Child of Promise

By Ward Anderson

In 2015, after a 15 hour trip, James and I landed in Uganda and started on a journey that led us to the slums of Kampala. It was not a pretty site with every family living in a shanty, with no electricity except for a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling. There was no running water or sewer and a small charcoal cook stove in the corner. Most doors consisted of a hanging piece of fabric. The rooms were small and dark with mattresses scattered around the floor. As James and I were led by our Ugandan friends through the slum, we were invited to a small room with plastic chairs used for visitors. There were ten to twelve elementary children who had been alerted to our coming. After singing welcoming songs to us, each child in their best clothes, introduced themselves and told us who they wanted to be when they grew up. A 10 year old boy got up and said he wanted to be a policeman. His name was *Adriko and he was a child of promise. A little later, some of the mothers entered to tell their stories. One of the first mothers to speak was dressed in red, head to toe with gold jewelry and I knew in a moment she was a lady of the night. Adriko took his place beside the woman. Adriko was an orphan, as his mother had died and his father had disappeared. When this happens, the custom is someone from the community steps in to become the child’s guardian. This woman had become Adriko’s guardian, along with 3 more young boys.

We rescued Adriko from the slums and placed him in a modest boarding school. The school provides academic instruction, with a solid Christian foundation and room and board. He maintains an A average and is a natural athlete and leader in his class. The tuition for Adriko is $750 for the school year.

There are many Adrikos in the slums of Kampala and our vision and call is to bring them out.

*name changed for privacy



A recent update:

Adriko is open minded. He likes learning new things and is curious. He is much determined when he wants to do something. He sees himself a winner. A defeat say in sports or academics stirs him up to work harder.

In academics, Adriko has never been beyond position # 4 in the class since he joined Peter’s Heart. He has always been graded in grade1 every test and examination done in his class.

He finished in position 8 in Decode Annual Chess Championship in July. This is a competition which attracted over 40 primary schools. Today Adriko went to represent Christ Care school in another Chess competition. We pray and hope for the best.

He won a golden medal at his school at Christ Care sports day. Adriko does well in MDD at Christ Care school we can’t wait to see his performance in National Theatre on 26th-Oct-2019.

Lord Jesus bless you,

Geoffrey Seruwu