In this newsletter you’ll learn how your support for JUST ONE MORE orphan has shaped the lives of these children and our teams, both in Uganda and back at home in the United States.
Did you know? Mosaic Vision is…
Almost 20 years old!
In 2004 a young woman named Shannon let her heart be broken by the story of children living alone plagued by HIV aids. Her passion to relieve this suffering and bring a childhood back to these orphans compelled her to start what became Mosaic Vision. To date close to 1,000 orphans have been impacted by sponsors and donors like you through Mosaic Vision.
Unique!
Mosaic is committed to:
- Keeping children in their own homes cared for by our local staff
- Hiring a local widow as live-in caregiver for
children as needed - Sponsoring (Taking in) ALL of the children in a family, never just one.
- Sharing the day-to-day lives of the orphans, all of the ups and downs, with their sponsors.
Staffed and cared for by Ugandans!
Alex, Phionah, Lord and Daniel are boots on the ground in Rukungiri and caring for every single child. Both Alex and Daniel were former sponsored orphans. Our country Director is Canon Jacques Masiko, former head of Compassion, East Africa. There is a Ugandan board of directors made up of community leaders, pastors, business owners, teachers, and counselors.
A Day in the Life of a Mosaic Vision Orphan
- Children do not attend school for free in Uganda. While most government-run schools “strive” to provide free education, there is always a cost involved and government-run schools are notoriously underfunded.
- Schooling levels are:
- Nursery (much like kindergarten)
- Primary 1-7 (called “P” level)
- Senior 1-4 (called “O” level for ordinary highschool)
- Senior 5-6 (called “A” level for advanced). “ A” level is optional and a prerequisite for university attendance.
- Trade school is an option for students who want to learn a job skill. This is typically a two year commitment.
- Children are required to wear a uniform to school and provide their own scholastic materials. This is almost impossible for an orphan.
- Most children start their journey walking to school in the dark or just at dawn.
- Some schools have provided one meal a day for students but at the current cost of food this is now rarely the case yet school fees continue to increase.
Stories from our orphans
SWEET MIRACLES:
Meet Anita
Anita was brought into Mosaic Vision in 2015. She is one of three children, and because Mosaic always takes in the whole family, her siblings Paul and Mercy were also taken in. The elder family members had a long history of mental illness, so Anita and her siblings lived in chaos, poverty, and danger. At fifteen years old, Paul was the “man-of-the-house,” keeping himself and his sisters safe and cared for. The Mosaic staff became the advocates for these children, stepping in with care as needed. As the children were stabilized in school, Anita began to flourish. Her love for learning helped her cope with the conditions her family lived in. With a house literally falling down, everyone sleeping on the ground, and meals as an everyday question, Anita’s classes became her sanctuary. As the children were sponsored one by one, life began to improve. Here is an excerpt of a letter from the children after receiving a gift from one of their sponsors:
“…if you can check on your inner hearts for sure, you cannot tell such a grateful opportunity of your vast love of which was like a surprise to us. But we believe it is the Lord who planned this before we were even out of our mother’s womb. We actually had no hope of this that we will at one time also sleep on a mattress, a bed and have good blankets plus sheets. This is actually beyond the human knowledge.”
When Anita completed her senior courses, she asked if she could attend a school for training in animal care. When this was funded by the sponsor, she spent two years studying for her dream career. At graduation, she was hired as a veterinary pharmacy assistant, and all of us at Mosaic Vision celebrated with her!
Anita is a great example of “JUST ONE.” Every single child deserves a chance. Every single child deserves to have someone say, “I SEE YOU, I BELIEVE IN YOU.”
What is the Power of “Just One More”?
The story of Mosaic Vision starts with the word “family”. In Uganda, the cultural norm is that families stay together, even if it means a “child-headed” home. Most of the children in Mosaic Vision live in families with siblings as the head of household but some live with a parent suffering with HIV/aids or in the care of an aging grandparent. All are on the edge of life, all trying to maintain family.
