Camp El Har - Uganda
AMG Responds to the HIV/AIDS Crisis in Uganda

According to GlobalHealthReporting.org, the population of Uganda is estimated to be 30.2 million. They further report that in 2005, 6.7% of the adult population, or about 1,000,000 adults, were living with HIV/AIDS, and 91,000 died due to AIDS.

But tragically, in 2005, it was estimated that there were 1 million children under the age of 17 living in Uganda who had lost one or both parents to AIDS. To put that into perspective, that’s the third highest national rate worldwide.

Not all these children have HIV/AIDS themselves, but the disease has adversely touched them all.

AMG Uganda lends a helping hand

Dr. Reuben Musiime, director of AMG Uganda, recently visited the Chattanooga headquarters of AMG International and reported on the work he is doing among the AIDS-orphaned children in Uganda.

AMG Uganda’s childcare ministry began in the mid-1990’s with 11 children. As of 2005, there are now nearly 1,000 children in the program! We praise God for what He is doing in that country!

In August 2005, Hope Medical Center opened in Bugongi Village, about 250 miles from Kampala. The dispensary was named to reflect the goal that people who come for medical care and services will find that the hope for their healing is only in Jesus Christ.  The center will also provide counseling services to people living with AIDS.

Vision for Camp El Har

But Dr. Musiime has an even greater vision for helping orphaned children in Uganda. In August he opened a rented facility in Kampala which already houses 10 children. However, rental costs are prohibitive, so we need to get on our own property, our own land, and our own facilities as soon as possible. 

Camp El Har (Mountain of God) will be a unique caring center for defenseless children.  There will be a live-in orphanage located on the outskirts of Kampala, Uganda.  It will be a refuge of peace, comfort, encouragement, and hope for these kids, some of whom are HIV positive, some who are infected with AIDS, all of whom have been affected by HIV/AIDS. 

It will provide care, nurture, love, education and training for the kids through experienced staff who love our Lord Jesus Christ.  While there will be some limited on-campus medical care, more serious cases will be cared for by medical professionals off site. 

The project will begin with the purchase of land on the outskirts of Kampala. Construction will follow as funds become available.  We plan to provide housing for 80 children in 4 home units surrounded by a chapel and an auditorium. Future buildings would include a recreational hall, classrooms, structures for skill training, carpentry, sewing, and a bakery.

Additional land would provide for a soccer field, and garden plots where the children could actually raise their own vegetables to be used in the homes.

Children affected with HIV/AIDS are not adequately cared for by their extended families. Such families are frequently overloaded to the breaking point with extra dependant children. Often these children are discouraged from getting medical check-ups because when it is discovered that they are HIV positive or that they have AIDS, they face being abandoned by whatever remaining family they have, or deliberately starved to death. 

However, Dr. Musiime insists that every child in Camp El Har needs to maintain contact with any living relatives, and that the relatives must accept some level of responsibility for the child. He explains that the connection to family and to clan is especially important in this African nation.

These children are not all going to die of AIDS.  They are going to be affected by the AIDS virus in some way or another, but they have a great chance of living productive lives. That’s what we want to encourage. By giving them the medical care and attention they need to live, and by giving them an education, our desire is that they grow up to be productive citizens of Uganda. In addition, by sharing the Gospel with them, we pray that many will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and excel in the gifts God has given them.

How can you help?

• You can sponsor one of the children at our child-care centers in Uganda. Sponsorship is only $25 a month. This provides food, clothing, education, medical care, and most of all instruction in the scriptures for these kids.
• You can contribute towards the equipping of the medical dispensary that opened in August.
• You can give toward Dr. Musiime’s vision of Camp El Har—a unique orphanage in Kampala, Uganda.