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At the young age of 24, Denis Mugoya became the founder and Director of Blessing Hands 4Children Uganda, a ministry to meet the needs of orphans and vulnerable children living in extreme poverty in the village of Bugiri, Uganda. Denis is passionate about these children because he once lived as they do. The oldest of 4 children, he grew up in Bugiri working in vegetable gardens alongside his mother to pay for his school fees and supplies. Because all their time was spent working, their own personal garden was too small to generate an income, leaving just enough of a harvest to feed themselves. Unable to afford medical care, Denis had recurring ear infections in his right ear. Each time he got sick with Malaria his ear would flow with puss causing a terrible odor. For this reason, he was isolated and laughed at by most of his peers, except for his friend Samuel who was sponsored through Compassion International. He saw that Samuel’s life was greatly improved because of his sponsorship. Denis admired him and kept praying for the chance to become sponsored himself.

 

One day the staff from Compassion came to his school to register children for sponsorship and take their pictures. Denis stepped up to the camera thinking if he could just get his picture taken he could be sponsored, but was told he must have a guardian there to provide information and his mother was far away in the village. A year later at age 11 and by the grace of God he was able to register and was sponsored by Patty Oakes from Canada. This was a huge turning point in his life. “I was happy that day to feel loved. From that time in my life was never the same. I was taken to good hospital for my ear whenever it was flowing, I received books, soap and mattress, school tuition in secondary school. I was taught about Jesus love, was loved by some workers that used to encourage us to be strong regardless of where we were coming from. We were told their personal stories too, they also once were like us, emerged from poor families, orphaned families and this inspired and influenced my heart. I started dreaming big, had various visions to study up to university, change my life and community. I dreamed to be a social worker. However things just don’t happen. There has to be hard work, persistence, faith, hope and strong will.”

 

He still needed additional funds to support himself and cover extra school fees in high school. “In my vacation I didn’t sit down, needed to do something to earn a living, though there was no job, I didn’t give up.” He went to construction sites, became a porter, mixed mortar and served bricks. By the end of high school, he was qualified for Compassion’s Leadership Development Program which meant a full scholarship to Uganda’s best Universities, however, the program was cancelled before he could begin! At first, this was a crushing blow and he was extremely discouraged, but he knew God was with him and he did not give up. He worked as a school bus driver for an orphanage and got a partial scholarship from Compassion to attend college in Jinja to study social work while working nights to support himself. During his second year of college he was an intern at Sole Hope and met many Americans. Among them was Michelle who was a Compassion sponsor. They developed a friendship, sharing about many things and she prayed for him and supported him as she would her own son. He felt loved like he had met his own sponsor and this was a great encouragement to him.

 

 

During his time in Jinja he saw many organizations caring for orphans and children in need, but when he thought back about Bugiri he saw many needs were going unanswered. Starving children going through a lot of hardship, unable to go to school and many other problems. He began to pray and ask God how he could add value to his church. He knew there was something he needed to do and though he was poor, he knew that God was not and that God would grow him. That is when God showed him the name Blessing Hands 4 Children Uganda. Though Denis did not know where the help would come from, he knew that God could provide. He began organizing the children of his village and giving them hope. He continued sharing with people he met while volunteering at Sole Hope and many offered to pray for him and his ministry. That is when God brought another friend, Cindy.

 

Nurse Cindy, visiting from Ohio, listened to his story and upon her return to the U.S. began supporting his ministry to help the children. She has supported Denis' ministry tremendously in helping to supply medications, offering medical advice, and helping to set up surgeries and other medical appointments for children with illnesses, injuries, and birth defects. She continues to pray with Denis for the future of his ministry and has even been to Bugiri to visit, while addressing medical needs there.

Most recently, Denis has enlisted the help Amber Roberts, a former missionary from Michigan who is presently filling the role of International Ministry Coordinator. Amber will assist Denis by helping to manage the Blessing Hands 4Children Uganda web and social media sites, as well as fundraise and bring public awareness to new and ongoing needs of the ministry. 

 

This amazing young man works hard to provide for the children and citizens of his community, and also those who are isolated at greater distances. While doing so, he also maintains personal scholastic goals. He has designed an educational plan to continue college in order to be of greater service! Denis is a wonderful testimony to the redeeming power of Jesus. Because someone cared enough to invest love, prayers and finances in him, he has grown up to be a world changer and longs to bring the same hope, opportunities and empowerment to other children. He has proven himself to be forthright and honest, and makes it a point to personally show each donor where their gifts have been invested. If you would like to be a part of what God is doing here, and to be able to actually witness where your investment of faith has made a difference in the lives of real people, we would love to have you contact us.

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God bless you.

~Friends of Blessing Hands 4Children Uganda (BH4CU)