Defending the Fatherless
Wheels for the World in Uganda, and Churches Inc in Mozambique.
By Shaun Burrows, International Missions Manager
‘Give justice to the weak and
the fatherless; maintain the
right of the afflicted and the
destitute. Rescue the weak
and the needy; deliver them
from the hand of the wicked’
Psalms 82:3-4
Otwao has Cerebral Palsy, and
although he can hear and see,
he is unable to move the rest
of his body. Like so many other
disabled children in Africa, he
lives his life in obscurity.
Otwao lives in the Kumi region
of Uganda and arrived at our
Distribution Centre with his
mother in hope of a
wheelchair.
was told a story about a family in his
community with a severely disabled
child. Shockingly, they received advice
from others in their community to
appease God by sacrificing the child.
Another church leader told us about a
family in his community who had been
criticised by their neighbours for not
having ended their disabled child’s life
to bring the “suffering to an end”.
Thankfully, in these cases the church
had already stepped in with love and
compassion, sharing the Gospel, and
advising and reassuring the families
who are now caring for their children.
But witchcraft and prejudiced cultural
strongholds are very powerful in some
of the rural areas of Africa we visit, and
He and his mother live on their Otwao With His New Wheelchair
disabled people can be particularly
own in a reed hut. She goes to
vulnerable. Our Churches Inc. program
work every day and used to carry Otwao on her back, but aims to help the church equip communities and individuals
since he’s grown too large for her to carry, she has had to to be fully inclusive, and spread a Christian perspective on
leave him at home, lying alone on a cold floor until she disability, so all are valued, included and encouraged.
returns in the evening. He was given a wheelchair, and is
now able to enjoy company and freedom with her again.
Pastor Davis and the team train delegates
Your Wheels team gave out over 130 wheelchairs in Kumi
earlier this year – plus mobility aids, and advice,
encouragement, and practical support for disabled
Ugandans. Through your support, the lives of disabled
people and their families – like Otwao and his mother –
have been transformed. We have trips to Uganda (11th to
20th April), Kenya (5th to 15th September) and Mozambique
(14th to 24th November) planned for 2018; please get in
touch if you’d like to join or financially support any of these
distributions.
Stepping in with love: Churches Inc
Proverbs 24:11 tells us to ‘Rescue those who are being led
away to death; hold back those who are stumbling towards
the slaughter’. A church leader in our Mozambique team
www.throughtheroof.org
Stepping in with love, and offering an inclusive vision
Thanks to our partner Melvyn Kelly (from Northern Ireland
but based in Mozambique), we spoke with eight different
groups and churches around Maputo, including training 180
church leaders and elders, plus a two-day workshop, and a
training evening with Bible students. It was a challenging
trip, but we made some great relationships, and began to
see a move in attitudes towards welcoming disabled people.
You can find some excellent video blogs from the trip
through www.throughtheroof.org.
We have Churches Inc trips planned for Kenya (7th to 17th
February 2018), Tanzania (6th to 16th June) and Sierra Leone
(9th to 17th October). If you would like information about
these trips, or would like to support or apply to join a team,
please see our website or contact me at
[email protected].