After his mother succumbed to the AIDS that had ravaged her body, David was shuffled between the homes of distant relatives and eventually, to anyone who was willing to care for him. Amidst the perpetual uncertainty of having to find a new home, this precious child was left grasping for any source of stability he could find, still reeling from the loss of the only person who seemed to love him.
His caretakers often neglected him—even abused him—and he was treated like a burden. He felt alone, vulnerable, and despite being so young, he thought constantly about the hopelessness of his future.
David is just one of 15 million AIDS orphans in sub-Saharan Africa . . . children that are left to the mercy of others. But unlike the majority of these children, David found hope.
Today, he lives at a Village of Hope, a unique community designed specifically to meet the complex needs of suffering children. Each Village of Hope provides safe living conditions, clean water, nutrition, education, medical care, and wholesome community—all necessities for true health.
World Help understands well that the developmental stages of a child’s life heavily influence who they become, how they raise their children, and what mindsets will be established for the next generation. Spiritual, physical, and emotional nourishment is absolutely crucial for their health and for the health of their families.
In essence, Villages of Hope are helping to create a stronger and sustainable future for Africa.
One of our partners in Uganda recently wrote to us explaining the healing she has witnessed firsthand through this empowering program. Her village cares for many former child soldiers and internally displaced persons who were left behind after the Lord’s Resistance Army initially struck through northern Uganda. She shares with us:
Through counseling and the help of nurturing caretakers, children in this program have experienced complete renewal, and more are receiving healing every day.
And this is exactly the outcome we hope to see through our Villages of Hope program—lives that have been radically transformed through the power of hope.
Some of the most desperate children have shelter from the hardship of daily life in the neediest areas of Africa through our Villages of Hope program. In the deepest pain, in the middle of confusion, in the darkest of situations, they have hope.
More children like David can experience true health through the Villages of Hope program. And World Help is dedicated to spreading this hope to thousands more children in the most devastated countries of Africa.