceptable sacrifices to spirits that will consume the body parts and bring wealth and success. Countless children are abducted every day, usually by a neighbor.
In 2011, BBC did an investigative story on child sacrifice in Uganda. They went undercover as businessmen who were beginning construction in Kampala and wanted the blessings of prosperity from the spirits. They sought out a witch doctor, who told them, "There are two ways of doing this. We can bury the child alive on your construction site, or we cut them in different places and put their blood in a bottle of spiritual medicine. If it's a male, the whole head is cut off and his genitals. We will dig a hole at your construction site, and also bury the feet and the hands and put them all together in the hole." This was the man who had attacked Allan, who spent a short time in prison for his crime, but was unfortunately released on a bribe.
Allan was discovered unconscious in a bush, bleeding from his head, neck, and groin. He was rushed to the hospital, where he spent a month in a coma. He underwent surgery to close up his wounds, which was successful, but he eventually suffered a stroke. He has since recovered, but there are still physical and emotional scars that remain.
Today, Allan and his father Hudson are the voices of the End Child Sacrifice campaign. Kyampisi Childcare Ministries was able to build a new house for them, away from the area that he was attacked, and Allan sometimes comes to stay at the Jesus House, KCM's office, and where our team is living for the month. He is a vibrant, playful ten year old, and that husky little voice always gets me.
Recently, Allan has had complications from his head wound, causing bleeding on his brain and pain. Pastor Peter, the director of KCM, has arranged with a surgeon in Australia for Allan to undergo surgery to try to correct the problem. However, they are still waiting for their Australian visas to be approved. Please be in prayer that they will come in soon, so they can have the surgery as soon as possible.
Also, KCM is not financially able to pay for Allan's plane ticket. They are believing that the Lord will provide for it. Here's where you can help Allan to recover from the atrocities that he has suffered at the hands of men. If you are able to help cover the cost of Allan's plane ticket, please email Peter at [email protected] . If you don't believe that the Lord can work miracles through your dollar, remember how every last penny was raised for Josh and I to stay on the Race? And how $5,000 was raised in 3 days to feed orphans at Cambodian Hope Association?
***Update as of 7/10/2013: Peter and Allan's visas came through the next week after writing this blog. A generous donor contributed to Allan's plane ticket, and they were able to purchase the tickets to Australia. Allan underwent the surgery, and recovered well. He is now back in Uganda and is doing well. Praise the Lord!***
Every day, I still have to swallow my nausea as I hear more and more stories of other children who have suffered similar situations, and those who did not make it out alive. It is a horrible thing, and it can only be explained by the depravity of man, and what desperation will make someone do.
Please join Kyampisi Childcare Ministries, and Team Cool Runnings in the fight to end child sacrifice. You can pray. You can give. You can be their voice.
