Rahim is a 12-year-old orphan who has 7 siblings and 3 relatives making 12 in the household. All being raised by his mother who works to feed them and take care of other basic needs by working as a laborer in other’s gardens. They live in a house with a leaky roof and weak walls. His mother does not always make enough for food and he goes to school hungry and tired. He wants to attend school and they do not always have enough for the school fees. Yet in his own words, this is his hope, “But all my trust is in Lord who made me and I keep comforting myself to be strong so that I can study hard for a successful future such that I can get a good job to support my family.”
A sponsorship by you will change this young boy’s life.
Zaina is a 13-year-old orphan in a family of 10 being raised by a struggling mother who works their own garden before going out to find work in other gardens to provide money for the family. She gets little money for the work, so Zaina goes to school hungry, which she says leaves her stressed and dozing in school, making learning hard. When they cannot buy new books for school she finds it hard to stay motivated in her learning. Her favorite foods are potatoes and beans; her favorite color, “I love white because it resembles milk!”
When their home became a hazard, ROWAN stepped in to build them a new one. Zaina wants you to know that she is happy about the new house.
Let’s help support Zaina when her mother is unable to!
Hello, I am Annette Nelson and I am excited to be a part of the ROWAN family. Orphans and Widows have always been on my heart and I am glad to be able to help in my way. I have been hired to do some of the office work for Kelsey to free her up to promote ROWAN’s work. So you may hear from me from time to time. I look forward to getting to know the other members of this family and helping minister to others. If you need anything reach out to me atadmin@loverowan.com
This month we celebrate all the work ROWAN is doing in the Hope Clinic and Maternity Center!
In the course of the Hope Clinic’s continued services, there are a few items we would like to highlight with the use of the clinic.
1196 patients were treated for various conditions
1136 children were provided with deworming tablets as a measure aimed at digestive health improvement.
New employees were hired as senior staff with the intention of reinforcing service delivery at the medical facility.
Sarah Akello was employed for service as a clinical officer besides being entrusted with the leadership of the medical center.
Jeremiah Nkayimbi was recruited to serve as a radiographer.
The new radiographer enabled the revival of ultrasound machine services which have been strategic in boosting medical intervention processes involving some patients. The resumption of scanning operations has enhanced public interest and raised the demand for healthcare services by various patients in Mawanga and the surrounding communities. At least 46 cases have benefited from scanning services since ultra-scan services resumed last November.
Join us as we thank and Praise the Lord for all that has been provided and the service He has entrusted to us. To be a part of this amazing work, give by clicking on the link below.
Kelsey Hargadine Calls You to DREAM on the Isn’t It Lovely Podcast
ROWAN’s co-founder recently joined podcast hosts Rachel Gage and Tracy Kirby on an episode of Isn’t It Lovely entitled “Isn’t It Lovely to Protect Your ‘Yes’?”
Throughout the episode, Kelsey talks dreams, callings, and risk on an episode you can’t miss! We love this quote:
“No, not everyone is called to Africa, but everyone has an Africa in their life.”
Kelsey discusses practical steps to listen and eliminate the noise and distractions in our lives and how, in doing so, we are intentional in what we let into our minds and clear the way to be actively hearing from God. She reminds listeners that there are dreams that they have from God that they were designed and created to say “YES!” to.
Here’s what to do next to uncover your zealous yes:
As you have stood by us during this unforeseen mining crisis in our region, I wanted to give you a real-time update on what ROWAN is doing to actively protect and fight for the rights of not only our own beneficiaries, but over 2 MILLION affected by this project.
For the past month, we as ROWAN, along with the support and guidance of the local lawyers out of Kampala have guided negotiations between the mining company and the people.
What are we negotiating?
As the mining company uses their exploratory license to find minerals in our region, their next goal would be to get a signed MOU from individual land owners to obtain a mining license. Initially this MOU was found to be extremely shallow, with zero interest in the peoples’ rights and need for compensation. The mining company had a plan to divide and conquer in order to obtain such signatures.
Thankfully, through the collaborative efforts of our ROWAN staff and lawyer team, we educated the community to stand together as one. The community is now working in unity across 3 Districts!
Our lawyers are actively visiting the affected communities and educating people on their rights. They are guiding our steps and standing in the gap between the government, mining company, and the PAPs (Project Affected Persons.)
