A few days ago, we met a beautiful woman named Carla. Carla is originally from Auburn, Alabama. She was a Special Education teacher for thirty years. During those years, she went on several short-term mission trips, but felt a longing to do something long term. Once she retired, that desire became a reality, with Africa in her mind and on her heart.
In 2003 she began a short-term trip to the middle of Uganda and “test the waters.” During that time, Carla learned about the child soldiers whom were being used to fight Joseph Kony’s war in Uganda. In 2004, she returned for long-term stint to the Awere sub-district of Rackoko. The war was still occurring, but beginning to wind down. She would teach Bible classes to the students and their teachers after school got out each day. Working in the refugee camps, Carla began to share the gospel through door-to-door evangelism. It was then that she began to see the intense struggle of the widows and orphans.
James 1:27 “Religion that God our father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
Widows would brew alcohol, using a local crop, in the camps to sell and make money to feed their children. Yet, by selling alcohol to one, food was essentially taken away from the child of the parent who purchased the alcohol. This vicious cycle needed to be stopped.
Carla’s focus then became helping the widows and orphans in distress. When she discovered the large population of HIV positive women and children in the camps, her vision became even larger. People would have to drive for 40 minutes to get their medication for HIV. However, because there was no money for transportation, sometimes people would walk for days.
I learned some important things about HIV when listening to Carla. When one begins taking the medicine, the body first rejects it because it is so strong. Fever and vomiting usually occur. After the body adapts, medication must be taken on time, usually at seven am and seven pm, two times a day. When one misses their medication, the disease multiplies by the minute. Medication is free in this area, but the need is to get to it.
Carla began to work with the Health Center located the far distance, and they compromised to bring the medication to a closer Center. Every week, she drives to retrieve the medication for a large group of 70 adults and 18 children.
Along with being a pharmacist, Carla oversees a school sponsorship program. Public education in this area is only $4 a term, plus school books, uniforms, shoes, and other supplies. Private school is $90 a term that includes room, board, and food. With three terms a year, public school is still hard for parents to afford. Especially since the local primary school just doubled their school fee. Carla’s goal is to sponsor one child per widow. Usually widows will sell food from their garden to get money for school fees. Then, the children starve because they have no food to eat. By helping one child per widow, this will lessen the burden some.
In addition to helping with school fees, there is a feeding program where about 36 children each day are fed three meals. These meals consist of the local grub: potatoes, cassava, beans, greens, and pocho. Two women take turns cooking these meals and gathering the food. They planted a large garden and strive to be self-sustainable. With only 2 growing seasons in this area, they are at the mercy of the weather. Usually one season is too dry, and one too rainy. Carla said this past year has “been a blessing with the perfect amount of both.”
Carla also works along side an NGO called “Action Aid.” Action Aid focuses on property rights and goat projects for the people here in Uganda.
In a land where corruption is rewarded, and Kony has brought much devastation, Carla’s love for the people and love for Jesus shines brightly. She has lived here for seven years, working with Lamp Lighter Ministries, a branch of IHOP. She lives on a compound with the people, so she can “be a part of their lives.” Carla currently has three children living with her in her home. She leads by example and encourages the locals to take part in fostering orphaned children. Her honesty of disliking the food, need to sometimes skip Uganda church and have “Mzungu[1]” church by herself on Sundays, and cute yellow hut hold me captivated. She is in the process of building a visitors’ hut on her compound…maybe one day in the future I will have the chance to visit her again.
Reagan, a boy that has HIV. When Carla found him,
he had a severe infection in his leg. He still limps,
but can walk, run, and jump up and down praising
Jesus. Reagan is fostered by a local Ugandan family.
He is fed three times a day through Carla's ministry.
