Go Beyond

Kawempe is one of the poorest and most densely populated divisions of Kampala, Uganda. Most of the folks who call Kawempe home manage to live on less than two dollars per day. Think about that the next time you place your order at Starbucks — two dollars per day — or the next time you fill your cart at the grocery store.

Living on two bucks a day means that every penny that comes into the household must be used for essentials — like food, mostly food. That leaves almost no discretionary money for anything else. Life for the poor of Kawempe is dismal and suffocating. When people here dream of the future, that future is shortened to a day or two out at best.

Enter Robert Nabulere and his wife Rose. Robert is Ugandan by birth and grew up in poverty. He understands what it’s like to wonder where the next meal will come from. Robert and Rose came to Kawempe more than a dozen years ago with a vision to make a difference in the lives of the poor. For them, that meant introducing Jesus Christ into the equation because they believe that apart from Him things will just not add up.

When Robert and Rose came to Kawempe to plant Miracle Centre Kawempe Church, they became burdened for the welfare of the kids — the many kids who were not in public schools. The poor here cannot afford to pay for uniforms for their kids to sit in classrooms with ratios as high as a hundred and twenty students to one teacher. They can’t afford to pay for school lunches. So, they don’t go to school.

Robert and Rose both dreamed of a better future for the kids in Kawempe. They had the vision to look beyond the depressing actualities to behold the possibilities — what could happen if they invested in the lives of Kawempe’s poor. So, they trusted God and got to work.

In May of 2008, they rented a home on a large lot to start the Miracle Destiny Primary School. They defined their vision as seeking the kingdom of God in education and their purpose as guiding children into their destiny with godly wisdom. They started with sixteen kids from the poorest homes. Today, their primary school enrollment has grown to 264 students plus a faculty that shares their vision.

In recent years, Robert and Rose purchased a large piece of property in the bush and have transformed it into a beautiful residential campus for secondary level students. One-hundred-seventy-five students from Kawempe currently live on that campus. They have just completed extra buildings to house even more students in the coming months.

A few months ago, Robert and Rose were able to secure a small piece of property in crowded Kawempe. The purchase of that property was miraculous in itself. Plans are to build a multi-story school to make room for even more children from Kawempe’s poorest homes. This summer, the kids who attend Kingsland’s Vacation Bible School will raise funds to kick off construction of this new campus. We will give these funds in memory of Cooper Potts. Cooper faithfully attended VBS at Kingsland throughout his childhood.

Every time I visit Robert and Rose I am amazed at the great stories I hear about how God is using the Miracle Destiny schools to bless families. This week I visited the home of a single mom whose only daughter is a top student at the primary school. Rebecca has attended the school for years and now can see a brighter future. She dreams of becoming either a doctor or a teacher. Her mother nods in agreement.

If you wonder whether miracles still happen, I assure you that they do. There is no other way to explain what is happening in the slums of Kawempe. God is using Pastor Robert and Rose to serve despair its eviction papers — one home and one child at a time. I have witnessed miracles in Kawempe.