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On 7 July, following many years of sponsorship, Rebecca Cummings from Four Corners Ministries boards a MAF flight & meets former Ugandan child soldier Grace for the first time. They meet at a Christian women’s empowerment conference in Abaana’s Hope near Gulu, northern Uganda. MAF’s Jill Vine was there…
MAF pilot Hansjoerg Schlatter transports staff– including Rebecca Cummings – from ‘Four Corners Ministries’ who are co-hosting a women’s empowerment conference with ‘Living Stones Community Church’ in Abaana’s Hope.
MAF has partnered with Four Corners Ministries for ten years enabling the organisation to reach & serve the people of northern Uganda. This latest one-hour flight from Kajjansi near the capital Kampala to Gulu in the north, saves them eight hours of uncomfortable overland travel.
Four Corners Ministries shares the Gospel & meets the practical needs of marginalised communities through women’s empowerment programmes, medical provision, nurturing sustainable livelihoods, educating vulnerable children & offering Christian leadership training.
Their ten-day women’s empowerment conference in Abaana’s Hope attracts nearly 300 women including many former child soldiers who were abducted & brutalised by extremist group – the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).
Although the LRA were mostly expelled from Uganda by 2006, trauma still runs deep, & restoration & healing take time. Grace is on that journey.
‘I told them I wasn’t going to fight any more’
Grace was one of the 30,000 children from northern Uganda abducted by Joseph Kony’s henchmen & forced to fight on the frontline in a bid to overthrow Yoweri Museveni’s government.
She has experienced unimaginable horrors & hardship, but today lives peacefully with her five children living a productive life thanks to the support of Four Corners Ministries. Grace recalls those terrible times:
‘I was taken by force from my home by soldiers who took me to Sudan for training where I stayed for about two years. There was hardship all around me. Many people were killed.
‘I lived with six other soldiers & I was in charge of them.
‘One day we were sent to the well to get some water. That day I decided I wasn’t going back. When I told the other soldiers, they were very scared – they feared we would be killed if we were found. I told them that I was going to leave & that I was not afraid to use my gun if I had to!
‘The soldiers found me at my friend’s house. They were looking for guns but we had hidden them. I told them that I wasn’t going to fight any more & that I wanted to go home to my mother.
‘Once home, there was a lot of hardship – many people had been killed. I had to live off others & beg for food. My war injuries were so severe, I wasn’t able to plough my garden to feed myself. I couldn’t sell anything to make money.
‘Four Corners Ministries found me – I moved to Abaana’s Hope & began working. This ministry has completely changed my life.
‘Because of the grace of God, I am able to live on l& that I have worked for & have been able to buy for myself. I have been able to feed myself & my kids & can now pay for my kids’ school fees.
‘I am so thankful to God & for everything he has done in my life. Without him & this ministry, I wouldn’t be alive or be where I am today. I have been transformed.’
Grace, former child soldier – Lord’s Resistance Army
Grace’s sponsor & MAF passenger, Rebecca Cummings from Four Corners Ministries, is privileged to finally meet Grace, which would have been a very difficult journey without MAF:
‘MAF provided a smooth flight from Kajjansi to Gulu, which enabled us to partner with the ladies from Living Stones Community Church & host this conference. We are so appreciative of the service MAF provides, which enables missionaries to reach people like Grace.’