March Intel report
Spring is coming, folks! If you live where there is a thing called winter, you’re excited. If you live in perpetual sunshine, I’m jealous. This month will be the first time that we really fill you in on the new project in Uganda. We’ll give you an overview, and in the coming months we will give more details and stories about the people involved in the project.
The first order of business is for me to introduce Hanna Davis. Hanna is going to write some of the human interest stories and her perspective on how we got started in Uganda. She was on the TGS team that first went to Busia, Uganda; she was there to understand what kind of work we could do there. She’s the wife of Micah Davis, our Director of Growth and Development, and she is a devoted mom. She cares deeply about ending human trafficking and she wants her writing and stories to make a difference.
Hanna writes,
“Greetings Friends,
With spring around the corner we at TGS are also excited about new possibilities for growth in the counter trafficking movement and ministries that the Lord has brought to our attention.
Last summer many of you generously provided us the opportunity to travel with a part of our team to Uganda. While there, we had meetings planned - and unplanned. Thankfully the Lord guides and directs all things and one of the unexpected friends we met was Pastor Jim. Jim and his family welcomed our team warmly into their home and we enjoyed fellowship and talking strategy about various avenues to combat human trafficking.
Another friend we encountered was Isaac. Local to one of the towns we visited, Isaac was a wonderful guide to get us anywhere we needed to be and anywhere we didn’t. His heart for the Lord and the people around him was evident. He was always quick with a smile and gentle in his way. We were blown away by his shared heart for our mission and vision. Isaac’s knowledge about the area and how trafficking occurs there was an important part of how we decided on this project.
Another one of our stops included a local orphanage. We found administrators and teachers who had an ocean of love for the kids who lived there, and kids who were readily accepting the love and care. It was at this orphanage that an idea was born, and over the course of a year that idea has grown and developed into more than we dreamed. We are excited to share this vision with you in the days ahead.
-Hanna”
Much of the trafficking that happens in Busia, Uganda occurs because many of the at-risk youth travel across the Kenyan border and hop on a bus to get to Nairobi. From there they end up in many other countries with the promise of a better life. They are susceptible to being lured away because they often don’t have many prospects at home.
Our project is designed to come alongside the Ugandans and create the opportunity to learn not only a job skill but a job as well. We will help them afford the schooling where they will learn the skills needed and then assist them in landing a job with local business. As the program continues, we have plans to start an information campaign to train the people in this community about the dangers and techniques of traffickers. We will also coordinate with and inform the local police as we receive intelligence about trafficking activities in the area.
This is the pilot portion of the project.
We need your prayers for wisdom and insight as we move forward. We have the right people in place and we are very excited to see what our efforts will bring. We want you to understand that you have made this possible with your gifts and prayers!
We have other organizations that we are assisting as well and will be writing about them in the coming months.
Thanks for tuning in, have a great day! TC