Meet our teachers.
Daisy
James
Through our generosity Daisy and James are able to be in the Remand Home educating the children, learning new skills, developing their gifts, and sharing the good new of Jesus with them throughout the week.
Remand Home History
The Remand Home was opened in 2003 because of the war with the LRA that lasted for 22 years. Tens of thousands of children were abducted and forced to be child soldiers and do horrific things with the LRA. Everyone living in the Acholi sub-region was forced into Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps. Life was difficult in the IDP camps and “family life” as it was known, and the Acholi culture, were lost. During this time, the “Invisible Children” phenomenon began. Over 10,000 children would leave their families behind and come into Gulu town from the bush each night for fear of being abducted by Koni’s men. Over time, many of these children, who escaped being abducted, began living on the streets and getting into trouble. Other children, who were abducted but escaped, returned traumatized by the violent things they were forced to do. And, knowing only violence and survival of the fittest, they began to get into trouble with the law. Many of these children are orphans. All of them have grown up in a culture with no family structure and no security. Many are falsely accused. With so many children being arrested the need arose for a place for the children to stay while awaiting trial to keep them from being sent to adult prisons where they would be abused. Money was donated and a Remand Home was built for all the children of Northern Uganda in Gulu. But the budget promised by the government to run it never materialized. The facility is underfunded and has nearly been closed down a number of times because of the neglect and suffering of the children.
After visiting the Remand Home and seeing the suffering of the children first hand, our missionary partners at World Embrace have stepped in to care for the children. They are providing nutritious food, clothing, shoes, and toiletries for the basic needs of the children. They have improved the facilities and provided additional security for the girls who are staying in the home. The maximum stay for a child awaiting trial is supposed to be 3 months, but many are there for over a year. World Embrace has hired two teachers to educate the children while they await their trial. The teachers, James and Daisy, are also Christians and are a powerful witness of the love of Jesus to these children every day. For most of the children, James and Daisy are the only positive and caring mentors that they have in their lives. World Embrace has taken on the mission of caring for these children without having a budget for it in their ministry. They have relied on the generosity of their donors to create a budget for these children. As a church, we are stepping in to provide the $600 a month budget to care for these children.
It is hard to explain the suffering these children have endured. Many of them will not share their stories because of how painful they are. When asked, some of them just begin crying. The justice system in Uganda is corrupt and based on bribery which favors the rich. World Embrace has discovered that many times these children are falsely accused as a part of families fighting over the rights to property. After families returned from the IDP camps many settled on property formerly belonging to another family. As a means of retribution sometimes children are accused of crimes simply to get back at that family. These children sit in the Remand Home awaiting a trial. World Embrace has discovered that the children are encouraged to plead guilty when they finally get a court date, which often takes many months or over a year. In their culture pleading guilty is seen as a sign of remorse and shows they will be less likely to commit the crime again. If they do not plead guilty they will be sent back to the Remand Home to serve more time until they are tried again to see if they will plead guilty. When they plead guilty they are sentenced, with no credit for time served in the Remand Home awaiting trial. These children are literally losing years of their lives because of corruption.
There are currently 137 children in the Remand Home, each with a heartbreaking past and story. As I heard some of their stories, one stood out in particular. A thirteen-year-old girl named Abba. She was taken advantage of by an older man and became pregnant at 12 years old. The father disowned her and the baby. Abba had no family or support. She was an orphan—now a mother, but still a child herself. In her despair, instead of watching her baby slowly starve to death, she jumped into the river to kill them both. People nearby saw her and saved her, but the baby was lost. Now, Abba is in the Remand Home awaiting her trial for the murder of her baby. Without the help World Embrace provides, which we are now funding as a church, Abba would be sent to an adult prison where she would almost certainly be abused and raped again. The $600 a month we are providing to World Embrace to pay the teachers and provide basic care and food for these children, who all have stories like Abba’s, is life-changing for them.
I have been so proud of the generosity of our church in our brief history. Thank you for being a part of setting a culture of generosity at Parkside that will last for a very long time. Because of your giving lives will be saved and changed. And future generations will be inspired to live lives of generosity. Thank you for praying and giving.
God bless you. I love you all,
—Pastor Jason
After visiting the Remand Home and seeing the suffering of the children first hand, our missionary partners at World Embrace have stepped in to care for the children. They are providing nutritious food, clothing, shoes, and toiletries for the basic needs of the children. They have improved the facilities and provided additional security for the girls who are staying in the home. The maximum stay for a child awaiting trial is supposed to be 3 months, but many are there for over a year. World Embrace has hired two teachers to educate the children while they await their trial. The teachers, James and Daisy, are also Christians and are a powerful witness of the love of Jesus to these children every day. For most of the children, James and Daisy are the only positive and caring mentors that they have in their lives. World Embrace has taken on the mission of caring for these children without having a budget for it in their ministry. They have relied on the generosity of their donors to create a budget for these children. As a church, we are stepping in to provide the $600 a month budget to care for these children.
It is hard to explain the suffering these children have endured. Many of them will not share their stories because of how painful they are. When asked, some of them just begin crying. The justice system in Uganda is corrupt and based on bribery which favors the rich. World Embrace has discovered that many times these children are falsely accused as a part of families fighting over the rights to property. After families returned from the IDP camps many settled on property formerly belonging to another family. As a means of retribution sometimes children are accused of crimes simply to get back at that family. These children sit in the Remand Home awaiting a trial. World Embrace has discovered that the children are encouraged to plead guilty when they finally get a court date, which often takes many months or over a year. In their culture pleading guilty is seen as a sign of remorse and shows they will be less likely to commit the crime again. If they do not plead guilty they will be sent back to the Remand Home to serve more time until they are tried again to see if they will plead guilty. When they plead guilty they are sentenced, with no credit for time served in the Remand Home awaiting trial. These children are literally losing years of their lives because of corruption.
There are currently 137 children in the Remand Home, each with a heartbreaking past and story. As I heard some of their stories, one stood out in particular. A thirteen-year-old girl named Abba. She was taken advantage of by an older man and became pregnant at 12 years old. The father disowned her and the baby. Abba had no family or support. She was an orphan—now a mother, but still a child herself. In her despair, instead of watching her baby slowly starve to death, she jumped into the river to kill them both. People nearby saw her and saved her, but the baby was lost. Now, Abba is in the Remand Home awaiting her trial for the murder of her baby. Without the help World Embrace provides, which we are now funding as a church, Abba would be sent to an adult prison where she would almost certainly be abused and raped again. The $600 a month we are providing to World Embrace to pay the teachers and provide basic care and food for these children, who all have stories like Abba’s, is life-changing for them.
I have been so proud of the generosity of our church in our brief history. Thank you for being a part of setting a culture of generosity at Parkside that will last for a very long time. Because of your giving lives will be saved and changed. And future generations will be inspired to live lives of generosity. Thank you for praying and giving.
God bless you. I love you all,
—Pastor Jason