Photo above, 2 of 6 cottages, 2023
Overview
Damali has prayed for years that God would provide the funds to increase her capability to rescue more babies. God has decided that it’s time.
Ground was broken on our new Sonrise Baby Home located along the Nile outside of Jinja Uganda, September 2020. We prayed over the land and began construction of a storage building and our 6 living cottages.
Each living cottage has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. There is also a large sitting/dining area.
Instead of being in one home, as we have been in since we were established in 2010, God is making a way for us to have more room to rescue and care for additional babies in the Sonrise Baby Village!
Believe with us as we proceed. We are in awe of God’s provision.
“This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.” Jeremiah 29:4-5
looking toward the Nile River from our property
We planted some crops on the new land and our first harvest was a success! The soil on this land is so rich and since we have access to the Nile River, we are able to use it for irrigating the crops. For our first harvest, we harvested beans, tomatoes, and matoke. We have also planted sweet potatoes, spinach, cabbage, and pineapple.
We are looking forward to being more self sustaining so our main expenses will be medical care for caring for sick babies at the hospital, formula, diapers and paying our staff.
Our existing Baby Home will become our new Receiving Center. In the Receiving Center, a new baby will stay here since it is close to the hospital for any treatments needed and to avoid exposing our other healthy babies to any existing diseases. We will have an Auntie stay with the sick babies while they are recovering until they are healthy and can join us on the new land!
January 2022
GREAT NEWS! We have moved all the babies to our new homes!! God provided abundantly for the furnishings of each home! We have harvested many crops we planted and replanted more. We are so thankful to be able to grow fresh fruits and vegetables on our land. The babies love all the room they have to run and play. Now that we have clean running water, they love to play in it! (They have not been allowed to play in our water at our previous home to avoid drinking any unclean water and getting sick.) Each day is full of excitement waking up in our new beds!
We are in complete amazement each day looking around at all that God has done ... He provided fertile land by the Nile River, 6 fully furnished homes, a well for clean water, rich soil for planting food, cows for fresh milk, solar panels to eliminate electrical monthly bills, a safe perimeter wall around the compound, and so much more ... We are so deeply grateful. We praise God every day for all that He has done for these children. When this baby home first opened 12 years ago, I never imagined that one day I would be sitting here! Praise God for His faithfulness, His love and His provision for so many little ones who would have had no safe home or even a family. I pray that we always have room and the financial support to take in any baby who has been orphaned or abandoned, any baby who needs formula/food due to malnutrition, or any baby who needs medical care due to a sickness.
I am so honored that these babies are with us here at Sonrise Baby Home and I pray every day that we make an eternal impact on every one of them so that they will turn around and share the light of Jesus with others throughout Uganda. I am so grateful for all of our support from friends literally all over the world who have partnered with us to provide these babies a safe home, clean water, and healthy food. Most importantly, we have been able to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them and their families! To God Be All the Glory! - Damali
September - October 2021 Update:
We had gracious sponsors send us the funds we needed so we were able to begin construction of our perimeter wall to keep our little ones safe once we move. Now, our perimeter wall is complete!! PRAISE THE LORD! We are so thankful God provided every bit needed to build this wall around the homes. The soil by the Nile River is so rich and our crops are thriving! We are now harvesting many of the crops which have grown which provides our older toddlers fresh food.
The solar panels have been ordered and are being installed now! This will help us tremendously on our power bills. We also were given funds to purchase solar stoves and refrigerators for each home!
Our next steps are to raise funds for furnishing each home. We will need everything from beds/cribs, sheets, and towels to chairs, furniture, and wardrobes. Thank you to everyone who continues to pray with us and provide support to our babies. There is no way we could do this without all of you!
April 2021 update:
We have completed the construction of the first 5 houses and we are currently painting them! The final house (#6) is getting a roof and the next steps are to install the windows and doors and then paint! We are so amazed at all God has provided us this last year! We have planted crops on the land to provide the babies with nutritious foods such as sweet potatoes, cassava, matoke, ground nuts (“g-nuts”), bananas, tomatoes, beans, corn and pineapples. We have been able to harvest some of these vegetables and replant more crops. Since we are on the banks of the Nile River, the soil is so rich and full of nutrients to grow crops.
God has blown us away with His provision for His children!! In just ONE year, He has provided us with new land, the finances to build 6 ‘family style’ homes, a water well for clean water, rich soil to plant crops (we have already harvested some of this for food), and we have received half of the finances needed to purchase solar panels - ALL within a year! This is a true testimony of what He can do when we trust and pray. Praise GOD!
Our next steps are to raise the funds to build a perimeter wall around the homes to keep the babies safe and to buy the furnishings for the homes so we can move soon. We also plan to purchase more cows to provide the baby with organic fresh milk from grass fed cows and chickens to provide the babies with fresh eggs more often. We know God will provide for His babies!
