Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to carry my cross. We know why Jesus carried his, but what did he mean when he said that to follow him, we must take up our own cross?

We want to introduce you to the first child we rescued. Meet 9-year-old Flora*. Flora is a fun-loving, precocious, and energetic child. You’d never know from meeting her that she’d experienced a brutal attack.

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.

Earlier this month (April 2022), a child rapist was arrested in Mukono, Uganda, a bustling town on the outskirts of the capital city, Kampala. Like a predator, he laid in wait to pounce on the next innocent, defenseless, and vulnerable child who wandered across his path.

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.

On Saturday, I received a text from Cissy. “Uncle, there’s a girl in my village that needs help,” she said. She went on to tell me about “Macy,” a 13-year-old who was raped by several men in her village. She’s now five months pregnant.

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.