Hope in Uncertainty: ROWAN Advocates for Widows and Orphans as Mining Plans Unfold

After roughly 70 hours of travel and a week packed with meetings, ROWAN Co-founder Kelsey Hargadine is back in the States with lots to share.

Thanks to many fruitful conversations with the mining company, other local leaders, churches, powerful political figures, and NGOs on the ground, there’s simply too much to put in an email.

For the first time ever, we held a Zoom meeting where Kelsey shared inside details of her trip, takeaways from the meetings, a breakdown of what the mining company plans to do, and powerful testimonies of God’s handiwork in the region.

The mining crisis that threatens our region is on the horizon, and we’re getting a head start by collaborating with lawyers who are advocating for the most dignified treatment of our orphans and widows.

Adversity on the Horizon

Among other updates shared in the zoom video, we found that the mining company will likely not directly affect our region immediately, although it has already begun affecting people’s lives as they begin to move away out of fear, constant anxiety and uncertainty of one’s future.

As scary as it feels, we know that these widows and orphans need our steadfast support now more than ever.

If you found out that your home might be torn down in 10 years, would you move out now? Of course not!

In the same way, we’re using this time to plan and prepare for the next chapter of ROWAN serving the vulnerable citizens of Uganda while advocating for the rights and proper treatment of the widows and orphans there, now.