Lake Victoria Islands Child Care Uganda
About
Drake and Josephine Kanaabo are native born Ugandans who met and married in the aftermath of Idi Amin Dada's hideous regime. During 13 long years of barrenness, the Kanaabos adopted two young boys, Michael and Ronald, into their family, and raised them as their own. God knew what He was doing during this trying time as he placed a heart for orphans in Drake and Josephine from the start of their own family. Eventually these two adopted sons would play a vital role in caring for orphans themselves. Finally, in 1993 the Kanaabos had their first son, Samuel, followed in 1997 by their second son John. They also have a daughter named Dorcus.
In 1987 Drake and Josephine acquired a passion to reach the children on the islands of Lake Victoria with the love of Christ. Drake had begun preaching the gospel in these remote areas and saw many needy, orphaned, uneducated, diseased and dying children left uncared for and abandoned without hope for their future. In the year 2000, the Kanaabos' passion to make a measurable difference on these islands became reality when Lake Victoria Islands Child Care (Laviccare) was born with a vision to improve the general welfare and physical quality of life for the children living on the islands. This would be accomplished through establishing a child care center, educating children, sensitizing the public regarding HIV/AIDS, offering HIV/AIDS and family counseling, providing vocational training, and operating a health clinic and other medical services for the community.
In February 2005, the Kanaabos' began building Osanidde Village on the shores of Lake Victoria on Bussi Island. This current project involves caring for orphans from the surrounding region with the help of over 42 staff including mamas, uncles and aunties a staff nurse, teachers and security personnel.
The Kanaabos look forward to witnessing the vision and heart of God come to pass for these island children and believe that they too will carry on the call to Go into all the world and be agents of change wherever God places them. In their own words they say:
Can anyone explain the inequities we see around us? Can someone who is blessed with plenty truly feel the pain and hopelessness of one who sees a life with no solutions ahead? It takes courage to dream when few around you have succeeded. This is the reality in many places of the world; a reality that screams for a hand of compassion, a caring person to listen, a glimmer of light in the darkness, a candle.
We are privileged to work with LAVICCARE, a place where dreams become reality. The trip that started in 2000 has been a long and rewarding one, and there’s no end in sight! Our basic philosophy of development is one of self-help. Those we have helped will one day hopefully turn around and help other vulnerable children in turn, thus creating a Goodwill Cycle that will have an ever growing ripple effect. Not only are we well placed by God’s grace and example to respond to the needs of thirsty, hungry and dying children living in islands with hope and solutions, we also have the joy of helping those who are caught up in a world of things to touch the lives of people who need our help. We channel your love into solutions. We enjoy rewarding you with stories of how your gift brought fireworks of happiness to children you never met.
Imagine the excitement of having a shelter, food, sparkling clean water, of learning better ways of protection from a deadly virus like HIV, better farming methods or when your child can now go to school and sit at a real desk. A key goal of LAVICCARE is to partner with organizations and individuals with complementary missions and everything we do seems inter-linked with the efforts of others. We work in an environment of constant change that inspires us to partner with others to achieve more. We want to express our gratitude to each of you who have supported LAVICCARE. Never forget that your contributions enable us to save so many lives and to substantially improve the quality of life for so many children. In a very real sense, it is your commitment and generosity that has caused joy and happiness to most of the vulnerable children and entire community living on Islands of Lake Victoria.
We have done much, and we will do more if you join us in continuing to create a more hopeful and promising future for the orphans and Vulnerable children of Uganda. Would you join hands with LAVICCARE to help brighten the lives of many desperate children on Lake Victoria Islands? Our assistance will enable these children to have the opportunity to lead as normal a life as possible and become responsible, contributing members of society.
Remember “When you did it onto the least of thee, my brethren, you did it onto me” Mathew 25.