The Lord works in the coolest ways. A few weeks ago we took a trip to Kabale to drop off a friend of ours at the University he attends. To give you a slight perspective, while in Uganda (especially outside of the major city) running into a Muzungu is a rarity. Anyways as we were getting Seth situated in his living quarters we found a Muzungu walking down the street. Of course we had to talk to the one white person that we found in the middle of a university in Uganda. It turned out that our new Muzungu friend is named Matthew and he’s been in the area for the past 5 months. Matthew is also a part of a Christian organization called The Shepherd Centre in Kabale that takes in street kids. We chatted for a bit and he invited us back on a day where we could come meet all the kids and play soccer with them.
Fast forward to two weeks later on a Sunday, we traveled a couple hours south back to Kabale to meet the ministry that Matthew works alongside with. We met a man named Patrick who has a huge heart for street kids and is the founder of The Shepherd Centre. We learned that Patrick started taking children into his home in 2011 and was previously a street kid growing up. If you didn’t know, the term “street kid” receives a very bad stigma from the community around them. Street kids can typically be found in many parts of the world and can range from a few years old to 18 years or possibly older. The result from becoming a child living in the streets stems from many situations. The child’s parents may abandon them, their parents may have died and left them with no caretaker, their family is too poor to provide for them whether it’s basic needs or schooling and many many more. These children have to survive on their own in a dangerous environment. They end up with no love or support and people of the community talk very negatively about them. They say that they’ll never make it out of that lifestyle, they will always have a bad reputation, that no one cares and they will never be able to make it into a school.
Patrick – Founder of The Shepherd Centre
These children have come from very broken homes and unfortunate situations. So today, we were able to meet the 25 kids that Patrick cares for and spent some time with them as well. They introduced themselves to us with their name, age and what type of schooling they are now receiving because of funding through The Shepherd Centre. They sang us a “welcome visitors” song and even “Lean On Me” by the Temptations. My heart was absolutely glowing and so was my face. I couldn’t stop smiling. Standing in front us were all boys ages 3 to 18. All boys because girls are taken in faster for being at a higher risk. Boys are thrown out into the world to figure things out for themselves. One of the boys, Joshua – 18 years old , came to the front to share his testimony with my team and let us know that his story is very similar to all the others. He spent 7 years on the street and explained how he had no bed to sleep on and would find his food from the trash. Joshua would get beaten up on the street and no one cared for him until Patrick came along. Patrick would bring him bananas and tomatoes to eat and cook from the tins that that he found in the trash. Tears began to flow from his face as he reflected from his previous life. But he began to rejoice and thank God for everything that has been provided for him.
Joshua’s testimony moved the whole room to tears. Him along with all the other boys was proof that this organization was changing their lives. After the exchange of stories we packed ourselves in a car and headed over to the field to play soccer with the kids. Surrounding me was an aroma of burnt rubber and excited Muzungus and Africans. I honestly haven’t played soccer much so that was an interesting experience for me! It was so nice to be able to spend time with everyone and experience their passion for this sport.
To see the heart that Patrick has for all these boys is incredible. Joshua now has hope and walks to school with a new reputation. He is no longer called a street kid by the people surrounding and others look at him and say that he’s going somewhere. His dream is to be a lawyer. And he is now respected by others as a person. Joshua said himself, “For me what makes me stronger is when I pass by the town, the women who used to call me street kid.. Now say you are schooling and I say yes..they say let God help you, you will have a testimony in the future of something to say to other people”.
These kids have dreams and desire to have a future. They deserve to be loved even when they are abandoned. They are not forgotten or ignored. The Lord sees them and calls them by name. I’m thankful for people like Patrick. He used the experiences in his life and turned them into a passion to help others. He sees the kids that are not seen and loves them like Christ did. They are no longer street kids but kids with a purpose.
Boys of The Shepherd Centre & Team Liora playing Soccer
