Leadership, in its purest form, is about presence, protection, and provision. But what happens when those meant to shepherd a community—from government to religious figures to local authorities—go missing? The people of Kagumba are left navigating survival with little to no support. The borehole is 8 kilometers away. The health center is even farther. The school has no desks, no floors, and in some cases, no roof.

In the absence of structured care, the church becomes a classroom. The director of the school sleeps where he works. Faith steps in where function fails.

But faith alone cannot carry the burden of poor infrastructure, unpaid labor, and water scarcity. We must ask: who should be the shepherd now? Is it the state, the church, NGOs, or community leaders? Or is it all of us?

Accountability must return to our vocabulary. Compassion must guide our action. Kagumba does not need saviors. It needs shepherds who stay, who listen, and who act.

The post Who is My Shepherd? first appeared on My Shepherd Ministry.

Founded in 2018, the school shuttered during the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many rural schools, reopening wasn’t simply a matter of lifting lockdowns. Government regulations, infrastructure requirements, and lack of financial support all stood in the way.

Today, 200 children attend classes in buildings held up by timber, covered by iron sheets, and open to wind, rain, and dust. One building doubles as a church on Sundays. Classes range from nursery to Primary Six, but there are no desks. There is no floor. There are no books.

Children pay between 25,000 to 35,000 UGX per term. But Uganda has a free education policy—or so we’re told. On paper, the promise exists. On the ground, the gap is glaring.

Education here isn’t just about access; it’s about inequality. And yet, these children show up. With borrowed pencils and wide-eyed determination.

Rural schools like Joy of the Lord remind us: policy without implementation is just paperwork. It’s time we revisited the promises made—and made them real.

The post What Education Looks Like in Kagumba first appeared on My Shepherd Ministry.

The road was long, the heat unrelenting. But what we found was warmth—from the people, not the sun.

We walked into Joy of the Lord Primary School and found 200 children sitting on the ground, learning without books or desks. Their laughter echoed louder than their lack.

Later, we met with the women. Fifty-five of them gathered for focus group discussions. They spoke of raising 6 to 12 children, of farming for consumption, of trying to sell fish or rare goats to get by.

Their challenges were many: poverty, water scarcity, little access to health care. Yet they smiled. They shared. They hoped.

And so we gave. Scholastic materials for the children. Time and ears for the women. A little, perhaps. But we left heavier than we came.

Kagumba is not a statistic. It’s a village. With dreams. And the dignity to define their own futures—if only given the space.

The post Our Field Day in Kagumba first appeared on My Shepherd Ministry.