Gloria- A Precious Legacy
There is a sign that hangs on the wall where Gloria sits and works behind a desk; and behind a computer, working diligently towards her goals of obtaining degrees in both marketing and accounting. It reads: “with God, all things are possible.” What a fitting motto for a young woman named Gloria; a name which means “Glory to God” in its Latin origins.
Gloria’s own origins in this world would not typically lead to someone with college degrees in anything. Her own origins would not typically lead to having much of an education at all, and that fact is not lost on her by any means!
In her own words: “At last, I can’t imagine the tiny little girl all the way from the extreme Northern Uganda would be able to become one of the students at Makerene University Business School, pursing a Bachelor of Science in Marketing. It is so wonderful that I am on the journey to accomplish my dream career of being a Marketer as well as an Accountant.”
As you can see, Gloria is well aware of what the typical life is for a girl from rural Uganda.
The simple fact is they don’t go to college. Many don’t attend school at all and if they do, it’s only until they are 14 or 15 years of age which according to the Ugandan Government’s own statistics, is when the average adolescent female becomes pregnant for the first time in rural settings. Pregnant and single. Pregnant and alone with no means of caring for their child. Children trying to raise children. This is where orphans come from. This is where the perpetual cycle of poverty comes from that creates 3 to 4 orphans per young female in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Those 3 or 4 orphans, if they survive, will create 3 or 4 for more, regardless of whether they are male or female and it just goes on and on. It doesn’t take a very good grasp of math to figure out what those quantitative representations of exponential factors result in over the course of just two or three generations within our cultures of poverty around the globe.
From the beginning, our goal here at O.L.I. has not been just to be a hand-out, but rather a hand-up for the orphan children of the world. We have never wanted to be a band-aid. We have always wanted to be a bridge, providing first for critical needs that keep the children alive. Then for the needs that help them thrive.
To thrive and not just survive, the children need more than just food and shelter for their bodies. They need food and shelter for their minds and spirits which comes in the form of nurturing and education. Man’s nurturing and education and God’s nurturing and education. The respective paths to success on earth and a home in heaven through Jesus Christ. When we give them both, their success is not just their own. It leads to them giving back to their own communities…and to their own future children. The same exponential factors mentioned prior, now apply as a positive multiplier of good over the generations to come. The good being done is paid forward from a single act and to God’s glory.
In Glorias own words, once again: “I am eagerly looking forward to completing my Bachelors degree by God’s grace. My plan is to get a job and extend a helping hand to those in need, especially the young ladies to uplift their standards of living by setting up a skills training center and I would love to continue for a master’s degree thereafter.
Apart from the studies and the moral part of it, Nantale’s Children’s Home has provided me to learn different skills. For example, crocheting, knitting, tailoring, and baking among others. It is amazing today, as I am one of the experts in tailoring and have been able to sew several beautiful dresses, trousers, shorts and skirts. I also have crocheted beautiful bags, head socks, neck scarves and tablecloths. I also teach my friends here how to do it.
In addition, I bake very delicious snacks… All these skills are very beneficial to my life. All thanks to God and to you my lovely sponsors for always supporting me.Thanks for making the life of one girl who had no hope become beautiful and full of joy, peace and hope. Long live my sponsors!”
You can see from her own words that Gloria recognizes her own blessings and is thankful to both you and God for those blessings. You can also see from her own words that she knows that those blessings cannot just stop with her. She must pass the blessings she has been given to others in the form of giving back to her own community. Her success becomes theirs as well.
When we help Gloria, we are not just changing her life, we are changing the lives of everyone she will meet and interact with throughout her own future. We are changing history. Her history, the history of the community she lives in, her children’s history and so on. Like ripples in a pond.
We will not live long enough to see all of the good being done with gifts we have given to children like young Gloria, but others will. Others will reap the harvest from the seeds we have sewn and the precious crop we have fed and nurtured all these years; as the love they have been given in God’s name is reflected in the lives of thousands for generations to come.
Her name is Gloria. Her name means “Glory to God.” She is your precious legacy.