christian union universities
Widows, Orphans, and Generosity
Penn Students Enjoy “Life-Changing” Trip to Uganda
by catherine elvy , staff writer
pair of undergraduates from Harvard and Cornell
universities. Kelly Schaaf, a Christian Union min-
istry fellow who holds a graduate degree in education
from Penn, and Lauren Smith, a Christian Union
intern and Cornell alumnus of 2016, accompanied
the contingent.
Many of the undergraduates’ duties with ROW-
AN were practical in nature, including setting up a
fencing system for goats and staging children’s ac-
tivities. The team from Christian Union also traveled
with staffers for home visits to check on some of the
program’s widows and children.
Home visits form the core of activities for ROW-
AN, allowing the students to pray with residents as
they check on their well-being.
Hernandez said her venture to the geographical
heart of the African continent was life-changing,
both in personal and professional senses. “Even be-
fore this trip, I wanted to minor in global-health
nursing,” said Hernandez. “I want to follow up on
A pair of University of Pennsylvania stu-
dents returned to campus eager to share
the inspirational lessons they gained while
serving in needy but hospitable villages in Eastern
Uganda.
Nursing majors Lisbette Hernandez ’20 and
Sylvia Kimwei ’20 described their participation in
a Christian Union summer project on behalf of the
Rural Orphans and Widows AIDS Network (ROW-
AN) as transformational.
“This was the significant part of my summer,”
said Hernandez.
In June, Hernandez and Kimwei took part in
the mission to assist ROWAN, a Colorado-based
organization that seeks to empower orphans and
widows infected or impacted by HIV/AIDS. The
ministry aims to nurture self-reliance in its commu-
nities via education, business training, spiritual en-
richment, and medical care.
During the trip, the Penn sophomores joined a
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The Uganda Summer Mission Team: Christian Union Ministry Fellow Kelly Schaaf; Maame Akosua
Ohemeng-Tinyase, Cornell ’20; Lisbette Hernandez, Penn ’20; Sylvia Kimwei, Penn ’20; Elizabeth D’Haiti,
Harvard ’20; and Lauren K. Smith (Cornell ’16), a Christian Union intern.