In December 2007, Childero founder Jamie Ennis returned from a mission trip in Uganda deeply disturbed and concerned over the prevalence of orphaned children, particularly in the northern part of the country. Gulu, located in northern Uganda, is a city with a complex and often painful history shaped by colonialism, civil conflict, and resilience. It is part of the traditional homeland of the Acholi people, a Luo-speaking ethnic group. Gulu was the epicenter of the conflict between the Ugandan government and the Lord’s Resistance Army.
Led by Joseph Kony, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) began a brutal insurgency in the north. Gulu became a central target and hub in the conflict.
Civilian Suffering: Thousands were killed, abducted (including child soldiers), and displaced. Over 1.8 million people were forced into internally displaced persons (IDP) camps- which Jamie visited – especially around Gulu. Night Commuters: Many children—known as night commuters—walked into Gulu town every night for safety from abduction. After a 20-year civil war, the region was left decimated by violence, trauma, displaced persons, and dependency on relief agencies
The impetus for Childero couldn’t have been more clear.
At first, Jamie believed that God wanted her and her husband to adopt from the country, but as doors closed she realized God was revealing something much bigger.
Jamie met David Ntogohnya, a Ugandan, when he started attending her church in Lexington, Kentucky. David came to Lexington to study at Asbury Seminary and develop his church planting and leadership skills. With David’s passion to build up his country’s leaders, and Jamie’s vision for an orphan-care support system, they began the foundational work.
The team looked for partners already working in Uganda. Amazingly a group from Kentucky – the Gulu Methodist Partnership Incorporated (GMPI), was already working in the country and volunteered to serve as the financial administrator for the program. Cara Starns, a member of the Global Impact Team at Jamie and David’s church and a recent college graduate, agreed to live in Gulu for one year in order to get the program started, with the end goal of training a local to lead. And so Childero was born.
After a year of establishing ministry structure and relationships with the villages around Gulu, Cara passed on the position of Childero Coordinator to Gulu-native Sandra. Sandra and a team of volunteers now operate under the supervision of the Gulu Advisory Board (GAB), comprised of local church pastors.
We are excited to be a Global Methodist missions organization, focused on discipleship and teaching our children the biblical truth. It is an honor to be one of the only Global Methodist ministries in northern Uganda and to partner with local pastors to plant churches in an area of the world where transitioning to a Global church can be dangerous. We stand ready to support our children and local church planting.
This is where our story continues today. Our team is working relentlessly for God’s Kingdom and the Childero program. We invite you into our story! Come join this Kingdom inspired, world changing adventure.