World Hunger Fund | Zoe Now International

THE BOY WHO GREW UP ON THE STREET

“When people see me today, they think I was born lucky and grew up in a good home. Little do people know that is about as far from the truth as you can get.”

Henry Mushigo grew up with a single mom who worked hard but faced many tribulations and challenges. The day came that she succumbed to madness and at the age of 7 years old, Henry found himself alone with no parents to care for him.
You see, as a boy living in Uganda, when you are left abandoned, there is no system to take you in and care for you. You are left to survive on your own.
Very quickly Henry learned how to dodge police, protect himself with a knife, steal food, and use drugs.
It became commonplace to see kids lying dead in the trenches and others wounded by authorities who hated the street kids.

This nightmare went on for 10 years.

When Henry was 16 years old, he found himself in jail. Every morning, he would be stripped naked, and punished by brutal beatings while working the land.
One day when Henry was working the fields, a scuffle took place and he took advantage of the distraction to run away as fast as possible. Miraculously, he got away and found himself in the city of Mbarara, which is roughly 5 hours west of Uganda’s capital, Kampala.

In Mbarara, Henry met a man who had also lived on the street as a boy and was now a pastor of a church and a preacher of hope and faith. He brought that message to the forgotten world of the ghettos, sitting with Henry and his friends, and sharing with them the love of Jesus.
After building a friendship together, he started taking Henry to church, and God started to change his heart. While Henry had no hope, Jesus gave him hope.

One day, Henry heard God’s voice tell him, “Henry, you’ll be my vessel and you will serve Me”.

As time passed by, he realized what God was calling him to do, and felt passionate to serve the Lord. He started reaching out with an evangelism team and began preaching on the streets while visiting the former gang of kids he had run with.

God continued to do amazing and incredible miracles. One day, the Lord again whispered to me saying, “Henry, I will teach you English where you will be an international Evangelist and you will be a blessing to my people.”

Since that day, even though Henry had no schooling, the Lord taught him how to speak, read and write in English.

"God rescued me from the pit of death, and He has me who I am today. It has been a long time since then, and I have seen His tender mercies upon me and forgotten my past. He wiped away my tears and restored my joy in Him. Looking back and seeing where God picked me, it gives me all the reason to stay humble and continually thank the Lord.
I have developed a passion and love to take God’s love to the unloved. It has become my pleasure to regularly meet with disadvantaged children living on the streets and provide them medical help, food, and God’s love. I believe that the Lord Jesus who saved and transformed me can do it for everyone. “

Just like Henry, we have an opportunity to reach hundreds of street kids by providing them with an amazing home where they can learn how to farm, the word of God and education. Will you sow into kids just like Henry?

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