Meet Damali...

Damali is our friend and one of our co-workers here at SP. She works with the Orphan Care and Equip project-OCEP. I thought I would share her story because I think it is beautiful and inspiring.
Damali is the second oldest of six children. When she was eight, her mother passed away from HIV/AIDS, leaving her an orphan. She was the oldest girl and so was put in charge of her 4 younger siblings. In the same year that Damali’s mother passed away, her uncle also passed away of HIV/AIDS. This meant that Damali was an orphan herself and helping to care for four younger siblings and five younger orphaned cousins.
Another relative that couldn’t afford to care for the children took them to an American couple who ran an orphanage. The man was a Vietnam veteran and had lost his legs from a land-mine. He used his VA pension to care for over 120 children out of his home on the outskirts of the town Jinja. The orphanage is called “Good Shepherd’s Fold Children’s Home.” As the amount of children grew, the American couple didn’t have enough room and resources to care for these children.
Samaritan’s Purse found the orphanage and decided to help. They purchased land and started building a new complex to house Damali and the other children in the home. Damali says it took about a year, but once it was completed, there were many different buildings, and many foster moms to care for the children there. She said she was so happy when the new buildings were completed! Damali also said that she remembers receiving “Operation Christmas Child” boxes when she was a little girl and even when Franklin Graham came to visit!
These days, Damali is the one delivering “Operation Christmas Child” boxes. She seeks out children who are orphaned or vulnerable in order to meet their needs. Damali did well in school and went to University and studied Psychology and Social Science. She volunteered at “Give International” throughout college. Upon graduation, she received her dream job to care for orphans through the very organization that had supported her and her siblings, Samaritan’s Purse.
Damali now rents a two room flat and makes a life for herself. She also supports her two sisters, Hadija (16) and Aisha (17,) and her two cousins Oliver (17) and Betty (19.) They have a living room and a back room where they all sleep. She purchases food for them and helps them to find sponsors for their school fees. She told me she thanks God that they rarely get sick because she doesn’t know how she would pay hospital bills!
Damali challenges and inspires me. She is compassionate and cares so deeply for others. She could focus on the pain in her past, but she doesn’t. She moves on, and she makes a difference in the lives of others . She could also run away from her past, but she doesn't do that either. She chooses to acknowledge the hurt of her childhood and allow God to use her experiences to minister to others in similar circumstances. Her relationship with Christ guides her decisions and her heart. She relies on him in everything she does. She is so beautiful, and so is her story. She also happens to have the most infectious laugh imaginable and I just love her!

Damali on the far right holding hands with a little boy