This article is a continuation of the work that Christie Crouse has been doing in the country of Uganda. To read the prior article, click here. The following is a message from Christie:

“I wanted to share with you another story of two widowed sisters in their 60s. They are desperately trying to take care of their children’s kids, but were facing many difficulties. Most of the people we have visited were older widows whose children were either murdered or died from disease, though it was unclear which of the two things had killed their children.These two sisters are raising their grandchildren and other small children, but can hardly take care of themselves. One of them had lost a leg from a sore, so I imagine she is also diabetic. She can’t walk and the roof of their communal hut was so full of holes that their beds turns to mud every time it rains. The sisters have only one way to get any food, and that is through farming. Only one sister is physically able to do the work but she is older and the labor is very very hard on her. The sister with the amputated leg told us she felt so abandoned and forgotten. When we arrived at the village, they were very happy to see us and welcomed us warmly. We were able to talk and pray with them and when we left one of them told me, ‘Now you have an African mama and I have an American daughter!’

We are working very closely with a pastor who has been awesome at helping us organize assistance for this and other families. We spent two hours at his home, detailing where every penny of the money would be spent. For this family in particular we are fixing the roof to their hut so they no longer have to sleep in the mud when it rains. We also were able to buy enough seeds for a year of planting and soon, they will be able to harvest their own food. The pastor is going to work with them to harvest the crops they grow to sell in the market so they can generate money to help with their needs. Also, he is going to show them how to store the seeds so that they can continue planting each year. Since the work of planting is so labor intensive and physically difficult for both of the sisters, we hired a man to plant the seeds for them. When the pastor went back to give them everything, they started hollering and saying how they were not forgotten but that God had heard and answered their prayers!”                                              *A bed used by the grandmothers