Why We "Cupcake" OR Why Kids Are in Prison in Uganda

How does a child end up in a prison in Uganda?

Great question.

Let's follow a common story...

A beloved child is born to her mother...

She is a delight and a joy!

But her parents' lives are stolen early by disease, HIV/AIDS, war or even struck by lightning. (I heard this so often from street children while in Uganda! Lightning kills many parents!) This once loved child is now an orphan.


Often children are left to fend for themselves while a grandparent or other caregiver works in a field to provide for the children.

When their caregivers die or if a parent remarries, the child must then make their own way in the world. 


This means leaving the village and all they have known...

And trying to make a life in the big city.

 The city is a big, scary place when you are just a child.

 








The child sees the abundance of food at the market, but has no money to pay for any.

So they must scavenge for food...

The police periodically do "sweeps" of the area and pick up the children and take them to one of the 8 prisons in Uganda for children.

 They are locked up in facilities that are under financed and under staffed.

 
 Food only comes once every other day.

                                               Their bedding is old, moldy and soaked in years of old urine.

Despair doesn't begin to capture how they must feel.

At times, the facilities may go without water for months at a time.

There is nothing to do but wait...hoping that you will be allowed freedom...someday.


This is the common path of a child who sits in a prison in Uganda. Others are there because of a family's poverty, or because they were rejected for their special needs (physical and mental), or because they were unwanted by new step parents. Some are there for petty crimes mainly driven by their poverty.


But now, a group of Jesus-loving people have come together and formed Sixty Feet...all for the purpose of bringing hope and restoration to these very children in Jesus' name.

They lead them in worship...

They bring the gospel message into the prisons. Children learn of TRUE FREEDOM that is for them no matter if they are locked behind bars or not!

And now this dear child who has experienced so much loss, so much trauma is now a student of God's Word! Hope fills hearts!

And THAT my friends, is WHY WE CUPCAKE!!!

100% of the proceeds from our Cupcake Kids sale will go to the imprisoned children through Sixty Feet.


What will the money do? I'm glad you asked!!
*Food--with protein, daily!
*Clean water
*Medical care
*Providing adequate clothing, bedding and mosquito nets (to fight malaria)
*Repairing the facilities
*Initiating justice so that children who do not belong in the prisons can have their cases heard in as little as 3 months by a judge rather than the lengthy 18 months
*Removing the most vulnerable children to a loving foster family
*Provide on-going counseling, mentoring to the children by Ugandan men who love Jesus


All these things are done with your cupcake money!! 


Are you moved to support this ministry but are not nearby? Worry not! We have a virtual cupcake for you!

Click me!

This one has NO FAT, NO CALORIES and will still bring joy to your heart for helping the most vulnerable children! Click to donate directly to our stand!


Thank you to ALL MY FRIENDS who are so selflessly giving and baking and planning on being at our sale this Saturday! Cannot wait!!!

"For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.
The King will say to those on His right, "I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to Me!"    ~Jesus in Matthew 25

Something BIG is coming for Christmas and Uganda!!!

Remember Uganda?

I do.

Sunrise over nearby mosque

Coffee

Visiting with village kids

Remember an organization called Sixty Feet?

This is a play on "Sixty Feet's" name. There are MORE than 30 souls in the prisons!

They work with imprisoned children in Uganda. In facilities like this:

This is PRESENT DAY. I took this picture at "M" in August!

Remember Christmas???

Coming soon...a way to combine it all. Keep watch!

More about the Children's Prisons and Sixty Feet

I just read an excellent post written by a staff member of Sixty Feet named Joy on her family blog. She gives a great explanation of WHY these children are locked up in these prisons in Uganda. Please click here to read this and gain a better understanding of what is happening 8,000 miles away.

Again I encourage you to see what you might do to help the situation. There are many different ways. I know that PRAYER is the #1 need. Will you commit to pray for the children who are stuck in these conditions? Will you pray for the staff of Sixty Feet? They have both Ugandan and American team members. Would you consider saving up your loose change to help out in one of their repair projects? Would you be willing to sponsor a child so they are sure to have their daily needs met? Or maybe you love to bake and you would be willing to bake some cupcakes for our Cupcake Kids sale next month? Or, if you live far from me, might you be willing to host your own Cupcake Kids sale?

