A hero--a Ugandan widow

My friend, Wendy Stokes, is extremely involved in our projects at Hope 4 Women. When I am unable to travel to Uganda with our Hope 4 Kids' teams Wendy is right there and organizes our outreaches to the women of Uganda, checks on widows and tries to meet many of the overwhelming needs.
The following is one of her reports:
In May before the first team left for Uganda we learned from Pastor Ruth Kahawa at Smile Africa Ministries of a sick child named Diffasi. Pastor Ruth explained the plight of this young boy from the village whose bladder was malformed and coming through his abdominal wall. Both he and his mother have the smell of urine all the time. His mother is a destitute widow with 4 other children who was desperately looking for help for her young son. Generous donors provided Hope 4 Women with money to seek initial exams for this young child before we reached Uganda.


Diffasi and his Mom were among the first people Pastor Ruth took us to see upon arrival. When we visited we met a true hero. Another widow named Apio supporting and caring for 4 children (two are hers, two are her deceased brother’s children whom she has taken in). Apio lives in a shack with no income but she saw Diffasi’s mother's desperation for her child and took them in to live with her determined to help her find care for this boy. She touched us all deeply. A widow with nothing, offering so much to help another desperate widowed mother. We learned that this isn’t the first time she had done this, Apio has a history of helping widowed moms with sick children. She truly is our hero.


Through team member support we were able to raise money to help with the costly care, surgery and transportation to Kampala for the series of surgeries required to get Diffasi well. Pastor Ruth Kahawa met with representatives from many agencies requesting their help. Heart of God partnered with Hope 4 Kids to close the expensive gap on needed surgery costs and World Vision sent a representative to help Diffasi and his mom through the maze of medical care that lies ahead in the big city of Kampala.


We couldn’t forget about our hero Apio. Through team member support H4WI was able to honor this generous widow who took them in. Apio is being moved to a better home, She has the first bed she’s had in years, new sheets, blanket and mattress. She is stocked up with groceries, and funding and support have been provided to help her start a small business from home. Hope 4 Women donors, Hope 4 Kids team members, Heart of God, World Vision, Pastor Ruth and our hero Apio, God used them all to answer a widow’s prayer. God is good, all the time.

Thank you Wendy for being His hands and feet.

We just accepted Apio Beatrice into our women's sponsorship program. For $36 a month you can support her as she is trained in business management, Godly principals of business, and much more--she will even have a bank account for the first time in her life!

If you would like to sponsor Apio for one year contact me at Rachel@h4ki.org