Viola lives in the slums of Kampala, Uganda with her parents and five siblings. Living conditions in this area are cramped and unsanitary. Viola’s family lives in a small, brick, two-bedroom house. The whole family shares one room and the other one is used to house chickens and a goat that are being raised to sell.
When the lockdown measures hit the world this spring, each of our programs had to pivot from their normal services at schools, churches and community centers, and venture out with more home visits to care for our children. This cost a bit more, but we knew it was what we needed to do.
Viola is one of the children our team in Uganda visited. During one of the home visits, we realized that Viola and her siblings were sleeping almost on bare ground. They were sleeping on thin, dirty, browned pieces of pad that had to be put together for one to sleep on, along with torn-up blankets that can hardly bring warmth in the cold.
Our staff realized Viola was one of the children who, whenever they got the chance to meet up with her, either had a cough or flu, and if not, she was complaining of back and body pains. This could have been a result of the poor sleeping conditions.
Our Uganda team got together and decided to get two mattresses and three blankets for the family.
Our Uganda team reports, “The joy, gratitude, and tears in their eyes when receiving the beds and blankets was worth a memory in our hearts and they now sleep comfortably like they should.”
God used this pandemic to lead our staff to Viola’s home where they discovered this serious need for a real bed. God reached out to Viola with His tangible love not just in spite of this horrible season, but through it.
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In Zaachila, on the outskirts of Oaxaca City, Mexico, live many impoverished families who’ve traveled from distant areas in search of more opportunities and a better life…only to find themselves confronted with the same devastating and debilitating effects of poverty: hunger, joblessness, water-borne illness, lack of education, gang violence, drug
2021 has been an incredible year. At Forward Edge, our hearts swell with gratitude for all God has done. His awesome faithfulness through another difficult year has been such a blessing to witness. Children around the world are discovering their true worth and purpose and growing in intimacy with Jesus,
What does it look like to follow Jesus in a culture where most of your community—and even your own family—follows a different faith? In Kosova, where Ramadan is a time of fasting and nightly celebration, young believers often feel the tension deeply.
This blog, written by our Kosova program directors Nora and Metush, shares the powerful story of Ymer—a boy learning to hold onto Jesus in the middle of cultural and spiritual pressure.
10 yrs. old
Entered the program: September 2023
Ema lives with her mother and two older sisters in her grandparents’ home. The house was built many years ago and is in fair condition. Ema’s father passed away in 2022, leaving the family with no means of support so they had to move in with their grandparents. They live on government assistance which basically is only enough to cover utilities for 2 weeks. Ema's mother struggles to provide for the family on her own; housework falls largely to Ema’s sisters and they often lack food. Life is very difficult for them.
Ema's sister, Era, is also in the Corner Stone program.
Plus bonus group fundraising ideas!