If one child in a family is sponsored hope begins to grow. If ALL of the children in a family are sponsored the entire family can be changed literally for generations.
Think about that: GENERATIONAL CHANGE.
Our goal is to have every orphan in every family sponsored by someone who cares about the lives of children and families. We currently have 66 children without sponsors. Our ask today is……
Will you consider the change you can make by sponsoring a child?
You can be the power of Just One More.
The Big Shift
If we haven’t met, my name is Keri and I’ve been with Mosaic since 2007, first as the ministry leader and liaison for a partner church then on Mosaic staff in 2015 as sponsor liaison, now as the co- leader of the ministry with Dr. Shannon! I’ve logged many miles and hours both in Uganda and here on behalf of the orphans we serve and it’s a journey I couldn’t even have imagined.
On my first trip to Uganda with Mosaic in 2007 I was completely ignorant of the world orphaned children live in. My heart had begun to open but my mind couldn’t conceive of the reality. What I saw and experienced for myself made such a seismic shift in my life that I was never to be the same again.Oh, how thankful I am for that!
What Mosaic does is not easy! We are committed to being in the daily lives of children who have no safety net, few if any options, often live in constant danger, and can’t see the possibility that they would be valued. This is the reality of their lives and we are in it with them.
But when your heart makes THE BIG SHIFT there is no greater reward than knowing your effort is impacting JUST ONE MORE.
We all have the opportunity for a big shift in our lives. We all have the chance to make a generational shift in a child’s life. It’s not hard and it’s not painful but it is life-giving.
I’m passionate about the orphans and what I’ve seen happen when someone cares. I’m also passionate about what happens in the heart of a sponsor when they see what beauty blooms from seeds planted in a child’s heart.
Thank you for sponsoring and donating and planting seeds with us. We can’t do it without you.
We pray that you’ll see the value of Just One More.
MVM passionately believes that individual attention and a love for children — by their parents and caregivers, people in the local church, and sponsors who deeply care for the children — is vital to their proper and meaningful development.
Accomplishments over the last 16 years of Mosaic Vision Ministry to the orphans in Rukungiri:
- Hired, mentored, trained staff committed to serving children and their care givers. The staff are passionate about their service and there has been no staff turnover in five years.
- Each year we carry out performance reviews on each staff person building weaknesses into strengths.
- We’ve built a formidable team that is ready to work beyond their job descriptions. The evidence exhibited during the two years of Covid19 lock down when our staff continued to visit the children in their homes.
- Spiritual development through daily devotions and prayers for children and caregivers. Discipleship to children and caregivers, staff retreats and individual participation in church ministries in their local areas has nurtured them spiritually.
- Economic development: All staff continue to introduce economic development for each family through growing crops that generate income such as coffee and banana plantations and introducing animal husbandry such as raising goats, chickens, rabbits, cows and piggery.
- Addressing health issues by improving health environment in children’s homes such as pit latrines, hand washing, and boiling water for drinking so as to eliminate water borne diseases.
- The staff develops by taking the initiative to further their own studies to acquire additional skills that help them address children’s needs more professionally. For example, Catherine and Alex graduated with post graduate diploma in Project Planning and Management, Daniel pursuing M.A Social Work and Social Administration and Phionah pursuing a Master’s degree in Child Development. They were all self-sponsored.
Building sponsor-child relationships
This is evident through the letters that have been written between children and sponsors through the guidance of the MV staff and partner schools.
There has been great growth and development in all areas since Mosaic’s inception in 2005. We are thankful the story of Mosaic Vision is still being written.
Thank you Mosaic Vision President Dr. Shannon Irvine and your entire family.
We also appreciate the MVM USA team, the generosity of the sponsors and donors who ensure the children are well cared for and above everyone else, we thank the Almighty whose unconditional love and support we serve and minister to these children!
Thank you for your time and devotion!
