We are a Christian organization that desires to “do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God” (Micah 6:8). We have chosen to focus on education (and the needs surrounding it – food, clothing, supplies) as the best means of equipping the children we serve for meaningful work and as the best way to honor their dignity as people created in the image of God. Additionally, we respect and consider local culture within our work and are conscious of how to most effectively allocate our resources.
Our focus is to provide orphaned and other vulnerable youth in Fort Portal, Uganda with opportunities and support to become self-reliant and able to give back to their community. We believe that every child should have the chance to become a healthy, educated, and empowered individual, and we want to support individuals who have the desire to learn by giving them the chance to do so. With nearly half of the population of Uganda being under the age of 15, the youth are truly Uganda’s future.
Carol’s Testimony
In 1995, Carol Adams was living in Maui, Hawaii, where she was running a large riding and horse training stable. Carol enjoyed the work, people, and life in Maui, but felt that she should be contributing more to the world. In July of that year, she felt a strong calling from the Lord that children in Africa needed her. In response, Carol applied to many mission agencies, but was turned down because of her age and lack of education.
In November, she met a Christian singing group called The Limit X from Kampala who asked Carol to come to Uganda to run an orphanage they had. She left Maui and arrived in Uganda on January 2, 1996. However, she discovered that the orphanage was no longer operating and much money was needed to rent and re-open it.
While staying in Kampala, a wonderful Ugandan lady befriended Carol and introduced her to an elderly missionary couple. They, in turn, introduced her to a man who ran an orphanage in Mukono, a town outside of Kampala. He invited Carol to stay there until she knew her next steps.
Carol Adams met a young man there who was from the Fort Portal area and went with him to establish a program for the needy orphans from his area. In Fort Portal, she started to work under the Church of Uganda with a Child Care Outreach program, and in 2004 established the NGO called Youth Encouragement Services (Y.E.S.). Over the years, the program has evolved and grown in amazing ways with cooperation with large international organizations and many generous individuals and churches throughout the world.
Carol Adams continues to praise God for His many miracles in growing this program and in teaching her so much about trust and faith in Him.
“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” (Isaiah 1:17)