So many ways to be involved.

“I know all the things you do. I have seen your love, your faith, your service and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things.”

                                                                       

                             Jesus in Revelation 2:19

What?! Children's prison? (The post about 60 Feet)

This is a blog post I've been mulling over in my mind for months. Seriously. I learned about this children's prison on December 24th. I remember vividly. I was so moved, I couldn't sleep. I spent the night on my knees by the Christmas tree crying out to God with a wrenched heart for the least of these.

Before I get too far, let me show you what in the world I'm talking about.


The Dance from Sixty Feet on Vimeo.

As you can see, this REALLY DOES EXIST.

I think of a beautiful quote from Mother Teresa...

"Each of them is Jesus in His most distressing disguise."

and

"At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done. We will be judged by, "I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in."

The prison was discovered by a woman named Nathalie (you can read about her and watch her videos on their site) when she chased down a rumor that this place actually existed. As many of you know, we just hosted the precious Mwangaza Ugandan Children's Choir here a little over a week ago. I had a precious Ugandan friend in my home. We spoke about this place and she too, knew of it from the reputation it has.

You see, Ugandan parents often scare their children into obedience by threatening to take them to this place. Sixty Feet refers to it as "M" but that's not its actual name. And indeed, my friend knew of this place. She had never seen it, but her parents too joined the many who threatened a trip to "M" if she didn't behave.

Many times the children who come here are simply orphans. They are brought here and dumped off. Sadly, as I've learned more about the atrocities in Uganda, babies are often discarded in swamps. Their mothers were 14 or 15 and had prostituted themselves for food. They cannot possibly feed another mouth.

The "M" facility is overcrowded. The children often go without food. When they do eat, it's one time a day. They are sleeping on 22 year old mattresses soaked in urine and feces. Many children sleep directly on the cold cement.

Fortunately, Nathalie and my friends at Sixty Feet are working hard to change this. They hope to get the younger and crippled orphans out and eventually to establish a sustainable longer term living environment where the orphans of "M" can earn about Jesus and be loved upon and receive healing. A team from Sixty Feet leaves for Africa today. Please be in prayer for them. No doubt the enemy does not want any good to happen in this situation.

Another harsh reality that the Sixty Feet team has discovered: M is not the only children's prison in Uganda. There are others. You can read about a boy named Justice and his first few days at "M2" here.

Children have actually been getting involved in helping 60 Feet change reality for these precious souls. The Cupcake Kids started last year and was a very successful fundraiser! This year the sale is going nationwide with the goal of at least one sale in each of the 50 states! We are hosting a cupcake sale for Sixty Feet right here where we are as well. If you are interested in hosting a cupcake sale, please clink on the above link and connect with them about getting your sale on the map!

In our family, we have joined with our group of mom-world-changers (The Water Girls) in collecting change in a jar for 60 Feet. We believed at the outset that if they could get access to clean water, this would make an enormous positive impact. We created a "water jar" and it has been humbling to watch our kids take Tooth Fairy money, birthday money and any coins they find in parking lots and joyfully add it to our jar.

I share with you about these places because they have been working on my heart. The whittling away of what I THOUGHT I wanted to do in adoption and slowly coming to an awareness of what God might be wanting to do through and in our family. Nothing is done yet. There is no announcement. Just a profound new understanding of the depth of the need.

Truly, our adoption is only the start. I pray He will use us to change the reality for many, many children who live trapped in lives they did not choose for themselves. Are YOU moved by what you read? You may not be able to move to Uganda and change the whole system but could you help out by making a donation? Any amount will help. No one asked me to ask you. Well, I guess that's not true...God had me add this part on to the end of my post. Please, if you feel led, click here and learn about ways you too can get involved in making change happen for the least of these.

I leave you with a well loved quote from Mahatma Ghandi:

 Be the change you want to see in the world.