Did you know that more than 90% of child sexual violence cases involve someone the child or their family knows and trusts? This is a sobering reality both in the U.S. and Uganda.

Right now, children’s lives are in danger. Girls who’ve reported cases of abuse or escaped trafficking are living in fear for their lives.

Girls like 5-year-old Tisha* who was being abused in her home by a family member.

We could tell you we’re the heroes. We could tell you we’re the ones rescuing girls; we’re the ones working hard to meet their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs; we’re the ones bringing an end to sexual violence in Uganda. But the truth is, we’re not the heros. They are.

9 months ago (in August 2021), 13-year-old “Macy”* found herself pregnant after being brutally attacked by a gang. Despite pressure from her family to abort, she decided to keep her baby.

10 years ago (in Oct. 2011), if you’d asked Vanessa about her dreams for her future, she would have told you she didn’t have any.

Ten years ago [Oct. 2011], Scott and I walked into a government office in Kampala, Uganda, and saw a little girl sitting quietly in the corner. The little girl, the child protection officer explained, had run away from home after years of sexual abuse. He didn’t know what to do with her because there were no systems in place to help children experiencing abuse.