In December 2007, Childero founder Jamie Bloyd 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. 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 locals, and the administration of the Gulu Methodist Partnership Initiative, here in the United States.
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.