Programs
Feeding Program
God led Renee to the community of Masese in 2007 at the 
age of 18 when she spent 9 months in the Jinja area. Masese is thought of as the slum of Jinja where people go who cannot afford to live anywhere else; at that time an average of 4 children a week died of malnutrition. Renee, along with 2 other American volunteers, decided to do something. Using their own money they bought 2 large cooking pots, large quantities of beans and hired 2 local women as cooks. Every Wed. they would come to Masese to bring the beans to the cooks and plan an activity to get to know the children. They did things like puppet shows, singing songs, distribute a crayon and paper to each child, paint toenails on the girls and in general build relationships and trust within the community. On Friday mornings, the girls picked up their order of 400 chapati (like a tortilla) and fruit to make juice. As they would pull into Masese children would run to meet them with cups and bowls of any kind in anticipation of a meal and a full stomach. For many of the 400 children it would be the only nutritious meal they would eat all week.
When Renee came back home to America, the faces of Masese would not leave her. There was no one to care about those children and no weekly meals to sustain those who had nothing. It wasn’t long before Renee knew that God was calling her back to Uganda to continue what He had begun. Renee’s passion for those people became Serving His Children and the ministry was put in motion. At the age of 19 after raising enough support for a year and forming a non- profit organization, Renee moved to Uganda as a full time missionary.
Now, every Tuesday and Thursday children began lining up outside of the SHC Mission House gate at about 11. As the crowd continues to grow, Charles (the SHC Day Guard and Interpreter) monitors their behavior and calls many of them by name. At 1:00 the gates are opened and Renee greets the children who are shouting “Auntie Renee, Auntie Renee!” The children quickly form a line and follow her to the corner of the house where Joyce and Mama Faith have been cooking since the night before. After the first line reaches back to the gate a second one is formed and the children are ready to pray for their food. The prayer ends in a resounding cheer and lunch is served! Each child gets a scoop of rice and beans as well as a piece of fresh fruit (bananas, oranges or mangos) along with a smile from Jesus.
Now, every Tuesday and Thursday over 900 children in Masese go to bed with a full stomach. Now, there are very few hunger related deaths in the community. Now, the children in Masese have hope and see the physical care of a loving God.
Medical Program
“How can they believe in a loving God when their children are sick and dying?” This is the question that plagued Renee day after day. She was feeding hundreds of children, but they still suffered from things like Typhoid, Malaria, Syphilis, HIV and Tuberculosis. Mothers would bring their children to Renee because she was white and they believed that somehow she could help. Renee began stocking up on common medicines and paying clinic fees to take children for testing and treatments but as more people came for help all hours of the day, it soon became apparent that the medical needs were too great for one person to handle, and the cost of transporting to the clinics in town too costly.
God provided a wonderful Christian, Ugandan nurse named Constance. Every Wednesday morning parents bring their sick children to the SHC Mission house for free medical care. Constance is able to treat most of the children and those that need further care are taken to a local clinic for treatment. Many of the medicines that are distributed are provided through a local pharmaceutical company at cost as well as donations from America. Clinic fees are paid for through donations made to Serving His Children.
On the front porch of a house in Masese, people find hope through a loving smile, prayer and medical treatment.
Malnutrition Rehabilition Program
Malnutrition kills children and destroys families; the malnutrition wards at the hospitals are full of children brought by parents seeking hope to save the life of their child. Unfortunately, 30% of those children will die in the hospital and those who survive return to their homes only to be put right back in the cycle of malnutrition because of a lack of education of the parents. Serving His Children is taking steps to break that cycle.
Serving His Children has implemented a pilot program to lay the foundation for a Malnutrition Rehabilitation Center. The center, operating out of the SHC Mission House, will accept referrals from the local hospitals as well as churches and individuals, of children who are suffering from severe malnourishment who do not require hospitalization but cannot receive adequate care for rehabilitation at home. Once admitted into the program, not only will the child receive the care and nutrition necessary to fully recover, but the parent will learn about proper health and hygiene, nutrition and participate in Bible classes. Housing and transportation for the parent in addition to all the care for the children is provided by Serving His Children, nutrition classes are taught by a local Nutritionist and the health and bible classes are led by a nearby church.
It is our hope that we can initiate lifelong changes through one family at a time and begin breaking the cycle of both physical and spiritual hunger.