Waswa’s story of radical faith in Uganda

The man you will see and hear in the video below is 29-year-old Waswa*. We met with him on a recent trip to Uganda. As he shared with us his story of how God has worked so powerfully in his life, he broke out into beautiful worship.
 

It all began with one courageous mother

When Waswa was young, his mother left Islam to follow Jesus. Her Muslim husband destroyed her business and tried to kill Waswa and his sibling, so they fled for safety. The family lived on the streets, homeless, but Waswa’s mother continued to share her testimony. Tragically, she was killed for it. Her faith, Waswa says, was the beginning of his legacy.

“Even after everything she went through, my mother kept trusting in God,” Waswa says, remembering a day when 80 Muslims decided to follow Jesus as she preached. “We saw her faith and decided to follow Jesus too. We started praying for our situation, and every time we prayed, God sent strangers who gave us food or other help. It gave us hope and made us trust God even more.”

By God’s grace, the children were sent to live with different Christian families, and Waswa was taken in by a pastor’s family. That’s where he developed a passion for serving vulnerable children.

That led Waswa to open an orphanage where today, he cares for and educates vulnerable children who were once on the same streets he lived on. “I understand the pain these children go through because I felt it myself,” he explains. “I decided to teach them the Word of God, restore their hope and raise them as God-fearing children.”
 

The beauty and power of the Church in action

But how Waswa got to this place of purpose is perhaps the most beautiful part of his story. Because in it, we see the beauty and power of the Church in action.

“Thanks to the support from Open Doors, you [provided] my school fees, food and clothing. You gave me counselling and trauma [healing] sessions, which helped me greatly,” Waswa says. With our local partners’ assistance, Waswa was able to complete his education, earning a college degree in Business Administration and Accounting. Because of your support, Waswa found God’s strength during his darkest hours, and many vulnerable children are now experiencing the living hope of Jesus in their own lives.



Waswa hopes to gradually expand his orphanage and take care of and educate more children. His trials have become his testimony. “My testimony has strengthened many children,” Waswa shares. “Whenever I testify about my life, their hope in Christ is renewed.”

Waswa holds fast to God’s promise of an eternal life, reunited with Him. He recites Jeremiah 29:11 as his life verse—a verse that gave him hope when he desperately needed it.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Waswa is greatly aware that the prayers of many have sustained him and his ministry. “I thank everybody who has been standing with me in prayer because it is through these prayers that I have been able to achieve whatever I have managed.”

*name changed for security reasons