THE FLAME VOL. 3 NO. 2, June-July 2016
A PUBLICATION OF WELCH COLLEGE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Village of Hope Uganda
A Welch College Alumnus Shares Hope With the Hopeless Cindy Cunningham ('85) is founder and director of Village of Hope Uganda. Cindy has dedicated much of her adult life to helping people around the world through organizations like Youth for Christ and Josh McDowell Ministries. However, a 2006 trip to Africa changed her life and ministry forever. She visited the Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, and Uganda, and was haunted by the devastation war and disease had left in their wake, especially among the innocent and helpless children. They shared firsthand stories of abductions and being forced to kill other children. They described beatings that nearly killed them and how they became child soldiers, sometimes coerced into killing their own parents. She returned to the United States heartbroken, asking herself the question we should all ask: “God, what can I do?” Before long, she returned to Uganda, and with her she brought hope. Village of Hope Uganda was born out of Cindy’s broken heart and burden for the people of Africa. The ministry rescues former child-soldiers and sex slaves, along with war orphans. According to the mission statement, the village "provides a safe haven for healing and hope for a future.” Residential villages meet physical needs, provide stable and loving homes, and teach important life skills to residents. Combined with biblical discipleship, the ministry provides systemic solutions to counteract the epidemic poverty and hopelessness among Africa’s most vulnerable children. Cindy's vision is to “transform children of war into children of hope.” After being rescued, healed, educated, and taught to become self-sustaining, the village hopes to see these former victims bring about change in their communities and country. The ministry has blossomed. Today, 336 children have found safe refuge in the Village of Hope, and the organization is constructing a second village to shelter more children. The village also ministers to former sex-slaves abducted during the war, who returned to their villages and homes only to find themselves rejected because they gave had given birth to “rebel babies.” Village of Hope provides trauma counseling and career training, teaching these young women to sew, to make jewelry, and to weave baskets. These life skills help them
Photo: Cindy Cunningham with children from Village of Hope Uganda.
Photo: Children and staff member at Village of Hope Uganda.
earn an income and provide for their children. Many of the women also find hope in God. “It has been a long, hard road for them,” Cindy shares, “but their hope has been renewed and their lives transformed through the work of God. Their hope has been restored.” Cindy currently resides in Dallas, Texas, but continues to guide Village of Hope Uganda while raising funds. The ministry is a strategic partner of Free Will Baptist International Missions. Support their efforts by praying, sponsoring a child, purchasing jewelry, or promoting their work in the United States.
www.villageofhopeuganda.com.