OUR HISTORY

Growing up in rural Uganda as one of thirty-eight siblings, Elijah Sebuchu experienced a poverty-stricken and often joyless childhood. He almost died from insect infestations and snake-bites from sleeping in the dirt, didn’t have a pair of shoes until he was fifteen, and didn’t know the satisfaction of a full stomach until he was eighteen.

However, because his father was a tribal leader, he received an education, graduated from seminary, became a minister, then became a born-again Christian. After making Jesus Christ his Lord and Savior, he began to challenge his church’s worship of multiple gods in addition to the Most High God, so was kicked out of the church and his position. Not deterred, he began evangelizing on the street, telling everyone who would listen about the redemptive power of Christ.

During this time, he began to notice the droves of orphans whose families had been destroyed by starvation and disease wandering aimlessly and helplessly. He was heartbroken by these children and by the seemingly hopeless plight of his country, and was burdened to pray. One day, while in prayer and fasting, God told Elijah that he and his wife, Ruth, had been chosen to feed, clothe, shelter, love and educate the orphans while speaking God’s truth into their lives. These children would then become the next generation of Uganda’s leadership and would transform the country through Christ’s light.

In obedience to this vision and with just $10 in their pockets, Elijah and Ruth travelled to a remote part of Uganda where Elijah had inherited some land. After just two weeks of building mud and wattle huts with their bare hands, 188 orphans who had been living in the surrounding bushes came to live with the Sebuchus. Thus, the first Hands of Love orphanage was born.

Pastor Elijah realized quickly that there were not enough resources in Uganda to meet the needs of the over two million orphans. The country had been devastated by years of genocide, AIDS, war, and poverty, had an unemployment rate over 80% and had a median age of just 15, the lowest median age in any country. Money was simply not available and he knew that he needed international help. So, he began sending pleas over the Internet.

Eventually, God connected him with several Europeans who helped him build the first Hands of Love Orphanage and School in Namadhi, the location of the first huts. These Europeans, in turn, introduced Pastor Elijah to Anna Latshaw in the United States, who then founded Hands of Love USA in 2008. As the fundraising arm for Hands of Love Uganda, Hands of Love USA began building the second Hands of Love Orphanage School in Kiteezi, Uganda in 2009.

Since it’s inception, over 350 orphans and staff members at the Kiteezi orphanage have been sponsored through Hands of Love USA and the Hands of Love School has become one of the highest rated schools in Uganda. The children are loved, fed, clothed, educated and told about their identity in Christ every single day of the week. Classrooms, toilets, a hospital, a dormitory and many other structures either have been built or are underway, providing the children and staff with a standard of living that was previously unimaginable. God has blessed this orphanage magnificently.

However, these 300 sponsored orphans are just a tiny fraction of the over two million orphans wandering the countryside of Uganda today. The vision that God has given to Pastor Elijah Sebuchu and to Hands of Love USA is to save many more. With His guidance and your partnership, we will continue in our mission to transform Uganda through Christ.