Uganda is beautiful. The dusty red roads; the exotic trees; the equatorial sun; the fresh sweet fruit; the beautiful people. I love it there. The sights and smells, the dirt and heat. Love it.
But, along a dusty red road in this beautiful country is a site of utter desperation. There is a building which has a little sign that proclaims it is a rehab center for children. Inside are dozens of children–some chained to windows, some locked behind doors, living in their own excrement. If you were to go inside and look around you would see lots of boys, but very few girls. The girls are sold as slaves into the sex-trade industry. Tiny little girls.
There are 10 week old babies lying in their unchanged diapers and clothes–they are wasting away from starvation. No one is there to love them.
These children seem hardened to life, but when you look in their eyes they are so broken. So desperate.
This “Rehab Center” is a place where the hard cases are dropped off–the children that are “stubborn” and “lazy”. Or . . . simply unwanted.
I didn’t see this place myself, but I found a website about it the other day and my heart broke into even more little pieces. How can this be reality for these kids? What can I be doing to care for God’s beloved children? Children who are unloved, uncared-for, abused.
My heart feels torn up just thinking about it.
Please, go read the website. Stop and pray for these children and for the ministry that is just starting up–for the people who are willing to care for these beautiful and strong children.
What can we do?
That is so horrible. Breaks my heart.