During their Global Outreach (GO) Trip to Kabale, Uganda, during July seven OBU students and one mentor provided not only educational and physical care to the children there, but also spiritual care, through sharing the Gospel of Christ.
The purpose of the trip was to share the Gospel and to love and nurture local children. The team administered nutritional screening and education for 110 children and helped many children seek medical care.
The girls on the OBU team all shared their testimonies with the youth. They also led a “Purity Seminar” and foot washing with the older girls, giving each Ugandan girl attending a purity ring. The guys on the OBU team led a “Godly Man Seminar” at the same time. The team talked about abstinence-based STD prevention and education. Each night, the team led worship, Bible lessons and crafts.
The group also visited the schools and homes of many of the children who are sponsored through a ministry called 2Roads, handing out Bibles along the way. They visited and formed relationships with the Kabale minister of health, along with students and teachers at two different nursing schools. The team also toured the Kabale hospital.
For Dr. Robin Brothers, OBU assistant professor of nursing, the desperate need for the involvement of God’s people in Uganda was evident everywhere she turned.
“I have not been to Uganda before,” she said. “Uganda is in desperate need of God’s love and support via His people. There were so many children, many with only one or no parents. HIV/AIDS has ravaged so many lives, both parents and children. Malnutrition is the leading health concern and our assessments verified that. The unemployment rate is 70 percent and extreme poverty is everywhere. The physical location of Kabale is beautiful, with hills, a lake, perfect temperatures…it reminded me of Beverly Hills as far as climate and environment, yet the extreme poverty clouds its beauty.”
Brothers found the needs in Uganda to be many, and found hope in the work they accomplished.
“The most challenging part of the trip was leaving these kids behind. However, it was rewarding to know we were able to help a lot of children with their knowledge of overall health and more importantly, encourage them in the faith. We should go on trips like this because we are commissioned by Christ to go and preach, love and care.”
