CHANGING LIFE’S PATH FOR KIDS

As a kid who lived on the streets of Uganda for almost five years, I know what it feels like to grow up in a world where love, caring, and kindness are nowhere to be found. But I was helped by the kindness of a stranger who brought me to the Lord. And wanting to change life’s path for kids that have been neglected, I have now fostered 47 children and adopted 6 kids, all as a single dad.

I had a very abusive father; so abusive that I thought he would eventually kill me. This led me to run away from home at age 10, and I lived on the streets of Kampala for nearly five years.

To the outside world, my dad was extremely religious. So for him to be so abusive was very confusing to me, and turned me off to all religion. It also created a lot of anger in me toward my dad.

While I lived on the streets, the abuse continued from time to time, but since it wasn’t someone I knew, it just didn’t feel as bad.

One day, a stranger gave me something to eat. I thought this would turn into another abusive situation. After all, everyone I knew that did something nice for me turned out to be hurtful. But I was hungry, so I took the meal.

But there was no abuse. He continued to buy me lunch every week.

Then he invited me to eat with his entire family. Again, I was skeptical since everyone who previously cared for me was abusive. I was that conditioned.

I went to his house but during the meal, I sat in the doorway so I could run in case it turned into a negative situation. It didn’t, and I continued to go to eat at his house each week.

Things changed one day when I was at his house. His family wrote my name on one of the chairs at the table. This showed me that I belonged, that I was truly loved by his whole family.

It was the kindness of this stranger that changed my life. The stranger and his family cared for me, and let me see what real Christians look like.

After about a year, he invited me to church with him, and I went for several weeks.

It was so obvious this man loved the Lord, and I wanted to be like him. He invited me to read the Bible. It was there I learned that the Father in Heaven was a loving father. This was all new to me because the father I knew was so hurtful.

But his kindness did not stop there. He said he could keep feeding me once a week, or send me to school where I would get three meals a day. And get an education.

So he sent me to the University of England where I graduated and then came to the United States.

I got a job with Compassion International. And while there, I realized I had never accepted Jesus as my Savior. I committed my life to Him, and just as the Bible commands, I forgave my dad. And when I did, I felt like 50 pounds was lifted off my back.

All that anger that I had toward my dad from the abuse and neglect? It was only by God’s grace that I was finally able to overcome that.

A few years later, I found myself in a position to help foster children, even though I was single. I began taking kids into my home to give to others what was so freely given to me. It became my mission to give back as much as I can to the vulnerable, bring a message of hope to the hopeless; the same message I needed to hear as a child.

Now, I’ve adopted three kids and I’m in line to adopt three more. And I’ve fostered 47 kids. I do all this because of my Christian faith. I know what a difference it makes when a child experiences the positive influence of an attentive and loving parent. I try to love them like Jesus does. I want to make them known.

I also started a Foundation three years ago. The goal of our Foundation is to see each and every child come to know their true value, hopefully, in the home of a loving family. At the heart of our mission lies a passion for foster care and adoption—a driving force that propels us to ensure that every child feels truly ‘known.’

One of the things we provide is an extreme bedroom makeover for teens in foster care. We fix up the bedroom in their foster home to give them a beautiful and loving room of their own. This is meant to provide a helping hand during the formative, teenage years, giving the foster child the dignity and love they desperately need.

Because of the love that a stranger showed me, I have dedicated my life to advocating for children. Becoming a parent has given me even more empathy toward our most vulnerable kids. Knowing the impact I can have on my own kids with words of affirmation has made it clear to me that I will always be working on spreading my mission to make as many kids feel seen, heard, and known.