It is a long road ahead, but we are hopeful in God’s protection and provision of His children.
When you stand with ROWAN, you are not only supporting the orphans and widows in our program, but you are supporting our advocacy efforts. It is no surprise to our God that we are located at the heart of this crisis, and we have unshakeable faith that God will show us the opportunity to impact millions for His Kingdom! What an honor.
The most important thing right now is to intercede for the ministry and those on the front lines of this effort.
3 prayer prompts for when you don’t know how to pray
Sometimes, an obstacle looms so large in your life that it’s hard to see through it or around it. Your own personal Goliath. When that happens, it can be difficult to find the words to pray. If that sounds familiar, we invite you to fall back on these 3 simple prayer requests:
1. Peace.
2. Protection.
3. Provision.
How to pray for ROWAN as we face a mining crisis in Uganda
If you haven’t heard of the mining situation that threatens the land and lives of the widows and orphans we serve in rural Uganda, catch up on the story here. With those same 3 prayer prompts in mind, we ask that you join us in praying for ROWAN:
1. Peace
ROWAN is paying for the best local lawyers to represent 70,000 people who will be displaced from mining. Pray for peace in their hearts that they are cared for and valued.
2. Protection
Please pray for Pastor Paul and his family, who face a lot of pressure, threats, and intimidation as they stand in the gap and advocate for our widows and orphans. Pray also that ROWAN as an organization would be protected so that we can continue to do God’s work in this region.
3. Provision
Join us in knocking down God’s door as we pray for provision. This is both in terms of finances as well as the right people to lead ROWAN into this season of advocacy.
When prayer leads to action
As overwhelming as this feels, we know that these widows and orphans need our steadfast support now more than ever. There will be a time when we need to fundraise specifically for lawyer fees, advocacy campaign costs, and other fees to legally protect our people. Until then, there are so many widows & orphans needing a sponsor, now more than ever. When you sponsor an orphan in Uganda, you provide for them 6 essential ways.
Look through our sponsorship page and get involved today!
On Friday, June 24th, we invited ROWAN supporters to join us for an internal Zoom update on the mining crisis that threatens the region…
After her exploratory trip to Uganda in May, ROWAN Co-founder Kelsey Hargadine returned with stories of God’s hand in this situation as well as the details we needed in order to determine our next steps as an organization.
Here’s a note from Kelsey:
For those of you who were able to join me on Friday, thank you! It is so encouraging to share this powerful story of my recent trip to Uganda.
We are excited that we recorded it and want to send to you if you have not yet heard the testimony. It includes the current ROWAN story and ways in which you can continue to support/pray/volunteer/advocate with us. This testimony is TRULY remarkable…you don’t want to miss it!
Feel free to email me if you’d like to watch the video***!
Love to you ALL,
Kelsey Hargadine
Among other updates shared in the video***, we found that the mining company will likely not affect our region for many more years… plus or minus a decade.
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.
There are so many widows & orphans needing a sponsor, now more than ever. When you sponsor an orphan in Uganda, you provide for them 6 essential ways.
Our region is being directly threatened by a China-based mining company looking to extract minerals from the soil under ROWAN.
If you’re familiar with ROWAN, start the video at about 11 minutes 38 seconds. The first 11 minutes contain the origin story of ROWAN, while the details of the crisis start at about 13 minutes 20 seconds.
Here’s a brief summary:
Kelsey is on her way to meet with the mining companies and to partner with other local leaders, churches, and NGOs on the ground to explore the best way forward for our community.
Our goal? Collaborate to find a way to preserve the dignity of the thousands and thousands of people who would be displaced by this mining endeavor.
Between International Women’s Day on March 8th Women’s History Month for wrapping up on March 31st, this time of year is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about our Legacy Program and to give toward female entrepreneurship through ROWAN in Uganda!
ROWAN has been empowering widows in the region for 14 years now. This year, every dollar you donate boosts our four-year Legacy Program to empower widows through financial literacy, so that they can open their own businesses and support their families!
When a widow enters the program, they first gain free access to our ROWAN medical clinic, weekly meals, and emergency care so they can focus on the trainings and courses. These include Literacy, Health, Business 101, Land Rights, Women’s Rights, and SO much more.
